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@smokealot – Very well played, Ulli! Try to get a little cleaner on the rasgueado and triplet strum. Those are the only things I heard that could use targeted practice.
@jebergeron – Excellent performance, Jean-Philippe! Only tip I have is for the lick at the end. Try to pluck the 1st fret on C on the & of 1 instead of beat 2. Holding that note for a dotted quarter gives it that cliche jazzy-rhythmic ending sound.
@lynettejd – Bravo! Well done! 👏
@The_Bumble_Bard – 🙂@lisadmh – Excellent performance, Lisa! First half was perfect!
In the second half, you did a great job showcasing all of the variations. Although I did not see one of them, the rasgueado strum. Don’t forget to add that one in and if you need a little help with it, check out Matt’s lesson from our Next Level Strumming Course.
The last advice I have is to keep working on boosting the tempo of the second half to match the first. But overall, impressive work this month!
@rebeca – Beautifully played! 👏@muzikmama – Great playing! I thought you did a great job showcasing all of the changes! The one rhythmic variation I would focus on is the first, the fingerpicking section. I’m not hearing the correct rhythm being played there. I’d recommend re-reviewing the lesson and playing along with me in the playthrough.
Also, it sounds like your uke is tuned down a whole step. Just a heads up if you weren’t aware.
@anyon1 – Great rhythm playing, timing, and feel throughout! Only tip I have is for the lick at the end. Try to pluck the 1st fret on C on the & of 1 instead of beat 2. Holding that note for a dotted quarter gives it that cliche jazzy-rhythmic ending sound.
@lhamilton – Great job this month Linda! I thought you did really well on the timing. But I’d like to see if we can get it locked in even tighter. One thing I like to do is tap my foot along. And you can hear it in this short video below, as well as, in the background of the original performance.Give that a try, and you can go one step further too by adding a metronome. Focus on getting the muted strums locked in. That’s what I’m hearing needs more work than the notes.
@dividedsky – Great job, Jane! I think you’ve got a great base established, so I’d keep working on each section, individually, to smooth them out before connecting it all together.Also, try to memorize it. There’s a lot going on with the right hand, but also the left with this tune. Memorizing will help you as you can focus solely on the changes.
@lyndallk – Wow! That solo was 🔥!! I’m very impressed overall. Great playing and you were tightly locked in with the band! Well done!I only have one minor suggestion, which is to try to do a little less of a bend. We want it to be more of an “accent” then an actual bend. Technically, they call it a micro bend, since it falls somewhere in between the fretted note and a half-step up.
@annemarie – Great playing! And well done showcasing all of the changes! My only suggestion is to try a slower tempo. Focus on keeping it nice and steady. Then, gradually work towards boosting the tempo to where you recorded at. Everything is there, I just feel like you’re going a little faster than you’re ready for atm.
@kaski85 – Bravo! I will be showcasing your performance in tomorrow’s newsletter 🙂
@jbmills07 – Great strumming and rhythm playing, Justin! I noticed you added a few extra bars to the 12 bar blues form. Double check the form, cuz if you ever play with someone else, you’ll be the only one playing the 16 Bar Blues LOL.
@leslieb – I love the facial expression at 1:25 LOL! Great playing overall! You showcased all of the changes very well! From here, I’d focus on boosting tempo while keeping it steady.
@jody_hendrickson – Excellent performance! Very well played! I think the “lifeless” thing you are hearing is the audio quality. It sounds like it got compressed to a low quality. Which is why it sounds a little tinny. I can tell just by listening to how you played it, that in real life, that performance had a beautiful tone! Well done this month 👏
@The_Bumble_Bard – This has to be the first midway uke change I’ve ever seen in one of our monthly performances 😂I loved it, very creative way to compensate for the lack of frets. It’s very cool to see you tackle this toughy of a tune. When we push ourselves, that’s how we grow! Keep at it! It’s been awesome watching your journey so far 🙂
@katazumiri – Great rhythm playing on the 1st video. Nice and tightly locked in with the band!Second video was amazing! Again, tight & locked in playing on the melody, rhythm, and solo! You even nailed that crazy run in the middle of the solo. Bravo! 👏
@shmu88 – As always, playing was great Sam! 100% speed sounds like it might be a hair too fast for where you’re at right now. I know you said you didn’t have enough time to practice, but, it did make me think of a good suggestion for you. Check out Transcribe.This is an awesome program that is similar to the on-screen tab viewer on our site. Basically, it allows you to slow down and loop audio or video files. It even has a feature that tells you what notes and chords are played and surprisingly it’s very accurate!
But as it relates to this song, put the 100% speed backing track in it and you’ll be able to slow it down by 1% increments. You can then bounce an mp3 at any speed or play along to it in transcribe.
It’s a great tool to help you gradually work your way up to 100%.
@joe150 – Great strumming, Joe! The first time through felt a little rushed, try playing along with me in the tab player. That’ll help you with pacing.
@marianne – That was awesome! Great feel and well done on the rhythm and timing! Keep up the excellent work, Marianne!
@mark1256 – Excellent job on the rhythm, Mark! You were nicely locked into the groove. The only thing I’d recommend working on is the vamp. I want to hear that locked in a little tighter. Try looping those bars in the tab player. Sing it first “da da dahhh” (X4), then play it.@mroman99x – Well done Mary! I thought you did a great job showcasing the rhythmic variations. There are two techniques I would suggest working on. The first is #3 — quarter note triplet strums. Playing quarter note triplets is tough! This lesson by Christopher from our Strumming Techniques Course teaches and explains the rhythm.
