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Here’s everyone on page 16:
dennisdickens – You are off to a great start! You are doing well on Melody A! In Melody B, spend a little bit of extra time breaking down the rhythms in measures 13 and 14. This part is tricky, so I recommend playing along with the tab play along at 50% speed or a bit slower. This will help with the overall flow of the song. You’re doing a wonderful job, keep working on it!
nproost – I’m so sorry to hear about the tennis elbow! I hope you heal soon! You are playing well so far, there are just a few spots where you are hesitating. Review these sections a bit more (even without the instrument if it hurts to play…visualize playing) so that you can play through them without having to think hard about what note/shift comes next. Great playing on this one!
sticks366 – Nice job on this one! I think you are ready to go back in and learn the proper techniques to play the original version of the song! before you play it like this, try adding some dynamics (volume swells) in some of the phrases to build up to certain high points in the melody. You’re doing an excellent job, keep it up!
givingtree89 – Way to play through the pain! You sound great! On measure 14, 18, and other measures with the 16th note hammer on and pull off combination, make sure to give the notes the proper length and not just rush through them. It’s tricky to get the notes to sound evenly, but a little extra work here will make the song sound even smoother! Great job on this one!
elealong12 – You are off to a great start! It sounds like you have the notes down! Now it’s time to slow the tempo down a bit to help you keep a steady beat throughout the piece. To do this, you can either play along to a metronome, pat your foot, or sway back and forth. Once you have a solid pulse throughout the piece, then you can go back in and add the chunks and muted strums. Keep up the good work, you’re getting there with this one!
smudge – You have a good grasp on the feel and rhythm of the song, now it’s just time to work on the tough spots! It seems like most of the parts higher up on the neck are giving you a bit more difficulty. Work on the shifts that cause you to hesitate, and play these sections many times in a row to get familiar with all of the shapes. You’re doing a wonderful job, keep it up!
ukulelee – Very beautifully played! Your timing is excellent and you get a good sound out of all of the notes! You sound ready to speed the tempo up a bit at this point. Fantastic job on this one!
lhamilton – This sounds great over all! There are some spots that you are rushing through a bit like the very end of measure two. Try playing along with the slowed down tab play along to make sure you have the rhythm right in that spot. You’re doing a great job, keep up the good work!
miztaken – You are doing a great job playing through this song! It seems like measure 13 and the other measures where this pattern repeats are the only spot I can hear where you may want to go back and listen to the rhythm. Depending on which version you are playing, you either want to play “1 2 and 3 and 4 and” in the harder version, or 1 (two) and three and four and” in the slightly simpler version, not playing the beat 2 in parenthesis. You also want to make sure to slide into the notes in time to not cut any of the notes short. Once you get this rhythm down, you are unstoppable! Great work on this one!
planetfink – Great job on this song! You have a great feel, and played very well throughout. I recommend going back through and utilizing Tobias’s techniques and specific finger patterns. If this seems like way too much to do at the moment, go back to the beginning of Melody B and double check the rhythm of the first measure. Listen to the playback to make sure you aren’t rushing through the rhythm there. Very nice work on this one, and I enjoyed the ocean view!
uku_on – Very nice job on this one! Your playing is very consistent throughout, and your ukulele sounds wonderful recorded with those microphones! Now it’s time to either learn the harder version, or at least add some accents and dynamics to really feel the emotion that Tobias conveys in the original. You’re doing a wonderful job! Keep it up!
robinboyd -That scenery is very beautiful! I very much enjoy these outdoor recordings. You are doing an excellent job on playing this one the hard way; It seems like you’ve practiced this one quite a lot, and it shows! There’s only a spot or two where the melody note isn’t projecting as well as the other notes (mainly right at 0:30). This is a small detail to work on, and may only have affected you on this take specifically. Way to go! Keep up the great work!
lyndallk – Hey, that’s an awesome shirt…and some awesome ukulele playing! Excellent job on your technique, dynamics, and rhythm! Not much to add to what you’re already doing. Keep it up!
verity2003 – This is a great tempo for where you are at! I think your next goal at this tempo should be to play the notes more smoothly and connected (legato) rather than separated (legato). To do this, make sure to leave the left hand fingers down for the full duration of the notes, and make sure that the plucking hand doesn’t stop the notes from ringing out. You are off to a great start! Great work so far!
