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Happy New Year, RC101!
@TheBumbleBard — fantastic arrangement and beautifully played. It sounds wonderful on your uke, and I’d love to learn your arrangement one day!
My 1st post for this month’s challenge:
1) Execution
My goal is to improve my ability to play in an ensemble setting.2) Application
I really love Adrian’s composition for The Aching Waltz. I’ll be learning Andrew’s version and practicing both the lead and rhythm parts against the backing track, aiming for 75% speed.3) Evaluation
I’ll be heavily leveraging the Tab Play-Along for practice and looping, and will record my playing every 12–16 bars for review, working toward memorizing and performing the entire piece.I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Happy Holidays, RC101!
I picked Silver Bells for this month’s challenge — it was super fun to play and perfect for the season!
P.S. I donated $20 to the Ukulele Kids Club on behalf of RC101. Love being part of this awesome tradition!
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER.
Hello RC101, and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the States!
@gi_gi_ I loved your performance! Looks like we both went with the rest stroke for our picado picking!Here’s my take on La Gitanita. Both the rasgueado and the picado were challenging, but I really enjoyed working on them. I had some nervous energy during the recording, so I’ll need to go back and work through it bar by bar – definitely still plenty of practice ahead.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Thank you so much, Andrew! 🙏 I really appreciate the kind words and thoughtful feedback. You’re absolutely right — I felt those little hesitations too. I’ll practice more with Sammy in the tab player to lock in the timing. Thanks again for always taking the time to guide us — it really means a lot! 🎶
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🎃 Happy Halloween, RC101!
I went with “Aerials” by System of a Down for this month’s challenge. I totally agree with @TheBumbleBard — this one was tough, especially that syncopated strumming section! 😅
Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks, y’all!
@TBB: I cracked up watching your video – such creativity! What a love story between Ukebert and you, and that twist at the end had me laughing. 😂 I also love Canon and learned Andrew’s arrangement, but now you’ve inspired me to check out Matt’s Minor version too.
Speaking of Minor, my challenge this month was A Shade of Minor. This piece has become one of my favorite compositions from Andrew. As I played it, I felt like I journeyed through heartache, found comfort, and then reached hope. Truly an emotional ride.
🎶 Here’s my take:
@leb397 Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m really looking forward to the fall colors and cooler, pleasant days ahead — hopefully they’ll inspire a new melody to welcome the season.
Post #2
After completing the RC101 course “How to Write a Song on Ukulele” I was inspired to capture the energy and joy of one of the best summers I’ve ever had. I chose a swung feel in G Major to match that upbeat, carefree vibe.
I originally planned to write a full 12-bar chord melody, but I only made it to 8 bars — and honestly, that felt like a win. This was my first attempt at composing a tune, and while it was exciting, it was also surprisingly challenging. I spent a lot of time noodling and second-guessing myself. Turns out, writing music demands a kind of creativity I’m still learning to tap into. I appreciate any feedback and pointers on getting better at song writing. Cheers!
@andrew Congratulations on the RC101 milestone! We’ve all benefited immensely from this amazing learning platform. Enjoy your well-earned break.
@robinboyd Beautifully played—hope you’re feeling better soon!
@henri0 Loved your performance. Well played!@malki2603 Your dotara-style playing sounds great—keep it up 👍
Late to the challenge this month.
Execution: Follow the RC101 course “How to Write a Song on Ukulele: A Beginner’s Guide to Chord Melody.”
Application: Attempt to compose a simple riff.
Evaluation: Play, listen and refine the riff on my concert ukulele and have fun.
@mickan88 What a lovely tune you played – and such beautiful scenery too!
@alojzy_bomba That was super cool — love the cheeky Pink Panther sneaking in the background!
It’s been a busy summer, but I finally took on a classical piece I’ve been wanting to learn for a while: Pachelbel’s Canon in D. Still working on smoothing out the chord transitions and making the dynamics more even, but it’s been a rewarding challenge!
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Here’s my performance of Summertime 🎶 for this month! I recorded it at a campground by the beach 🏕️🌊 – definitely adds to the summer vibe ☀️, though the sweaty hands were real 😅
P.S. Instead of clipping my wireless mic to the uke strap 🎤🎸, I set it on the table near the sound hole. It helped reduce some unwanted noise – but not the background hum of generators and passing cars 🚐🚗💨
I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER.
I wanted to share my progress on Contemplations so far, just in case I don’t get a chance to do another recording later this month. It’s been an incredible journey learning this beautiful piece.
First off, I have to give a huge shoutout to Marianne for composing such a beautiful melody, and to RC101 for teaching it so well. I also have to mention that this is my very first experience with a low G uke – an amazing prize from the February challenge! Huge thanks to RC101 and UkeRepublic for making that happen—I’m absolutely loving it!
As I watch my recording, I can definitely spot some areas I want to work on. The Fm/G chord has been particularly challenging, and I’m trying to get those notes to ring out smoothly from one bar to the next. I’m also focusing on rolling the chords and maintaining even pressure across all four strings. It’s definitely a work in progress, but I’m enjoying the journey!
Looking forward to any tips or feedback!
@andrew Really appreciate the feedback and guidance, as always—I’ll make sure to work that into my practice routine.
@ldarrow Thanks for the rec on walking the bass line! I’m adding that module to my learning. There’s so much great stuff on RC101—it feels like it could take a lifetime to get through it all!