[Andrew]

My pleasure!

[Andrew]

Happy New Year and welcome @anyon1! Glad to have you on-board 🙂

I’d recommend jumping into our Theory & Jamming Course as it covers the fundamentals of music theory and teaches you two ways to solo.

We’ve also got quite a few soloing-based lessons in our Concept Series. If you click “soloing based” in the search filter on the righthand side of the page you’ll find those lessons.

You can also use the same filter for Ukulele Songs. We’ve got a lot of lead playing lessons there too 🙂

P.S. A new blues based soloing lesson is coming this Friday!

[Andrew]

@acornjasper – Beautiful playing, Kelly. And I love the backdrop! Hope you had a very Merry Christmas 🙂

[Andrew]

WE DID IT! WE RAISED $2,260 for The Ukulele Kids Club. The money we raised will donate 45 ukuleles to hospital based children who will be paired up with music therapists that TEACH THEM how to play!

Thanks to everyone who participated and donated in our December Challenge.

Together, WE GAVE the gift of music to children in need. ❤️

[Andrew]

Here’s the live stream announcing the winner if anyone missed it. Congrats, @dal08260!

[Andrew]

We did it! We crushed the Fall Challenges!

265 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 EST (Check Your Local Time Zone) on our YouTube channel at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_PGVIrcxZs

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.

—-

deadbuggy
deadbuggy
gstriph
gstriph
clempek
clempek
shmu88
shmu88
leb397
leb397
mikeramsey2
mikeramsey2
rebeca
rebeca
jgillard
jgillard
morrieuke1
morrieuke1
brettboy
brettboy
rafaela
rafaela
kidelozzi
kidelozzi
dianna
dianna
jbmills07
jbmills07
gi_gi_
gi_gi_
abster
abster
zongozongo
zongozongo
katazumiri
katazumiri
yukalele
yukalele
leslieb
leslieb
lhamilton
lhamilton
marlongas
marlongas
madz_about_uke
madz_about_uke
mark1256
mark1256
bibilele
bibilele
terryfallon3
terryfallon3
dal08260
dal08260
joe150
joe150
misterbones
misterbones
akukes73
akukes73
jedart
jedart
jody_hendrickson
jody_hendrickson
karenj
karenj
ccwuke
ccwuke
gisele
gisele
richo_uke
richo_uke
mkstewart67
mkstewart67
joannetala
joannetala
ldarrow
ldarrow
moonshine
moonshine
gmflin8
gmflin8
hiouke
hiouke
just-in
just-in
sir_anzalot
sir_anzalot
lynnzo
lynnzo
laurakarr12
laurakarr12
june2020
june2020
lbilkie
lbilkie
janaq1
janaq1
dermango
dermango
nelsonlin2021
nelsonlin2021
ukulelee
ukulelee
lynettejd
lynettejd
cimarronsailor
cimarronsailor
krajisunny
bekosau
bekosau
riley_ukulele
riley_ukulele
johanna2509
johanna2509
coffeemug
coffeemug
jebergeron
jebergeron
henri0
henri0
suekulele
suekulele
biancak
biancak
antotonin
antotonin
concan
concan
ninajordan
ninajordan
robinboyd
robinboyd
ukandrea
ukandrea
kdeacon7
kdeacon7
dividedsky
dividedsky
lyndallk
lyndallk
jayton
jayton
kelsey91
kelsey91
k_ra11
k_ra11
blind_man_dan
maryjanew
maryjanew
ksapp92
ksapp92
digbybare
digbybare
omaon4
omaon4

[Andrew]

@jayton – Great performance! Couple little hesitations in the second melody, so that’s where I would target your practice moving forward. Although it doesn’t sound like it would take much practice to smooth out 🙂

@kelsey91 – That was awesome, Kelsey! So much fun to listen to 🙂

Keep working on those ending chords. They are tricky being so high up the neck!

@k_ra11 – Oh no! But you know what, you still rocked it unplugged! It was excellent overall!

Keep working on those last few bars. They are tough with all those pull-off licks.

@blind_man_dan – Great playing and awesome first post! I’d like to hear a little more steadiness in the tempo. Try tapping your foot along as you play. That’ll help keep the beat 🙂

@maryjanew – Oh no! I’m sorry to hear you are feeling under the weather, MJ. But BIG props for playing it tonight and practicing when you haven’t been 100%. Your playing was beautiful and exuded Christmas cheer 🙂

I hope you feel better soon and TY so much for your generosity!

@ksapp92 – Wow! I’m very impressed with how well you played after only a few months of playing. Def keep doing what you’re doing, it’s working!

One area I’d like you to look into is proper left hand form when barring chords. Check out this lesson for an explanation on the fundamentals and this one for an all-out boot camp on them.

@digbybare – Awesome performance, well done! 👏

@omaon4 – Great job, Helga! Keep working on that second melody and try to memorize the piece. That way you can focus 100% on playing it. Which is super helpful as this tune jumps up/down the neck.

