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“Be” starts on the & of 4 in measure 7. “Long” occurs over the 2 hits in bar 8: 1 &.
So one word over 2 bars and 3 notes. Tricky!
No missing note. Sounds like some unwanted feedback briefly before the last hit in the measure (2 on string 1).
Wow! 77 members joined us for this month’s challenge, with a few more posting an additional performance on a second tune! It has truly been a pleasure for Stephen and I to watch everyone’s performances and offer our humble feedback. BIG thanks to each of you who participated and bravo on a job well done!
Our June Challenge is LIVE and its theme is: Beach Vibe Tunes! I hope each of you joins us again.
Below, I will post a list of members who participated in the May challenge for your second chance to win the Kanile’a Ukulele. Please let me know if there are any discrepancies.
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planetfink
planetfink
robinboyd
robinboyd
deadbuggy
deadbuggy
cncamacho
cncamacho
brenna
brenna
sprintingyogini
sprintingyogini
joannetala
joannetala
gaberdude
gaberdude
kirpuff
kirpuff
lyndallk
lyndallk
laurakarr12
laurakarr12
lisadmh
lisadmh
mheiden
mheiden
annefgodfrey
annefgodfrey
nthibode
nthibode
brettboy
brettboy
en_joy
en_joy
smudge
smudge
jinajupiter
jinajupiter
twizzler
yellowrosecottag
yellowrosecottag
johanna2509
gstriph
gstriph
kellyblackburn
kellyblackburn
scampi123
scampi123
lildevil
noemie
cyukug
cyukug
zukulele
zukulele
wongbrown
wongbrown
skilshaw
skilshaw
soraya06
soraya06
joe150
joe150
aquatopaz
aquatopaz karenj
karenj
tiff27
justin
justin
holly1
holly1
cornishdpt
cornishdpt
hotmilktea
hotmilktea
mfaske
mfaske
rufio0
rufio0
bzediver
bzediver
timolnz
timolnz
morrieuke1
morrieuke1
rickeymike
rickeymike
lisamcc
lisamcc
santai
santai
stianukulele
stianukulele
andracass
andracass
marni11
marni11
surfnrz
surfnrz
gaevdl
gaevdl
juwong
funtime2018
funtime2018
ukemaniak
ukemaniak
chirimoya
stinyuke
stinyuke
jlbross
jlbross
betsy_manning
betsy_manning
laurasil
fiat-lux
fiat-lux
casadot349
casadot349
abaluyot
abaluyot
kumakuma
odysseus
odysseus
kanae926
kanae926
nitsur
nitsur
gardn_gnome
gardn_gnome
borjez
borjez
ukukelley1
ukukelley1
iyers408
iyers408
omaon4
omaon4
jkv_01Here is everyone on page 17.
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borjez – Wow! Your playing has fantastic feel and timbre. That was a pleasure to listen to. 🙂 If I do have to give you criticism (which is extremely nit-picky), listen to the transition in to and out of the refrain. Note the slightly rushed tempo changes. Watch out for that. This is actually an area that I struggle with and spend a lot of time working on.
ukukelley1 – Way to go, Sheryl! Playing sounds great 🙂 Couple things I’d suggest working on:
1) Listen back for single notes that buzz. Loop and repeat those sections with a focus on getting note clarity.
2) Also listen back for things that were tricky. For example, in the A Melody, the G7 barre chord (first time through at 19 seconds), did not ring clear. And if you listen to the second time you play the A Melody, same thing. So you want to practice the phrase that leads in and out of that chord, again focusing on getting note clarity.
3) Try to memorize the B Melody. That way you can focus more on your playing, instead of also reading.
So as you see these are pretty minor things, but working on them will have a big impact on the overall sound.
iyers408 – Great job, Shankar! You’ve got a great base established, and what I would work on is focusing your practice on 4 bar phrases. Take the first four bars of the A Melody, loops them in the tab player, slow it down to the speed you need, and play along. Focus on note clarity and timing. Once you get that down, do the next four bars, then try the 8 bars. Breaking it into chunks is the best way to improve.
omaon4 – Well done! I’d recommend the same advice I left about for iyers408. This advice is also contained in our practicing guide, which is a great resource to reference.
jkv_01 – Fantastic take, Jemina! Love the upbeat vibe. 🙂 I’d say with a little bit more practice, you’ll have it flowing (timing-wise) smoother. But really good job, keep up the great work!
kelsey91 – That’s a great start, keep at it! Unfortunately, the second half of your performance is not our arrangement, and I cannot give you an entry for this month’s giveaway. Hope you have more time to join us for next month!
