[The_Bumble_Bard]

@misterbones, thank you so much for explaining that! That’s so helpful to know and I’m definitely going to ponder that and experiment with that going forward! It’s kind of sad that I don’t even know what I’m doing with the theory, only guessing and feeling out what I’m doing, but what you said makes a lot of sense! Ha! Yes, that’s really true… I do have a tendency to kind of “interrupt” the rhythm (not just with forgetting what comes next) and that might not be ideal if it isn’t intentional. I’ve already rewatched your video a bunch because I liked it, but now I’m going to watch yours and mine with that information in mind. I’m going to try to absorb some of your logic and theory-based thinking with The Claw! 😅 Thank you again! 😂😁😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Ohhhhhhh, @Andrew is right, @misterbones, I do love that so much! Wow, ya really nailed it! I feel like you made it into “real clawhammer,” whatever I do is kind of pseudo-clawhammer because I think I learned the technique without learning many traditional clawhammer songs, so that changed the feel / rhythm I naturally have with it now, for good or ill. 😂 That was perfection though! The speed you achieve is super impressive too while playing so cleanly!

I actually did try to clawhammer that one briefly but didn’t get very far, but now you’ve inspired me! Here is clawhammer atrocity 2.0: 😉😂

I feel like the sound is different from yours. I came up with this tonight super fast and this is the first take so I’m pretty pleased with it with that in mind, despite the bumbles. I might add more variation to the pattern and embellishments as I keep playing it. Thank you for the inspiration! 😂

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@Andrew, thank you so much for that! It really means so much to me that you say that. It’s easy to leave positive comments because there’s always so much good to say. 😊💕 Also, I find it really entertaining to do, too, like on the YouTubes. 😅 I’m really glad you liked my adaptation, too! 😊

@leb397, thank you so much, friend! I can’t wait to hear your entry! It’s kind of funny that everyone kind of had the same intuition to do that. 😂😅 Haha thank you, that’s actually something I sometimes do when I’m going to record: Try to do something funny right before to loosen up because I still get so nervous. So balancing my little reindeer-penguin friend on my knee and having him slowly creep into frame amused me in that moment. 😂 Happy Holidays to you, too, friend! 🎀❤️💚🎄❄️☃️

@ukefinlandgirl, very sweet performance! I really love Matt’s original version of that song and you did a really lovely job with it! Also I love your ukulele, not a small amount, but a lot. 😂 And thank you for your kind words about my entry, I do have a tendency to get overly excited and not take my time with things, so thank you for that! 😊❤️

@emiliano, I think we all had a hive mind with our approach to that song! 😂 I love that approach to playing uke, too, with the arpeggios. For me, it’s just trial and error to figure out the pattern. But I think I have to look that book up ASAP! Oh my word, I loooooooved that arrangement you did, I need to try playing that! So gorgeous! I don’t really know the song but I love the effect you created. There are many beautiful aspects of this time of year but sometimes it can be hard for me to be honest. Anyway, I hope your holidays are lovely, too! 😊💕❤️🎀🎄❄️💚❄️

@deadbuggy, absolutely gorgeous rendition of that! I love how everyone had a similar idea with that one, but there are slight differences that I notice. The feeling of yours is extra beautiful though. 😊❤️

‘Appy ‘Olidays to all! That’s how you say it “in British” / Charles Dickens. 😉😂😅💕❤️🎀💚❄️❄️ Can’t wait to hear more entries!!

[The_Bumble_Bard]

I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER

Okay, here is my take on O Come, All Ye Faithful! I actually did get to record it today. I am pretty happy with the “bones” of it, as completely based on Matt’s lovely arrangement, but I think I was rushing through this version because I was nervous and also don’t have it perfectly memorized so I kept forgetting what to do next, lol. @Marianne, I had the exact same thought! Starting with Matt’s OG arrangment, then moving into the modified version I came up with. I still would love to hear your altered version; I’m sure everyone would. 😊

@emiliano, I’ll have to listen to your take again and compare it to mine because now I’m curious how similar they actually are, lol. I feel like there are some definite overlaps. 😂

I’m going to get a bit emotional / sappy for a minute though, since it’s the holidays, lol. I just want to say that I love this community of people and knowing all y’all and seeing all your incredible music is so inspiring and has brought so much joy to my life over the last couple of years. Such incredible students who really are all musicians in their own right – so creative, talented, encouraging, kind. And anyone I’ve interacted with here, some who I’ve gotten to talk with quite a bit, I would count as friends, but everyone here is lovely.

