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@abster, awwww, wow, thank you! It’s an honor that you say that!! It truly is a joy to play clawhammer, it’s so stinkin’ fun! I just realized recently that I’ve gotten a little rusty with it, so I need to fix that! I hope we hear more of that from @Abster, he’s already got such skills in the technique!! 🙂
This is looking so good!! These improvements will be so helpful as I am a big “search” person and enjoy categorization almost to a neurotic degree, so I love this so much! 😂
I personally really, really like having the “lesson count” that displays in parentheses – it is really helpful to know the number of options that are available in a given category, so I hope you decide to keep all of those! I honestly would be sad if you got rid of that, but that’s just my opinion! 🙂
Thank you so much for all the work you put into the site and everything, @Andrew! 🙂
I have to say, when this challenge first came out, I was absolutely pumped and delighted (but couldn’t reply with my health issues until now), especially that the Live Lessons are an option this month – which obviously I am going to pick! LOL. I already have a vague idea of what I am going to do and it once again falls into the “chaos” category (because boy – could I ever use some light-hearted chaos lately). 😂
Also, this challenge felt extra special because it seems to be just for the community here, unless I’m mistaken – since the challenge video was not shared publicly (unless I’m missing something). But I love that, and also thought that the video was really nice because it seemed very candid to me – I found that especially endearing for some reason. And also very happy that you’re getting a break, @Andrew, to work on the site and everything, though you are obviously really missed in these challenges. 🙂
@marianne, such a gorgeous performance, as always! I always look forward to hearing what you share – it is truly inspiring, for real. Truly majestic playing! 🙂 <3Hello friends of the uke!
Sorry this is very late (sadly still struggling with my health most days – today I was feeling somewhat better), but I wanted to reply to some of the entries in this challenge, but then ended up replying to everyone once again, lol. This is just the first “chunk” of replies. I want to reply to the rest later, but it may not be until this weekend! I also wanted to reply to those who commented on my entry, but that will be in Part 2 (normally, I literally take smilies from a different source on my laptop because the ones that appear with the “typed” smilies are weird and kind of creepy, but I don’t have the energy tonight to put in the non-creepy ones, so just accept it, LOL!)
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Here are some replies! 😀
@henri0, that was such a magical cover of Frolic! Really a flawless performance! You really captured the whimsy of the tune so well! 😀 The M*A*S*H theme was also so lovely. You played with such beautiful expression and control! 🙂
@malku2603, so cool that you are tackling such a tricky technique! Sounds so lovely after watching even the first take! Definite improvement into the second take, especially in speed! By the third take, you seemed a lot more comfortable and confident, not having to look at what you were doing the whole time (not that that matters, but I think not looking at what you’re doing can show that you don’t have to think about it as much – in my opinion, lol). The end take was sooo good!! It’s so hard to do those kinda quick “instant” motions with those type of techniques. It’s basically like a tremolo, it seems like. I hope you keep working on that technique, it sounds really amazing! 🙂 Very beautiful keyboard playing later, too! 🙂
@otzepeng, I really love that little olivewood uke!! I really love tiny uke things, I am a sucker for that!! So cute!! (Ha, I won’t get to your entry until part 2.)
@leihali, even the very first take sounded so lovely!! Such a peaceful and elegant tune! Loved hearing that so much! 🙂
@johanna2509, You Are My Sunshine sounds so gorgeous on the kalimba! You played it so beautifully! No one would ever know you struggled with memorization! Oh my, your Moon River was also sooo beautiful!! You had such feeling behind it, too. Really beautiful, friend! 🙂
@misterbones, that was so amazing!! That is some crazy good improvisation! That turned out really amazingly, especially with apparently not that much practice! It’s like a magic trick, really. Just genuinely great music to listen to, truly a pleasure! Okay, professional! 😉 🙂
@anyon1, that was absolutely amazing!! Sounded so lovely!! I think I’ve actually heard that song before because I immediately recognized it! I’m really bad at knowing artist’s names / song titles. Anyway, really lovely playing! 🙂
@rw1950merritt, beautiful first take of Fly Me To The Moon! Chord melody is one of the more beautiful ways uke can be played and it suits this tune so perfectly and your performance was very lovely!
