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We did it! We crushed the Fall Challenges!
178 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.
I’ll be announcing the winner of the Kanile’a Ukulele tomorrow LIVE at 12 pm ET (Check Your Local Time Zone) on our YouTube channel at this link.
P.S. There may be a bonus trivia entry awarded tomorrow, so def don’t miss the live stream 😉
Here is a list of everyone who participated this month. Please let me know if there are any discrepancies.
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The_Bumble_Bard
The_Bumble_Bard
nat-uke
nat-uke
deadbuggy
deadbuggy
muzikmama
leb397
leb397
planetfink
planetfink
anikali
anikali
firebladetim
firebladetim
madz_about_uke
madz_about_uke
johanna2509
johanna2509
ccwuke
ccwuke
lhamilton
lhamilton
lyndallk
lyndallk
brettboy
brettboy
abster
abster
anyon1
anyon1
jedart
jedart
joe150
joe150
morrieuke1
morrieuke1
ldarrow
ldarrow
terryfallon3
terryfallon3
nelsonlin2021
nelsonlin2021
katazumiri
katazumiri
coffeemug
coffeemug
misterbones
misterbones
concan
concan
marthad
marthad
leslieb
leslieb
karenj
karenj
dianna
dianna
hiouke
hiouke
shmu88
shmu88
richo_uke
richo_uke
clempek
clempek
akukes73
akukes73
rafaela
rafaela
annemarie
annemarie
anikali
anikali
jody_hendrickson
jody_hendrickson
omaon4
omaon4
denisedistefano
denisedistefano
mark1256
mark1256
ukandrea
ukandrea
ukandreas_girl
otzepeng
henri0
henri0
lynnzo
lynnzo
richard_siegert
richard_siegert
bibilele
bibilele
potter
potter
swissconsinboy
maryjanew
maryjanew
rgillof
rgillof
kelsey91
kelsey91
suekulele
suekulele
mkstewart67
mkstewart67
lv2playukulele
lv2playukulele
kirpuff
kirpuff
krystalwilbert@lv2playukulele – Very nicely played, Yvette! This song involves chords where you don’t strum all four strings; instead, you stop short of strumming all of them. For example, this happens in bar 1 and 2. Take a look at the F and G5 chords:
For these 2 chords, we want to strum from string 4 to 2. And the reason we stop on string 2 is because the melody note falls on that string.
The only other suggestion I have is to practice playing along with me in the tab player. Try looping 4 bars at a time with a focus on keeping timing/tempo steady throughout. Overall, I thought you did awesome for your first performance video! Hope you join us again for another challenge 🙂
@kirpuff – That was awesome take Sara! I don’t think that cut held you back at all! You rocked it 😊And TY so much for your donation. Please send me an email with the amount so I can update our tally.
@krystalwilbert – Very nicely played, Krystal! My only suggestion would be to memorize the piece so that you can focus 100% on playing it. I think that would eliminate some of the little hesitations that we hear, for example in the phrase from 42 to 48 seconds. Overall, it was an awesome first post and I hope you join us again for another challenge 🙂@swissconsinboy – Very well played w/ great clarity in your notes and chords, Greg! Well done! Only thing I would say is to double down on your observation of timing. Try playing along with a metronome to keep it a little more steady throughout.
@maryjanew – Lovely performance, MJ! I love your outfit and even your glasses match the holiday cheer! No worries on reading, the holidays can get quite hectic. Hope you catch up on sleep soon and TY so much for your generous donation. Merry Christmas!
@rgillof – Bravo, Rich! I have to say, working on finesse this year has paid dividends in your playing! Your performance of this tune has such a sweet, melodic tone. It was a pleasure to listen to. Keep up the great work and TY so much for your generosity 🙂
@kelsey91 – Great job, Kelsey! You played it beautifully. As you continue practicing, try working on 4 or 8 bar sections at a time. Focus on keeping it steady.
@suekulele – You did so well, Sue! Great feel, as always, in your playing. I think you nailed it, just sounds like a little more practice will get the parts that aren’t as smooth smoothed out. Good news of course is we get to play these songs every year 🙂
@mkstewart67 – That was an awesome take Melissa! You nailed the cheerful vibes! From here, I’d just work on keeping it steady throughout so you can rock with the band ❤️And it does not sound like it will take too much more practice to get there. Excellent job this month and TY so much for your generous donation. It truly is appreciated 🙂
@potter – Beautiful performance, Jen! You played it with great feel and tone. The only thing I would suggest is to target the areas where you had a little hesitation. TY for the kind words 🙂
@ukandrea – Beautifully played, Andrea and great job on the second version with added harmony! TY so much for your generous donation 🙂
Wow! Your daughter ( @ukandreas_girl ) is so talented! Absolutely beautiful performance 👏
@otzepeng – Great feel and pacing throughout. Very beautifully played Markus and TY so much for the kind words. I really appreciate it!
@henri0 – I loved it, Rhian! Your performance was full of Christmas cheer 🎅
@lynnzo – Your playing sounded beautiful, Lynn! The only thing I would suggest working on is keeping your tempo a bit more steady. Try practicing 4 or 8 bars at a time in the tab player in “synthetic” mode with the metronome activated.
@richard_siegert – Awesome performance and excellent job on sustain Richard! One area to work on is bars 1 and 5. I’m hearing a prolonged strum on the F chord (2nd hit). Try to play those bars as steady quarters.
