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@omaon4 – Bravo Helga! This is my favorite performance from you to date! Amazing job on the A Melody. The B Melody sounds like it needs just a little more practice to bring it up to par with A. Overall, amazing playing! Great feel and tone throughout the entire tune 🙂
@ksapp92 – Excellent performance Kelby! Perfect job on the 1st and 3rd tune!For the second tune, try playing along with Matt in the tab player for bars 7 and 11. The slides sound a bit off from the notation. Try looping those bars and matching his playing to get it down.
Way to go this month, keep up the great work!
@kirpuff – Amazing performance Sara! You did such an awesome job capturing the mood and feel of this magical piece. I loved it, keep up the great work!
@maryjanew – You played it beautifully MJ! Only thing I’d recommend is memorizing it. Work on one melody at a time. It doesn’t sound like it will take much work tho. Really good job this month 🙂
@denisedistefano – 😊@jody_hendrickson – Beautifully played, Jody! The one area I’d focus your practice on is the 1st half of Verse 2 – which I’ve noticed has been tricky for a lot of folks this month. That section alone might reflect the comments for needing extra time. It’s quite a finger frenzy! But overall, your performance was lovely. Great feel throughout!
P.S. Don’t forget the premium member tag 😉
@denisedistefano – I think you crushed this challenge! Some of your best playing to date! I’m impressed, Denise! Keep up the great work!@nelsonlin2021 – Bravo, Nelson! Each month, you continue to impress me with your progress. For this song, I would suggest to work on one section a day, at a slower tempo and focus on keeping the tempo steady and increasing sustain. Both of these already sound great, but I think there is room to improve upon. Also, I’d recommend playing through your mistakes instead of starting a phrase over. To practice this, try jumping in at a random bar in the song and playing from there to the end. Keep up the great work!
@sarahd – Beautifully played! My only tip is to work on sustaining the notes on the A string in bar 7 and 10. Keep finger pressure held down throughout the entire notes duration to increase legato and prevent a staccato sound.
@robinboyd – I disagree, Robin! It was beautifully played. And the fact that you can play it THAT well without proper practice time is a testament to your musicianship.
@annemarie – Beautifully played, Anne! From here, I’d put the majority of your practice time into the first half of Verse 2. For bar 41, try to keep the curve of your fingers intact. In other words, do not cave in at the joints. Well done overall, I enjoyed listening to your performance 🙂
@jayton – Steven did tell me he simplified it, he said it was too hard before lol. Cool that you noticed that! I thought you did really well, your performance was beautiful! From here, I’d put the majority of your practice time into the first half of Verse 2. But I’d also suggest practicing this piece at a slower tempo while monitoring tempo (keeping it steady throughout). Try this approach: work on one section a day. Bit size chucks help a lot for smoothing out harder tunes like this one.
@potter – I loved your performance! You nailed the peaceful and relaxing vibe of the tune, well done!
@june2020 – That’s awesome that you’re gonna perform it this weekend! A Melody sounds awesome, sustain and feel is spot on. So I’d spend the majority of practice time on memorizing and smoothing out Melody B. Good luck and if you get any footage from the event, please share it here 🙂
@lynnzo – Awesome playing Lynn! First tune sounds great! Second tune, try playing along with Matt in the tab player for bars 7 and 11. The slides sound a bit off from the notation. Try looping those bars and matching his playing to get it down. For the 3rd tune, try to keep the tempo a bit more steady. You fingerpicked out of the first chord very fast, but then slowed down a lot in the pull-off bar.
@richard_siegert – Really good job this month, Richard! I can hear your fingerpicking skills are improving 🙂I’d recommend practicing the repeat of Melody A, so measure 8 going back into 1. I’m hearing a bit of hesitation here. And that might be b/c of something I saw a lot when I taught 1 on 1 private lessons. I noticed folks would practice 1 section at a time, then stop. They never practiced going into the next section. So if that’s the case, keep that in mind for future tunes.
