Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Oh my word, now I have 49 subscribers!! It’s both hilarious and sad how excited I am for that! 50 subs, here we come!! Thank you to whoever did that (or perhaps it was someone outside RC101, but still)! Thanks, LOL! 😉
@grannieannie, awwwwwwwwww, thank you SO much for that!! That seriously is so nice that you did that. I had a goal of reaching 50 subscribers by the end of the year (that I made maybe a month ago, lol), but it’s okay if it doesn’t happen. The main reason I have that channel is it’s a good incentive to create more polished versions of the arrangements I try to make and to practice the things that make me most anxious – talking, playing in front of others, and having people look at me, lol. But it’s also good practice for creating videos, even though that’s seemingly perpetually a WIP for me. Anyway, thank you so much! 🙂 🥰
Loved reading your goals! Those are some really good ones. I’m so jealous that you get to go to that festival in Vancouver and see Matt. One day I hope to be able to get to a uke festival, preferably one he’s at to meet him! He’s just been such an inspiration and help to me in my ukulele journey. I really hope you enjoy that! 🙂
Also, when you get to learn Contemplations by Marianne, you should definitely share it here! Would love to hear it, and I’m sure she would too! And Andrew, too! That one’s so beautiful. 🙂
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
So, I picked Away in the Manger this month (I always almost write “manager” for some reason, lol) and I managed to struggle with it a bit. Well, I was modifying it for high g, but then I tried to make it fancy, so all of that is on me. A beautiful arr. by Andrew though, the “meat” of the tune is lovely. 🙂
I got to listen through a few of the entries – all very lovely! @dianna, a very beautiful take on that tune, but I have one question for you: Is that tree real? If so, WOW, your Christmas tree game is on point, lol. @katazumiri, a very lovely take on that tune, too, and always love the layers you create! A nice walk through your city, too. 🙂 @brettboy, that was really magical!! Loved the duet!! @nat-uke, your take on that tune was so beautiful and your video is nice ‘n’ polished! 🙂 So yes, that’s all I’ll comment on for now, but just want to say this community is still so special to me. I look forward to having more time coming up after the holidays to just chill and play ukulele more. Boy do I miss that! As of now, I’m 6 batches of Christmas cookies deep because I’m in charge of making all the dough for some reason, lol. And everything else. We all know how this time of year goes. 😉
I did donate to the Ukulele Kids Club!! 🥰
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to this beautiful ukulele family!! 🥰
Oh the image in the video is a random picture of a Bible I took a long time ago in an old church. Just thought it looked kinda neat! 😉
Also, please enjoy the random accidental pseudo-harmonic I did and the sound of my phone buzzing near the end of the tune. Man, am I incredible at recording! 😉
@marianne, that was really lovely, really great idea to do a medley like that! Everyone else’s entries were so lovely, too. 🥰
I also wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who left me lovely feedback last month on my entry. That really meant a lot to me, but I still seem to be struggling to get out of “survival mode” – but getting there (plus, even more busy with all the Christmas stuff happening). 😂
I may also try to do more than one of these tunes. I have one almost ready. I look forward to recording / sharing / donating to this lovely charity that brings a lot of joy to these kiddos – the joy of playing ukulele, which we all know is a true joy in this world. 🥰
Also really looking forward to hearing more performances! 😊🥰🎄
Yay, love this topic every year! It’s good to have “hashtag” goals!
I’m wondering if this will be in the same format as your live lesson on your Patreon, Matt: Play, Progress, Push? I’m going to format my goals in that way, anyway. 😅
Here are my goals for 2026:
1. Play: Continue creating arrangements in the random, noodle-y way that I love to do.
2. Progress: Continue to work on writing down my arrangements, strumming, learning Rock Class 101 tunes, and all the things that challenge me.
3. Push: Create 1 YouTube video per month of my own cute lil’ arrangements with written tabs. Extra push: Go live on that channel once in front of my 47 subscribers. 😅
Okay, that’s it! Thank you for another amazing year! Hearts to you all! 🙂
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Hello dear ukulele friends! 😊
Well, unsurprisingly, I waited until the last second to practice / record / share my take on Morning Dew, but it looks like a bunch of other people are last second, too! Looking forward to going back and listening to a bunch of the entries. 😊
I knew this tune would be trickier for me because it’s written for Low G and in a very different style from what I play, and therefore is the opposite of intuitive for me, since all I play is High G uke. Also, all the hammer-ons and pull-offs – Those things still can be hard for me sometimes. So, it took about 100% of my CPU to go against my instincts / habits while playing this. 😂 Nonetheless, this was a really fun one to learn! And a very beautiful tune!
