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Here’s my submission for July – I like how La Gitanita works on a low G. I gave myself another challenge this month, in addition to being outside in a different town. As a recovering but often-lapsing Perfectionist, I decided that one take and one take only would have to do for this recording – normally I’m trying 20 or 25 times to get something without any hiccups. So here it is, hiccups and all.
Thanks, @Andrew, for the link to the video about playing behind the beat. I have a feeling it’s easier said than done!
So enjoying everyone’s great submissions, with all the outdoor settings (complete with bugs), including a camper van and a moving vehicle (is that a first for this forum?)
I’m finding inspiration in everyone’s playing – again, I’m so grateful this.
@Andrew: could you explain what’s meant by playing “behind the beat”? Thanks.
Thanks, @andrew and @The_Bumble_Bard. I didn’t mean to come across so harsh – I should have included a few smiley faces along with the comment, “At least I kept the beat!” Of course I’m my own worst critic, but I came to the conclusion that there will probably be songs along the way where my brain and fingers just don’t click, and at that point I just have to do the best I can.
I’m so fortunate to live right next to Crown land in British Columbia, meaning it’s owned by the government and can’t be developed. So I go out every day and hug a few trees, take in the silence, and just marvel at nature. I’ll choose a different forest background next month.
Speaking of which, I’m looking forward to the challenges you give us for July, Andrew. You always have something for everyone.
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OMG, this is as painful to watch as it was to play (even my patient audience members seemed to agree). I picked this song because I thought it would be easy enough to learn after being away for a few weeks, but I can’t even blame travel for this – nor can I blame the outdoor setting in my Back Forty, because this is how it has felt all the way through: choppy, rough, and a total slog. Sorry, Andrew, your nice little piece deserves better, but I’ve run out of time and patience.
@The_Bumble_Bard: Well done, girl! You took on not just one aspect of playing that has frightened you, but a whole bunch of challenges, and you made it through the song just beautifully. Andrew has such a talent for adding little touches to his arrangements that seem innocuous at first, then I realize they’re there to help us learn something new, and there were a lot of those in that piece. (Nice touch with the eye-tapping too!)
I find strumming easier to learn and play, but I prefer the challenge of finger-picking – there’s so much more to think about, and the fingers have to have dexterity to move around the fretboard. Also, I prefer the finger-picked arrangements – I like to think they give a classical guitar feel to the songs, not that I have any pretensions about my own playing!
@johanna2509: Well done, playing right the way through, outside and with cold fingers! (I didn’t do so well when, last winter, I forgot my gloves and arrived at a little do our ukulele group was playing for a group of seniors. I had agreed to play a solo – my first ever – and my fingers ended up being tangled all over each other.) I just watched Matt’s lesson on practising in uncomfortable situations, so you’ve inspired me to record my next challenge somewhere outside.
Thanks, Mike, for your generosity that makes our challenges so exciting. (I won one of your ukes last year.) I don’t know if I’ll ever make it down your way, but I like that you’ve kept your shop going all this time – it must be the service you provide!
Oh, Sweetie, I’m so sorry to hear that. The few months that you shared with your little one were special to the both of you, and you did the best thing for her in the end. She’s obviously left a big hole in your heart – take the time to grieve for her. She was lucky to have found you.
I so enjoyed all the performances of Duality, and it’s such a lovely tune that I’ve decided to learn it myself. But what contortions I have to put my hand through to make all those chords happen! Now I’m doubly impressed with everyone’s talent.
Thanks, @Andrew, for pointing that out that my right hand was out of sync with the beat of the song – I hadn’t even noticed, but now it’s obvious when I look for it.
@katazumiri: I wasn’t aware of the back story to Dock of the Bay, although I’ve heard that song described as one of the best of all time.
@The_Bumble_Bard: Well done, learning that whole piece! So nice to see your kitty joining you and loving the attention. She’s well loved, that’s for sure.I am a premium member.
I chose Dock of the Bay as well – fun to learn and to play. Can I blame the goofy Doodle, who was listening behind me (unbeknownst to me until I started moving around), for my losing focus and messing up on the easier “whistling” section at the end? No, that was my own lapse, but since I didn’t really want to record the whole thing again so it would have a smooth ending, here it is.
So many great entries this month, as usual.
@alojzy_bomba: Not only did you play that duet so beautifully, you put yourself in the picture twice, an effect I’ve only seen in films.
@katazumiri: I look forward to your many-faceted submissions, this time with a video of a peaceful canal – looks like a perfect place to sit and waste time, although if you were to play your uke at the same time, it wouldn’t be a waste!@leb397: I wondered when we would get to hear your vintage banjo uke! Well played, and doesn’t it just fit that song?