johanna2509 – You’re doing a great job! And don’t worry, most of us our guilty of having a “playing face.” You did a great job editing, I didn’t even notice at first! I recommend playing this one a bit slower for now to get through the whole piece in one take. What you are doing sounds very good!
eszti5mail – Great work on this! You have a great flow on this, there’s just a bit more work on a few sections: The rhythm at the start of Melody B is a bit different: make sure to hold the first note out a bit longer before the second note in that measure. The second note starts on the upbeat after beat two. Keep it up, you’re doing a very good job so far!
lisadmh – Wow, Lisa! I’m glad we solved your computer problem, you are locking in with the track very well! Great job on the solo! My only advice is to play just a tiny bit more laid back in certain spots on the main strum pattern: occasionally you are hitting one or two of the strums a hair early. Hitting them even slightly late will help to keep the laid back feel of the song. You’re doing a wonderful job!
Here’s everyone on page 20:
ukulelemaster3000 – You’re doing a wonderful job, especially for your first ukulele song! You have a great sense of timing, and you have the notes down. Now it’s time to work a bit more on the intro to get those triplets down at full speed. My main advice is to pluck a little lighter in certain places throughout the song to get the best tone out of your ukulele. You’re doing great!
hotshot – Very well played, you’re definitely living up to your username! Now that you have the notes and the timing really solid, it’s time to make the note runs a bit smoother and more connected (legato). The way to do this is to leave the left hand fingers down until the next note is played, and to make sure the plucking hand isn’t stopping the strings from vibrating too soon. You are doing an amazing job, this will just add a little bit of extra style to your playing!
nitsur – The camera seems to always do that to me as well! It’s tougher than stage fright sometimes! You’re doing a great job in spite of this. The main thing to focus on is keeping a steady tempo throughout the song even if it’s slower than your current speed. Having a metronome or something keeping you in time gets your brain to be a bit quicker under pressure, and to acclimate to how far ahead it needs to think to avoid hesitating. You’re doing a great job, keep it up!
bzediver – That’s a very cool ukulele! Over all, you are playing very well on this, but there are a few spots where you are pausing in a very similar spot that does not have a pause: 30 seconds, 39 seconds, and 48 seconds in do not have space after the initial chord. I recommend playing along with the on screen tab player or slowing down the youtube play along to internalize the rhythm in these sections. You’re off to a great start, keep it up!
uku_on – It’s tough to edit video and play in time! I recommend recording to a metronome and using a program that you can line the takes up to each other in. On the intro part, you are still playing a kind of skipping rhythm where some of the notes are slightly longer than others, but they should all be equally as long. Keep working on it, you’re definitely making progress! Your tone and technique are great!
emiliano – You are doing an awesome job with the triplet strum! Very well played all around. Your dog makes the video…they seem to enjoy your ukulele playing a lot. Keep up the great playing!
jinajupiter – I love your cool “self collaboration” performances! This one is great! With the electric ukulele and distortion, you have to mute the strings more than you would without distortion. I recommend having just a tiny bit less distortion and working a lot on muting strings not played with the right hand. It takes some getting used to, you’re definitely off to a wonderful start, and I love the cha cha feel!
shmu88 – Great job on this! Your sense of timing is good, I think it’s just a matter of really practicing and memorizing the rhythms on a few spots so they don’t catch you off guard when performing. Another thing that helps is to go through this performance and mark the spots where you had the rhythm different, and spend a little bit of time isolating those parts of the song and play them until they become second nature. You’re doing a good job, keep it up!
puppylovesuke – You have a very nice feel on this one, and it seems like once you spend a little bit more time on the shifts and notes at 0:40 to 0:43 you’ll have it flawless. Then you can exaggerate the volume and tempo swells for effect if you would like. Wonderful job on this one!
ronnieg – Congratulations on your first challenge entry! Your triplet strum sounds excellent! I think you are ready to speed this one up a bit once you feel a bit more comfortable with the fingerpicking. If you practice a bit more, your mind wandering won’t get in the way of your muscle memory! This is a very great first entry! Keep it up!