Also, I have a “bonus edition” of the tune I tried to recreate in a familiar style for me, but it was really nice trying to clawhammer-ify a tune again! I didn’t get super far with it, the last bit is pretty rough (because I only played through that part once as clawhammer), but I think it has high potential for that style! 😊
I hope everyone’s T-gives was lovely for all who celebrate! And that everyone is doing well. Thank you, @Andrew, for these amazing challenges and for all that you do with your team! 🥰
@deadbuggy, very beautifully played and beautiful arrangement by Christopher! I didn’t realize that was the song he arranged for you, so neat and special! Thank you for sharing this!! 🙂 <3
I finally got a chance to reply to some things here! 😊
@nat-uke, thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement! I’m pretty sure at this point – after this year that I’ve had – that not only has my gas tank been siphoned, but also I’m pretty sure the car has been stripped for parts (sometimes literally). 😂 You are really right though. Sometimes you can’t push yourself as hard when life is already so challenging – a challenge in itself. I also looked at Morning Dew and it’s trickier than I thought, which is perfect, it isn’t “too” easy. I also want to try something different with it. Thank you, your entry with Moondance was so good! I also have been practicing singing almost every day. I’ve talked with some really good singers about this and they say that confidence is almost as important as skill with singing. I really think that’s true. Anyway, thank you again, and look forward to your performance, too! 😊
@gi_gi_ it’s really lovely to see you appear, friend! We need to catch up soon. It’s been a while with life being so crazy. 😊 La Gitanita sounds so cool, it does seem like a good chance to work on that one! I have multiple RC101 tunes like that where I started then got distracted from learning them. 😂 Miss you, Double G! Glad you’re back! 🥰
@grannieannie, thank you so much for that!! I was really surprised that I was able to learn the first section so quickly, but knew I would struggle with the strumming parts. That skill just does not come naturally to me whatsoever for some reason. I think it’s because I have a really poor sense of rhythm and get really flustered (in a Guitar Hero-esque sense) with the pressure to hit the notes at the right time. That’s why I’m also really bad at those games and actually all video games, even though I do like them.😂 Uhhh, anyway, I really enjoyed your performance of Iron Man, that would also looked so hard and you did a lovely job with it!! 😊
@marianne, good gravy, that was exquisite! I think @Andrew described your performance as breathtaking – so true. So much incredible feeling and beauty behind your playing. It’s truly inspiring and moving. It makes me want to try that one, but I don’t have a low G or baritone uke. So sorry to hear of the loss of your work colleague. Praying for strength for everyone near to them and sorry that you’re going through that. 🥰
@misterbones, really amazing performance! You capture the feeling of so many different styles and utilize so many different techniques so well. I don’t really know that song. Were there tapped harmonics in your playing? It sounded really good, I didn’t notice anything off about it! Such a great performance! 😊
@bolognakid, really, really great performance!! Sounded perfect, honestly. Such a fun song, too. Also, just want to say, my name is also Rachael, spelled -ael! I haven’t personally met many fellow -ael’s in my life, maybe two or three, so it’s nice to meet another! 😊😂
@morrieuke1, so lovely, such a great feel to your performance! I really enjoyed it! 😊
@darktoto, very beautiful playing!! It sounded perfect to me. 😊Really looking forward to hearing more this month and hoping to get my performance done NOT the last day of the challenge! 😂
Sorry for the extremely delayed reaction, but thank you so much @otzepeng for your kind words about my performance of Aerials! Your take on that was so stinkin’ good. Everyone who tried that one (and all of the tunes) in October did so amazingly well with such difficult tunes!! I feel like Andrew and friends are dialing up the difficulty to keep us all challenged (not that I need it, eesh, lol). 😉 But that’s actually really great – it makes for some amazing music. 🙂
Also, @leb397, I’ve definitely done things like that so many times. Also, with spelling certain people’s names on here – I have to check every single time, like Shmu’s name for some reason and Otzepeng (oh my word, when spelling it just now I messed it up again, then fixed it, lol), I switch the letters around or add letters that are not there. I always try to be careful with that though because my name, my real name, gets misspelled all the time and it means a lot when people spell it right. 🙂
I really like this topic, man! Slides are one of my favorite techniques on the ukulele. 🙂
After pondering for a bit, I remembered some silly (but genuinely curious) questions I’ve always had about slides on the ukulele. Here they are:
…
1. Is it physically possible to do a slide starting from “0” (an open string) on the ukulele, or do you already need to be fretting a note to do a slide?
If yes, it’s possible, then that would be like jumping onto a playground slide before sitting down to maximize the speed and force. As an adult, you would not recover from such a maneuver (I’m cry laughing, but I seriously do wonder if that’s possible – on ukulele).
2. Do you think there’s a limit of distance with a slide on the ukulele? So, could you start at fret 1, then slide to fret 12 (or higher)? Is there any reason you would do this?
3. How much of a difference is there between sliding between two notes versus doing a hammer-on/pull-off between the same two notes? For example, sliding from A2 to A3 versus hammering on between those notes? Also, I probably wrote that wrong, sorry.
…
Thank you for these amazing lessons and still tolerating me after all this time and not blocking me!
