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Hi Lisa, I’m glad you enjoy this song 🙂 to answer your question, I’d recommend to ignore string 4 and pluck strings 1-3 only. As far as moving my left hand up the neck, it’s for a dynamic accent. I wouldn’t worry too much about copying this.
Hi illumi, this is actually a question I get asked every week: “where do I start and what do I work on?”. To answer those questions, I have created Learning Paths: A step-by-step guide that teaches you how to create a structured plan that takes you from the beginner to advanced level. Having a plan is vital to your success in learning ukulele and Learning Paths is all about teaching you how to create that plan.
Take a look at it and let me know if you have any questions 🙂
Vida, to clarify its only a few of the bass notes that are being cut short and not lasting the entire length of the bar(s). The melody sounds fine. I’m not familiar with those strings, but if Mike says they are easier to fret with then I would give them a shot.
That was awesome Ambre! I can definitely tell you put a lot of work into this, great job 🙂 My only suggestion for you is to go back and work on the last melody. I would approach practicing it by slowing it down and honing in on the timing to get it to flow a bit steadier. Also, the rhythm of the outro is: 1 2& 3.
I really enjoyed your performance, that was fun to watch!
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Excellent playing ser_ser! Great use of dynamics on that last buildup section. Keep up the good work!
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Deb, wow! If there is an award for most improved, then you definitely won! I’d highly encourage everyone to go back in this post and watch all of Deb’s performances. It’s a testament to how hard work and practice pays off.
To answer your question, our nerves can get the best of us when we put a camera in front of us, or playing in front of people. The best advise I can offer you is: The more you do it, the easier it gets. Also, being prepared can exponentially ease nerves. If you’re ready to perform the piece, then there’s nothing to worry about. The bottom line when performing is that people want to be entertained and have a good time. Trust me, they’re not sitting there saying I hope she messes up, lol.
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Vida, awesome job on The Addams Family theme! Great feel and timing 🙂 It sounds really cool on that uke too.
It’s great to hear the halloween theme come together. I think you did well on it! Couple suggestions: First, I would focus on holding down the chords so that they sustain over the melody. Now I remember us talking about the action of your ukulele, and that you find it difficult keep pressure down on some chords. Did you ever get it looked at?
The other thing I would work on is the rhythm for the strumming section. I would use the on-screen tab viewer to work on this. Put it in “synthetic” mode and turn the metronome on. Slow it down to whatever speed you need and loop one bar at a time. Try to get the rhythm stuck in your head too. If you can sing it, you can play 🙂
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kduran, excellent job for being new to ukulele! I enjoyed your performance 🙂 Give Mike @ Uke Republic a call or email. He’d be able to suggest a great ukulele based off what you are looking for and/or interested in. Tell him I sent ya!
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Happy to help Linh 🙂 try to be conscious of your thumb positioning these next few weeks and see what difference it has on your playing. I think it’s going to make things easier for you.
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Lisa, it doesn’t sound out of tune to me. Actually, if you’re happy with it then it should be fine. But, it may be worth your time to play one with lower action so you can compare how it plays to yours.
I’m glad you enjoy the arrangements Niccolo! I’d be happy to add that song to my request list. I’m a huge fan of his as well, which is why I had to do Sultans of Swing 🙂 maybe next year, I’ll do another one, there are so many great songs from him and his band!
Way to go Lisa! That was really really good 🙂 If memory serves me right, you recently bought that uke correct? Where did you buy it from? It looks like the action (string height) is pretty high, is that something you noticed?
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Samuel, I dig the variations you threw in there, very cool! My only suggestion for you, is to watch the timing at the beginning as you boosted the tempo quite a bit for the first melody, but then the rest of the song kept at a solid pace.
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Great job annemarie! I love this theme song, so 80’s, a decade I can’t seem to leave, lol. I have a couple tips for you. First, the intro strum, try to push it a little bit faster. It will help to build the dynamic feel of a powerful intro. Second, some of the chord changes are tricky in this tune. So I would focus on looping those sections and working on the transitions. Practice going from one phrase to the next. This article has some great tips on how to focus on the tricky sections.
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Linh, that was awesome! Don’t be too hard on yourself, because you’re already playing very well! I have a question for you. Are you double-jointed? It looks like your thumb on the back of the neck is curved in. It’s always best to try to keep your thumb straight, as seen in this picture below. Let me know about your thumb, perhaps I’m just seeing things in the video 🙂
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fedindark, you’ve got a great foundation for this song! Tell me about how you’ve been practicing? Are you following the three steps? If I were you, I would work on mastering one melody before working on the next. Then, I would work on playing the first to the second melody perfectly. You can keep up this practicing approach throughout the rest of the tune.
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giulianah, I loved it! You’ve got a lot of talent! Your timing and your feel sounds great. You said you practiced a lot, and it shows. I wish I was that good at 11 🙂 keep rocking!
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charlene, wonderfully played! And you nailed that outro! My only suggestion for you, is to play along with the metronome a little bit to smooth out the timing. I gave Deb a few tips on this in this post.
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Josh, great job! I’m a big fan of listening to your performance, reviewing it, and going back and practicing the areas that need to be touched up. That’s a great approach for practicing. I think the only area that you need to touch up on it is the outro. Other than that, I would recommend to cut the nails of your left hand fingers. It will make fretting notes much easier and you’ll be able to get on the fingertips better. Keep up the good work!
Awesome pics Niccolo! I visited Oahu is a kid, loved it! So I’m a bit jealous 🙂 Glad you found us! What classical piece are you working on? I’m planning to do Moonlight Sonata next year, trying to work up the courage for that one haha.
Hi Deb, I would focus on those areas that are difficult for you. So what you would want to do, is to take those phrases and loop them. Then when you feel comfortable, play the phrase before it and the phrase after it, so you get used to playing that entire section.
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Rickey, I’m not seeing or hearing anything wrong with the A string as you alluded to in our emails. I do have a couple suggestions for you. First, I would leave out the tap so that you can focus on the playing. Next, try to get your third and second finger to move in unison to form the G chord quicker. Last, try to push yourself more to increase the speed. The phrase sounds good, so sometimes we just need a little push 🙂
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That was awesome Brett! And I love the video and that intro haha
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Peggy, your daughter rocks! I bet you’re super proud of her, that was fantastic!
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Wow Alissa! You must be practicing a lot, I can hear tremendous improvement in your playing over these last 6 months. Keep up the good work, it’s paying off! I do have one suggestion for you. It sounds like the only section you need to brush up a little bit on is the second melody and check the rhythm on the Am chord outro.
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No pressure Kay, but everyone’s counting on you lol 🙂