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@leb397, hahaha, whoops, sorry about that! I think you’re right. 😂 I usually don’t use my laptop as much either. I am bad at typing on my phone still, which is why I should write my replies on my phone. 😂😂
Thank you so much for that! I have thought about starting a blog, but obviously I’ve made huge progress with that. Yes, time to go “be productive” or something. Have a lovely day! 😂😂@leb397, that’s so stinkin’ presh! 🧡 I also am so glad I found RC101 three years ago this July. Crazy how time flies. This is such a special group of people – students and teachers alike. 🥰
Hahaha!! @leb397, thank you, I’m so glad you found that funny. 😂 I often have thoughts / internal tangents like that about different things. It’s so satisfying when someone else finds them funny. 😂
The final final stage: “I time travelled back to caveman times and taught the first caveman how to sing – thus creating music itself – that means, I learned the RC101 song fastest” (none of that is correct). 😂😂
I also try to guess what the next challenge will be, but sometimes you can somewhat guess based on the songs being released the month before. Also, the newsletter. Also, because I’m super annoying, I have also asked Andrew directly. But even after all that, I still have often been wrong in my guess. 😂
Thank you, that definitely is not true with every song that I can learn it in a few days, but I think one of my skills with music is recognizing patterns (such as chord shapes and stylistic patterns with different players), even if I don’t know what the chord/note name is, and that helps me learn some songs more quickly. It’s also at least 78% moxy that propels me to learn quickly. 😂
Oh yeah, I forgot about Andrew’s slap/chuck! That sounds like a power move in a video game. 😂 Maybe I’ll try that if I can’t get the chuck. I am the same way with strumming, being “scared” of it, and I just have this huge mental block with it. I’ve talked with Matt about that in private lessons but he’s simplified strumming so much for me that it boils down to, “am I going to physically start strumming at any point, or just sit and worry about it?” 😂 I continue to choose the latter… until now (very dramatic).
Thank you, I am feeling better today. 🧡 I am trying to keep myself distracted, seemingly by diving back into the ukulele world once again even more. I still haven’t put any of kitty’s things away. I will keep all of them for a future time if I can get another cat, once I am emotionally and financially able to do so. But it will take time to put away her things, for me. Like her food dish is still out with food in it. So, not completely out of the woods yet with letting go of that, but feeling mentally better today. I do miss her sweet cuddles and pets a lot, though. 🧡
Also, I probably shouldn’t write replies on my laptop because I’m way faster at translating my thoughts into text this way compared to a phone – which is dangerous with my tangential brain. Sorry. 😂
@leb397, that’ll be so lovely for you to play that one again! I think I remember you playing that one before maybe. It’s actually really cool to revisit songs you learned a while ago. I’ve really been meaning to do that with the song Always With Me from Spirited Away that Steven did because that one is so lovely. Just see what it’s like for me now. But that’s more of a random side tangent. 😂 Thank you, I know I’m going to be on the struggle bus with Free Fallin’ but FINALLY I can force myself to work on some strumming. I have a serious mental block with that. That also means I never really learned how to chunk/chuck, so that should be fun. 😂😂 Thank you so much for you confidence, though, maybe you’re right! 😂🧡
@Gi_gi_ I also remember you singing Summertime and it being so gorgeous. That will be really neat with Song of Storms! I really want to do a piano accompaniment with the uke for something, too, at some point, but I guess I need a piano for that. Maybe I can find a free-ish one somewhere. 😂…
I also had kind of a funny, completely unrelated thought that seemed really funny in my mind about last month’s challenge. So, I thought I’d share it here while we’re still in the random conversational stage of this challenge. 😂
Here it is:
After I mentioned that I learned the tune I chose last month in a couple of days, I noticed that a few other people mentioned they learned their tunes around that quickly. So, then I started to think about getting super braggy about how quickly I could learn the tune – “Actually, I learned the tune while I was watching the play through of the song in the lesson then instantly figured out how to play it (I have done that before, but only for parts of songs, lol!!).” But then it gets really extreme: “I guessed which song Andrew was going to pick this month before he even realized it, then figured out who was going to make the arrangement and guessed how he would do it – so I learned the song before it fully existed.” Final stage: “I time travelled into the past and wrote a song that would be picked for a future challenge – so I created the song he picked decades before Rock Class 101 existed.”
