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(I’ll just leave this here to stew while y’all’re [you all are] on vacation. 😂)
…Such a great topic! Very excited for this one.
To me, the best way to add more creativity to your routine is to personify your uke as much as possible. Give it literal human attributes, such as eyes and a mouth. Take it out on the town; wine it and dine it. Feed it soup by the spoonful, a big bowl o’ tomater soup. Drive it back home, then… tell it your darkest dreams and wishes. If you’re deemed worthy, it shall whisper into your ear The Secrets to Creativity.
For real, I think the best way to be more creative is look at “what is” and try to imagine “what could be.”
@lisadmh, that’s so true! Playing songs regularly and many times is the only way to keep them in your memory. I’ve even almost forgotten my own simple arrangements if I stop playing them often enough. But the great thing is once you have a song really memorized, even if you do forget it, it’s way easier to relearn. There are songs on piano that I remember from when I started playing them in middle school, and I can still play them even though I rarely play piano now. I find that quite interesting how memory works. 😊
That’s so cool that you’ll record your originals separately to share! I look forward to hearing that!! 😁
I also would be really interested to know how @Andrew would answer this question. That would be very interesting. 😅 Would it just be a link to the song list on Rock Class 101? 😉😂
@lisadmh, holy crud, that is amazing! Such an impressive list. My mind is blown. 😅 I know some of those songs are lengthier and/or intricate, so that’s really wow (…wow is an adjective now).
I love your system for cataloging the songs you know, that speaks to me in a way I can’t quite capture. So beautifully organized. 😅
Did you post a longer video here of you playing a bunch of songs on the beach? I think that must be you that I’m remembering. That’s so lovely that you do that. That’s also part why I memorize songs “long-term” that I love because I like to have them with me in my brain and fingers, so I don’t have to look at tabs or worry about that (as much as possible).
Have you posted any of your originals separately on Rock Class? That’s so cool. I’d like to try writing something original now that I have a bit more experience.
Thank you so much for sharing!! 😁
@dianna, hahaha, gah, you’re right! I rewatched the video and the first thing in the intermediate section was “ghost notes” and I thought …… Ef, am I going to be able to do this?! 😂😅 But if you think about it, that is actually pretty similar to the clawhammer pattern (though the physical approach is different), so maybe that will be okay. And yes, the advanced section is even crazier. I also strum the same way you do with my thumb and index when I have strumpt (that’s correct grammar) so this will be…….. Challenging. I haven’t even gotten to try that section yet but I’ll let you know how that goes. 😂😳
@akukes73, thank you so much!! I don’t even know how I remember them. Honestly a lot of it is muscle memory. If you play a song enough, you don’t have to think about how to play it, only about conveying the feeling behind the music, which is why I play songs I like over and over. I try to get to that point (with a song I really like) as soon as possible. Some are definitely way, way harder to get to that point. 😅
I thought that this was something that everyone did, which is why I brought this up. But can I remember what day it is, appointments, and actual things I have to do? No, that’s what the calendar reminders are for. 😅😂😳
I love both those songs a lot. I never even really fully noticed classical guitar songs until I started playing uke but there are so many absolutely stunning classical songs written for ukulele and guitar. And the Last of Us theme Matt did was so lovely. Steven with a V (British ? Steven) also did a beautiful version of that one on his channel, “Ukulele Solos” on YouTube.