Here’s everyone on page 15:
dal08260 – Great job on this one! You’ve got the notes down, and your tempo is very steady through most of the song! I hear a tiny bit of buzzing in between notes. I think this is caused by your right hand cutting the notes off while preparing for the next plucks. Try to wait longer before moving your fingers into the vibration path of the strings, and move a bit quicker to avoid the strings making this sound. If it’s not from the right hand, check the left hand. Keep up the good work!
rustypal – Very nicely done! You have the notes, rhythm, and harmonics all up to a wonderful level! Now it’s time to go back in and add tempo/volume swells into each phrase to add a little bit of style and emotion to the piece. You are doing an excellent job, very well played!
givingtree89 – You’re doing an awesome job on the triplet strum! You played this song very well! My main advice is just to strum a little bit lighter on the downbeats on the last section of the song to keep it feeling a bit more relaxed…as this kind of balances out the triplet strum feel of the first sections of the song. Great playing, and keep up the great work on these techniques, you’re doing very well!
tiff27 – You’re off to an excellent start on this one! I think measure 9-15 and the very ending are super tricky! It may take breaking this into two parts (measure 9-10 and then measures 13-15) to isolate and memorize these sections, but you’re on the right track! This is great for your entry, but if you can spend just a bit more time memorizing it at a slow and steady tempo, you will have it performance ready in no time. Great job, keep up the good work!
smokealot – Very good job on everything…now it’s just time to hone the triplet strum! It’s a bit tricky, so make sure to practice each individual motion at a super slow speed and very gradually speed up over a week of practice. Make sure to only speed the tempo up when you have mastered the strums with clarity at the initial tempo. You’re doing great, keep it up!
iyers408 – This is excellent, you are playing it great at this tempo! You’re ready to speed up the tempo slightly and add the volume and tempo swells into each phrase. Wonderful job, keep it up!
coffeemug – You’re doing great on the triplet strum, it’s not easy! You’re 99% of the way there, just a tiny bit of practice to work out those hesitations and you’re there! Great job on this!
kayleighb – You’re off to a great start! Your timing is great on the sections you are most familiar with! I recommend playing at this speed or slightly slower with a metronome to help break the habit of starting over phrases when you make a mistake. It’s a great skill to have if you ever decide to jam with other players, as they will most likely not stop with you! We all make mistakes, and continuing through them draws less attention to them, where as playing them a second time points out the hesitation/mistake. You’re doing great, keep it up!
lisotta – You’re doing very well on this one! The triplet strum is hard, but you are on the right track. I would play a bit slower to try to get all three strums evenly spaced on each triplet strum and to help with clarity of each strum as well. On the last section of the song, you are hesitating when transitioning between the strums and the fingerpicking. Try playing this part a bit slower with a metronome to stay in time. Keep up the great work!
mark1256 – This is great for your first time recording your performance! You have a great sound, and you are playing the notes right. I recommend playing the whole song a bit slower with a metronome to keep the laid back feel of the song and to help stay in time. Swaying to the rhythm can also help. Once you get the timing and steady pulse down, you’ve got the song down! Great job!
Here’s everyone on page 14:
peiching – You are doing a great job with this one! Your playing is in time, and you are hitting the notes well! One question I have is do you know what is causing the squeaky sound on your ukulele? It might be that your fingers are causing it by brushing along the strings to slowly, or the strings might be sticky. If it’s not this, then there might be a small adjustment that you can make on your ukulele. The only other suggestion I have is to work a bit more on getting the harmonics to ring out clearer and longer. Make sure that you aren’t accidentally muting the string anywhere with either hand after hitting the harmonic. Keep up the great work, these are just minor details.
jkulele – Very nicely done! You’ve got the notes down, and most of the tricky shifts! There are just a few spots within measures 13-15 that could benefit from looping these measures at a slower tempo. The main reason to do this is for the shifts and the harmonic. You’re very close, just a little more work and you’ll have it performance ready!
planetfink – Nice playing on this! Every now and then you are getting ever so slightly ahead of the backing track on a few phrases. Just as an experiment, try playing through the song as ultra laid back as possible, seeing if you can play each melody note ever so slightly after where you hear it going. Then you might find it easier to keep the relaxed feel through the faster sections. Everything else sounds great on this!
yooki-h – You are playing this one very well! I like that you crescendo into certain phrases! I think it’s a nice effect, and normally I tell people to exaggerate this like you did. For you, I recommend making it just a tiny bit more subtle, as it seemed to be too much for your microphone in one spot, and to gradually get quieter out of these sections rather than dropping down in volume very quickly. This is just my interpretation of the piece, through. Your playing was excellent on this!
ccwuke – Great job performing both tracks! You are very close on this one, it’s just a matter of locking in the timing. I recommend playing a bit slower and isolating the tricky sections. You can loop certain measures slowly until the muscle memory helps your consistency on the repetitious harmonized parts especially. Still, excellent work…I can tell you put a lot of time into this one!
