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@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.
@dianna Funny you should ask about the fur-kids, all of whom are happily passed out at the moment. Bella, my always-hungry black lab, will wake up from the soundest sleep as soon as I head back to my practice room and squeezes into the same spot on the floor beside my chair so she doesn’t miss any of the serenades. Rica, a Border collie mutt rescued from the Yukon Territory, follows and waits for a pat, but once the notes hit her ears, she’s out! Mikey, my black tuxedo cat and owner of the house, would rather not acknowledge that such a thing as an ukulele exists.
@diana Such a creative musical way to show the contrast between your dog and cat! (I currently live with a cat and two dogs, so I understand the special bond you have with yours.) Thanks for naming the chords you used and the descriptions of how you created each part of the song. I’m going to go back and listen – you are an inspiration.
@kelsey91 No need to feel nervous among this group! Your lyrics are delightful – would you mind posting them? I missed some, but I especially like “put your phone down”.@shmu88: I’m glad that’s not your last song because I want to hear more like it – clever and original. Well done!
Congratulations, @emiliano! We’ll look forward to hearing some beautiful tones from that beautiful ukulele.
@The_Bumble_Bard Thanks for showing us what you’re doing, and for being so conversational about it – it’s interesting to hear how you’re going about creating this song. It’s a lovely melody and I’ll look forward to watching as it evolves.
@deadbuggy What a gorgeous song with a real cowboy feel!@The_Bumble_Bard Thanks for your kind comments. Funny, I’d forgotten about the Blue Meanies – my most vivid memory of that movie is a bunch of us running through the late-night city streets afterward, feeling positively exhilarated!
So much lovely playing this month – I’m inspired by you all.
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
When I first stumbled through Yellow Submarine, I thought, “Matt said this is supposed to be a fun little song???!?” But once I got my fingers doing what they were supposed to do, and fairly consistently, I had to agree: this is a fun little song. Especially since it got my brain looking back through some very dusty old files, to find that the lyrics I used to sing along to some decades ago are still mostly there. I was tempted to sing along now, but my fingers still need most of my focus.
Thanks, Matt, for the arrangement and tutorial.
@The_Bumble_Bard – I hear you, girl, loud and clear. For many reasons, perfectionism was expected of me most of my life, and I tried hard to live up to those expectations, again for many reasons. I’m in my seventies now, and I had hoped that the generations after me would be spared the impossible expectations, but sadly, that doesn’t seem to be the case. When I started learning to play my ukulele earlier this year, I decided it was going to be for fun. And it is, but I still have trouble submitting a recording of myself when it’s full of finger-stumbles, despite everyone’s generous support of everyone else’s playing. BTW, I didn’t know this tune was from Barbie – shows how little I keep up with popular culture!
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Here’s my go at Dream a Little Dream. I’m still waiting for the index-finger barre callus to develop, so it seems like a lot of my strings are plunking, not ringing. Also, it doesn’t help when I’ve played through the piece so many times that my fingers get tired, lol – I’ll start adding more barre practice to my warm-up routine, and maybe one day . . . Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone with these monthly challenges, and for your kind comments and gentle suggestions. So glad I discovered rockclass101!