@nat-uke, that was so stinkin’ adorable in every way! Off the charts cuteness!! Really amazing work on all the video editing and production, those things are so hard! Beautiful job with the song and I agree with @dianna that it’s so touching! 🙂 <3
@lhamilton, so majestic!! You are the Whistling Queen, no question! That was so elegantly performed, so beautiful – so much feeling behind it! I never thought that whistling could give me chills, but here we are! Get yourself onto AGT right now! Really stunning and moving to listen to, thank you for sharing! 🙂
@jasdel, so beautiful! I love listening to other people playing the blues (haven’t tried a lot myself), but love that style! Very chill and well played!! 🙂
@marianne, your playing truly has a “transporting” quality – as when you listen, everything around seems to stop except for the song. Not sure if that makes sense. Oh my, so majestic! I kind of want to try that one, but it’s also that you make it sound so good, lol. Beautiful, as always! <3
@karenj, that was so stinkin’ lovely! I really love that tune by Matt – that’s one of my favorites of his, Crossing Hemispheres, but I haven’t been bold (or skilled) enough to try it! You did such great job with it!! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
@katazumiri, okay, we believe you, okay?! You’re a musical magician! When I read the list of instruments for your tune, I was so pumped going in and you did not disappoint! That was an amazing musical journey of crazy unique sounds! I wish I knew which was which, though, for the instruments. Was the canjo the xylophone-esque one? The metallophone looks like…………….. or is it a harmonica? Don’t worry, I know what’s happening (no I don’t, lol). Either way, that was so magical, so many props for regaling us with your cornucopia of instruments! <3 🙂
@leb397, your take on Cripple Creek made me smile so much and filled my heart with joy! Just so stinkin’ magical! Girl, you are officially part of the Clawhammer Club (not that I have the authority to say so, maybe?). But we already knew that! Amazing playing, friend! 🙂
@grannieannie, such a beautiful performance of Spanish Romance! Oh, how I love that version of that song, Steven’s version, so elegant and a “palate” for expressive playing. That was one of the most inspiring RC101 tunes I ever learned, for creating my own arr’s even. LOL!!!!! The dog’s nails clacking diffused some of the emotional tension. Nonetheless, your playing was so beautiful. Now I really want to revisit that one. Beautiful! 🙂 <3
@brettboy, oh my word!! That delighted me to my core to hear. I think it sounds perfect just the way it is, honestly – I don’t think it needs to be faster (unless you want it to be). I don’t know why, but to my ears it sounds much more expressive the way you played it – as incredible as Sam Muir’s original take is, at the pace you play it, I think it sounds more like you and has a lot of character to the sound. The way Sam Muir plays it is maybe more accurate to the original (I’m guessing) and just as amazing in a different way. I hope you see what I’m saying, my brain is still not good! Amazing playing! 🙂
@akukes73, the guitarlele sounds sooooooo lovely! Very beautiful performance! That instrument is interesting – I can see the advantages of it, having sort of the “spirit” of a guitar with a ukulele size and of course a semi-ish-hybrid of the two instrument’s sounds. It’d be cool to see more of that one! Very warm and lovely sound with your playing! 🙂 The song you shared by Sam Muir was also so stinkin’ lovely! <3
@taylor22jane, so glad you got back into playing!! That can happen that you kind of drift away from playing uke. I kind of had that happen in the last couple months. I hope we get to hear more of your playing ’round here, very, very lovely!! 🙂
@dianna, that sounded so stinkin’ good, friend!! Amazing work with that! That piece seems so daunting and technically tricky, but you played it amazingly and with a lot of spirit!! 😀 I also love your videos, they’re always super fun! 🙂
@janaq1, wow, that was really amazing!! I absolutely love that style of ukulele playing, but it’s beyond me because my strumming game is so weak! You honestly played that perfectly! So much fun to listen to!! 🙂…
So many incredible, incredible entries!! I am feeling too tired to continue now, but I’ll come back for the final “chunk” of entries later! I know @dianna, @leb397, and others already left lovely feedback for everyone, but as always I started replying to a few, then ended up replying to everyone! My health still isn’t in the best place, and it’s a daily struggle right now most days, but hopefully I’ll know what’s going on soon. Thank you all so much just for being amazing humans!! 🙂 <3
Hello ukulele friends!! 😊
I wish I could share all that I’ve been through this month, but it’s been so heavy for me. I am only now just starting to feel more like myself, with my mental and physical health. I rambled about it in more depth in the thread I created in “Uke Talk,” but let’s just say, whew! – August, 2025, she’s been a real doozy! Understatement of the century… I still have a ways to go, but trying to be hopeful that things will keep getting better.