Here’s everyone on page 13:
sgorsuch – Great job! You’re almost there: You have the right idea on the timing with the triplets and the other sections, you just seem to speed up on certain sections. I recommend playing along to the backing track to help you feel where you have the tendency to speed up. The notes sound great, and you have the right idea, now it’s just about keeping a steady tempo throughout. Keep up the great work!
egeluz – Nice job, but please post a complete song. I recommend Day-O for beginners. Thank you!
amandali – You are doing a wonderful job, especially for under a month! My main piece of advice for you is to play with the backing track or a metronome to keep the tempo consistent. You’re playing the notes great, and you basically have the rhythm right, now it’s just time to develop a steady pulse throughout. Keep up the great work…this is phenomenal for how short you’ve been playing!
hawaiihaze – I really enjoyed the quiet nature sounds in the background of your video. It makes me want to go to Hawaii! Very nice relaxed playing on this one! My only very small suggestion on this one is that the rhythm in measure 2 is a tiny bit different: the last note starts on an upbeat rather than the down beat. I see that you are adding some vibrato to the note before it, so if this is intentional, that’s ok. I just wanted to point it out to make sure you know you were changing the rhythm. Great playing on this one!
miztaken – You get a wonderful sound out of that ukulele with those strings! Very nice playing on this one! Now that you have the notes and rhythm down, you can go back and exaggerate the tempo swells and dynamics (I like crescendoing into each phrase) to add some depth to the emotion of the piece. It sounds great as it is, this is just an added challenge if you would like.
andracass – You’re off to a great start on this! You are doing a great job on the notes, with just a few hesitations to work out. On the triplet strum, make sure to start right on beat two and space the 3 parts of this technique out evenly. Right now you are starting the first strum a tiny bit early which makes the rhythm more of a 16th note feel (one a two and three) instead of the triplet feel ( one two-a-lit three). Other than this, you are doing a very good job!
juanita – Very nicely played! It seems like the only spot giving you a tiny bit of trouble is the notes in measure 6. For now, play a tiny bit slower on the intro to really get these notes down in order. You’ve got the rhythm on this part, it’s time to work the notes up to speed gradually. Very well done!
andyrose – Wonderful job, especially for your first challenge entry! It seems like the only section that gave you any trouble was the transition from bar 34 to 35. Looking ahead just slightly while playing and practicing this one spot a few extra times should be all you need on this one. Keep up the great work!
camifromtherfarpatagonia – You are off to a great start on this! You have the notes down, there are just a few spots where you are hesitating slightly. Try playing just a tiny bit slower to give you time to shift to some of the chords/remember which one comes next. Even though this song is meant to have a loose tempo, it might still be a good idea to play through it with a metronome a few times to see where you are pausing. Great work on this one!
Here’s everyone on page 12:
holly1 – I love the ukulele! Great playing on this one! You have the timing, notes, and feel down! Even the stretches are working pretty well. The hardest part of the triplet strum is getting a defined sound out of all three strums. It may be a matter of developing some muscle in the wrist, but the last two strums often come out a bit quieter than the first. The best way to get it to sound more like Matt’s is to slow it down to focus on getting each of the strums to close to equal volume and then work it up to speed. Recording to it and listening back are the best ways to see if you have it clear at the current tempo before speeding it up. Keep up the great work, this technique is tricky, and you’re very close to mastering it!
brightwing – You’re off to a great start on this! You have the notes down, and you’re very close on the rhythm! The triplet strum is tough to get right: Every strum within it is evenly spaced, and it starts on the downbeat of beat two. Right now you are starting it a tiny bit early and changing the feel from triplet’s to 16th notes. Make sure to start the triplet right on the downbeat of beat 2 (if you were counting “one two three, one two three,” it would start right when you say “two”). I like to count them as “one two-a-lit three” to keep track of the timing. Aside from this, it’s just a matter of getting the chord shifts a bit quicker on the left hand. Great job, keep up the good work!
debb1985 – Very nice job on this one! You got all the notes smoothly with no fret buzz, even on the faster runs. Now is a great time to experiment with adding volume swells and really exaggerating the tempo swells into each phrase. Wonderful playing, keep it up!