@nat-uke, ha, yeah, waiting until the last minute, not ideal whatsoever! That was probably the longest I’ve ever waited to finish learning a song, literally the last day of the challenge. Do not recommend. Success: Maybe 25%. Stress: 75%. 😂😂
I wanted to do Etude 28, too, but it’s for Low G. I may be weak this month and go for Morning Dew, if it isn’t too-too easy. I don’t think I’ve done that one before… Oh wait, I just had an idea about that. Okay, now I know exactly what I’m going to do… 🤪
Edit: I just realized that may have come off the wrong way. It doesn’t make anyone “weak” to learn the beginner level songs; not at all. That one may even be harder than I realize (though I haven’t looked at it yet). I just mean I don’t always find beginner level songs as challenging anymore for me now, usually – but sometimes they still are, even being a bit more experienced. Okay, just wanted to mention that. 😂 All of RC101’s songs are challenging, but that’s part of what makes them beautiful.
Thank you so much for the encouragement, Andrew! Your feedback is so helpful and you notice everything. It’s still one of my favorite parts of these challenges, reading all your feedback (not just to me, but to everyone) because it’s so insightful and fun to read through. I’ll keep working on this one. 😊
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Oh, dear… so I sorely underestimated the difficulty of this tune, Aerials, whilst also sorely overestimating my ability to learn it quickly. Only having a couple of hours before a party tonight, this is the best I could do with the limited time that remains. I think portions of the performance are actually pretty okay except for the strumming sections which are a complete train wreck, yet… personal best…? For me, I would have to memorize every single up and down stroke and each chord change and take it one “1 e and a” at a time like 4SB suggested in the lesson. I definitely am going to go back and do that because this tune is really, really cool, but this is what it is for now. So sorry for anyone who witnesses my struggle, especially to you Andrew. Thank you for this amazing challenge and amazing tunes – and everyone’s amazing performances! 🥰
…
Oh my word, so, after I wrote that and was about to post my first take, I realize I forgot more than one section of the song and had to re-recorded. In my panic (running out of time to get ready, too), I feel like this take is even worse than the first one, but everything is there-ish. I’m so sorry; it’s so bad. 😂😂
Okay, watching it back, it isn’t *as* bad as I thought. You can tell the processing power of my brain is maxed out with the strumming sections though, but even those are not *as* bad as I thought. Gah, sorry, okay, here it is:
@otzepeng, hahaha! Yes, that math seems 100% legit! I’m pretty sure that is how my mind works, too – there is *at least* 48 hours per day in which all these things can be done! And yet they all do get done, so……….. your take on Aerials was so amazing!! All the takes I heard on that one were so, so good! I think I’ll definitely end up playing all the notes, at least. 😂 The strumming part in the first part of the verse is killing me; the rest is tricky but manageable. It’s great because that tune is just the style I love to play – almost classical, in a way; like right at the beginning of the tune. That’s how I’m viewing it. I’m just so bad at strumming but doing my best with it! At least it’s more practice! Thank you so much for your vote of confidence!! 😀
@grannieannie, hahaha, that’s true! I know I do that to myself constantly, put unnecessary pressure on myself. I think I enjoy being stressed out. 😂 Thank you, cutting out almost all caffeine has helped a lot. Ha, thankfully, I also have social plans at least two of those days, so *plenty* of time to work with! 😂😂 Your take on Iron Man sounded really great, despite a lot less practice time! 😀
@leb397, thank you so much, Louisa! 🥰 Yes, things are getting better. I’ve learned some ways to manage my anxiety and like I said cutting out caffeine was very helpful with that. There’s a lot more to it, but I think I’m on the right path now. Haha, yes, my take is definitely going to be a “personal best” especially considering the current time restraints! The results should be fascinating! 😂 Your take on Iron Man was so stinkin’ good! 🙂
@nat-uke, hahaha!! We’re in the same boat. I’d be willing to bet a lot of people had the exact same thing happen. There’s always so much happening in October for some reason. I’m confident we can both pull it off! 😂😂 (Cough) 😉I’ve really enjoyed listening to all the entries and reading @Andrew ‘s feedback! Even if I don’t log in, I get all the emails and still love to follow along with this group. 🥰
Also I used valuable practice time to write this, but it’s hashtag worth it! 😂
So many amazing performances, I just got to listen through them all! Some really tricky songs and everyone did such a great job! 😊
So, uh, I definitely didn’t do that thing when I practice for one day at the beginning of the month, then didn’t pick it up again until today. I can learn Aerials in like three days, right? I definitely can… Actually, it amounts to about one day due to having 1.5 jobs now and editing a book for someone by the first week of next month. Also need to take a driving course. This is all totally doable and realistic. 😂 I am weirdly overconfident that I can do this…
Also just wanted to mention that I am feeling much better now with my health issues overall, though I had to make some lifestyle changes for sure. It has been a slow healing process, but just taking things day by day. I hope everyone here has been doing well. 🥰