@bibilele – I loved your performance, Bianca! You nailed the cheerful holiday vibes and the backdrop with snow falling was icing on the cake 🙂TY so much for your donation and kind words. I really appreciate it!
Friendly Reminder – The deadline for receiving feedback and an entry into the giveaway is tonight at 11:59 PM ET (check your local time zone).
@swissconsinboy – Thank you so much for the donation! 🙂
I’m not seeing an audio or video link in your post. Could you please email me the link or create a new post with the link embedded. Thank you!
@denisedistefano – Beautifully played, even the vocal interlude at 1:14 😂
TY so much for your donation, can you please email me the amount so I can update our tally.
@ldarrow – My pleasure 🙂@omaon4 – Lovely performance, Helga! Have a safe trip 🙂
@annemarie – Very beautifully played, Anne! There’s a couple spots (mostly in the second 8 bars of the tune) where I’m hearing a little hesitation between transitions. So I’d go back and note where they are to target your practice there.
The other suggestion I’d like to make is for the tempo stay a little more consistent throughout. One way to practice this is to play along with the tab player in “synthetic” mode with the metronome activated. Try tapping your foot along as you go.
@anikali – Bravo! I thought you did an awesome job on this tune. It is indeed quite an advanced level song! Do you have a tenor sized uke? That def makes the Bridge section easier to play with larger frets.My suggestion would be to practice at a slower tempo and to only work on one 8 bar section at a time (except for the Bridge, try only 2 bars at a time there). Focus on note/chord clarity, transitions, and keeping the tempo steady throughout. I’d play along with the tab player as Steven’s tempo was solid on this tune, so his playing will act as a guide you can follow.
@jody_hendrickson – Such a beautiful performance, Jody! Your skills and finesse far exceed two years of playing time. TY for the kind words, I really appreciate it 🙂@dianna – Beautifully played, Dianna. I’ve noticed some of your performances are played with a lot of expression. One thing I’d like you to try is a “less is more” approach. Here’s a couple changes you can try with this song. First, keep the tempo steady throughout, except in one or tow phrased where you’d like to add rubato (slowing down – for effect). Second, some of your down strums where a little slow, giving them an arpeggiated effect, but it in a way that loses the tempo. Perhaps switching to a 4 finger roll attack could give you a similar effect but at a quicker pace to keep the tempo more consistent.
Let me know if you have any questions. And TY so much for the donation!
@hiouke – Excellent playing!
@janaq1 – Wow Jana! That was really well played, very impressive. So I’m gonna nitpick, b/c that’s the stage you’re at now.There’s really only one thing I’d listen back for and that’s the times when the tempo/feel got a little off. For ex, the end of the first phrase (bar 2), going into the next phrase (bar 3), is a little rushed. I heard a couple other spots that happen later in the tune that are similar.
Now it could just be nerves, but that’s really all I’m hearing that could use attention. Again, to be at the “fine tuning” point in your performance is an incredible achievement.
@shmu88 – That was awesome Sam! Very nice job on the bridge section!
@richo_uke – That was a lovely performance, Rici. Honestly, just sounds like a little more practice would get it smoothed out to where you want it to be. The great thing about these tunes is that we get to play them every year 🙂TY so much for your donation and congrats on a year of challenges!
@clempek – Very nicely played Clem! Great job on the flick/strum technique too. And TY so much for your kind words, I really appreciate it and am glad you are part of our community 🙂
@akukes73 – I thought you did amazing with the thumb approach! Your notes and chords had a beautiful tone and sustain. Def did not need to do more than 3 takes, it was beautiful! Very well done this month, Ash!
@rafaela – Another brilliant take! And bravo on the solo, you nailed all the syncopated rhythms, very impressive! Keep working on boosting the tempo. If I was you, I’d pick up a copy of Transcribe, which allows you to incrementally change the speed of the backing track. So you can gradually work your way up from 75% to 80% to 85%, etc.BTW – I have to say, I’ve really enjoyed listening to your performances this year. Keep up the great work! 🙂
@concan – Very beautifully played with great feel! I hear a couple minor hesitations which seem to be mostly from reading the sheet music while you play. So my main suggestion would be to memorize the piece so you can focus 100% on playing it. The only spot I’d like to call to your attention would be bar 7 and 8. Let those chords ring out a little more (as half notes). Overall it was a lovely take 🙂
@marthad – Excellent playing Martha! My only suggestion would be to play along with me in the tab player which is a great way to practice keeping the tempo steady. TY so much for your generous donation, it is really appreciated!P.S. Don’t forget the premium member tag for the Kanile’a challenges 😉
@leslieb – Very nicely done, Leslie. I think you’ve got a great base established, so from here I would practice one section a day to strengthen it before Christmas. 🎅
@karenj – Very beautifully played Karen and TY so much for your donation.@coffeemug – Lovely take, Mary! I very much enjoyed listening to it 🙂
@misterbones – Your comments remind me of the funny saying “once is a mistake, twice is jazz” 😂The entire take was great Michael! The only thing I’d point out is 2:33 – 2:38. That section covers two phrases. You’re a little ahead starting at the end of phrase 1. Try singing the chord melody over the playback of your recording and you’ll hear it.
I’d say you def hung with the cats! And I too am looking forward to having Chris back for more jazz tunes. TY so much for your generous donation!
@jedart – My app (called: Smart Metronome & Tuner + [for iPhone]) has a swing setting where it plays back a drum beat. That could work or you can try to find one that plays back 8ths but swung instead of straight.