I am so excited to look through all of what everyone’s shared so far – and so happy to see, as always, everyone here is being so lovely and supportive to each other – so creative and talented. Very beautiful indeed! 😊
All that said, boy did I need some comic relief and I got it tonight! 😂
So, with everything I had going on, I barely, barely got to practice at all. I knew the uke part of the arr. because I made the arr. – “Memory” from the musical Cats. But then I wanted to overlay the BEAUTIFUL vocal stylings of my little friend – the gudetama otamatone. His name is Eggenezer Snooze (because “gudetama” in Japanese literally means “lazy egg,” which is what he is). 😂
I was struggling with the tech stuff as always, so I was having trouble getting the song to play so I could listen to it and play over it with my little friend – so I just recorded separately with no reference to the uke part. Just one take and I didn’t even play it through before that, just guessed! Considering, it could be much worse, but boy did I laugh heartily when I listened to it back – and I kept it just the way it was for the sheer hilarity of it all, in my eyes. It’s so stinkin’ bad! I hope you enjoy it and find it funny! 😂
Hopefully, it’s not too quiet. I saw some other people here had new mics and I had already been considering getting a lapel mic. Let me know if it’s crushingly quiet, please!
Thank you all for all you share here! 😍
Okay, here’s Part 2: The Rambling Never Ends! 😂
@johanna2509, thank you SO much, Johanna! Your encouragement means so much, especially about my writing. I actually did start to create a site for a blog because I love to write so much (both in volume and in intensity 😂), but I had trouble setting it up for some reason and gave up too soon. I should maybe revisit that. Thank you for mentioning it!! 😁Haha!! Well, considering it was only one take, that was some pretty amazing playing! I think our own mistakes seem so much bigger to us, but other people barely even notice them. I actually think your one-take approach is a really great strategy to try!
Well, the Open Mics are the Virtual Open Mics through Ukulele Underground. They’re over Zoom – the first Thursday of every month. You can join to just watch, as an audience member (not even on camera, if you don’t want). Gi Gi introduced me to them and we go together now. I was still absolutely petrified the first time I played. It actually took me months of just joining to watch (in the audience), when one month everyone sort of rallied together at the same time to encourage me to try playing. I did it, and even though I dissociated (disconnected from reality) in the moment, when I watched the replay back later, I realized it was better than I thought. That has been very insightful – just to realize that even when I am absolutely terrified inside, it does not show as much as it “should” to others, which is actually extremely comforting to me as an Overly Anxious Person (OAP). 😂 That little group of people at the Open Mic is pretty great. One of them has the same last name as me, even though he lives in Australia, which is pretty crazy. So, I call him “cuz” now because we’re cousins, apparently. Maybe we’re related? That’d be pretty wild. He is magical though. But yes, playing there is still really scary every time, but it’s become more possible and is helpful to feel that fear and learn how to play through that fear. I owe Gi Gi so much for encouraging me to do that and being there for me during it all (because we would always go together and be each other’s cheerleaders – and also entertain each other with “side commentary”). 😂 It’s really fun though and good practice for being terrified – as Matt likes to say. 😂
Thank you so much about my singing! That really means a lot. 🙂 I find it so funny when anyone says that I seem confident, when really most of the time I am so unsure inside. There are times I do feel very confident, like when I know an instrumental song really well and can convey the exact emotion I want (or have “room” for the musical emotions to unfold freely as I feel them. That “room” exists when I don’t have to think about what I’m playing, but only how I’m playing it). But for when I feel much less confident (like with singing), I have a strategy – I just imagine that I am someone who is beautiful, confident, and strong – just imagining that I have those qualities makes me feel like I have them more. Maybe it does actually cause me to have them (maybe not the beauty part, LOL!). That may seem crazy, but that may be why that “confidence” conveys more sometimes. They sometimes call that, “fake it ’til you make it.” But it’s really true that if you say kind things to yourself, it really affects how you view yourself. So yeah, I have lot more thoughts about that, but singing is a very personal and deep thing to me especially in how I view myself and my own struggle with self-confidence.