kanae926 – You did an excellent job on this! Although measure 9 had a muted note or two the second time around, you had already played it once very well, so I know you can do it! The hardest part of performing is consistency: it just takes even more slow, intentional practice to get to the point where it’s easier to play difficult passages multiple times in the same song. Try just looping that one section until you are sick of hearing it, and then you’ll get it every time. It’s a small detail in the grand scheme of things. You’re playing was great on this!
lhamilton – You have a great feel throughout this one! It seems like it’s only measure 9 the second time through that’s giving you any trouble at all. You know how to do it, so just keep on practicing until you “can’t mess it up.” You’re doing great!
cyukug – Beautifully done! There’s not much I can add to your wonderful performance unless you want to exaggerate the volume swells into each phrase for fun. Keep up the great playing!
simonalexander – If that’s limping through the piece, then I’m very impressed either way. Great job playing at that quick tempo! It seems like it’s just slight things with measure 9 that’s tricky for everyone. I would play just a touch slower to get that passage as smooth as possible, and then listen closely for strings ringing out in between phrases. Muting is very hard in such a fast paced piece, so if you play it slowly, you might come up with some ideas to reduce the string noise more easily. Really great playing, keep it up!
artcrocker – You are off to a great start! You seem to have the notes under your fingers quite well, now it’s time to focus on keeping an even tempo while playing. To do this, I recommend either playing to a metronome, the backing track, or the on screen tab player. If you don’t have access to any of those, try using youtube to slow down the tempo and play along with the recording at a slightly slower speed. You have the hardest part down, now it’s just a bit more work! You’re doing great so far!
Hi Mary Grace, due to the high amount of entries, I’m only able to give feedback for first entries. Sorry I can’t do more, but I’m so glad so many people are in this challenge and that so many have done multiple entries! You are all playing so well!
Here’s everyone in the bottom part of page 10 and all of page 11:
karenj – You are off to a wonderful start! You got the harmonic in the middle of all of the tricky shifts in this song! When a song is this challenging and you are struggling with certain quick passages, I recommend performing the piece at a slower tempo for the challenge. This will help you keep the song flowing on the difficult passages and give you time to think ahead on how to get to the notes smoothly. It’s always better to play it slower with a steady feel than to play full speed with interruptions on the hard parts. You’re doing a great job, this is merely “performance” advice 🙂
jedart – Congrats on your one year uke-eversary! You’ve got the idea with learning techniques by starting at a comfortable speed! You’re developing the right movements, now it’s time to clear up the triplets: The hard part of triplets is keeping them all evenly spaced. You are adding extra space after the third triplet and pushing the other two notes closer together…causing it to feel like 16th notes instead of triplets. If you can find a metronome that clicks triplets, or set one to 3/4 time at a fast pace and pretend they are triplets, you could play on just the down beat of the first set, and line your strums up with the other three beats. This would help you develop the right timing at your current speed a bit more effectively. I hope this helps! Other than that, you are doing great!
stianukulele – Very nicely done with the notes! Now it’s time to go back and exaggerate the rubato feel on the faster note runs. I would start a tiny bit slower and swell (both the speed and the volume) into each phrase. Mechanically you’ve got it! Just add this for a bit of emotion to an already great performance!
timolnz – You are doing a wonderful job on this! You’ve got the notes and the feel very nicely! I would only recommend hitting some of the notes a bit lighter to have slightly less attack on certain faster note runs. It sounds great the way it is, but a softer attack might get the emotional quality across a bit smoother. Keep up the awesome playing!
nathalie – You’re playing wonderfully! I know it’s hard to be patient with the triplet strum, but the best way to have the technique sound as precise as Matt is to be patient and work up to speed more gradually. The goal should be to have well defined, distinct hits on each of the three strums. If there’s a speed where it starts sounding more like two hits rather than three, it’s time to drop back to a slower tempo, and then stay at that speed until you master it. Everything else sounds great!
tim0721 – While it sounds nice plucking with the thumb, I recommend going back and working on the fingerpicking to be able to build speed and accuracy of the right hand. Having to skip strings so often makes you focus on the right hand while the left hand has the bulk of the work on those quick runs. It is possible to play this with only thumb at full speed, but it’s a lot of extra movement. You still sound great on this, and it might be nice to add fingerpicking to your list of techniques.
