[The_Bumble_Bard]

@jbmills07, they seem like pretty magical games! I played other games as a kid, like DOS games, The Sims, Jump! Music games, and the Disney Sega Genesis games, like Aladdin and The Lion King. Somewhat recently my brother, sister, and I tried to play them again and we could not win. 😂😅😂

Nooo, magical pocket kittens! I need to experience that. 😂 I wonder if you’ve raised a society of shoulder kitties. It really seems like you have. They must’ve learned it from each other, and apparently their early days as pocket kitties. That image delights me more than it should… 😅😂😅

Video game music really can be great though. The Sims has some pretty magical music, too. 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@jbmills07, Zelda’s Lullaby was actually the song I learned for that challenge, and even though I really have never played those games, I liked it so much that I kept playing it. 😅 You did a lovely job with it!

Hahaha that’s an interesting problem to have! 😂 I’ve had five different cats throughout my life and none of them did that strangely. Maybe it’s learned behavior from the other cats you’ve had. 😂

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@dianna, I feel like we have the exact same experience trying to record. It really does help to know that most people share that struggle, even the instructors here who are obviously also incredible musicians. Ha, I knew when May 20th rolled around that I was “doomed” with Funk Jam because I was only half way done learning it and literally nothing about that piece was comfortable or easy for me, so I just tried to embrace that it would be very imperfect, but I’m definitely going to keep working on that one. For me it has helped a bit with the anxiety of recording to allow for the mistakes and also trying to record more often–even if I look like a slob in my appearance, in my work clothes or pajamas. 😂😂😂😅😅😅 Because sometimes the build up of getting ready to be on camera, trying to look nice, makes me more anxious. That sounds really dumb but it’s true. Thank you, though. I appreciate your support and so many other people’s support here. This is such a special community of people. 😊💕

@muzikmama and @deadbuggy, such lovely entries to start out this mini challenge!! I’m so excited for this one! 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Hahaha, @Andrew, thank you so much! I’m honored and delighted to have blazed that trail. 😂😅 My “comfort uke” ran out of frets so I had no choice. 😂

Being part of the Rock Class community has truly changed the course of my uke-playing journey for the better and become such a special and positive part of my life, so thank you for that. 😊

I’m going to keep working on Funk Jam; I need to redeem myself, man. 😅

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@leb397, hahaha, thank you! I think I’d go with “E” because it’s closer to “F” (the letter grade I should probably get for that performance). 😉😅😂😅 But the struggle is definitely real and I agree; straight up, that’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to learn on uke so far, because so many techniques I have not worked on a lot are required. I hopefully can get a “redemption take” because I know I can play that first riff better than that at least 5% of the time. 😅 But yes, sometimes it can help to show the mistakes. The other two Funk Jams were lovely though! I think it was @marianne and @lhamilton. Very good! 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER

So many great submissions so far. Then, there’s this… 😂

Funk Jam is an amazing-sounding tune and I really thought I’d abandon all reason and go for it–even though it’s pretty much 100% outside my comfort zone of what I usually play and highlights some of my struggles, like strumming and grasping complicated rhythms and also “being funky.” 😅 And boy, it has been a journey trying to learn it. I watched the lesson countless times, played through the more difficult sections of it countless times, but still needs so much more work.

Thank you to Andrew for creating such amazing tunes and creating opportunities for people to stretch the boundaries of what seems possible. I hope I might be able to rerecord this one if I get another chance, but this is its current “state,” lol. Thank you.

So many questionable things about this video. How many can you spot? 😂

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@janaq1 facts! That’s exactly what she’s thinking! 😂😅

@jbmills07, that was so beautiful! I really loved that song when they included it in one of the video game themed challenges a while ago. You played it very beautifully!

Miss Ziggy is quite the spry one! It’s kind of amazing to actually see her jump up onto your shoulders like that! My dad used to have a cat who would do that, too. So adorable! She is a queen! 😂😁💕

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@leb397, not gonna lie, learning Funk Jam has been a journey and it ain’t over yet. It is good because I’m working on skills that were actually around level 0 of development, pretty sure, like if this were a video game. 😂 The multiple takes can be a gauntlet, trying to get the best take possible, but like @gi_gi_ said and you’ve shown, it’s so worth it. 😊 Oh my, I loved Matt’s arrangement of Imagine so much, too! I used to play that on piano all the time and he really captured the feel of playing it.