😂😂😂
In my mind, that seemed really funny, but probably no one else will find that funny, but now I feel unburdened… 😂
@marianne, thank you so much for that! It means a lot that you liked how I played your lovely tune. 🥰
Very fun, cute topic! I’m definitely going to attempt Free Fallin’, though it’s likely to be a train wreck because I am bad at literally all the techniques involved. 😂 I probably shouldn’t try to learn that one in two days, that’s a whole month-er for me. Really looking forward to this challenge! 🙂
@leb397, thank you so much, Lousia! I know, I can’t believe that happened. It was so shocking and sudden, even though I knew that could happen at any time – that with congestive heart failure her condition could abruptly worsen – I felt hopeful that I’d have a little longer with her. She was my BFF, that’s so true. Best Feline Forever. She still is. Thank you, I think she was somewhere between the little wolf and the little raccoon. 😻😂 I loved her a lot and really miss her sweet cuddles and pets – that she loved so much, too. 😿 She would literally run if she thought I was going toward our “cuddle spots” and often wait there for me. But I’m also glad her pain is over now and that she didn’t get to the extreme she was when I got to the emergency vet when I was home alone with her. I’m still very much in the grieving stage, but soon I hope I can focus more on the sweet memories I got to have with her. Thank you again! 😻🧡
@grannieannie, thank you so much, Annie! I write this with tears in my eyes, still, because I so appreciate your kind words and the sweet memories I had with her for a short time. 🧡 But everyone who knew her and saw us together could tell she and I had a special connection. And I feel like all the pictures I have capture that. I will cherish that a lot. She also helped me grow as a person because I’m not good at dealing with medical things whatsoever and I went through some of the hardest things ever with her, and learned that I can do those things. Because I was there with her until the moment she died and even after she died, I held and pet her. And now she’s in heaven eating tortilla chips with my other kitty who is eating Cheetos and moths, flying around. 😻
@johanna2509, thank you so much, my friend! It is good to hear from you and that means so much. 🧡 I also still have tears in my eyes because the heartache is so real. Anyone who has had a special connection with an animal knows how devastating their loss is. And I won’t go into detail, but her passing was extremely difficult, but I know she couldn’t feel anything because of the meds. But I am so glad I got to hold her and say goodbye. And yes, still have all the wonderful memories, pictures, videos, her toys, and towels (because she loved to sleep on towels) and I got a little ceramic paw print in lieu of ashes or anything. I hope it’s okay that I share all that, but that’s the reality of it and why the grief and pain is so real. But I’m hoping I’ll soon be able to work through that and focus on the sweet memories I have gotten to have with her. That’s why I’m so glad I have a bunch of videos and pictures of her being adorable and sweet to help me remember that more. Thank you for the lovely comment, it really means a lot! I hope you’re doing well, Johanna. 😻
@janaq1, thank you so much, Jana! It means so much that you say that. I can’t remember if I said, but my family has said that if I had not taken her she might’ve been alone outside when all this happened (because she was an outdoor kitty before I took her). So, I am grateful that I could be there with her and give her as much love as I could in the short time I had her. Thank you, your words mean a lot to me right now. 😻I thought I would share this. I took this video only a couple of days before she went to heaven. I took it on my phone, please excuse the poor video quality.
Thank you all again for your very kind, encouraging comments, they help so much and mean so much. 😻🧡
Hey friends! I just wanted to let all my friends here know who admired my kitty cat, too, that her condition deteriorated suddenly this last Thursday night and we had to put her down. It’s very hard to think about the details of it, but her breathing worsened and she was in critical condition by the time I got her to the emergency vet. I am truly heartbroken by this. She and I had a very special connection instantly and deeply, and even though I didn’t have her long, I loved her so much. It’s so hard to be without her. But she’ll have a special place in my heart forever. 🧡
I’ll share the last picture I got to take of her. It was from the same night she passed, only a few hours earlier.
MowgliPerfectSweetPuff @Andrew, thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words, they mean a lot! So glad you felt I captured the feel of the piece. That’s what I hope most to do when I play music. The beauty of the piece inspires feeling, as well, but I also impart my own feeling into it. That’s what I feel is happening. 😂 For me that’s really true though.
@brettboy, that was truly gorgeous playing!!Hey @Andrew, forgot to say…
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
… Once again.
