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Page 10 so far…
maryjanew – LOVING the bloopers at the end – very entertaining 😊 I thought you did a good job with this one. Just watch out for that tricky timing in the first couple of bars of the intro. If you listen back to Matt’s performance of those measures then listen back to yours you should hear the difference.
antotonin – Brilliant stuff! This is not an easy song to play and there is a lot to remember but I think you totally nailed it, especially the instrumental section – those harmonics sounded awesome. Great sense of rhythm and timing throughout as well. Keep up the great work!
coffeemug – Yes, this is a wonderful arrangement from Christopher. Those chord voicings are awesome but actually very tricky! I think you did a good job wrapping your fingers around some of those difficult transitions. Just keep working on memorising this piece and you’ll have it flowing in no time. One suggestion to think about is to try and accent beat 1 a bit more, especially in the intro. This will really help get that waltz feel going.
lintuu – Excellent job! This sounded great overall. You have highlighted the melody really clearly. Just watch out for that tricky timing in the first couple of bars of the intro. If you listen back to Matt’s performance of those measures then listen back to yours you should hear the difference. Keep up the great work 😊
Here’s everyone on page 9:
lisamcc – I think that sounded really good. I like the swing feel you gave it and I LOVED that little fancy lick you threw in at the end of the intro, as well as those little embellishments at the end too. They make your performance more unique, which is awesome. Just watch out for the timing of those first two measures in the intro. Check out this video Andrew made for another member on this point. Great job overall though, I really enjoyed it 😊
janaq1 – Great job! I think that sounded excellent and well done for challenging yourself with this. There is a lot to learn in this piece and you have done well memorise it for the most part. Loved it – keep up the great work! (and I’m glad you and your family enjoyed this one 😉)
laurakarr112 – Awesome stuff! Nice use of rubato in the intro and I loved that little descending sequence you added to link the intro to the verse. You have highlighted the melody really clearly too. well played 😊 (and how annoyed are you by that tiny little mistake at 1:39 😉)
addilein – Great work! You played that really well. You’ve done a good job of playing those non-melody filler notes softly so the melody really pops. I like your index finger nail strums too. They give great clarity to you playing. Just watch the timing of the first two measures in the intro. You’re playing the rhythm 1 2& 3 4&, whereas it should be 1 & &2& &. If you listen back to Matt’s performance of those measures then listen back to yours you should hear the difference. Great job overall though, I really liked it 😊
ldarrow – this is coming along really nicely. As you say, just needs a bit more practice and those hesitations will disappear. Well done for getting a submission in at such a busy time! Just watch out for the timing of those first two measures in the intro. Check out this video Andrew made for another member on this point.
felixhchan – Well done! That sounded great and you handled those tricky chords and transitions in the bridge section really well. My only suggestion would be to maybe slow it down just a touch to give it a more laid back, jazzy feel. Great job though! 😊
patdrehu – Well done for challenging yourself with this one. I had a go at it myself and it is definitely trickier than it looks at first. I think it’s coming along very nicely. Once you have memorised it and you are technically proficient with this piece I’d suggest playing along with a metronome or the tab play along feature to really nail down the timing.
akukes73 – Great job! Nicely played with a nice steady tempo and I like that swing feel you have given it too 😊. Maybe just try and play those non-melody notes a little softer to help the melody really stand out.
Thank you so much for your donation too!dal08260 – Excellently done! This sounded great. Excellent rhythm and timing and I liked the slightly faster tempo you played it at too. Keep up the great work!
andrewvh – Hah ha, sounds like you’ve already given yourself feedback! Yes, my suggestion would definitely be to slow the whole thing right down and work on playing each measure cleanly before slowly building up speed. Well done for getting all the way through it though. There is a lot to learn in this piece and it is challenging to play!
Here’s everyone on page 7:
robinl – Great work! Lovely use of rubato in the intro and the whole thing sounded wonderful. I like the swing feel you gave it too 😊
kpurdy – I think this is coming along really nicely. Memorising takes time but it definitely helps in the long run so stick with it. I think you’re nearly there with this one – just a little more practice and you’ll have it down. One tip when playing this piece is to try and play those non-melody filler notes a little more gently so they are not as loud. This will help isolate the melody and elevate your performance.
