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Thanks, @Andrew, for creating this step-by-step course that will walk us through so many concepts; you’ve spent a lot of time into putting this together. I’ve felt at loose ends for the last couple of months (not helped by a fair bit of travel), and I need to get back into a regular practice routine. I’m going to start at the beginning, as a refresher, and learn/reinforce the basics before moving on. This is perfect timing.
Thanks also for the online tuning tool – really handy!
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I could have used another week to iron out the kinks, but I’m heading out to Montreal tomorrow (hmmm, maybe our paths will cross, @shmu88) and will have neither time nor ukulele while I’m there, so this is what I can do for now. Once again a fair bit of background noise – the dogs always seem to wander in when I’m recording.
@misterbones, you’ve put into words what I’ve discovered about my own practice. There have been songs where I’ve felt like tearing my hair out because it feels like I’ll never get my fingers to go where I want them to, but somehow by the end of the month it seems to work out.
I try to get a longer practice session in each day, but that doesn’t always happen. Then I heard from more than one source that progress actually happens more quickly if you just spend a few minutes on a piece or on a particularly tricky passage, walk away for a while, then come back again later, rather than belaboring something in the hope of quick improvement. That seems counterintuitive, and I’ve also wondered if there’s any research around that.
By the way, I always enjoy watching you play. You’re always spot on, and you make it appear so effortless! I like your approach of trying to choose something that’s a bit challenging – that’s what keeps the interest going.
It’s Red is the Rose for me because I’m going to be short on time this month and all the pull-offs in Kemp’s Jig looked like they’d need more time, but I do prefer that tune and will be going back to it later.
@jbmills, I can’t wait to see how your cat chooses to accompany you this month, although I don’t know if anything can top the headdress he decided you needed two months ago (and the fact that you played so calmly throughout)!
@abster – I’m so glad you’re still playing, and thank you for the link. I continue to be impressed with your talent.
@The_Bumble_Bard – I need to check back on forum posts occasionally – I totally missed this introduction of your new keyboard, and it’s obvious how thrilled you were with it, and how proficient you are at playing it! Your hands move up and down the keyboard with ease and grace, and I love how they make beautiful notes, seemingly effortlessly.
I’m glad your uke is still part of your life too.
@abster – I’m glad I saw your post, as I was wondering where you were! You have tremendous talent, and I hope tennis doesn’t take you too far away from your ukulele – we’d like to hear more of your playing!
Bonjour, @cyman_t! You couldn’t have picked a better place to continue learning – the lessons cover everything in detail, and the instructors explain the concepts clearly. The challenges give us something to work toward each month, and it’s really useful to post videos of ourselves to the group (which becomes less intimidating with time).
I agree with you that learning ukulele is much more than playing one note after another. I started a couple of years ago because I wanted to give my brain a new challenge; I didn’t expect it would become such an important part of my daily routine.
And no need to apologize for your English (which sounds perfect in your introduction) – I’m brushing up on my own French in preparation for a trip to Montreal later this month, and I envy anyone who has command of more than one language.
We’ll look forward to hearing more from you.
@The_Bumble_Bard – So sorry to hear your bad news. I hope the ice cream helped (as it always does), and that everything picks up from here on in. We’ll look forward to hearing from you in Junel
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This was a fun song to learn. I need to work on consistency and clarity – and I had planned to do a kazoo solo at the end (sans the fancy holder as fashioned by @misterbones), but the grandkids were playing with mine on the weekend and now I find it doesn’t work. Oh well, it was just a cheapie from the dollar store, so now I have an excuse to get a nicer one.
Great submissions, everyone.
Hey @kngrieve – nice to see you here – sounding good!
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Welcome, @granny, from one granny to another! Sounds to me like you’re already learning very well.
This was the most challenging – and frustrating – challenge I’ve faced so far. It looked like an innocuous take on an old folk song-turned-popular tv lead-in, but all the permutations of second-fret barring were a bit much. And I must have missed the part about picking with just the thumb. So here’s my best effort so far. Lovely arrangement, Andrew, and thanks for the instruction, Matt.
Loving hearing everyone’s submissions this month. To the three who played Spanish Days – @marianne, @shmu88 (in three parts, no less), and @brettboy: I bow down in complete admiration! The fingering and speed are so crazy, and you nailed it.
You may recall that I had more or less given up on The Skye Boat Song because of difficulties getting the Bm chord that pops up so annoyingly throughout, but after encouragement from @otzepeng (complete with pics – thanks – but the last joint of my ring finger wants to head off in another direction, so I’m making the chord work with my pinky instead) and after seeing @planetfink play through it despite arthritis, I decided it wouldn’t be in the spirit of rockclass101 to give up. So I’m soldiering on and will post something soon (and it has to be soon).
Welcome to our new members, @uketime, @capurvis, @turbopstros. You’ll find this group is so very supportive, and the online instruction, with so many options available, is superb. I feel so much gratitude to Andrew and crew every time I sit down with one of their lessons or songs.
Oh, another gorgeous uke to dream about! I’ve been working on Skye Boat Song, but my knobbly index finger doesn’t want to bend enough the wrong way to consistently play the three-string bar chord, so I think I’ll switch to one of the etudes. Hearing the lovely melody of the One-Finger Etude so nicely played by @heike_uke and @malku2603 has convinced me to go with that instead.
@leihali: Wow! I’m glad you did post your singing – you have a beautiful voice, and this was a lovely rendition of a beautiful song.