[Andrew]

@malcolmh – Sounds great, Malcolm! Have you tried playing along with the tab player in synthetic mode? You can activate the metronome, slow it down to a speed that comfortable, and loop sections. Try 4 bars at a time. Tap your foot along to the click. When that feels good, try the next 4, then connect the 8.

It’s clear to me that you understand the rhythms you’re playing. We just want to smooth it out and keep it steady. The method above will help with that 🙂

[Andrew]

@herbdrawsaline – That was a great performance! Glad you joined us in the monthly challenges, Herb! 🙂

So I’d suggest two things. First, keep doing what you’re doing – but break the song into sections. Try 4 or 8 bars at a time and focus on keeping the timing/tempo nice and steady.

Second, I want you to soften your thumb pluck/strum attack. Check out this video first and then this one. The first video explains the diff between soft vs loud attack and the second video talks about it as it relates to playing with the thumb.

[Andrew]

@barbecueblack – Great job on the techniques! The one that I would work on is the split stroke. Try to get those melody notes on the A and G string to pop individually more. Also, try to keep the tempo steady throughout each section. Which is hard to do b/c we always play the easier techniques faster than the harder ones 🙂

@katazumiri – Bravo! Excellent take! You’re ready to start boosting tempo now. Start with a 5 or 10 bpm increase and take it from there. Keep up the great work!

[Andrew]

shmu88 – That rocked, Sam! Great feel and groove and I loved the taps. That was a nice touch! Well done this month 🙂

[Andrew]

Action @ the 12 on my concerts are 2.5mm. I don’t remember what the standard height is out of the factory, but when I bought my first one from The Ukulele Site this is what they set it up at. When I had my custom uke built, I requested the same height.

[Andrew]

Hi Charles, unfortunately this falls outside of our support scope as I can only offer help on arrangements/lessons from Rock Class 101. But it is something that Stephen could help you with in a Skype lesson.

[Andrew]

Welcome, @jeg143! Happy to have you on-board and I look forward to watching your performance of SJI 🙂

[Andrew]

Excellent progress, Charles! Don’t forget those 4 pick up notes that start off bar 9 (ending 2). Also, that B melody needs to repeat twice. So:

11-14
then
11,12,15,16

Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s working 🙂

[Andrew]

I didn’t want it to stop! Can’t wait to hear the whole song 🙂

[Andrew]

@seoulkim – Bravo! Excellent job on the rhythm playing and right hand technique. Keep up the great work!

@melanieh – I loved it! Very creative runs and rhythmic changes. It’s so awesome to watch you guys take it and make it your own 🙂

@clempek – I’d offer the same advice I gave Joe, which was to jump into our reading course. It’s the best way to learn rhythm 🙂

You can also take easier songs, like this one and count the rhythms out-loud while tapping your foot along to a metronome. That’s a great way to practice too.

[Andrew]

Dude! That was amazing bravo! 👏

[Andrew]

@joe150 – We’d recommend working on rhythm. Jump into the reading course. It’s the best way to learn rhythm 🙂

@clempek – Great job! For the main melody, try memorizing it. Then sing the words along as you play. That’ll help you get the rhythm/timing down. Excellent job on the bridge! But don’t forget the extra bar of F (bar 25) after the last repeat 🙂

[Andrew]

@baggyuke7 – If you see your video in your post then you did everything perfectly 🙂

[Andrew]

Glad you are enjoying the course, Gi Gi and thank you for the kind words! I will pass them along to Matt 🙂

So that chord progression relies on the melody note of the E string moving by half, whole, or step and a half while retaining the D (5th fret) on the A string. That’s what gives it a cool sound and why it sounds weird to you when you sub out the voicing of G7 for the standard one.

So I’d suggest two options. Work through the exercises in this lesson. They’ll help increase the reach of your left hand pinky. But note, it will take time to increase. Usually about 3 months of everyday practice.

Alternatively, a soprano size ukulele will decrease the fret size allowing stretch chords to be easier to fret.

[Andrew]

@rebeca – What a fun take with a great feel. Well done! 👏

[Author]

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