Thank you so much for your generous donation too 😊mademoiselleannette – Great job! A really confident and relaxed performance. Your playing sounded great – I really enjoyed it 😊
robinboyd – Amazing stuff! This was a really accomplished performance, as always. Your fingerpicking/strumming technique looks so natural and relaxed and those harmonics were popping! I think a video documenting your learning process would be really interesting and definitely very useful for other members. Great idea 😊
xavierrahfael – Really good job Rahfael. There is a lot to learn in this piece and you have done well to memorise it. I think this is a very difficult piece to play standing up whilst supporting the ukulele, especially those harmonics. Have you though of playing with a strap? Just to make things easier for you! Oh, and I loved the MJ hat flip – super cool! 😊
zongozongo – I think this is coming along nicely, especially given the limited practice time. Well done for challenging yourself with the optional intro and outro too. There’s nothing wrong with what you’re doing. It’s just a matter of practice. Great work!
seoulkim – Really good job! The rhythm in this arrangement can be quite tricky in places but your sense of rhythm and timing throughout is really good so well done for that. One tip to help that instrumental section flow a bit more smoothly is to move your right hand away from the sound hole towards where the body meets the neck. If you play the whole instrumental section in that area then your hand will be in the correct position for playing the harmonics so you can play them without those slight pauses. Keep up the great work though! 😊
ajk101 – Good job! I think it sounded great on baritone and well done for re-arranging it so those open G string melody notes weren’t lost. One tip to help elevate your performance is to try and play those non-melody filler notes a little more gently so they are not quite as loud. This will help isolate the melody a bit more. Looking forward to seeing your full video submissions in the future! 😊
evapaju – I think that sounded lovely! Playing and singing at the same time is a unique skill all in itself and I take my hat off to anyone that can do it! There’s nothing wrong with transposing a piece to make it suit your vocal range either. I imagine this was due to the fact you were recording yourself but I thought you could perhaps slow it down just a little to give it a bit more of a laid back, jazzy vibe. Great work though! 😊
johanna2509 – Yes, we all know how frustrating it is to be able to play a piece all the way through and then fall apart under the pressure of recording! I think that sounded great overall though and those harmonics in the instrumental section sounded incredible – great technique!
ukule_lise – Lovely performance! I wouldn’t say it needed a lot more practice at all. There are some very tricky chords in that bridge section and I could see you concentrating a little more on a couple of those difficult transitions but you made them and the whole thing sounded wonderful, especially your beautiful voice! Keep up the great work 😊
Here’s everyone on page 6:
ukandrea – Great job Andrea! I think you’ve done really well with this one. There are a lot of measures to learn and it is quite a challenging piece to play. Your artificial harmonics are ringing out really well but one tip to help keep the rhythm flowing a bit more smoothly for that section is to move your right hand away from the sound hole towards where the body meets the neck. If you play the whole instrumental section in that area then your hand will be in the correct position for playing the harmonics so you can play them a bit quicker. Keep up the great work 😊
jbmills07 – Excellently done! You use of rubato, especially towards the end of the intro was great and your sense of rhythm all the way through is excellent. At one point your cats were even wagging their tails in time! Your technique of thumb strumming and fingerpicking sounds really well balanced too. Great work!
ukandoit – Brilliant work! You played some of those tricky chord voicings really well. The whole thing sounded really smooth and flowed wonderfully. I like your right-hand technique too. It gives a really cool percussive sound to your playing in places. One tip to really emphasise that waltz feel would be to try and accent beat 1 of each measure a little more. Great work overall though! 😊
rickeymike – LOVED the video editing and all the effects! Made it so much more than just a ukulele performance 😊 I like how well you pick out the melody notes so clearly while playing those filler notes that bit quieter. Just be careful with that Em chord in the intro. It sounds like you’re playing the C string at the third fret instead of the fourth fret.
clempek – Great work! That sounded really good. Great fingerpicking technique and good steady rhythm throughout. One tip to add a bit more expression would be to try and play the intro with a little more rubato. Keep up the great work though!
terryfallon3 – Well done for challenging yourself with a difficult piece. I had a go at this one and some of those chord voicings are pretty tricky. However, don’t always feel the need to push yourself. Sometimes learning a simpler piece but then playing it really well and making it your own can be more rewarding than playing harder pieces.
