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It was difficult to choose a song, since there are several I would like to continue to work on. I chose Coldplay’s Clocks, as I have a realistic chance of improving on it this month. My goal is to eliminate mistakes (misplayed notes). I will also concentrate on playing the bridge the same speed as the other sections, as suggested in Andrew’s feedback. Also, the last section I played terribly in the original submission as the chords are hard to fret on my concert uke (fingers scrunched together). Still using the concert, I plan to play the chords in the last section much more clearly. Here is my original submission:
12th Street Rag. Thanks for helping me get started on this one Andrew. I know it still needs a lot or work. Lots of fun learning it.
As usual, I’m not really happy with the month end product. Goal was to play Hon A Ka Wai fairly well by month’s end. Not sure I accomplished that. Will keep practicing. I enjoyed the many great performances this month by Rock Class 101 members.
Happy New Year to All! So I’ve wasted a good amount of time just trying to figure out what to work on this month. I think I finally found something that will be worthwhile.
Execution – Originally, I started playing the uke as I liked the uke sound in the time period of the early to mid-1900’s, including Hawaiian themed, Tin Pan Alley, George Formby, etc. Other than some minor melodies, to date, I really haven’t learned any pieces from that era. This month’s challenge gives me the opportunity, and hopefully the time, to start to learn one of those music styles. Reviewing the Hawaiian songs taught on RockClass101 that I hoped my intermediate beginner (at best) level is capable of, I chose Hone A Ka Wai. I will consider this to be a good accomplishment if I can learn to play it fairly well by month’s end, so that is my goal.
I plan to accomplish this by closely following and learning from Christopher’s lesson, taking notes on the tab sheets. I will practice at least an hour most days, although a week away from home later in the month will not help. I expect it will take at least a week to memorize the music and the fingerings and the rest of the month to play so that it sounds somewhat like it is supposed to.
Application – Going forward, I hope to learn more songs in this style and this first piece will start me on that journey. As a side benefit, I will be learning the Campanella technique which is present throughout this song. For the most part, this is the first time I am learning Campanella. Once I can play this acceptably, I will be in a better position to use this technique in the future.
Evaluation- As Andrew suggests, I will evaluate my playing at least weekly. I will record myself at the end of each week to help monitor progress.
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O Come All Ye Faithful. Merry Christmas to all!
(I made a donation to Ukulele Kids Club-a very worthy cause.)I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
I went with Etude 21, Arpeggios, for November. As usual, I look forward to your feedback Andrew. And a Happy Thanksgiving to all!I AM A PREMIUM MEMBER
Great fun to listen to all the participants this month and it’s been fun learning The Adams Family Theme. (Fortunately, Missy never tires of hearing me practice. Ha!)
Here is my try at Kakariko Village. Very short on time this month and so this is about as good as I will be able to do.
Good choices for this month. I had to go with Hawaii Five-O. (IMHO Jack Lord is the better McGarret.)
I am amazed at all the original songs presented this month. That would have been more of a challenge than I am up to, so I went the Travis Picking route instead. Congratulations to all members who posted this month, and especially the originals posted.
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I chose Axel F this month. Because of Riff 2, I performed it at 90% speed as that is the best I could do in the time allotted. (Of course this makes Riff 1 painful to play at the slower speed.) I agree with the others, Axel F was fun to learn and play, and very timely with the third movie installment coming out this Summer. Thanks Andrew and Steven.
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End of month, I can’t delay any longer. Here is my attempt at Clocks. Thanks for the great arrangement Matt. As with some other arrangements on Rock Class 101, I actually like this arrangement played on the uke better than the original. (When played by a competent musician, not me. But the great arrangements provide me the incentive to keep trying.)
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I chose Punk-182 for this month’s challenge. A fun tune, especially with the backing track. Thanks for the help on this Andrew. And as usual, it is fun to listen to everyone’s performances.
My song this month is Tonight You Belong to Me. A catchy tune that I finally had a chance to learn. This is about the best I could do with one month, minus a week as I was out of town and could not bring the uke along. It is evident that the effort everyone put in this month, and every month, is significant and is enjoyable to listen to. Looking forward to next month’s challenge.