Once you have a grasp of it, you want to add a little bit of rubato to slow it down to give it a drawn out effect.
The second is #6 — rasgueado. I cover this strumming technique in this flamenco lesson. And Matt did too in this lesson from our Next Level Strumming Course.
@johanna2509 – Very nice touch on the rubato section! Well done demonstrating each technique and stylistic change! My only comment is to practice the transition going into the rhythm changes (bar 12 into 13) so the tempo stays steady.
@rgillof – Playing was great! You nailed the feel and rhythm the second time through when you added the chunk. The first time through, you changed the rhythm giving it more of a straight, less syncopated feel. Try counting and clapping the rhythm:
For the ending lick, try to pluck the 1st fret on C right after the last strum. That note falls on the & of 1. Tricky b/c it happens so quick after the strum on 1.
@billypancakes – Excellent first post! Great playing, Will!
@The_Bumble_Bard – Try muting the strings with your left hand and playing the XXXX’s as muted strums.
@gstriph – Excellent playing, Jerry! Only tip I have is to pluck the 1st fret on C on the & of 1 instead of beat 2. Holding that note for a dotted quarter gives it that cliche jazzy-rhythmic ending sound 🙂
No adjustments needed, Jody! The only difference is that you’ll be playing in a different key. Unfortunately, that does make it unideal when playing along with the tab player or following along in the lesson.
Wow! 78 members joined us for this month’s challenge! I was BLOWN AWAY by how amazing everyone did! Big round of applause to everyone who participated this month. 🙂
Our May Challenge is LIVE and the theme is Funk Songs! I hope each of you join us again.
Below, I will post a list of members who participated in the April challenge for your first chance to win the Kanile’a Ukulele. Please let me know if there are any discrepancies.
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jgillard
jgillard
rebeca
rebeca
rafaela
rafaela
clempek
clempek
deadbuggy
deadbuggy
robinl
jbmills07
jbmills07
otzepeng
katazumiri
katazumiri
ldarrow
ldarrow
gi_gi_
gi_gi_
joannetala
joannetala
The_Bumble_Bard
The_Bumble_Bard
anyon1
anyon1
ccwuke
ccwuke
patdrehu
patdrehu
shmu88
shmu88
joe150
joe150
gstriph
gstriph
marlongas
marlongas
selfrazor
barbecueblack
barbecueblack
riffyk
riffyk
mark1256
mark1256
brettboy
brettboy
omaon4
omaon4
robinboyd
robinboyd
johanna2509
johanna2509
bibilele
bibilele
leslieb
leslieb
mepasha
mepasha
lhamilton
lhamilton
lbilkie
lbilkie
lmdlinda
dorabr
ucolele
richo_uke
richo_uke
coffeemug
coffeemug
karenj
karenj
richard_siegert
richard_siegert
smokealot
smokealot
jody_hendrickson
jody_hendrickson
nishant
nishant
concan
concan
tim0721
tim0721
leb397
leb397
ukulelee
ukulelee
misterbones
misterbones
moonshoes
moonshoes
lynnzo
lynnzo
annemarie
annemarie
peiching
morrieuke1
morrieuke1
ksapp92
ksapp92
zongozongo
zongozongo
casadot349
casadot349
dianna
dianna
kdeacon7
kdeacon7
nelsonlin2021
nelsonlin2021
denisedistefano
denisedistefano
brightwing
yukalele
yukalele
suekulele
suekulele
sarahmusic
sarahmusic
rmatos
jebergeron
jebergeron
dividedsky
dividedsky
janaq1
janaq1
riley_ukulele
riley_ukulele
maryjanew
maryjanew
cimarronsailor
cimarronsailor
blairo91
blairo91
kidelozzi
kidelozzi
ukukelley1
ukukelley1
sarahd
sarahd
lyndallk
lyndallk
qiuyan
qiuyan@sarahmusic – Great pacing and feel! Love the ambience too 🙂
@rmatos – Bravo! Incredible take!! 👏
@jebergeron – Performance was great! I only have a couple suggestions. For the 3 bar Breakdown, try to keep it at the same tempo as the A Melody as opposed to speeding it up. That should make the transition smoother into the B Melody.Try the fingering I used for the E5 stretch chords in bar 28/29. It might make it easier to play, especially the phrase in bar 29.
@dividedsky – Excellent job, Jane! You showcased the distinct feels between both sections very well!
@janaq1 – Wow! That was awesome, Jana! Your playing has so much expression and emotion in it! I can hear what you said about uncertainty in some of the passages. So at this point, I’d recommend playing along in the tab player, one section at a time, to help smooth out those phrases and rhythm. Keep up the great work! This was a very impressive performance!
@riley_ukulele – Beautifully played!
@maryjanew – Fantastic performance, MJ! One of the best I’ve heard from you to date! Love the 2nd take too! Keep working on building speed, but try a more gradual step up from the 1st take.Also, check out the index finger barre chord tip I left for @ksapp92 in this post.
@cimarronsailor – Wonderfully played, well done!
@blairo91 – Bravo! I can’t believe this is only your second tune! Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s working!!
@kidelozzi – Bravo Steve! You perfectly captured the vibe of the piece! Very well played and TY so much for the kind words 🙂
@ukukelley1 – Great playing, Sheryl! At this point, I’d recommend memorizing it and building speed for the second go around.
@sarahd – Beautifully played! Well done!
@lyndallk – Great playing as always, Lyndall! Sounds like another day or 2 of practice is all you need to smooth it out even more.
@qiuyan – Well done! Great job showcasing the distinct feels between both sections!