Thank you so much for your generous donation too! 😊gstriph – Good job Jerry, the melody comes through loud and clear in your performance. Your thumb strums sound really good too. Perhaps a little more rubato in that intro? Just be careful of the timing on the first two bars of the intro. If you listen to Matt’s version then listen to yours again, you’ll hear the difference. Great work overall though!
karenj – I think that sounded really good Karen. If that’s you playing tensed up and frozen, I’d love to hear you when you’re not recording! Seriously, you can’t tell at all from your performance. It flowed really nicely and sounded great and I loved your little addition at the end 😊 Just lovely!
dividedsky – Wonderful stuff! Great use of rubato in the intro and great playing throughout. Good steady rhythm and really clear melody. You clearly really enjoyed playing that one too 😊 Great work!
dennisdickens – Great work! Love your thumb only technique. It sounded really good. I liked the addition of those strums between the intro and the verse too.
nelsonlin2021 – Congratulations on entering your first challenge. I suspect it will be the first of many! I think that sounded really good. Keep it up 😊
strlee – Wow! 6 years old! I think we have the next ukulele superstar in the making! Wonderful performance and I really liked the swing feel. It really elevated the performance and made it unique. Keep up the amazing work!
lynnzo – Good job! Some of the melody notes don’t quite come through due to playing in low g but I really liked the bass line walk-up you added between the intro and verse, as well as that cool little lick at the end! 😊
As for recording stage fright I still haven’t really found the answer other than just to do more of it! The more you play in front of camera the more you start to ignore that it’s there. Try to record yourself practicing in between monthly challenges – not for any reason other than to get used to doing it. Also make sure you are playing in a comfortable place and a comfortable position. Then set the camera up there. Don’t try to set the camera up first and force yourself to fit on screen.
I’m sure others will have tips too but I hope that helps a little.Here’s everyone on page 13:
@lintuu – I think this was a wonderful performance, especially considering you’ve only been playing for a few months. Your harmonics and vibrato sounded great and the notes all sustain really well thanks to your excellent technique. Great work!
@flenji – Your recording was a little quiet but your performance of this piece was excellent! Your use of rubato, vibrato and dynamics were all top notch resulting in an emotive performance with a really lovely feel to it. I really enjoyed it 😊
@dennisdickens – I think that sounded really good. Nice steady tempo and nice clean notes. Just keep practicing some of those transitions to remove those little pauses that creep in occasionally. Other than that, you did a great job!
@yukalele – Nicely done! That sounded great and I liked those little pauses in the B melody section. You really made the performance your own, which can be a difficult thing to do. Great work.
@richard_siegert – Beautifully played. Your vibrato sounded great and I like the slower tempo you went for. It gave so much feeling to your performance. Just lovely!
@patricia81 – That sounded really nice Patricia. The notes all sustain really well and your overall performance was exceptionally clean. You played it so well that I think you could push yourself to increase the tempo ever so slightly and even consider adding some of the advanced performance techniques like vibrato and dynamics. Well done!
@stinyuke – Absolutely beautiful performance! You completely smashed it! 😊
@laurajax – I wouldn’t say you were very clumsy with it. Some of those transitions are deceptively tricky for such a simple sounding piece and I think it’s coming along very nicely. You’re doing everything right. Just a bit more practice and you’ll have it nailed. Keep going!
@philbateau – Ah, the curse of the record button. I know it well. 😉 I think your performance sounded really good. You did really well with those tricky transitions in the B melody, Great work!
@rufio0 – That sounded really nice. I’d recommend trying to thoroughly memorise this piece to try and eliminate some of those pauses between sections. That will just help the whole piece flow a little more smoothly.