Hehe, I will get to it! It seems I’m finally in the mode of “getting to things” finally. This is like a mini-email right now though, ha. Thank you again so much for your lovely post! 😊🥰
@nat-uke, thank you, Nat, that really means so much right now!! I’m so happy when I get the chance to reply to everyone. I wish I could every time, but even I – who seemingly has more free time than most people – can’t always do that. I still love to listen to and appreciate every entry and every person here, including you, whose posts are always fun to read and so cheerful, along with your lovely playing. So, thank you for that and so much for your kind words! 🥰😊
@janaq1, that means so much that you say all of that! Thank you! I’m literally crying again. 😂 Your encouragement just means so much to me when I’ve been feeling so down (that can happen if you let yourself disconnect from those around you – and for me also those in this community who have meant so much to me). It just really touches me that what I shared helped you be more open and want to communicate more with everyone here – I love that. Your playing is also so inspiring – you are a really incredible uke player. I especially remember you had some originals that were really amazing that you shared a long while ago, but there is so much feeling and skill behind all your playing. I always look forward to seeing what you share. Your words really touched me so much! Thank you, Jana! 🥰
@dianna, thank you so much, my friend!! Your encouragement means even more to me right now! 🥰❤️ I remember a few times when you left feedback for pretty much everyone and you leave lovely comments all the time, so I was definitely thinking about you when I wrote this post! 😀 It just shows how special it is that Andrew leaves feedback for every person, every challenge (except for this crazy free-for-all month, which I will miss his feedback, tbh) and also just how much depth he puts into his replies with his musical knowledge. His encouragement has really inspired me since I joined here and I want so much to reflect that back to others (though my posts are more encouragement than technically helpful – I definitely learn more from Andrew’s posts). Anyway, thank you so, so much! I am so moved and my spirits are so brightened by what you said. There have been so many times that you’ve encouraged me since I’ve been here. Thank you so much!! 🥰…
Thank you all SO MUCH again! I was so incredibly moved by the things you said here and your encouragement. It meant extra much right now! Thank you all for being so lovely! 🥰❤️
Hello again, ukulele friends!! 😊
So sorry for the extreme delay in my replies! It was so heartwarming to read all of your kind words and it’ll be really lovely to read through them again as I reply! I have been having some (somewhat serious) mental and physical health issues right now, but I am trying to work through them (with the help of my family, a counselor, medical doctors, and so much prayer). I can’t really get into all of it, but I would appreciate any additional prayers right now in getting through this, for those who do – for those who do pray. 😂❤️
But this will be a nice way to take my mind off “my troubles” for right now. 😊
I also just wanted to say that I know – so many of you also love to regularly leave comments for everyone – like @Gi_Gi_ and @leb397 and @dianna and others, in addition to all of @Andrew’s in depth, insightful, kind feedback. And I definitely can’t reply to everyone like this every time, but it is really nice to once in a while (even as a single lady, I still have to work and take care of bidness [business], of course). 😂
ANYWAY, all that said, here are more replies (picking up from where I left off, after Gi Gi)!
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@terryfallon3, thank you so much for saying that, Terry! I truly love this group of people, how encouraging, positive, and musically inspiring everyone here is – and indeed all brought together by Andrew and his vision, which I think is so beautiful. Also, yes, there is something magical about the ukulele itself – how it brings people together through its sheer cuteness, quirkiness, and “secret” awe-inspiring beauty. Thank you so much for your kind words, it really means so much to me, especially right now when I’ve been struggling so much this year! 😊 ❤️
@grannieannie, thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words, Annie! They mean extra to me right now and I appreciate them so much. 😊❤️There’s so much I could say about singing. It’s been quite an experience trying to spend time working on that, since I’ve never been naturally good at singing, but always wanted to be. It is such an incredibly vulnerable thing to sing in front of others, especially if it’s just you singing. If it’s with other people, then no holds barred! Thank you so much for saying my singing is beautiful – that really means so much!! The puppets actually help incredibly much because then it’s “them” doing the singing, not me! 😂 It also helps me loosen up and not focus so much on myself or what I’m doing. Not sure if that makes sense. I really would love if everyone here sang more and if RC101 included even more tunes with singing! There are definitely a few here I wanted to try since I’ve been practicing singing more. One of them is Adele’s “Someone Like You.” I feel like I improved my singing by trying to copy Adele because I think my voice is like a Great Value Adele. 😉 😂 But weirdly, I think I improved my singing by mimicking / trying to impersonate other singers.