@funtime2018 – Thank you!
Here is everyone on page 16 that we hadn’t reviewed yet.
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kanae926 – Kanni, that was awesome! So I read the concerns that you wrote, and I don’t think they are concerning at all. Instead what I would focus on is adding a little bit more dynamic to your playing. Start with incorporating accents. Check out this post that I left for another member earlier this month. It will be a great starting point for you.
nitsur – Well done! So one thing I want to point out is in regards to your right hand wrist being bent upwards a little bit. Try to keep it parallel. Check out this lesson to see the form that we recommend using.
The other thing I want to point out, is the same advice I left for another member earlier this month: Here’s my suggestion for you. Play along with Matt. Slow the tab player to 65 or 70% and take an 8 bar section. Try to match his feel. So your goal is to get a little bit more of a relaxed feel.
Heads up for next month’s live lesson. I spoke with Matt yesterday and I asked him to make next month’s topic, “playing with finesse”. This is going to be a great one for everyone to check out because the focal point is: Not only playing the correct notes, but instead, focusing on how you play them.
gardn_gnome – Glad it was helpful. It’s a little difficult to see how you are holding the uke from the angle on this video, feel free to share another with a better angle if you need more guidance.
So I think this song is a little beyond your current level. And this is a downfall of the challenges some months. Sometimes the song selections only cater to the season beginner and above.
But, here’s a good one to work on. Focus on getting the notes clean, ringing out, and keeping the timing steady. Speed isn’t important, slow and steady wins the race. Feel free to post a video if you learn it, happy to review it 🙂
Here is everyone on page 13 and 14.
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timolnz – Well done, Tim! I think it’s great that you push yourself with a harder piece, that’s actually one of the best ways to grow as a player! So one thing that I noticed is that you have a really strong picking attack, try to lighten it up a bit, which will produce a softer, sweeter tone.
The other thing I’d recommend is to target your practice to 8 bar sections. Focus on timing. So if you listen back, you can hear one of the sections that you need to tidy up on is the refrain. Slow the tempo down, get the muscle memory down for the transitions, and work towards keeping it steady.
Overall that was awesome, keep up the great work!
morrieuke1 – wow Michael! Really Dig the ritardando at the end of the intro; makes for an awesome transition to the next section! Which by the way, excellent feel!
The only area that I’d recommend practicing a bit more is the end of the refrain. That’s a really tricky part. But bravo, very impressive!
rickeymike – LOL, I like the 64, no 74, no 84 re-write! First off, it’s incredible that you no longer struggle with where the vocal fits in the music. Second, love the poster. Third, as Lisa said, there’s a little bit that you can tidy up. And I have an idea for this:
lisamcc – Yikes, sorry to hear about the uke! But, hope your trip is awesome 🙂 I think you did a great job overall. The one area that I’d focus on is timing and I left some advice for, Smudge, in this post. There’s a video too, check it out, as I think it will be helpful for you.
santai – Wow, beautiful feel to your playing! Please post a video next time, it would be an honor for me to share it on our social media. 🙂
There’s not much critique I can offer, besides touching up the few rough areas. But really, that was awesome, def be proud of what you’ve done!
stianukulele – What can I say, fantastic picking skills, Stian! So much fun to listen to 🙂 Super happy I got to share it with everyone this week!
andracass – Hey MT! Your playing always has a nice tone, but the one area that I’ve given you advice on before involves timing. If you want to eliminate the sections that “drag”, you’ll want to focus your practice on a 4 or 8 bar phrase. Master that before moving to the next section. Check out the video that I left above for Rickey, as it shows me doing this with the on-screen tab viewer.
marni11 – That was awesome and congrats on memorizing it! One thing that I’d recommend is to slow it down a notch, as sometimes it felt a little rushed. Try to play along with Matt in the on-screen tab viewer. His playing will act as a guide, which will help keep you at a steady pace.
surfnrz – OMG, Ray! Your vocal tone is amazing! I’m dropping an email tomorrow for the June challenge. Def will put a link to your performance in it, SO GOOD!
You def can! And Django is a great example of not letting anything stop you from playing. His playing is nothing short of brilliant!
@sprintingyogini – This Friday’s lesson will be one of June’s tunes 🙂
I’ll release June challenge on Sat, the 1st.
Rickey is correct. To learn how to do this, check out the second video on this page and jump 6 minutes into it.