@rockster – Good job and well done for pushing yourself out of your comfort zone! A good tip to help really get the timing nailed on is to try counting rhythms out loud as you play and maybe try using a slightly slower play-along track like 75% speed. You could also check out our intro to counting rhythms lesson: https://rockclass101.com/understanding-rhythmic-notation-ukulele/
@santai – I really like that you have embraced the performance techniques here. I’m definitely feeling your ‘feel’ 😊. I think if you worked on increasing the overall tempo just ever so slightly (whilst keeping that lovely rubato feel you have) it would sound even better!
Here’s the rest of page 11 and everyone on page 12:
@karenj – Playing sounds great Karen and congrats on memorising it!
@terryfallon3 – This is coming along nicely. It’s a deceptively tricky piece at times and you’ve dealt with some of the difficult sections well. Just keep practicing to try and make some of those transitions a little smoother.
@andyrose – Great job! Lovely, clean performance and really nice steady tempo throughout. Great work 😊
@cstiber – Congratulations on your first recording! I think you did a great job playing to the backing track and its clear how much work you’ve put into practicing this piece. Well done!
Page 12:
@mkstewart67 – Fantastic performance! This is a deceptively difficult piece to play well but you have mastered it! The notes all sustain really well, thanks to your excellent technique. I like the tempo you’ve gone for too. Top job!
@timolnz – Great work Tim. Nice clean performance and good consistent tempo. Those harmonics were popping too! Well done 😊
@beauke – Congratulations on your first solo to a backing track! I think you did a wonderful job and I really got sense of how much you enjoyed playing this one 😊
@seoulkim – Good job, and well done for challenging yourself! You could try to relax your right hand as it looks quite tense. Use the tab player and play along from the horn section to the end to help get locked into the groove but play it at 50% speed to begin with, practicing just 4 bars at a time (Oh, and Andrew says thanks for the kind words 😊)
@sarrafina – Great job Sarrafina, and what a professional looking video! I think you played this piece really nicely and your fingerpicking technique looks great. One tip to really hone your performance would be to try and keep the tempo just a little more consistent as some measures you play a little fast compared to the others. Excellent work overall though.
@maryjanew – Well done for memorising it this piece and I can see you’ve worked hard on it. You’ve done the right thing to play a little slower as you continue to practice and perfect this piece. I think it’s sounding really good (and yes, fingers can be very naughty when that record button is pressed can’t they 😉)
@riley_ukulele – I like what I’m hearing but both sound files seem to be of the B melody section. It was very cleanly played though and I thought the wind noise added some nice atmosphere to the piece 😉. Great work!
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to give you an entry for this month since the entire piece was not performed, but you still have one more chance to win in December.
@artcrocker – This is coming along nicely but I’d probably recommend practicing it at a slower tempo for now to try and clean up some of those notes. Some of the sections are deceptively tricky for such a simple sounding piece. Once you can play it cleanly at a slow tempo you can gradually start to build up speed. It’s sounding good though – keep going!
@bethany_guardiani – You should be pleased with the performance – it was excellent! You’re right about it being a deceptively difficult piece to execute well but you have done just that. I can see how much you enjoyed playing it too. Great work!
@robinl – Really excellent performance. Lovely and clean and I really liked your use of rubato. You totally nailed it!
So many great entries already this month!
debb1985 – I think that sounded great on the baritone. Gives it that classical guitar vibe as you say. I really enjoyed your performance too – so much feeling and emotion!
ukandrea – thank you so much for your kind words. You did a great job with this performance – beautifully played. Nice uke too btw 😉
Hi Ron, thank you for the kind words! I’m really pleased you enjoyed the arrangement 🙂
To answer your question I use a Rode NT1-A condenser microphone for all my recording. It’s a fairly inexpensive mic but I’ve been really happy with the sound it produces.
Hope this helps.
SteveYes, I can absolutely recommend World of Ukes. That’s where I bought my AMM3 from!! 😀
Matt’s a great guy who knows his stuff so you should be able to buy with confidence from him, based on my experience.
