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Overall, we had 36 members participate in this month’s challenge! I’ve got to give each and every one of you a big round of applause! Everyone played so well and it was a complete joy to watch each performance. 🙂
So without further ado, the winner of the Ortega Ukulele is:
Our October Challenge is LIVE and it’s your first chance to WIN a $935 Kanile’a Ukulele! Hope to see each and every one of you in the October Challenge: https://rockclass101.com/october-2023-challenge
@jbmills07 – Man, that uke sounds so good! I like the reverb you added too! Playing was awesome! Lots of feeling in your performance. Well done!
@jody_hendrickson – Wonderfully played! You were locked in tightly with the band! Great feel too! And TY for the kind words 🙂
@dorabr – Great playing! I’m hearing that your uke is tuned incorrectly. It sounds like the G string was tuned up a half step and the A string down a half step. I’d also check the other 2 strings. I’d recommend tuning before recording but also each time you pick up the uke 🙂@ldarrow – My pleasure! I updated our list for your request. I’m not sure if changing the string brand would help. Maybe the luthier has a better answer for that though.
@nelsonlin2021 – LOL! I like your dancing friend 😂
Performance sounded great! Great job on the timing! Only thing I’d suggest is to keep practicing at a slightly slower tempo, gradually increasing to full speed. I think that’ll help you play the main riff 100% clean every time.
@morrieuke1 – Love the chill vibe! Excellent performance, Michael! And TY for the kind words. “Summer Nights” is one of my fav Van Hagar tunes!
@lynnzo – Great playing, Lynn! 2 suggestions: First, try playing along with Matt in the tab player, but loop 4 bars at a time. Focus on keeping the tempo steady. When you’ve got 4 down, move on to the next 4 (bars 5-8) then go back and practice 1-8. Repeat the same process for the last 4 bars.Second, let’s see if we can get that barre chord (9777) to ring a little clearer each time. Check out the advice I left for @denisedistefano in last month’s challenge.
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).
@misterbones – Excellent in the pocket playing, Michael! 👏
And a big congrats on 3 years of challenges! It’s been an honor to get to watch you grow as a musician! 🙂
@rgillof – Great playing, Richard! The one thing I’d suggest working on is lightening your right hand attack when fingerpicking and strumming. This is a concept I demo-d and explained in this video a few years back for another member who was learning this song. You can ignore the comments on the left hand in that video.Try practicing with a lighter touch on this song or this song. If you learn it, feel free to post a video on the forum or email me one. I’d be happy to follow up with you on this 🙂
@richo_uke – That rocked Rici! Picking technique and timing were excellent. Very well played!
@potter – That was awesome, Jen! Playing sounded great! 2 thoughts: If you’re playing along with the tab player, try it on your own. Sometimes we can rely too much on having a guide to follow.Second, continue to increase tempo, gradually. Excellent job this month!
@coffeemug – Excellent blues jam, Mary! My only suggestion would be to work on the chord transitions (meaning, for ex: going from i to iv) so that the tempo stays steady throughout. Try practicing with a metronome a little slower while focusing on that.@leslieb – That was awesome Leslie! You nailed the fun, feel good vibes! Techniques look great! My suggestion, as you continue to practice, would be to play along with the tab player in “synthetic” mode with the metronome activated. That’ll help reinforce good timing and eliminate any hesitation when transitioning bar to bar.
Start with 2 bars at a time, then add the next 2, then go back and do it all. So for ex. 1-2, then 3-4, then 1-4. Then: 5-6, 7-8, 5-8. And finally 1-8. Watch out for the hammer-ons. I want to hear a little more swing in those.
@nat-uke – Excellent playing, timing and feel Natalie! Well done! Picado technique looks great too! Try resting your thumb on the top string (G) for the B melody section. That helps to add stability to the right hand over floating.
@karenj – Excellent playing, Karen! Your uke has a perfect tone for this tune 🙂My only suggestion would be to continue practicing the strumming sections at slower tempo and focus on getting the chords to ring crystal clear. I think the opening strum section is equally as challenging as the crazy movement in bar 8, b/c in bar 3, you have to mute or miss the A string when strumming. Very tricky!
@bibilele – Way to go Bianca! Electric sounds great! Picking technique was excellent too. Only thing I’d say is if you have any tension in your picking hand to try to relax as much as possible.
@leb397 – Very well played Lousia! Fingerpicking, strumming and overall feel/vibe was excellent! I think a little more practice at a slower tempo would help clean up some of the very minor stuff. But overall, it was awesome and TY for the kind words!
@The_Bumble_Bard – Got it 🙂@johanna2509 – I loved your performance! Makes me miss summer, even though it only ended 3 days ago 🤣
@The_Bumble_Bard – I like the bluesy ending, Rachael! Great playing all around. Try looping the strumming bars that go up/down the neck. Start slow and work it up to speed. Remember to keep your right hand strumming a constant 8th note down/up, even for the missed strums (for ex: beat 3 in bar 8 – do a down strum missing the strings).
@ldarrow – Is there a music shop with a luthier close to you? Could be worth a trip to have them look at it and perform a setup to adjust the action (string height) which would make it easier to play.Here is my feedback for you 🙂
@denisedistefano – Bravo! You aced both performances! Perfect timing & feel. I’m gonna share the version with the play along on our socials and in our newsletter 🙂
@dianna – Well done, Dianna! I like the inflections you added to the piece, but I do think it flows better with a steady tempo. This is just my opinion, I always say that music is to be played as you interpret it 🙂@jedart – Def, I agree! If I remember right, we initially planned for Misirlou to be a uke only duet, but switched mid way to full band. Totally the right call, came out great!
@mark1256 – You aced the blues one, Mark! Bravo! The syncopated one was very good too! Try playing along with the backing track (slower, working up to speed) to reinforce timing. Awesome work this month!
@brettboy – I loved it, Brett! Great performances and a chuckle in-between tunes 😂I liked your solo too! Love seeing y’all improv!
@anyon1 – Timing was spot on, Adriana! Great job jammin’ with the band! Try the picado technique for those speed runs. You might like it more than alternating with the thumb/middle.
@rafaela – I really appreciate the kind words on my composition. You played it with such joy! Excellent performance, Rafaela 👏
@musiclover – Here is the article/lesson I mentioned in the video below 🙂
@joe150 – I’m so happy to see you are back to 100% Joe! Great to see/hear you playing again too! I think you have a great base established for this tune. From here, I’d work on timing and memorizing. Start with 2 bars. When you have them memorized and can play them with a steady tempo, move onto the next 2. Then go back and work on all 4 bars. Repeat that process for the rest of the tune.
@jeg143 – That was awesome! Great feel and timing! The only suggestion I have is to try a little softer of a strum. Keep up the great work!
@turkgoose – What a way to come back! Awesome jam, loved it! 🙂Congrats, Justin! It’s beautiful and sounds amazing! I’m excited to hear it in future challenge vids 🙂
P.S. Here’s a couple extra pics Kanile’a sent me. Stunning!