oldan_ – Your triplet strums sound wonderful! Way to go! You are very consistent with this technique. It seems like now it’s a matter of practicing the fingerpicking section until you have it memorized. Great playing, just work out those hesitations at the end!
eyka321 – Very good job on this one! You’re playing has a nice flow to it, and you know the song very well! There were only a couple of notes that buzzed a little bit, and I just recommend working a tiny bit extra on the fast runs that go further up the neck (as it was mainly the highest note that had that buzz). Because of how small the frets get, it’s a bit trickier to be accurate in that part of the ukulele, and a concert could help with that part! Keep playing, you’re doing a wonderful job!
mszatanik – You’re off to a great start! The triplet strum is a very difficult technique, and working at it at slower tempos is the best way to get each strum to be well defined. Make sure to keep the 3 parts strums this technique evenly spaced, and that all 3 are about equal in volume while you are practicing slowly. This will help your hand know how much extra motion is needed on the last two strums to create this definition. Then I would work on the transition between the strummed section and the fingerpicking section to keep the flow of the piece.
dorabr – Wonderful job on this one! I like that you sway with the rhythm to keep the laid back feel. You captured the vibe very well! My main advice for you would be to hold the notes out a bit longer to try to get a bit more of a legato (smoother, more connected) feel on this one. Aside from that, you’re doing an excellent job! Keep it up!
funtime2018 – You’re off to a great start, and the intro sounds great! When you start playing along with the backing track, you have a tendency to rush the faster rhythms. What I like to do is sway to the music or pat my foot to feel the tempo and groove while I’m playing. This helps me to lock in with the timing that the band/other players have established. Try playing along with the version with Matt to see how the rhythm flows. You’re doing great, keep working at this!
kaidunc – Phenomenal job! Your feel, dynamics, and technique are wonderful! I can definitely tell that your background on violin is translating to ukulele very well. Superb!
elealong12 – You’re doing very well on this one! The main spots to focus on is the run at measure 9 and 13. Once you get the shifts in these passages to be second nature by practicing slowly and gradually building speed, you’ll be performance ready on this song. Great playing on this!
sticks366 – Very nicely done! I like the ingenuity on the strap! Your triplet strums are sounding great, and your over all technique is good. Keep up the great work!
turkgoose – You’re doing a great job on this! I’d recommend backing up from the mic on the strumming and playing lighter on those parts. Then on the solo, practice it slowly and work up to speed to get each part to ring out clearly at the faster tempo. Wonderful job, this one is tricky!
rockmyuke – Excellent job playing this one! You played great, especially for your first challenge! It seems like only one or two measures is giving you a slight bit of trouble. On measure 9, practice just a bit slower to get every note to ring clearly, and check to see if there’s anything that’s preventing certain notes from ringing out (try variations on fingerings, or see what might be muting one or two of the notes). Once you get that measure smoothly, you’ve got this one performance ready! Great work on this!
janelletingey – You picked a wonderful speed to start out at, and continued with a very natural, relaxed flow throughout. Wonderful job on this one! It seems like measure 9 is a spot that gives many trouble. On the 3rd note of the measure (the 3rd fret on the A string…a C note), there are two things to watch out for: 1. accuracy of making sure the note is fretted near the middle to upper part of the fret and 2. making sure no other fretting hand fingers are muting the note at all or causing it to buzz. The only way to get this part smoothly is to practice slowly with that note in mind. You’re playing on this is very nice. Keep it up!
joe150 – It sounds like one of your strings is tuned to the wrong note! Your C string seems to be tuned to a C# (one half step higher). You seem to be playing the notes correctly other than this issue affecting every C string note. After tuning, my biggest suggestion to get the rhythm on this one is to sing the song along in your head. You’re off to a great start, keep up the good work!
wongbrown – So far, this is great! There are only a few times where the rhythm isn’t quite locked in with the backing track. You have a tendency to rush the rhythms a bit in places like 0:46 to 0:50 and again at the very end of the song. My suggestion is to listen to how Matt locks in on these parts and imitate the laid back feel he captures in those sections. Stay relaxed and you’ve got this!
alisefrenchyuky – You’ve got the notes down, now it’s time to go back and focus on the triplet strum and the timing. The triplet strum technique is super hard to get down, and requires a lot of slower practice to hone. Try playing the first section at half speed or even slower to focus on getting all three strums to sound clearly and at almost equal volume. Then make sure that each of the 3 strums is spaced evenly. This takes a long time to do, but the results are worth it! Then, for the last half, I recommend playing along with the on screen tab player with the speed set to 50% to really lock in with Matt’s rhythm.