Thank you so much for that! It has been one of the hardest years of my life, if I’m being honest – but I have been very blessed through all of it and have grown so much through all of it, I think. I currently am having some new health concerns, so praying I am able to get through it. I appreciate your encouragement so very much! ❤️
@leihali, thank you so much for that! 😊 That makes me so happy to hear that! I’m so happy to have encouraged you in that way and I also look forward to hearing more of your tunes!! 😊Okay, I’ll reply to the last few in a separate post – due to knowing I will ramble a lot more and also so hopefully this will post with no issues because of the length of it. I hope it’s okay that I’m replying so late! What everyone wrote to me here meant so much. 😊
This time I actually thought ahead and saved my replies separately in case this post vanishes again. 😂
“Rocktober”!! I really like that, man. I really like things like that… 😂🥺
That arrangement is so stinking b.a.! So cool… I don’t actually think it could be more perfect.
Just wanted to say for now, thank you all SO MUCH for your kind and encouraging words because this has been a pretty rough year for me so far and boy – she’s not letting up! 😂😭 I had some somewhat serious health issues the last week or so that were pretty debilitating, but I’m starting to feel better now – thank the Lord. But there are still things that need to be done about those issues. So, sorry for the delay in re-writing my reply (that was perfect the first time, dang it). 😂
But I still would like to say more to each person here because, well, I want to. 😂 But for now, thank you all and so much love for you all! 😻🥰❤️
@brettboy, thank you so much for explaining that!! That makes sense. It’s almost a baritone uke, but not quite with those two extra strings, dang. Well, maybe I can make it work (probably not)!! Anyway, thank ye! 🙂
@grannieannie, haha, ohhhhhhhhh, you’ll see!! Muahahahahahahaha! …Ha! I wish it were the bagpipes. I do think those are cool, but my fragile anxious being can’t handle that level of volume. 😂 So, happy you’re working on Spanish Romance, good golly that arrangement by Steven is so gorgeous! I learned that one a while ago. It’s so satisfying to play. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂Welcome to the beautiful chaos of this group, Sammy, @4stringBoy! So great that you’re here! Yet another crazy good uke player has been assimilated (in a Borg-esque fashion) into Rock Class 101! No one is upset about this! 😂
There are times that I actually hate harmonics, but in that tune, they sound incredible, so good job! 😂
Just making a quick post here because I wrote a reply to everyone else, but it seems to have disappeared somehow! I’ll rewrite it again when I get the chance. Really sad, Andrew did try to look at it and fix it, but the post was lost into the ether somehow. Thanks to everyone else for your kind words for now! 🙂
@Gi_Gi_ love you, too, friend, my endless technological curse continues! 😂Okay, I think I’ve decided what I’m going to work on…
Execution: See if I can add a melodic accompaniment (by ear) to one of my own existing arrangements with a non-ukulele instrument (which shall remain secret – until it’s too late to turn back).
Application: Add a “secret” instrument accompaniment to my ukulele arr. of “Memory” from the musical “Cats” by Andrew Lloyd Webber. For some, this will be an added layer of pain to listen to, for what will already be a detestable sound, but not for me! Love it!
Evaluation: Share the video of the two instruments together by the end of the month with optional check-ins on my progress (if time and my feeble brain allows).
I may create a fun video to go with this – again, if time allows, but I think it will!
