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Not sure why my Youtube video isn’t embedded in the message, but I assume the link will work okay.
Again, I’m in awe of the talent in this group. One day I hope to feel effortlessly comfortable on the fretboard (you immediately come to mind, @abster, @Nico_uke, @marianne, among so many others), but for now I’m still picking my way through each piece. @leb397, ain’t that the truth: it takes longer to make the connections between older fingers and older brains—but what a pleasant way to keep the synapses firing!
@The_Bumble_Bard: Thanks for watching for my entry. I’m on the last minute again because I changed etudes halfway through—wanted to play something on my new Low-G, but my first pick proved to be beyond my capabilities, and my second choice was almost as difficult. How true that the fingering has to become second nature before attempting to add feeling. This Etude, no. 17, is meant to focus on dynamics, which I thought would be easy to incorporate, but I found I had to put all my attention into the fingering.I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Thank you, Andrew. Your etudes are not only beautifully written, but each one is geared toward a certain level while managing to add an extra little challenge somewhere in the piece. I don’t feel I’ve risen to this challenge adequately — clearly I need to strengthen the hammer-ons/pull-offs, and I’m not sure why I kept looking down at what my right hand was doing — but I wanted to submit something on my new low-G Kala. I’ll definitely be working on this one because it’s such a lovely piece.
Oh, @leb397, I feel your pain! But you came back strong with another submission right away. I think I bit off more than I can chew with Etude #17, but I wanted something I could play on my brand new low-G Kala, thanks to the generosity of Uke Republic. I didn’t realize it would have such finger-tangles toward the end, so I’m going to have to crawl through it at a snail’s pace and submit it at the last minute – I hope Andrew has an extra half hour to listen to it!
@The_Bumble_Bard, congratulations for putting three different styles together, and so seamlessly!Love hearing everyone’s entries – so much talent in this group.
Welcome, @ukulelebetsy! This site is amazing – I discovered it earlier in the year when I found myself thinking there must be more than strumming with this instrument. And indeed there is – I had no idea there would be so many possibilities for learning and improving. Andrew and the other instructors are thorough and patient, and the community on this forum are all positive and encouraging. And don’t hesitate to post an entry – there are so many talented people here, and they all had to begin somewhere. We’ll look forward to hearing more from you!
Again, what an impressive display of talent in this group! I so admire the skill of everyone who submitted Tocatta and Fugue . . . maybe one day I’ll reach that level. A special shout-out to @abster – your fingers knew just what to do even as you looked around for possible distractions! You are amazing.
@brettboy: You are an absolute riot, with your selection of crazy videos. (I had to watch your cat very carefully in your first submission – it sat so quietly through your playing, I wondered if it was part of your decor.)So here’s my humble entry, complete with little corrections where I should have just plowed through – I didn’t realize I was doing that until I played it back.
I am a Premium Member
Oh my goodness, I’m gobsmacked! Now my dream of having a low-G and a high-G at the same time will be fulfilled! Thanks again to Andrew and crew for writing and arranging the tunes that know how to challenge us and for putting so much time into RockClass101 and its amazing website.
@The_Bumble_Bard: I agree, you deserve all kinds of credit for putting it all together in just an hour and making it sound quite presentable! Nicely done.
@leb397: What a beautiful vintage find! I love how you can see the wear on the fretboard from all the tunes this instrument has played in the past – imagine the stories it could tell.
I continue to be blown away by the talent in this group. @abster, you are amazing – I look forward to each of your videos, as I do the entries from @brettboy – your creative personality shines. And to everyone else, thanks for the inspiration.
And special thanks to Andrew and crew for making this all happen.
Thanks, Andrew, for this lovely little duet. I thought my fingers would be able to master it fairly quickly . . . until I got to that devilish run up the fretboard, which others have done so effortlessly, while my fingers just wanted to tangle up in a panic, even at 75%. Something else to practice!
@marianne – I always look forward to your entries because you always play so beautifully! You are my inspiration.
@brettboy – I was gobsmacked by your two – count ’em, two! – versions of this piece. But you have to tell us: what exactly is that thing at the very end?
Here’s my premium member submission for August. The first thing I learned from this challenge is that I should have paid attention earlier to Andrew’s advice that we regularly record songs we’re working on, as part of our practice. I haven’t been doing that, so after my first session when I thought I had something I was happy with, I noticed when playing it back that I was missing the A string on some of the chords. So I went back to it today and concentrated on that. Now I see that I need to work on keeping my fingers closer to the fretboard. I’m also working on my hammer-ons, especially with the ring finger.
I love seeing the amazing talent in this group – you’re all an inspiration!
@leb397: It didn’t go unnoticed that you’re wearing just the right shirt to accompany that song! And I love your opening drama, @dead buggy. I don’t have a Sponge Bob shirt a la @kittycatlin, nor am I up to singing along with the aplomb of @madz_about_uke, so maybe I should just start my entry with a menacing “Where are my sponges?” But first I have to get up to at least fifty percent speed before I can expect to post anything.
Great playing, everyone!
Congratulations, @morrieuke1 and son of @morrieuke1! And to everyone else who submitted their own tunes – I’m in awe of the talent in this group.
And thanks, Andrew for your constructive feedback and you’ve given me something to listen for. And you’ve done this for each of the 43 submissions. This is such a great way to learn.
Squeaking in at the last minute. Thanks, Andrew, for this challenge, and kudos to everyone who composed such wonderful tunes. Family, family, and more family made it impossible for me to even think of creating a song of my own (maybe next time!), so I’m going with the Travis picking etude.