And to the teachers here: An absolutely brilliant, kind, encouraging, and inspiring lot. We owe this community, and all this great music, to y’all. Also, you’re hilarious. That’s why I keep coming back for more. 😂

Thank you all so much for all you share and Happy Holidays to all! 😊❤️

I will make a donation to the Ukulele Kids Club, but itsa gonna be “secret.” So there. 😉

Okay, here’s my entry:

Oh, and I might come back later if I have time, once I’ve smoothed it out, for another take, but we’ll see how things go. 😂

[The_Bumble_Bard]

I also picked O Come, All Ye Faithful. @emiliano, your take was so dang beautiful, but gull dang it, I was going to do something really similar! 😂😉 You’re just so quick ‘n’ skillful! I already have my version done, I just have to record it. I actually think it’s pretty crazy how alike what we came up with is but I think I have a couple of different “turns” and also I think that the repeating notes between the melody are on different strings. Maybe you’d be able to tell more. I’m sorry I’m bad at describing the technical terms for those things… Nonetheless, a very, very beautiful take! And please don’t take that the wrong way, I just think it’s funny and crazy. You’re a great uke player! 😊💚🎀🎄

@marianne, gorgeous as always! You always play so majestically and with such feeling. 😊💚

@maryjanew, really lovely already so far!! 😊🎄🎀💚🦃🎩🎂🥐🥧❄️🥔🎈 You get extra emojis !

Hoping to share my take later today!! Off to a very lovely early start this month!! 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

So many incredible entries and no doubt more to come! Just want to reply to a handful real’ quick! Of course @Andrew is going to leave lovely, insightful feedback for each person! 😊 I really enjoy reading through that, lol, because you can learn so much from those critiques.

@johanna2509, thank you so much! That is one of the amazing things about clawhammer is how different the sound is. I owe the beauty of the sound to Andrew’s arrangement, though. Yes, his compositions are so soothing and beautiful. 😊❤️

@robinboyd, very beautifully played, friend! Nice to see you appear once in a while! 😊

@leb397, very lovely second take, friend! Well done getting that “learnt” so quick! That will probs always be my fav etude of Andrew’s, Etude No. 5, and it seems a lot of people agree. So glad to hear you’ll try more clawhammer, too! 😂

@karenj your take of No. 5 is also so soft and lovely! You have such good vibes, too, such nice positive vibes with your posts. 😊

@grannieannie, thank you so much for the kind words! I think it’s fun to try to blend styles like that. Also, I looked for your entry so I could watch it, but couldn’t find it anywhere… I might have to look again later because I’m baking taters to make mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving 2.0, but have to do other stuff while they’re baking. This is TMI and also rather telling into how focused I am, LOL. But it’s crazy that I made around 16 lbs of mashed potatoes (at least) for T-gives, lol.

@gi_gi_ so, so beautiful, my friend! So glad you got an entry in! Always so nice to hear you play. 😊I actually really love that Etude a lot. Lovely! ❤️

@abster, so great, you’re a little genius, we all know it! Really perfect performance! 😊

@nelsonlin2021, very beautiful performance! I’m sure Andrew will have more to say (unless I missed his reply), but for me with dynamics, other than altering the speed and volume to convey feeling, if you want to “feel” your playing, convey the emotion you want, for me that means that the actual playing almost has to get to an unconscious level of knowing the song – that you can play the music without thinking, then you can focus on the emotion / feeling. Other people might not agree with that, but that’s my …feeling on that. 😂

Sorry to write such a long post and that they’re out of order, I want to reply to everyone because they’re all incredible! I just get excited with my replies… Beautifully done, everyone! 🙂 ❤️

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@recdog, agreed! I was maybe disproportionately excited when I saw they shared this one and it’s so beautiful with the double stops throughout. Ones like this are perfect when Matt does them because of how expressive he is when he plays. It’s true that songs like this are best without too many frills. Even if it’s a somewhat simpler version, there are always elements that are challenging and I always take away something new. This sounds strange but Matt always talked about angling the fingers differently, like towards your shoulder, and I didn’t fully get what he meant until this lesson. Because when the space increases, like going from 0087 to 0075 (it took me an eternity to figure those numbers out… 😅), changing the angle of the fingers makes that stretch less painful and awkward, and makes it smoother.

Thank you for the amazing things y’all create, so inspiring indeed! 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

I finally got a chance to listen through some of the entries today. They are all amazing, just wanted to comment on a few. 😊 It may not be in the order they were shared. 😅

@lyndallk, so, so beautiful! I love the triplet picking technique so much and you did so well with it. I don’t know if I’ve heard that one here, but you played it so majestically! 😊

@jgillard, very, very nice! You really captured the happy spirit of that song so beautifully. 😊

@leb397, your performance of that Etude in E was absolutely gorgeous! Sorry that it wasn’t on the list of options, thankfully there are some ‘Tudes that are pretty easy and quick to learn! And thank you so, so much for your encouragement about my entry. 😊💕 That recording was not fully planned, tbh, how I did it that time. I did a fleshed out version of each technique, but that version was shortened and combined the two techniques. 😅

Happy Thanksgiving to you and all who celebrate!! 😊💕

@johanna2509, very beautiful, friend! 😊 That one has a kind of “Beatles” sound to it, you played it very lovely-ily indeed! 😊💕

@marianne, absolutely gorgeous playing! Your performances always having such feeling behind them. 😁

Everyone did absolutely amazingly well as always! 😊💕

Just wanted to say thank you to @Andrew again for creating all these amazing pieces and all the work and love you put into these challenges! 😊

• This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by The_Bumble_Bard.