Thanks for yet another free-for-all! These are super fun and can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!! 😀
@otzepeng, thank you, your words mean so much to me and move me a lot! Even though I am shy, I really love people, interacting with and encouraging people. I also love writing a lot, which is why I tend to get carried away “at times.” 😂 That makes me so happy to know that reading through all that was a good chance for you to practice your English, though I agree with @Gi_Gi_ that no one would ever know it was your second language. Thank you for your kind words, I love this community (the teachers and the students alike), and it has meant so much to me in so many ways – helped me grow, not just as a musician, but really as a person, as well, especially with things like my anxiety. Ha, I actually have had the thought of asking Andrew about being a mod here, since I have done that in the past before, but thankfully it doesn’t seem like anything too crazy happens here with spam posts or anything (and everyone actually gets along, lol), so I don’t think he necessarily needs one. Nonetheless, that would be fun. 😂 I also want to say I can tell you have a lot of personality and your posts are always very entertaining to read / watch. Thank you so much again, truly! 😊
@gi_gi_, I’m probably going to cry as I write this, like a weirdo. 😂 Well, to start with, I think in order to add “likes” and things like that to the forum, you might need a completely different hosting site that allows for that. I may be wrong, but I think whatever platform Andrew uses is a pretty simple one as far as that kind of coding, but I’m no expert. I do know someone who might be able to answer that, though – I have some “connections,” lol. Then I could ask Andrew what he thinks of it (if it is possible). 😊Anyway, I can’t even begin to thank you for how much you have encouraged me and shared with me in the time we’ve known each other. You have been a true friend to me. Thank you so much for your kind words, I am truly moved by you saying that. I feel so blessed to have found Rock Class 101 and all the lovely, brilliant people here. I owe the most amazing experiences in my ukulele journey to this group and SO MANY special things have happened to me in my time here and so many of them because of you – such as our amazing, fun, hilarious times on the Open Mics (and our “side commentary” that happens in every context). 😂 I never would’ve tried that without you, I’m sure of it. And you yourself are such an inspiring musician – I want to be more like you in your elegant way of playing and singing.
As for that verse, this starts to get very deep, but when I have been very depressed, there have been times I cried out to God, inside and outside, and I felt like He didn’t hear me. So, it’s so beautiful and poignant that you share that specific verse. I know He did hear me, but in the moment, feelings can lie. This is a sign that I need to spend some time reading the Psalms. 😂
Thank you again so much, my friend! Your encouragement has helped me so much over the years. You are the best. 🥰
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Welp, that’s it for tonight, I guess! 😂 Oopsies, I got very carried away. I’ll try to keep the next replies shorter, but this is the way (for me). Thank you all again! 😂
Oh golly, coming back to this, I realize the Tear Factory is going to be in full swing as I reply to this, 😂 but I’ll start with replying to the people who posted after my initial post (for July’s challenge), for the sake of thoroughness:
@jbmills07, oh man, that was absolutely amazing with Shake It Off! I can see what Andrew was saying about the rhythm at the beginning of the tune, but other than that tiny thing, that was true perfection! Beautiful, friend! Always good to see you join the challenges, even though you’ve already won two kanile’as. 😉 😂 That’s probably my favorite T-Swift song, though. Perfectly played! 😊
@ruthie-roo, absolutely beautiful playing, Ruthie! So sorry you’re going through that pain, but you haven’t let it hold you back from playing so beautifully. I really, really love that tune by Andrew. The only reason I didn’t try it is because I don’t have a low G uke. Anyway, lovely playing! 😊
@nat-uke, magical performance! I want to hear the singing, lol! Very beautiful performance! You really can’t go wrong with that tune. I also really like the look of your video – looks very professional. 😊
@xerxes, I actually think that sounded great! All you need to do is increase the speed and I think it’ll sound perfect! I also like the snapping, lol.
@jody_hendrickson, sounds very lovely, your take on the Severence theme! I feel a bit of FOMO over not being in on this inside joke, but that’s what I get for never watching TV by myself. All I know is I hope I’m invited to that dang melon party! 😂 (Probably not, lol.) Sounded really amazing! 🙂
@rgillof, your Summertime Blues sounded so lovely! 🙂
@jobarjo454, wow, that was crazy good!! Hope you share more around here. Really magical performance, and really perfectly played! 🙂Okay, I’ll reply (in a separate post) to as many of the rest of the posts as I can tonight. I just want to give each one my full attention just because everyone wrote such incredibly kind things that I still feel overwhelmed by. 😂