[Andrew]

We’ve SMASHED through our participation goal of 72 members! So I went ahead and made our donation of $500 to The UKC today 🙂

This means we’ve also SMASHED our fundraising goal and have now raised $2,175 for the charity! AMAZING!

Let’s set a new goal and go for $2,500!

P.S. The Kanile’a winner will be announced tomorrow at 12PM EST at the link below:

Friendly Reminder – The deadline for receiving feedback and an entry into the giveaway is tonight at 11:59 PM EST (check your local time zone).

[Andrew]

@kdeacon7 – Great job, Kelly and thank you so much for the kind words! Keep practicing that second melody and you’ll be rockin’ it soon 🙂

@dividedsky – Beautifully played, Jane! And TY so much for your generosity!!

@lyndallk – I am truly impressed with how well you played against all the odds. It’s a testament to how capable a musician you truly are. I hope you feel better soon!

@dermango – My pleasure!

[Andrew]

@antotonin – Bravo! You played it very well! I’d revisit bar 13 & 14 and work on those a little slower as I’m hearing a few incorrect notes. And also the ending. Those last few bars are tricky with all the chord changes.

@concan – Excellent rendition and thank you so much for the kind words 🙂

@ninajordan – What an awesome first video post! Beautiful playing and thank you so much for the kind words!

@robinboyd – That was a great take, Robin! I hope you feel better soon and a speedy recovery for your finger.

@ukandrea – Lovely rendition, Andrea! And the B roll of the dreidel was awesome! I’ve enjoyed watching your performances very much this year!

And thank you so much for your generous donation!

[Andrew]

@nelsonlin2021 – Christopher says: “Absolutely personal preference. Sure a sound difference as well but I think either is absolutely fine.”

@biancak – Your performance was awesome! Excellent playing and TY for the kind words 🙂

[Andrew]

@krajisunny – Beautifully played, Sunny 👏

@bekosau – I love the electric sound! Great playing! As you continue to practice, I’d recommend slowing the tempo to focus on getting the chords to ring a little cleaner.

@riley_ukulele – Beautiful playing, bravo!

@johanna2509 – That was a lovely performance, Johanna! I’m glad we were able to introduce you to this tune 🙂

@coffeemug – Sustain sounds great! I really enjoyed listening to your performance, Mary 🙂

@jebergeron – Thank you so much for the kind words and for your generous donation, Jean-Philippe! Well done on the performance! You’ve got a great base established. So from here, I would work on polishing up 1 section (for ex: Melody A) at time.

@henri0 – Wow, Rhian! That was awesome!! And I love the ending LOL.

@suekulele – It’s been awesome to watch your videos here and on insta this year, Sue! You’ve grown so much in your playing this year! Keep up the great work and I’ll be rooting for you tomorrow 🙂

[Andrew]

Friendly Reminder – The deadline for receiving feedback and an entry into the giveaway is tonight at 11:59 PM EST (check your local time zone).

[Andrew]

@cimarronsailor – Playing sounded great! From here, I’d work on boosting tempo and memorizing it. That way you can focus 100% on your playing 🙂

Break it into sections (for ex: 8 bars at a time). That’s always the best way to approach memorizing.

[Andrew]

@sir_anzalot – Beautifully played, Andy! I hope your finger feels better soon 🙂

@lynnzo – That was a great take! You nailed the fun, cheerful vibe! One tip, don’t forget to tune before you record. Your G string was a little off.

@laurakarr12 – Beautifully played, Laura! Well done 👏

@june2020 – Playing sounded great, June! And TY so much for your generous donation 🙂

For tips on how to cut down on “choppiness”, check out the video I left for @joannetala’s feedback.

I’m not seeing issues with your transitions fundamentally (i.e. left hand form) speaking. To me, it looks like a little more practice will develop the muscle memory needed to smooth out the changes.

@lbilkie – I thought you did an awesome job! From here, I would practice 4 to 8 bar sections at a time and play along with Steven in the tab player. For example, looping the melody line from bars 5 to 8.

And thank you so much for your generous donation! Also, please share your other performance in its own post. It’ll get more views that way 🙂

@janaq1 – Wow! Your performance was stellar! It was beautifully paced and played with expressive feel. Excellent work, Jana 🙂

And thank you so much for the kind words. I really appreciate it!

@dermango – Excellent performance! I do have one suggestion. I noticed you played the second tune at a slower tempo than the first. Which is totally cool, but I’d add a ritardando over bars 15 & 16. That should make the transition a little smoother.

@nelsonlin2021 – Wow, Nelson! I’m very impressed that you tackled this tune and played it so beautifully. Well done!

Let’s knock out these questions:

1) I’d say it’s personal preference, but it could very much be the other too. I sent him your question. Let’s see what he says. I’ll post his response when I hear back 🙂

2) I like it! The thumb produces a softer, sweeter tone than fingernails. So it’s very fitting in that section.

@ukulelee – I thought you played it beautifully, Leone. Well done!

@lynettejd – Beautiful playing! From here, I would work on boosting tempo. Start slow, maybe 5 or 10 BPM faster and break it into sections.

[Author]

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