threepwoodjones – You’e getting a good sound of the instrument. I think you recorded this well. You’ve got the notes down, and the majority of the rhythms. One spot to spend a bit of extra time on is measure 6. The rhythm here is triplet 8th notes, which are evenly spaced and go by fairly quickly. Other than that, I think patting your foot or bobbing your head while playing might help you stay at a consistent speed throughout the rest of the song. That should make it easier to keep the laid back vibe of this song. Great job, keep up the good work!
mr_moltes – I like that you pointed out which sections were hard. It seems like measure 9 is giving many some trouble…take this part slowly and just keep working it up to speed noticing which notes give you the most trouble. As far as wrist pain, Your left hand wrist is bent at too much of an angle while playing. try keeping it straighter as you play, as bending too much can lead to things like carpal tunnel or tendonitis over time. Certain chord shapes cause us to bend our wrist more than others, but the goal is to figure out how to do them with as little bending as possible. I hope this helps, but take a break and stretch your wrists if they start to hurt! Great playing, and I hope someone can help you repair your uke!
Catherine – You are off to a great start! The notes sound great, and your rhythm is super close to being completely correct. The triplet strum is the hardest part of this song by far. Right now, isolate this technique from the song and practice getting each of the 3 strums to be evenly spaced at a slow tempo. Then build the tempo up gradually with this even spacing in the triplet as your goal. The only other thing I would recommend is to hold the melody notes on the A string down longer before switching to give the piece a more legato (smooth and connected) feel rather than a staccato (disconnected) feel. Other than that, you are playing this one beautifully!
Here’s everyone on page 7:
denisdickens – You’e doing very well on this one! You have the notes down and the rhythm of the notes almost perfect! My one suggestion is to keep time during the rests at the ends of the phrases as well. Each quarter rest should be exactly one beat. It’s a small detail, but leaving the right amount of space allows people to bob along to the music or dance along if they wish. You’re doing an excellent job, keep it up!
lyndallk – I love that you played two songs! Body Surfing sounds great! It needs a bit more work, mainly just having some way to keep time underneath certain parts like the solo. Maybe playing along to a metronome or patting your foot? It’s hard to stay in time without something keeping track of the tempo, and as a performance, it would be nice to have the other part or some sort of rhythm behind the solo section for context. You did such a great job on Hone A Ka Wai, too! Keep up the great work!
aloooy – I think you got an excellent tapping sound throughout! Great playing, and great sound with the ukulele. Is that the natural reverb of the room, or an added effect? Wonderful playing, again.
eszti5mail – Really great playing on this! To get the relaxed feel of the song, I recommend slowing down a little bit, and if you want an extra challenge, you could add the backbeat in afterwards. One small detail in the rhythm I would look at is going from measure 6 into measure 7. The rhythm changes from triplets to quarter notes, so just make sure that the notes in measure 7 happen on the downbeats. Listen to Matt’s version and you’ll hear what I mean. It’s a tiny detail, but I just wanted to mention it. Great work on this one!
brettboy – You are doing super well on this one! My main suggestion is to spend even more time on the solo (I know it’s super hard!), and double check the rhythm on the lead in to the next melody after finishing the solo. Other than that, it’s time to start speeding it up to Evan’s tempo! Good luck 🙂
marygrace – You’re off to a wonderful start on this one. I think you did an excellent job of picking a comfortable tempo to really get the triplet strum down! You have a nice bouncy feel with your playing that’s helping you keep time very well, but one thing I would work on is making Melody A sound a bit more legato. To do this, try not to let up your left hand melody notes until it is almost time to play the next chord, leaving less space when you shift. You’re well on your way, this will just give the song a smoother flow. Keep up the great work!
marianne – Wow, your triplet strum sounds great! All three strums are coming out very clearly, and you’re playing the left hand part great as well! Keep up the excellent work, this was wonderful all around!
lisadmh – You are off to a great start, you definitely have the notes under your fingers! One thing that might help you have the laid back feel is to play along with the backing track and try to lock the rhythm in with the groove. I think the pulse of the track will help you stay relaxed and lock in. It takes some getting used to, but you’ll get there! Another thing that might help is to keep rhythm with some part of the body: try bobbing your head or patting a foot to keep the timing going. I hope this helps, you’re doing great!