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@Andrew, thank you so much! Your encouragement always means a lot. 😊💕 Your songs are all so beautiful. That’s why that one has reached “core memory” status in my brain. 😅 Well, I play that one and variations of it often. All of the ‘tudes are amazing though. 😊

@dianna, thank you so much, clawhammer sister! 😉😅 For some reason, that Etude works extra well with clawhammer. I feel like some songs just do more naturally. I did play through the whole song with clawhammer, but that recording blends the clawhammer with the triplet picking version part way through. The only thing I don’t like as much when playing through it with clawhammer is when it goes higher up, sometimes it doesn’t sound nice. I’m trying to figure out that issue in general. I hope you do give it a try, it’s fun! Oh also I totally stole the feedback Andrew gave you because I have that exact struggle with chord transitions even still at times. But that reminded me to try to correct it. It helps that I know that Etude really well because of course part of the issue with chord transitions is knowing the next move. 😂 That’s why I feel like you can’t really reach the emotion of a song until you know it well by heart. At least for me that’s true. Anyway, thank you so much!! 😊💕

I’m really sorry people are having issues watching the videos, like @leb397 and @marianne. Not sure if this helps, but I usually look at the site on my phone and also have the YouTube app on my phone, logged in. I haven’t had that issue yet.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by The_Bumble_Bard.

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@clempek, thank you kindly! I’d like to think that I’ve made progress since then. I feel like with my confidence, ability to be more experimental, and expressiveness I’ve made progress, but I feel like I could play more cleanly and also maybe spend more time learning new things because I definitely always like to gravitate toward my “comfort songs.” 😂 It is interesting to return to playing a song you’ve known for a while after having not played it for a while though. 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER

Hello Friends o’ the Uke! 😊

To all the entries I’ve gotten to see/hear so far, I’ll say in the (clean) words of Gordon Ramsay: “Wow, wow, wow, amazing” (even though he’s usually saying that because he’s upset / disappointed / about to fly into a rage, but not in this case). 😂 Maybe a rage of amazement…

I really wanted to try Etude No. 9 this month, that I uncovered in searching through the ‘Tudes, but I’ll be honest, I haven’t even started learning it, LOL. I may still have a chance to coming up, but I wanted to secure my entry, so I recorded a new version of Etude No. 5, which I’ve known and loved since I learned it around two years ago? I forgot how beautiful the original version is because I spent so much time HORSIN’ AROUND with it (noodlin’). That said, I added two “bonus versions,” kind of like what @brettboy did, really, really cool! But the two “flavors” are blended together with mine. I really like that you called them flavors, man. I also loved @dianna’s, your take was lovely, and @clempek’s had a very interesting, different, lovely sound to it. Oh, and @katazumiri, your entry was so much fun! That made me smile, so good. 😊 I have to go back because I know I missed some other great entries, too.

Here’s mine:

Obviously I didn’t accidentally jump back to random chords from different parts of the song. Your mom did that, actually, burn.

Thank you for these amazing songs / challenges, as always! I feel we could hit up the ‘tudes for another challenge some time because there’s so many to choose from. 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@katazumiri, so sorry for the crazy long delay, this year has had its moments of genuine insanity, as happens! 😂

I didn’t get to watch his video yet, but will, but is what you played one of his creations or yours? Either way, that’s really, really neat!

I can’t remember if I said but I decided that the song I created may not work as a canon. I do like the song, but I may have to watch the video you shared and see if I can create something more similar to that. I think the issue is it has to be more symmetrical and you kind of have to check each measure as you go, don’t you think, to make sure it overlays properly?

I will eventually get this, I haven’t given up yet!! 😅😅😂 Thank you for sharing! 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Such a good idear to play the same song on three different uke tunings! And it happens to be an actually good Christmas song, maybe one of twenty that exist. 😉😂

Do you think this is something you could do with most ukulele songs without too many issues, play the same song on all tunings? Wouldn’t the main difference be the low G string, but with a high G and baritone, you could just play the same “placement” of notes, but they’d just be in different keys?

A guitar player I know said you could also play any uke song on guitar and it works, but he may not have known about the reentrant tuning of ukes. Not sure if that’d be an issue.

Thank you so much, sorry for these convoluted questions / comments! 😅

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@leb397, well… I already know Andrew’s Etude No. 5 very well. That’s one of my “comfort songs” now that I play very often and one of my favorite RC101 songs, like @Marlongas mentioned (lovely playing by the way!). 😊 It’s just so soothing, satisfying to play, and fun to noodle with. So, I’m thinking that will be my “backup” once again and I’ll try to learn one of the Etudes I haven’t learned yet. But I won’t record Etude No. 5 yet until I’ve learned the new one. That’s my rough plan at the moment. 😂 There was a strumming Etude (that Matt taught the lesson for) a long while ago that Andrew told me was inspired by John C. Mellencamp, but no idea what number Etude that was. 😂 I may try that one because of my strumming struggles. What are you thinking? 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

I am sooooooooo pumped for this challenge and this theme! So exciting to have so many options, can’t wait to pick one!! 😊

(Scheming already) 😂 >:D

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