I’d also continue practicing the B Melody. Try playing along with Matt in the tab player, 4 bars at a time, at a slower speed, working towards gradually increasing it.
@lmdlinda – So sorry to hear that Linda, my condolences. Your performance for their family will be beautiful and heartfelt ❤️
@jbmills07 – That was a great take, Justin! Sometimes it’s good to sleep on these things and view them w/ fresh eyes and ears the next day. Beautifully played!
@kdeacon7 – Great job Kelly! I think you’ve got a great base established, from here I’d recommend playing along with Matt in the tab player to get the timing down. Try one melody at a time 🙂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).
@gstriph – Congrats on your retirement Jerry! The uke club sounds awesome! If you get any video from your first performance, please share it here 🙂
Performance was great! Double check the melody notes in bar 2 and keep chippin’ away at Melody B.
@janaq1 – Bravo Jana! Brilliant performance. Pacing and feel were spot on. I’d say time well spent working on playing with the right touch.At this point, there’s no obvious critiques to point out. All I can say is keep playing it, focus on the minor mistakes to iron them out, and keep doing what you’re doing b/c it’s working!
@marianne – Wow, Marianne such a beautiful rendition. I really like how it sounds on baritone and the reverb adds a nice warmth to the overall sound. Only thing I’d say is to keep working on that one section, but it doesn’t sound like it will take much work to bring it up to par with the rest of the piece. Really well done, great playing!
@karenj – You did so awesome, Karen! Great performance! My only suggestion is to memorize it so you can focus 100% on your playing. Try working on one section a day. Keep up the great work!
@anikali – You did amazing! It is a very challenging tune, but you played it with great feel and tone. As you continue practicing, work on one section a day. Focus on keeping the tempo steady. Start slow and gradually work it up to speed. Keep up the great work!@dianna – Keep working on them after the challenge, you can always share an updated version. I;d be happy to watch it 🙂
@richo_uke – I’m def guilty of forgetting to update the tempos after the performances are recorded. Matt’s version is slower than 90, but with that song I’d be hesitant to put a tempo on it as he uses a lot of rubato.Your performance was amazing! And side note – your audio and video quality were perfect for this tune. Love the lighting and backdrop! TY so much for the kind words!
@henri0 – Great idea to focus on a light touch, if gave your performance of this tune an impeccable grace. Fantastic performance! My only tip is for the ending chord, after strumming it, hold it and let it sustain until it fades, then turn the camera off.That’s one thing we learned at music college, everyone would be so ready to get up and move and
be done once the last note was played. But cutting it short takes away from the performance and makes it look like you want it to be over as soon as possible.
@abster – Another incredible performance, Abhay! 👏I have to say, his ability to play w/out looking is an incredibly valuable skill to have. It’ll come in handy when he takes the stage and performs for an audience as he’ll be able to look out and connect with them 🙂
Welcome Tim! I really enjoyed listening to your performance in this month’s challenge. Glad to have you here 🙂
@firebladetim – Wow Tim! I’m just blown away that you can play THAT well in such a short amount of time. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up, it’s working!
@akukes73 – Amazing playing for only 10 days Ash! Def a testament to your progress as a musician 🙂As you continue to practice this piece, I’d focus on the areas where legato wasn’t as evident. Practice a little bit slower and try to create as much sustain from one note/chord to the next. Keep up the great work!
@rafaela – You did such an awesome job capturing the mood and feel of this magical piece. I loved it, keep up the great work!
@dianna – Ohh, I like the background animation! And your music matches it perfectly 🙂Great performance! Only thing I’d recommend as you continue practicing is to work on one section a day. Go slow and focus on smoothing out all transitions while emphasizing sustain. Excellent job this month!
@clempek – I disagree, I’d say you can def tackle this level of tunes. Your performance was awesome! I have a couple tips to share. First tip, don’t forget to tune before recording. Your C string was a fair bit off.Second, as you continue practicing, try one section at a time, but at a slower tempo. Focus on keeping it steady throughout. Overall, I was really impressed this month. Bravo!