That’s so true!! Agreed. I also definitely learn songs way faster than I used to before I joined here. Yes, no doubt your list will just keep growing! I look forward to seeing that!! 😁
And thank you! 😁 It helped to have all the music already laid out, a lot. Definitely harder to create a clawhammer song from scratch! 😅
@dianna, same! I love clawhammer uke. I also have a banjolele that I need to bust out more often. 😅 Once you get really comfortable with the clawhammer pattern it’s not terribly difficult to turn a song into clawhammer, but some definitely more naturally fall into that pattern and I feel like that song did. There were definitely others that didn’t work so well, but I try to do that with most songs I learn. 😂 That’s so cool that you’re going to try to learn it and learn it by ear! 😁 I really am honored by that as well, that you’d want to learn it. I may still try to write it down though because that would be good practice for me and I need it. 😂 You’ve also inspired me that maybe I can try the advanced level, even though I’m really intimidated and spooked by strumming. 😂 Anyway, I hope you share the clawhammer version too if you get to that! Thank you! 😁💕
@Andrew, oh em gee, I am so honored by that, man! Thank you so much!! 😂😭 I plan to cry about that, and just as much about your kind words. That seriously means a lot. Thank you! 😁😅😂😭
@dianna, haha, thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked that. 😅 It’s basically Matt’s beginner level arrangement of that song and I took the clawhammer pattern, the “bum ditty” pattern (I think), and forcibly crammed what he created into that pattern. And added embellishments (HO’s, PO’s, and slides). There were places I really ended up changing a lot because the song didn’t seamlessly fit into the clawhammer pattern or I thought it sounded cool. 😅 Please take this with a grain of salt though, because my technical knowledge is sorely lacking. I figure things out by bumble-ditty-ing trial and error, quite literally. I Miss Magoo my way through everything… 😂😭 There’s a slim chance I might be able to write it down because Matt has shown me the basic way to do that by hand. I hope to keep getting better at that. I may be able to explain what to do without too much theory behind it, just saying the strings. Sorry for this rambling reply, this is the best way I can explain it at the moment. 😂
Also, with permission to do that because the original material (from Matt’s arr) isn’t mine, though I did change it a lot. 😂😳
Haha, @ldarrow, I think the only reason I remember that list is because I play those songs very often. They’re in my “rotation” whenever I play. If I like a song, I find it relaxing and enjoyable to play it repeatedly, which, though it helps me remember them, that keeps me from learning new skills or new songs because I play the same ones over and over, and stay in my comfort zone. 😂 The challenges have helped break out of that pattern to a degree. But there are definitely tons of songs I’ve forgotten, too.
That’s part of why I thought this would be interesting, to know what other people play when they play and what songs. 😊 So thank you for sharing!
Your list is lovely. That Tarrega Etude is especially pretty. Thank you again! 😊
Boom, baby! First entry.
This is Drunken Sailor, beginner level + clawhammer.
In the requests thread here, @wabbit (I believe) asked for the song The Wellerman to be arranged in clawhammer style, and that idea seemed so cool that I wanted to try that with Drunken Sailor. I still want to try to at least also learn the intermediate level of this song, as well, but I couldn’t resist this. I have the compulsion to try to turn any song into clawhammer anyway. 😂
Thank you, Rock Class friends for these great challenges, especially to @Andrew! 😅
@akukes73, that’s really good that you’re setting aside time to play every day! That makes a huge difference. Awww that’s so lovely, thank you! I am inspired seeing this song you shared, it’s quite beautiful. 😊
@akukes73, this is so lovely! You captured the feeling of this song so beautifully.
Ha, I do that same thing; stumble right at the finish line when recording. 😅
But this is really great! Well done! 😊
@dianna, thank you so much!! It really means a lot that you say that. 😁😻
I’ve always loved figuring out songs by ear; it’s one of my favorite things to do on instruments. I find it very fun and relaxing. I did that on piano growing up and they were similar to what I’ve done on uke so far, pretty simple, but they usually allow me to express the feeling I want at my current skill level. The Over The Rainbow arrangement is one of the ones I’m most proud of so far. The feel of it was inspired by one of Matt’s arrangements. And I actually got to talk with him about this Memory arrangement in a private lesson last week, which was very fun and helpful.
But learning RC101’s arrangements has helped me improve my own arrangements (and general skills on uke) so much and also finish creating them, and write them down, especially with Matt’s help with that specific thing. 😅😂😅
@leb397, haha!! When I first joined here I was actually “potato lady,” but I asked Andrew to change it to what it is now because it’s the same as my illustrious YouTube channel and still-currently-unpublished, highly-refined blog. That’s why it’s The Bumble Bard because bumbling around and acting a fool is what I do best (not always in a good way… 😳). Also, I like bumble bees, even though I’m scared of them, and poetry. 😅
That is the “short” explanation. 😅
@leb397, so true! I think even Gollum joined in this challenge ( @moonshoes ) and boy is that ever an honor! 😅 A lot of time in those mountains to practice I guess, though it is kind of dark…