My AMM3 does not have a pick-up. I did consider getting Matt to fit a Mi-Si Acoustic Trio pick-up when I bought it but I very rarely play ‘plugged in’ and I much prefer the natural acoustic tone of the ukulele anyway. The sound you hear on my videos is just the acoustic tone recorded using a condenser microphone.Happy shopping Andrea. I hope you enjoy your new uke when it arrives 😀
Hi Andrea, glad to hear you’re interested in getting the AMM3 tenor ukulele. I love mine and I think it gives much more expensive instruments a real run for their money. I’ve never put a low G on mine but I have heard this uke with a low G and it sounds wonderful so I think it’s a good choice!
In terms of wound vs unwound it really just comes down to personal choice. I’ve used both and I personally prefer a wound low G for the following reasons:
1) they have a higher tension more similar to the other three strings. I find unwound strings to be a bit ‘floppy’ due to the much lower tension.
2) they have thinner gauges so usually just fit in the standard high G nut slot so no adjustment/widening is necessary. I like to experiment a lot with strings and change them quite regularly so I don’t like the idea of widening the nut slot.
3) I also just prefer that slightly more metallic sound (however they can be a bit ‘squeaky’ when you slide your fingers up and down them – I quite like that though).Having a wider nut slot wouldn’t necessarily stop you going back to a high G later on but the slot would be too wide for it so there may be a risk of some buzzing if the string was able to move around in the slot.
In terms of specific low G strings I would recommend the following:
Wound options:
1) Fremont soloist squeakless – a lot of people really like this string due to it being polished so it doesn’t produce that squeak quite as much as a regular wound string.
2) My personal low G string of choice is the D’Addario BEB031W folk nylon bronze wound string. This is actually a guitar D string but works perfectly as a low G. It has a nice narrow diameter so it fits in a standard high G nut slot, has great tension and a really warm, mellow sound.Unwound:
If you choose to go unwound I’d go for either Worth Browns or Living Waters. Both fluorocarbon and both great strings.That’s probably wayyyyyy too much info but I hope it helps you make your decision. If you have any more questions please just ask. I’m a total string nerd so I’d happily talk about strings all day 🙂
All the best,
StevenHi Andrea, first of all I have to congratulate you on learning the whole piece and playing it through from memory. There is a LOT going on in this arrangement and it’s not easy to play at all!
I think you’re doing a great job with this piece, and I know that curse of the record button only too well!!As for bars 26 & 27 I think you’re being a bit hard on yourself, especially when it comes to that A string pull off from 1 to 0. I’m hearing it come through loud and clear and in fact when I listened back to my performance I think your pull off sounds better than mine.
For the sliding double stops I noticed you use your 3rd finger for the last note of bar 25 (6th fret on the A string). If you are able to play this with the 4th finger it makes it easier to get your 1st and 2nd finger into the double stop position for the start of measure 26. Practice this section really slowly and as you move your 4th finger from the 5th fret to the 6th fret on the A string at the end of bar 25 take off the first finger bar across the 3rd fret and get your 1st and 2nd finger ready in position to hit that double stop on beat 1 of bar 26. This should help speed up that transition.
If you watch that section of the lesson again you could try the twisting wrist trick to help the slides sound a little smoother.
Keep doing what you’re doing though because overall I think it’s sounding great!
Hope this helps 🙂
Take care,
SteveYou’re most welcome richo_uke and thank you for your kind words 🙂
Glad you’re enjoying learning it. It really is a beautiful piece isn’t it, and such an enjoyable piece to play too.
Hope to hear your rendition of it once you’ve mastered it 🙂Absolutely wonderful lyndallk I smiled all the way through your performance. My favourite thing is how much you clearly loved playing this piece 🙂 The expression and emotion in your performance and your use of dynamics are absolutely top notch! Great work!
Absolutely Rickey! I have a pretty strict right hand picking style due to my years playing classical guitar but really the right hand isn’t all that important when learning this piece. Whatever right hand picking style you choose is absolutely fine, as long as you’re getting the desired sound. Just go with whatever feels natural for you – it will make the piece much more enjoyable to learn without having to re-train your right hand when there’s really no need to.
Hope you have fun with it – would love to hear your rendition once you’ve mastered it 🙂@dividedsky – can’t wait to hear it played on baritone. Go for it 🤙
