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Hi Taimane. Newbie player here. I got my first uke at Christmas but started playing about 4/5 months ago. I’m now looking to upgrade my uke. Aside from price and size, what do you look for in a ukelele? There are so many brands/types it would be interesting to know the key things you should consider. Thanks 😁 Kay
Here is my end of month update;
So I haven’t had nearly as much time as normal to practise, work has been bonkers! Having said that, I feel comfortable with using 3 fingers for fingerpicking which is what I set out to do this challenge. As expected, I managed to get to the intermediate piece and a video of my progress is below.
One thing I’ve noticed with my own playing is that I tend to support the uke with my pinky finger on my right hand, so I made a conscious effort to pull this finger back this month but it did make the uke a little unsteady which you can see in the video. I need to try and work out a comfortable position where the uke is supported as I progress my playing so this is something I will need to work on.
Overall I really enjoyed this challenge and it’s made me focus more on a particular technique which if I continue practising should help in the future 🙂
Update on how I’m doing with the ‘3 finger’ finger picking style.
Currently working on the immediate piece – think I have the 3 finger approach down on this one, my challenge at the moment is transitioning seamlessly between the 2 chord shapes, still a week left to master this though so practise practise practise!
A little late to the party, but have been giving my hands a good old break and my tendonitis has gone 🙂
I want to go back to basics, and spend some time learning technique rather than a specific challenge song so this month’s challenge is perfect!
1) Execution – I’m going to work my way through the 3 finger plucking approach. I primarily only use 2 fingers (thumb and index) so the long term plan is to work up to a 4 finger approach. I’m going to work my way through the 3 finger plucking exercises in the finger style course. 30 minutes each day on technique itself, and 30 minutes (hands permitting) on one of the exercises.
2) Application – I’m going to apply this to the 3 exercises in the finger style course, aiming to master the intermediate level at least by the end of the month. I would like to master the advanced one, but realistically I think intermediate. Long term goal would be to play the performance piece at 100% speed but that is a way of yet.
3) Evaluation – At the end of the month I will post a video of a performance of the intermediate level exercise for feedback on the approach itself before moving onto the advanced, and finally performance piece.
I’ve left it quite simple as I don’t want to overdo it and risk getting swollen tendons again!
Thanks Andrew. My wrists definitely need a few days off now! Before I start the next challenge I want to go back and continue on the beginners course and tighten up some of the skills I learned in this – hammer ons, pull offs etc as this was all very new to me.
Ok here is my go at Waimanalo Blues. This was a real challenge for me this month – so much so that I’ve practised to the point of giving myself tendonititis in my left wrist so need to take a few days off from playing to let it go down a bit. You will see my frustrated face ALOT in this video, partly because every time I hit record I make stupid mistakes, partly because my wrist hurts haha. I know it’s far from perfect – but I’m pleased I made it all the way through the piece 🙂
Super helpful as always. I will try dropping that G chord shape when I do the pull off in bar 26 as suggested.
As Lisa said, the issue I was having is when I plucked all 4 strings, strings 2-4 overpowered string 1 so you couldn’t hear that higher note.
I’ve found though as I have been practising that if I pluck the chord lighter I get a much more even tone.
Hi Andrew. On Waimanalo Blues, any tips on getting the 5-2-0 stretch in bar 26? I can get my pinky onto the correct fret but struggling with the pull off from 5-2. Is this a strength thing? Kay x
Little victories. I can now play up to the end of bar 12 at 50% speed on Waimanalo Blues. My hands hate me but so worth it when I can keep up with the tab viewer with only minor mistakes 😁
Thanks for this! Some really helpful nuggets in there 😀
I have a 2 fold question for the next round but can’t find the thread for it. I have a cheap Mahalo soparano uke which I bought just to test out if I enjoyed it or not. Turns out I do yay! So..
1. Would you recommend upgrading to a concert size – I notice some of the more advanced pieces I will run out of fretboard on the little soprano I have
2. Is there a concert size uke (Kala or otherwise) that you would recommend for beginners/intermediate level players that I could look to buy in the UK or get shipped over?
Couple of really early questions – from a complete beginner!
1. Struggling to get my fingers to either pluck the chord or strum the chord – mixing the two has me all confused – I assume this will just come in time? So for example because you pluck the very first G, when it comes to the F in bar 2 I end up picking rather than strumming!
2. Any tips when you are picking the chord to get the A string to really ring out? I obviously have less strength in my ring finger as you can hear strings 2-4 fine, but string 1 often gets drowned out. Again, assuming muscle memory will help here?
Kay
Thinking of you Kit. Beat this thing with your head held high. Sending you positive and healing vibes from the UK xx
Oh I fully intend to give it a go! Will just take it really slow and bar by bar. My fingers will hate me ha!