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@leb397, that was very spicy and lovely!! 😅💕 Hearing your take makes me want to learn that, too. But I have my hands full with Funk Jam. 😂🥺 But yes, quite a lovely take of that one, you did! 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@surferjay, hahaha! I would literally die if I were on one of those shows. Well, I’d probably faint honestly. So, that’d make things easier. 😂 They sure are entertaining to watch though! 😅

Thank you so much… I honestly want to cry after you saying that. It just means so much because I struggled with that song on and off for months, and that recording is one of the best takes I’ve ever done of it. Your playing inspires me, and your’all’s encouragement has meant so much to me. Thank you! 😂😭💕

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@Andrew, oh, good idear! I will try that! Thank you! 🙂

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@leb397, oh my, yes… The stretches in that song, especially the stretch from fret 2 to 8 in measure 25, are pretty crazy, but measures 22 – 25 I honestly have been working on for a long time. They were hard for me. And I had to figure out all the fingering for it without any help. 😅 Thank you so much! 😁 I played it on a high g concert uke. I bet it would sound lovely on a low g. I’m not sure which it was meant to be for. I’d love to hear your take! I can probably help if you have any issues with the fingering because I have spent a lot of time figuring it out. 😂😳

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@gi_gi_ hahaha!! You and I are like the kids in class who get in trouble for laughing during the lesson and have to be seated separately. 😂😅😂😅😂😅

Yes……… Improvising takes so much skill. You have to know so much to do that, pretty much everything, every note on the fretboard and every chord, and how to connect those things astutely and freely. So, it’s equal parts intuition and knowledge.

But I also think that people can be great in different ways–have huge strengths in one area while not being as great in other areas. To me, being great can take as many forms as there are people and possibilities with the instrument.

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@jody_hendrickson, ha, I feel like if I have a backup song, then it’ll make me less likely to finish learning Funk Jam, but that’s just my own weird way of thinking. 😅 I think part of the issue I have with the slaps or chucking is that I find it super creepy if anything hits my cuticles, 😂 but also that the sound isn’t distinct enough.

You are so right that the tab player helps tremendously with learning that one because the tune just so complicated. It really helps you laser focus on one section. Andrew also says in the video that you can practice the intro with just one finger to get the rhythm and that really helped me because I’m so bad at strumming and chucking. The fingerpicking parts, while still insane, are coming more easily for me because I’ve done that way more. If I can get through the intro and figure out the slaps, it may be possible to learn this. We can do it! 😅

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@leb397, hahaha! At this point I will answer to any of those monikers, but admittedly “tbb” makes more sense. 😂😅 Thank you very kindly! I know I’ve said it often but your encouragement has meant a lot because I’m so nervous and unsure about sharing these things. So thank you! 😊💕 Especially that one because I struggled with it a lot, more than I can even say.

@gi_gi_ hehe, thank you so, so much, my friend! 😁💕 Your encouraging words have kept me going and truly uplifted me. I have really been trying to focus on letting myself be more expressive in my playing, convey what I feel in playing songs that move me, and that has helped me push through the intense anxiety I feel when recording. And yes, playing piano since I was young helped so much in learning uke and it really influences my playing for sure.

Thank you for sharing all that about Jeff Peterson! I think I’ll have to look at that, definitely all the stuff he has on his site, but right now an open mic would be too much for me. Did you join in on that? I think I have to get his book. It sounds like there’s some real gems in there. 😅

And NO, that is not my arrangement! I actually included a link to the tabs on my video, if you’d like to learn it, too! It’s an 8notes arrangement. But I have thought about modifying it to make it more like the version on guitar because this version is actually pretty simple by comparison. However, that one crazy double stop run, followed by that 2 to 8 stretch; I have about a 10% success rate in playing that right. 😅

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