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Way to go @The_Bumble_Bard….and your painting is beautiful and festive. @nat-uke that was absolutely lovely and I agree with you whole-heartedly learning an instrument, playing a song is powerful and therapeutic. @Andrew and team…….Wow! You have created all this…..an impressive ukulele repertoire and from that an amazing supportive community has grown……That’s good therapy!
That was lovely @firebladetim, thanks for sharing. I’m a fan of clawhammer also, but I don’t feel quite up to speed. You have probably noticed they have a little clawhammer course here, and in August they included a great clawhammer challenge ‘Bury Me Beneath The Willow,”…..After you and @The_Bumble_Bard mentioned some other clawhammer ukulele videos/teachers….I checked u-tube and am surprised how much is out there now. This was not always the case. I would love to see an expanded clawhammer program here, but admittedly I love all the other ukulele opportunities they offer also. One more thing, I agree with keeping the tunes in the original key in order to play in old-time/blue grass jams (so that we can play nicely with others🤪).
By the way, I was impressed with your first challenge……well-done and very brave to attempt such a challenging piece…….Welcome to Roc101.
@leb397…..I’m not very technical, but what are u using to record? If you use your phone or an iPad…..these short videos can be uploaded straight into u-tube…..which only takes a minute or two and there is no need for pre-conversion, Maybe someone with better technical skills than I have can help you……..but 3 hrs…..I can understand your frustration!
Also, I agree with you on memorization….sometimes it causes more issues for me if I am not totally focused.
@Andrew, thank-you…….I seem to get to a certain point each month in my practice at which point I have to post, though I don’t really consider myself truly performance ready. It’s a good time to review where I am at, get some pointers from you…..but then each piece could benefit from a minimum of at least another month’s worth of practice, if not more. Still, as I move onto the next month’s challenge, I do sense that what I have gained from previous challenges, I can apply to the next challenge. Maybe, I should take on pieces that I know I can prepare to be performance ready in a month……I don’t know, I rarely feel ready to post…..I usually feel it could be so much better and that I have taken on way more than I can chew.
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
I worked on Always With Me this month, beautifully arranged by Steven…..It sounds like such a simple little tune…..but that is deceiving…..quite a challenge!….especially verse 2. I used a scene from the anime “Spirited Away” as a background (and yes, maybe a bit of a visual distraction!). It took about a minute to get the background……but, it took a significant amount of time to get a reasonable recording….So excuse all the cringe-worthy parts.🤪. Thanks for the challenge……Also, kudos to everyone for their posts……impressive work. I love sharing in this journey with everyone and witnessing everyone’s growth.
@misterbones – I second @Andrews critique……Wow!
@The_Bumble_Bard ….Thanks for posting….impressed by the way you can turn almost any song into clawhammer…..love it!
@jbmills07 I think I have been living under a rock all these years!🤪 I had definitely heard of anime, but it never occurred to me to actually watch it! Thanks again to Rock Class 101!😁. This weekend we watched ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ (gorgeous!)…….We have a lot of anime catching up to do, so I foresee an anime future!
@The_Bumble_Bard …….oooooh, I want to hear the clawhammer version please! Also, I like to hear voices….it makes the video more human. Just like when @jbmills07 smiles at the end of his videos…..you get a sense of the person playing.
@jgillard. Wow! Thank-you for sharing some of your process with us, it helps me become aware of the way I approach practice and how I can improve.@Muzikmama sorry about your Uke and thanks for the warning!
To all who have already posted great work and thanks for the inspiration. @rebeca I was so intimidated by ‘The Merry Go Round of Life,” and you have made it look easy (and I know it’s not easy)…..great job!
@jgillard – Well Done for a first attempt at recording….I’m definitely in the same boat as @The_Bumble_Bard….but not as brave as she is as far as recording and posting🤪…..
I’m guessing ‘the work’ that you still have to do is memorization and wondering if it is really necessary in your case……will it improve the performance? I’ve been wondering about memorization for awhile, because I usually memorize as I go along…….So, I do not move forward until I have sections memorized. It looks like your approach is different or opposite….you have learned the whole piece and now you will memorize.
I’m also finding that when I move onto another piece I forget what I memorized.
What I see watching you read the music is that you don’t have to look at your fingers moving on the fretboard….that was impressive! But then in verse 2 you do look down at the instrument….you have memorized this section (probably the most difficult section)…..by doing that, I sense an emotional charge….a connection and intimacy between player and instrument……
Anyway, I look forward to your next post!
One more thing…..did you play a stringed instrument before picking up the uke?
More clawhammer!
Kitchen Girl key of A
Cluck Ol’ Hen key of key of A
June Apple key of A
Shady Grove key of Am
Big Sciota key of G
Red Haired Boy key of A
Shove that Pig’s foot a little closer to the fire key of GI mention the keys, because sometimes they transpose to a more ukulele friendly key…..these are just a few examples……the list of traditional/old-time and blue grass is endless….sticking to the traditional key means we can try to play clawhammer ukulele in a jam with other instruments (my dream)!😁
@Leb397 and @The_Bumble_Bard we watched both ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ over the weekend….opening the world of anime and the genius of Hayao Miyazaki to our family. I highly recommend it……takes this challenge to another level!
Thank-you @Andrew! As always, you are spot on and I have my work cut out for me!😁
Thanks @annemarie…..I was trying to get a Big China/Halloween vibe….I used the image even though it has ‘freepix’ stamped all over it🤪……