Maybe I can remember in June, so far I’m dropping the ball. 😂
@grannieannie, thank you so much!! It was a lot of musical information to pack into my brain, but such a beautiful piece! 🥰 Yes, she is a little cuddle fiend so anything that interferes with that (like me playing ukulele), makes her squawk in protest. 😅 I do love her a lot. She is so precious and sweet. You had such a lovely performance with SOTDOTB! That one seems really tricky. Loved seeing your little friend, too! 🥰
@leb397, thank you so much, Louisa!! 🥰 I will keep working on it because part of the issue was that I kept forgetting what came next. For some reason kept switching the 0333 and 0353. 😅 But thank you so much! Thank the Lord, she is still doing okay. The meds seem to be helping her breathing but I take it hour by hour. It’s extremely emotional for me because I love her a lot. But yes, she can’t play as much now, only gently play, but she still loves attention and cuddles. I’m crying. 😂😻😭 Anyway, thank you, friend, I really appreciate your support with that! 🥰😊
I forgot to say, you used a raccoon emoji, she is a little raccoon!! 😻😂🦝🐱
Edit: I’ve already edited this twice, I’m being extra spastic. 😂 But another funny thing that made Marianne’s piece challenging was that parts of it went SUPER high up the fretboard! I always play my googly-eyed soprano uke so anything above the 12th fret doesn’t exist to me. So that was very tricky to navigate. Also that meant I had to play my concert uke that has a higher action and I’m less comfortable with it. Extremely challenging on multiple levels but well worth the effort for the incredible beauty of the song! 😊
Here’s my take on Marianne’s brilliant piece, “Contemplations”:
I did manage to learn this one in a few days, though parts of it were certainly very challenging – especially those huge leaps, some of the chord changes, and also just the length of it (so hard to play that long without messing up, lol!). It’s still not 100% perfect, but I think I did okay with it in that amount of time. That said, I did learn the section with the tremolo for an earlier challenge this year because that was the technique I was focusing on for that month (tremolo). So Marianne’s piece was one song I used to practice that technique. 😊 I learned the rest of the song for this challenge. I somewhat “YouTube-ified” this video because I posted it publicly on my wee lil’ YouTube channel. 😂
(However, no idea why, the film quality of my webcam suddenly tanked. It could be because the lighting wasn’t good. Oh well, lol!)
This is such an incredible piece of music, thanks so much to Marianne for creating it and sharing it and to Steven for teaching it (though – admittedly – I watched the lesson when it came out and not again as I learned it this time, so that might’ve been a mistake, and might show in my awkward fingering in places). 😂😂 I hope I somewhat did it justice, especially with the feeling behind it, though like I said it still isn’t perfect by any means.
Thanks to @Andrew and crew for everything you do! And lovely work by everyone this month!! 😍
@misterbones, haha, so true! The Imperial March is quintessential Star Wars. It sounds really good on the bass. 😀
@leb397, so magical that you’re playing your banjolele so much more! Ha, the loudness of the banjo-uke is why I don’t play it as often because I have neighbors. 😂 You’re making me want to play it more now, anyway, though yours has a much richer and sweeter sound than mine! Thank you so much, like I told you in the other thread, she is doing okay today. I have to monitor her breathing every day and it’s stable for now. She is still doing all the important kitty things, eating, drinking, litter-box-ing, and most importantly, cuddling. I let her gently play but not vigorously like she was doing. Her sweet little heart needs to be treated delicately now. Thank you so much for asking and for the support with that! 😻@grannieannie, I really appreciate that so much! She is my little soulmate to be honest. 😻 I’ve never felt such a special connection to a kitty before and I grew up with cats that I loved a lot. But she’s my sweet, special little friend. This helped me realize even more how precious and dear every moment we have together is and how we should cherish the time we have in our lives. With her, things could change at any moment. So, I’m just enjoying the time I have with her now and trying to make her as comfortable and happy as I can.
@leb397, thank you so much, Louisa (hope I spelled that right)! 😻 Normally we don’t call each other by our real names because nick names are kind of fun, but it seems fitting here to use real names. Thank you, her sweetness makes this situation even more heartbreaking. She is doing okay today, the meds seem to be helping her breathing a good amount. She definitely is much less energetic, but still does want to play. I have to be careful to not let her get too wound up though because she is fragile now. She still loves her cuddles, though. So, enjoying the time I have with her, however long that might be. 😻😥
