[Andrew]

I think your audio sounds nice! It lets you hear the uke in an authentic way. I do hear a little white noise in the background, maybe it’s the A/C? I always shut mine off to record. You can up your audio quality with a mic / interface / DAW setup. Just depends how far down the rabbit hole you wanna go 😂

[Andrew]

@nat-uke – Feel and flow were spot on! Well played, Natalie 🙂

@anyon1 – Lovely tune, Adriana! I really liked the change when you take it higher and bring it back down. Well done!

[Andrew]

@shmu88 – LOL, I loved it Sam! You got a knack for writing, I hope you write more 🙂

@lucauka – Brilliant job on “Aloha Dreaming” Luca! Fingerpicking sounds great! And well done on getting those tough chords to ring clear. My only suggestion would be to play it at a slower tempo, which allows the notes and chords to sustain longer, highlighting the melody and harmony and giving it a better feel for this tune.

And nice job on your original tune too! I can tell you’ve got a good ear for hearing which chords and notes go together well. As you continue learning songs, study the form. For ex, how many bars are in each verse/chorus. And how they have a unique, yet relatable feel to each other.

@bibilele – A very lovely fingerstyle composition Bianca, well done! Enjoy your Holiday!

@marianne – Breathtaking composition, Marianne! Absolutely blew me away, will def be sharing it in tomorrow’s newsletter. ❤️

@gi_gi_ – Such a beautiful composition Gigi. Music is healing, I hope you get a chance to perform it for your friend. Sending my best wishes y’all’s way. ❤️

@anikali – Lovely fingerstyle piece, Joan! I really like the change in feel from the opening strum technique to the fingerpicking section. My best advice for you is to keep writing, you’ve def got talent for it! 🙂

@annemarie – I loved it, Anne! For me, it evokes memories of hiking in the mountains and just being in nature. 🙂

@lhamilton – So beautifully played, Linda. Well done!

[Andrew]

Nice job on nailing the feel and emotion of the piece, Will 🙂

[Andrew]

@malku2603 – Sounding really good, Akansha! Great work 🙂

[Andrew]

Thanks to everyone who tuned in today. The replay will be out next Monday 🙂

[Andrew]

@willw18 – Fingerpicking sounded great to me, I wouldn’t say the attack was too strong. It was very nicely played, Will!

[Andrew]

@brettboy – That rocked, Brett! Loved it!

[Andrew]

@katazumiri – Awesome tune! Very well written, Lena!

[Andrew]

@janaq1 – Your composition exudes a beautifully melancholic feel, Jana. Great songwriting!

[Andrew]

@The_Bumble_Bard – Beautiful start to your song Rachael! Your song has a 1 4 5 harmony (C, F, G). I like songs that have simple harmonies. You could keep it simple or expand it if you want to add more color. The fun thing about writing is that there is no right or wrong 🙂

[Andrew]

@deadbuggy – Beautiful composition Sara, I loved it! ❤️

[Andrew]

We did it! We crushed the Spring Challenge!

194 members participated in our last 3 challenges and I have been blown away by everyone’s performances! Thanks to each and everyone of you who participated.

Due to internet issues, we will not have a live stream. Instead, the video announcing the winner of the $2,700 Kanile’a K-1 Baritone and the runner-up, who will receive 10 extra entries for the Fall Challenge, will premiere on July 4th at 2 pm ET. (check your local time zone)

The video link is below:

—-

Here is everyone who participated this month.

sakifelrosa
deadbuggy
deadbuggy
lyndallk
lyndallk
marianne
marianne
anyon1
anyon1
planetfink
planetfink
ccwuke
ccwuke
anikali
anikali
lucauka
jebergeron
jebergeron
emiliano
emiliano
annemarie
annemarie
misterbones
misterbones
willw18
willw18
gi_gi_
gi_gi_
leb397
leb397
clempek
clempek
johanna2509
johanna2509
shmu88
shmu88
The_Bumble_Bard
The_Bumble_Bard
jgillard
jgillard
joe150
joe150
kanique
kanique
andyrose
andyrose
lhamilton
lhamilton
ldarrow
ldarrow
suekulele
suekulele
karenj
karenj
dianna
dianna
madhuri
madhuri
brettboy
brettboy
Nico_uke
Nico_uke
grannieannie
grannieannie
bibilele
bibilele
frederic
frederic
swissconsinboy
swissconsinboy
jedart
jedart
otzepeng
otzepeng
mmoynihan
mmoynihan
lynnzo
lynnzo
hiouke
hiouke
qiuyan
qiuyan
jasdel
jasdel
ramiro
janaq1
janaq1
richard_siegert
richard_siegert
rgillof
rgillof
jenividivici
mark1256
mark1256
potter
potter
coffeemug
coffeemug
abster
abster
rafaela
rafaela
1481632_m
nat-uke
nat-uke
marthad
marthad
terryfallon3
terryfallon3
jody_hendrickson
jody_hendrickson
ukealori
ukealori
morrieuke1
morrieuke1
jlbross
jlbross
mysticrick
mysticrick
sarahd
sarahd
ruthie-roo
ruthie-roo
amilylaw
amilylaw
mmorishige
mmorishige
nelsonlin2021
nelsonlin2021

