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In my first month when I took up the ukulele, strumming in general was really hard for me. My fingers would often catch in the strings and I had terrible timing. It took weeks of practicing to get a decent sound.
Keep working at it, @miztaken! It may take a while, but your hard work is going to pay off! Keep posting your progress. Then you can compare later how much you’ve improved within a few months’ time. I don’t have any earlier videos of me when I first began, but I wish I would have thought to do that.
Thanks for the kind words, @miztaken! It doesn’t always feel like I’m making progress, but I’m definitely learning a lot from RC101.
Ukulele is my first string instrument and the only other instrument I’ve ever played was nearly 30 years ago between the ages of 8-10. Playing the accordion was highly unpopular at the time, so I quit after two years. lol It was so huge and heavy that neither my mom or I could carry it very well anyway. 😂 I always got a reminder how my parents could have bought a small car with the payments they’d continued to make on my accordian for years after I quit. 😝
Combine that with me being in choir all throughout high school, reading musical notation isn’t new to me. Although I can’t read highly complex music, I remember the basics to understand what’s on this site.
-Kanni
Maureen, I got my Pono mango in August and it took over a month of consistent playing for the strings to settle. The fluorocarbon aren’t as high tension as Aquila nylgut but I really love the sound of them. And they can feel slippery, but the sound is sweeter on the mango. You can try Worth strings, but I’m not sure you’d like them any better.
I have a concert so it didn’t come with the wound third but I imagine that’s like having a wound fourth on my other ukes and that also takes some getting used to because it doesn’t play the same as the other strings. I have heard that the most common request for Pono tenors is to not get the wound third at the time of purchase. They all come stock that way.
Strings are tricky because there are so many types and it’s all preferential. I like Aquila on my other ukes, but I can’t imagine having them on the Pono. It’s mellow and plays so smooth the way it is. I’ll continue to use the same fluorocarbons that came with them. I even bought two extra sets for when they need replacing.
My editing skills are non-existent, so wearing a Walking Dead shirt and putting on a filter was the fanciest I could manage. 😂
This month was especially challenging for me and this is the best I could muster. More than anything, I’ve been consistently inconsistent with my playing results. 😭 No matter how much I practiced, I just got deeper into my own head. 🙁
Anyway, Happy Halloween and 5th Anniversary (Birthday?) to RC101! It’s been about 4 months since I joined (6 months since I picked up my first uke) and the experience here has been priceless. Thank you for all you do, Andrew!
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Ever since Kay ( @kayleighb) posted some YouTube videos from The Southern Ukulele Store, I’ve been following some of their stuff. Here’s a really helpful blog post they have explaining wound versus unwound Low G string (compares pros and cons).
I think what it comes down to is…every uke is different and everyone has a different ear, so may prefer a type over another, but until you try some (just like when you’re uke shopping), you really won’t know what’s best for you.
Personally, it’s all so new to me (ukuleles in general) that I’m not there yet with trying that many strings/wood types to know what I like or don’t like.
Yay, Robin! I’m so glad. 😊
I discovered One Music School on YouTube probably in May and have been enjoying the videos ever since. The second uke I bought is a Bondi because of Katie’s review.
I can’t sing and play at the same time, but I still subscribe to the channel. She’s so likable and I think it’s because she’s honest, relatable and has great energy.
-Kanni
Katie from One Music School (who was just featured as the vocalist on the new lesson for Taimane’s Moon) did reviews of ukulele accessories found on Amazon. One of them was a $8 pickup that she was skeptical of.
See what she had to say on this video (starts at the 4:58 mark). I don’t know myself because I don’t have an amp but maybe it’s worth trying for that price. Not much to lose?
Are those strings new, Sara? Do they sound warmer? I like them. Also, the red is cool looking and matches the uke. 😎
Wish I could get past Walking Dead! Still working on it. 😭
Kay, you just said exactly what I was thinking. I still haven’t mustered up the nerve to record because my playing is so rough. 😫
I am thoroughly impressed with all the submissions this month!
Lisa, I was looking forward to trying Low G lessons until I hit a brick wall with the October challenge that all capacity to move on has completely halted. 😭
But the November challenge!! It’s sounds so awesome!
OMG, so much wow. lol My eyes are spinning at all the jammed packed goodness. So awesome!
I’m still having trouble with Walking Dead that saying “this is a little out of my league” is a huge understatement. 😂
Jeanie, just watch a little bit of this video for where and how to tie the strap at the neck. The part you’re asking about is very short on the video or you can just view the attached photo, but I hope that helps.
-Kanni