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@trivialcanine – not required, but encouraged 🙂 But the March challenge is over, please join us for the April challenge: https://rockclass101.com/win-my-kanilea
@richo_uke, the uke only track has been added. Btw, you can also switch the tab player to synthetic mode to activate a metronome and hear the uke part only. That will help with practicing too since it’s syncopated.
I’ve thought about doing multiple camera angles, but have come to realize that I don’t believe it would add much of an extra benefit; because the angle that you currently see is direct on, which mimics what a private one-on-one lesson would be. In other words, the same as if we were sitting directly across from each other in a room.
If you have any questions on any of the lessons or need any further clarity on right hand picking/form, please let me know. Always happy to help. 🙂
rickeymike – way to go, Rickey! So I spoke with Stephen and the biggest revelation that you’ve made is to recognize that the rhythm of the harmony is independent from the rhythm of the melody. This is a big breakthrough in your playing, because now you realize that not everything will match up. The other good thing is that you are strumming down and up, which gives a better sense of where the downbeat is versus the upbeat.
For the intro, you did a wonderful job getting the rhythms accurate. Same for the fingerpicking sections. You’re also doing a great job at recognizing where the vocals come in. It looks like the private lesson with Stephen really helped out a lot! Keep doing what you’re doing because you’re making great progress 🙂
ukukelley1 – What a beautiful performance! The only constructive feedback I can offer is to suggest to memorize it. 🙂 keep up the excellent work, Sheryl!
wongbrown – Awesome job on this tune! I can tell you put a lot of work into it 🙂
So there are a few things that I want to point out:
1) I want you to work on making sections a little smoother in terms of timing and transitions. Tackle this in chucks; work on 8 bar phrases.
2) At 47 seconds, try a hammer-on/pull-off there instead of a slide.
3) At 1:16, playing the E min chord on your fingertips makes that transition a lot harder. Fret that chord with a barre, and it will be easy to do the octave walk up that follows it.
coffeemug – Great playing! The one thing I want to talk about is your left hand form/position. Watch your performance back and notice how a lot of times your fingers are below or behind the neck. Then watch my performance; notice how I’m always floating above the fretboard.
Floating above the fretboard leaves our fingers in a position that is ready to be employed. It’s also going to help you get a better (less curved) placement of your pinky finger in the fret during stretch chords, like the G5. Check out this lesson for more tips on left hand form.
morrieuke1 – Beautiful playing, Mike! Okay so for those who are watching & reading this feedback, listen to the first 20 seconds of his performance. I want you to listen to how he strums.
He’s got three different approaches:
1) strum down with the thumb (6 seconds) – produces a soft, warm tone.
2) strum down with the nail of the index (13 seconds) – produces a brighter tone.
3) arpeggiated strum (18 seconds) – highlights the individual notes of the chord.
If I remember right, I think this is the same concept that I made a video on for another member this month. But the point here is that these little, subtle variations in our playing make a huge impact in the overall sound.
Now the only constructive feedback that I want to offer you is in regards to the tempo. So I love that you tapped along! Now the first two melodies were awesome, but when we get to the third melody, you played it at a slower pace.
Now I know that the third melody is the most difficult to play, but when we think of the overall performance, we want to make sure that the tempo stays consistent. So keep working at building your tempo for the last melody. But another idea in the meantime is to slow down the first two melodies so they match the tempo of the third.
jlbross – Awesome job! Here is a short video with tips on getting proper form with barre chords.
rpina61 – Hi Robert, very well played! I have one suggestion for you that I think would make your playing pop just that much more, and it’s to add Vibrato.
lyndallk – Hi Lyndall, I’m always a fan of your playing 🙂 So to me, it sounds like you didn’t have as much time as you usually put into your performances, which makes sense as you said you’ve been “sans uke”. Where you’re at is great, but I know where you can take it with more time/practice.
brettboy – I love the deep tone of the baritone. Honestly, this is one of your best performances that I’ve heard. So much feel and emotion in your playing. Absolutely lovely and I especially like your interpretation of the last melody.
cyukug – Here is a quick video with one tip that will help you get a cleaner sound when transitioning from chords to single notes. Here is the lesson I referenced.
nthibode – Brilliant performance! Your uke playing is beautiful. Keep working at the high note, check out the tips Katie left about it here.
Yes, I can def add that. I’ll respond on this post when it’s up 🙂
Thx for the feedback, I’ll remember to add a solo uke play-along track for every duet/band song we do from now on.
@hotmilktea – Here is what Katie said 🙂
Great performance! Singing and playing the fingerpicking part can be difficult due to the extra embellishments that don’t follow the melody. Because singing and playing at the same time can be difficult to navigate, so here are few tips that I give my students in order for them improve. It is common to forget to support your singing as you play because your concentration is divided. As you continue to practice, be mindful of your breath and make sure you are breathing deeply from your diaphragm. Focus on filling the bottom part of your lungs first, the sides expanding the ribcage, and then the very top. Keep your shoulders down and relaxed.
From there, over annunciate your consonants and open up on the vowel. This will help with your breath support as well because your air will not escape out of your mouth as quickly leaving more air in your lungs to support your voice.
As you are singing, imagine the air coming up and out of the top of your head like a dolphin instead of out of your mouth. That helps you not to over sing and use less air. Place your hand over your mouth and sing “gloria” like you normally would. You will probably feel lots of hot air against your hand. Now try it again but this time think about the air coming out of the top of your head instead of your mouth. You’ll feel less hot air hitting your hand as you sing. People have a tendency to imagine their air coming straight out of their mouths while singing and use too much air. That cuts their phrases short. It also might help imagining a candle in front of you as you sing. The goal is to imagine the flame barely flickering in front of your lips while you sing. I wish I could make video for you because this would make more sense, but I hope that this helped. Let me know if you need anything else.
laurasil – Beautiful playing! Here is a video on some ideas to vary your strum attack to produce timbres. And here is the lesson on the mechanics behind the “flick” strum I mentioned.