@leslieb – Bravo Leslie! A stellar performance, I can def see why your son enjoyed hearing it 🙂My only advice would be to focus on keeping the tempo a bit more steady in the B Melody and to double check the timing in the last couple bars of that section. Keep up the great work!
@kelsey91 – Welcome back Kelsey! Congrats on your home! I thought you did a fantastic job on all 3 melodies. Great feel and pacing throughout. Well done 👏
@leb397 – That was awesome, Louisa! I can def tell you worked hard on it because it shows! Fantastic performance! As you continue practicing, work on one section at a time. Try playing with Steven in the tab player. Focus on keeping timing steady throughout. And congrats on memorizing it, that’s no small feat!@bibilele – So beautifully played, Bianca 🙂
@lhamilton – Oh no! I hope you don’t catch it and for a quick recovery for the rest of your household. Your performance was beautiful! You captured the magic of the piece 🙂
@brettboy – Wow Brett! An incredible take, masterfully played. I’ll def be sharing your performance in our socials this week ❤️@cherry1234 – Excellent playing on all 3 tunes! A friendly reminder, don’t forget to tune before recording 🙂
@jedart – Well done, Jed! My only advice would be to memorize the last 2 pieces so you can focus 100% on your playing.
@barbecueblack – Bravo! Very well played! I’d suggest practicing at a slower tempo to smooth out some of the trickier parts. But also, try to increase the sustain in the h/o & p/o phrases.
@rgillof – Excellent performance, Richard! Great pacing and feel throughout. You aced it!
@jbmills07 – LOL I’m amazed that you can play THAT well with so much distraction 😂
@ccwuke – A very lovely performance, Chris. Well done! 👏And 5 takes is not bad! There’s been some songs where I easily did 3 or 4 times that lol.
@mark1256 – Bravo Mark! This might be my fav performance from you. Excellent feel and tone. You nailed the peaceful vibe of the tune. It was a real pleasure to listen to 🙂
@qiuyan – Beautifully played, Qiuyan! I really enjoyed your performance!
@The_Bumble_Bard – Take 2 was spot on in that part! Well done! I actually think the audio sounded better in the second take then the “corrected” first take. Take 1 sounded “under water” to me lol.But you’re playing is constantly improving and I find myself continually impressed with your progress. The only advice I can give is to target the trickier areas by looping them at slower tempos, gradually working them up to speed. Keep up the great work, Rachael!
@suekulele – Lovely performance Sue! I agree w/ @leb397, great feel!
@hiouke – Your performance was great! The one thing I would try is a lighter picking attack. Here’s a video I made a couple years ago for another member, but it talks (and demos) about the diff between using a soft vs. a strong attack and how a softer attack produces a sweeter tone.
@otzepeng – LOL @ the ending! It was a brilliant performance. Great feel and pacing throughout. I really liked your use of rubato in the phrase leading back to the main melody. Well done, Markus!
@ldarrow – That was the opposite of a horrible performance, Linda. It was absolutely beautiful apart from the TV in the background LOL. I love when y’all push yourselves by jumping into more challenging pieces. But I have to be honest – I think you’re ready for this level.As you continue practicing, try 16 bar sections per day. Just focus on getting that “chunk” exactly to where you want it. Again, awesome job overall. I am impressed!
@morrieuke1 – That was awesome Michael! I’ll let Steven know that he made you sweat a little LOL. Only advice I can offer is to memorize it so you can focus 100% on playing it. It’s def a challenging piece for the left hand!@shmu88 – So beautifully played Sam! Def gonna share your performances in our newsletter this week 🙂
@misterbones – Wow, Michael! That was incredible and very impressive!
Hi Nelson, I held off on releasing it last week since it opened up with Matt playing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which was the lesson we released on Friday. It’ll be up this week, probably Wednesday.
We have a lesson on “Last Christmas.” It came out last year 🙂
@The_Bumble_Bard – We’ve done that one too.