[Andrew]

Hi Emiliano, unfortunately no. This month is all about writing original music. Maybe you can write a song “in-the-style-of”? That would be cool! Stay safe!

[Andrew]

Here are folks on page 10 and 11.

@terryfallon3 – Great playing Terry! Nice job on nailing the feel and emotion of the piece. My only suggestion would be to play along with the tab player in synthetic mode with the metronome activated. There’s a few rhythms I heard that were cut short or rushed. Playing along with the player a few times should fix that. Overall, really well done!

@jody_hendrickson – I think you nailed your goals! The balance in your rhythm playing between the chunks and the chords was perfect. You did a great job with keeping the tempo steady too. From here, I would focus mostly on getting the chorus to flow a little smoother. That section is def the toughest since some of the bars are syncopated. Try looping that section and playing along with Matt in the tab player.

And TY so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it. 🙂

@ukealori – One of the live lessons Matt did was on tips for memorizing music. I can’t recall what he talked about, TBH. But you can check out the lesson here. But I’d be happy to share what I did in private lessons with my students who had trouble memorizing music. Here’s the method:

1) Play a section, like 4 or 8 bars, while reading the music. Repeat until you feel like you’ve got it down.

2) Then turn the page around so you can’t see it, and play it without reading. If you stumble, turn it back around and play with the music, then try again without.

3) Use this approach section by section.

4) The next day, start your practice by trying to play without the music. If you stumble, repeat the process from the previous day.

This method helps build confidence and memory through repetition and gradual reduction of reliance on the music.

BTW, your performance was great! I hear no issues with your tone, your tone is lovely!

@morrieuke1 – Awesome performance! I’d work on cleaning up the ending, but overall great job Mike!

** For folks who read my feedback for others – Listen to the background, you’ll hear Mike tapping along which helped him keep a steady tempo throughout. Give this method a try if you haven’t before, it really does help your timing! **

@jlbross – I thought your performance was lovely! I would suggest memorizing it so you can focus 100% on your playing and work towards eliminating the pauses that happened in some of the transitions.

@mysticrick – Excellent performance Rick! My suggestion would be to play along with the tab player in synthetic mode with the metronome activated. Sometimes I hear pauses in your playing, and playing along with the tab player will fix that as it forces you to keep a steady beat. Try one section (verse, chorus) at a time. When you feel comfortable playing along with the player, I would go back to playing it solo with a little rubato-ness. But you should notice that your flow is smoother.

@sarahd – I thought you played it really well! Roll strum sounds great too! I would just work on increasing the tempo gradually from here.

@ruthie-roo – Lovely performance! Great fingerpicking and feel throughout, well done! 👏

And TY so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it!

@amilylaw – I thought you did a gret job, Amily! It was a lovely performance. If your fingers are feeling tired, make sure you’re not pressing (fretting) harder than you need to. Try to apply only enough force to make the note(s) ring clear.

@mmorishige – Really nicely played, Mark! Great feel and tone in your fingerpicking. My suggestion would be to play along with the tab player in synthetic mode with the metronome activated. But just for the chorus section, the verses and intro are solid! Playing along with the tab player will help you eliminate some of the pauses in that section as it forces you to keep a steady beat.

@nelsonlin2021 – Nicely played Nelson and great to see you back! I think you’ve got a great base established so from here I’d work on one section at a time. Try a slower tempo and focus on keeping the flow nice and steady.

@maryjanew – Nicely played MJ! I would offer the same advice I left above for Nelson. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give you an entry for this month as you missed the deadline. I tried to give everyone a friendly reminder yesterday.

[Author]

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