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Thanks guys. They are predicting rain on Thursday, but I don’t think it will be enough. The fire has already burned through the reserve that contains the world’s tallest hardwood tree. I have no idea whether the firefighters managed to protect it or not.
By the way Lyndall, where in Tassie did you live?
Hi Andrew,
I hope my second “progress” post is enough to put me in the running for this month’s competition. I still hope to do a final post tomorrow, but it depends on the bushfire smoke. I had planned to do a recording tonight, but the smoke is really thick right now and it’s making me cough when I try.
Tiffany also may or may not make it for the same reason.
If you aren’t aware, this is what’s happening near me right now.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-29/bushfire-risk-to-life-still-high-in-tasmania/10756452
My house isn’t in any danger from the existing fires, but there is a lot of smoke and I often work in areas that are affected. For example there is a picture of the Tahune Airwalk in the article, and I was there as a tour guide last week. I actually saw the fire burning before it got big.
Aw man. Sounds awesome. Bit far for me though. If you are ever in my part of the world, let me know.
Here is my mid-month update. I think I’ve got the picking more or less down without the singing. Now I just need to add the singing to it.
We’ve had relatives staying with us for the last week, so we have had limited opportunity to practice. I also just found out that my phone is malfunctioning, so I will need to send it off for repairs again. Hopefully, I will be able to use another device to record at the end of the month.
I’d second Andrew’s suggestion about seeing a doctor, but the other thing worth trying is “bee venom balm.” I used it on my finger when I had a joint injury. However, I have no idea how well it worked because I didn’t have a control or a big enough sample size. It’s worth trying if you have nothing else, though.
Plugging in would require a pickup, which I don’t have, and micing both and mixing is a bit beyond my technological capabilities. I could try placing the camera a bit lower to enhance the sound from the uke though. Otherwise, I’ve just been experimenting a bit with both Angels and Sound of Silence and I’ve discovered the following:
1) It is quieter with the capo
2) Angels sounds quieter than Sound of Silence
3) There is no problem at all when I strum, it is only picking that causes issues.Thanks Andrew,
I was gutted that the uke was so quiet in the video. I’m not sure how to make it louder. I wasn’t singing particularly loudly, so it really shouldn’t drown out the uke like that, but you are absolutely right, it is really hard to hear it. I knew that it was an issue so I was making extra effort to pluck the strings a bit harder, but I think I may have been distracted by all the other things I was working on when I eventually got around to recording.
I definitely see what you mean about the right hand position and the walk up.
One of the great things about this month’s challenge is that it is another song with a lot of arpeggiated barre chords where I need to use a capo, so I can continue working on the same things. Hopefully you’ll be able to hear the uke this time.
Just got the new strings, which included a code for 1-month’s free membership on RC101. Because I’m already a paying member, I gave it to a uke-playing friend. Hopefully we’ll see her on here at some point 🙂
I use Power Tab Editor for Windows. You need to fiddle with the settings to make it work for ukulele, though. I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it is free.
Speaking of UAS, I think I have it BAD! Let me tell you the story…
About 4 years ago, I asked Tiffany what she wanted for her birthday and she said “a ukulele.” I was somewhat taken aback as neither of us played an instrument, but I got her a Luna Tattoo Pineapple soprano because she liked the pattern and neither of us had any other way to judge quality.
To both my and her surprise I kept playing with her ukulele in my home office, so when it was my birthday, she told me she was getting me a uke so I’d leave hers alone. I had decided that I didn’t like the cramped fret spacing on the soprano and wanted to try a low G so she got me a tenor and I strung it low G. I like that one, but I sometimes struggle with stretch chords because I have a boutonniere deformity in my left little finger that limits the amount I can stretch with it.
Fast forward another year later and we ended up going to Hawaii for Tiffany’s cousin’s wedding. We decided that while we were there we would get a nice(ish) uke. We couldn’t afford a K brand, but we really liked the Mele uke that we got. At that point I decided that I like concert ukes best because I can manage stretch chords but I don’t feel cramped. Anyway, the Mele is by far my favourite uke and I have played it in all of my high G videos so far (including Angels We Have Heard on High).
Another year later, I saw a beautiful looking Milo Wood concert uke that was pretty cheap. The maker was recommended by someone online. I thought it would be nice to have another concert that I could tune low G because I really prefer concerts. Anyway, it turned out to be an absolute lemon. The frets were uneven, one of the nut slots was too low, the action was really high at the bridge end, and it had a bad wolf tone on the high G. I did a bit of research and filed down the bridge myself and had my local guitar tech fill one of the nut slots a bit and even out the frets. I managed to fix the wolf tone with different strings, although it took me a few tries. Anyway, now it plays and sounds great and doesn’t look too bad either. It’s just a shame that I spent about half as much again as I originally paid for it trying to get it right. For a while there, I was very tempted to turn it into firewood. Anyway, that’s the uke I played for Moon.
Then, I was recently browsing Gumtree and I saw I guitarlele for next to nothing because it had a few cracks. I thought it would be interesting to try it, and if it was too badly damaged, I wouldn’t have lost much anyway. Once I got it, I found that the cracks are tiny and it sounds great. I’m really happy with it but it’s a really steep learning curve, so I still rarely play it.
I’ve always wanted to try Living Waters and Worths. I’ve never tried either of them. I’ll get around to it some day.
I know what you mean about not knowing if you like the strings or the uke. When I got my mango uke, I got a bunch of spare strings without realising that I really liked the uke but not the strings. I only realised it when I strung it with something else and it sounded better!
I’m happy doing what Kanni does and opening a separate tab. I really don’t want to create any more work for you guys.
If it were me, I’d take your husband’s advice. If things are too hard and I’m not enjoying them any more, I often set them aside and come back to them at a later point. That is exactly what I did with my January challenge!
Hi Andrew,
Here is my first progress video:
Evaluation: This is completely raw and done in a single take, so obviously I can do better than this, but at this early stage, it’s not about doing a polished performance yet. I squeaked a lot of notes, played the wrong notes, and had to pause at one point, but that is all obvious stuff. One thing that you will no doubt pick up on was that I played an extra half measure in the sung version. That wasn’t deliberate, that was a mistake because I stuffed up the timing of the singing. I’ll work on that during practice and I should be able to iron it out. The other thing I noticed was that it’s still a bit low for me, so I think I’ll put the capo on the second fret from now on.
Hey @becky7777 – Remember if you put something in the too hard basket, it doesn’t mean it has to stay there. My challenge for this month has been in my too hard basket for a while, too.