Here’s everyone on page 6:
lisa-k – Great work on this, especially considering that you’re new to the triplet strum! The hardest part is getting clarity out of each strum. Try slowing it down and work on getting a strong, well defined sound for each strum. Then gradually speed it up, staying at each tempo that you have less clarity on it until you are happy with it before going to the next tempo. at 0:42 seconds, try slowing this part down slightly and eyeballing the note, getting there before you play, or change the fingering to get these 2 notes with accuracy. Other than this, you are well on your way! Keep up the great work!
nthibode – Great feel and playing on this this one! You swell into each phrase nicely, your harmonics ring out well, and you are doing a great job with the finger shifts! There are a couple of spots that seem like a note or two aren’t ringing out as well on certain quick runs: on these spots, if it’s a consistent note that you have trouble with, try slowly going through just those areas with the intention of making every note as important as the one before it. Beautifully played, keep it up!
gstriph – You’re off to a great start! With the microphone, it sounds like it’s being over-driven. Try backing away from the microphone a bit more, or if you can, turn down the recording volume or gain to a lower level. As far as playing, lets just focus on the intro: at the end of measure 5 and all through measure 6…those notes should all be evenly spaced. The trick here is to shift quickly and keep your thumb plucking at a steady pace. Try isolating this part at a slower tempo to get those notes to flow as one stream rather than three or four separated groups of notes rhythmically. Keep working on it, you’ve got the notes down!
uku_on – Kudos for working on something above your current level! There’s a lot to work on, but congratulations on getting through the whole piece! I’m just going to focus on the intro for this: make sure that you have the rhythms right for each section: At the very beginning, the notes are all straight 16th notes…meaning each note is evenly spaced. Right now you are making certain notes longer and shorter, which creates a cool groove…but for now, lets learn it the way it’s written before making changes. I recommend going through each section slowly with the tab player to make sure you have the rhythms correct in your head as you go! That being said, your tone and technique are good so far! Stay relaxed as you play…if a section is too hard to play while keeping your hands/arms relaxed, play it slower for now. You’re doing great, keep it up!
kirpuff – I think we all make interesting faces when we play…yours are actually tame in comparison to many of mine! Excellent job on both parts of this song! This one is super challenging! The main thing to work on is the accuracy of the notes in the opening section. I recommend playing this part slowly to figure out which part of the fretting hand fingers are muting the notes. Make sure you are right in the middle of the frets on this part, as any part of the finger that ends up in front of the fret itself will mute the sound. If it’s mainly that the frets are too small, is this a tenor or a concert ukulele? If it’s a concert, try a tenor to see if that gives your fingers the extra room. Awesome job on this!
nproost – I like the way you approach each phrase by gradually speeding into it and slowing down along with swelling the volume. You have the right idea on working on a steady pace. To achieve this, just try to play the whole song at a slower steady pace and I think you’ll get a feel for it in time. Great work on this one!
rfritz3 – Congratulations on your first entry! You picked a challenging first song to do: the triplet strums are getting there, and eventually with slow practice on that technique with the goal of making sure each strum comes out evenly, you’ll sound like Matt on them! This takes a long time (I’m honestly still working on this technique myself). From 0:51 to the end, I want your focus to be keeping a consistent tempo, even if it’s a slower one. You’ve got the notes here, so it’s just a little work on staying steady and you’ve got it! You’re off to a great start, keep up the great work!
Here’s everyone on page 9:
willymac – Excellent feel, dynamics, overall playing on this one! I really like your interpretation. You really got the harmonic to ring on that last time through Melody B! I have to ask, did you play Melody B twice on purpose? Either way, it sounded very good both times. Keep up the great work!
mikewatts – Very well played! The notes and the timing were great, all the way through the harmonic at the end! Only one note buzzed out of all of them if I heard correctly, so very consistently played as well. Great job, especially for your first challenge.
mfaske – Very good job on this one! Your playing and feel are very nice on this one. I have one small suggestion: on measure 16, make sure to count the rest at the end of the measure so that that bar has 3 full beats before taking the repeat. Counting “one, two, rest” might help to get this right. It’s a small detail, and wouldn’t detract from the song unless someone was trying to dance a waltz over the piece. Good job on this one all around!
mszatanik – Your playing sounds great, all the way to the harmonic, but the first two notes and every time they repeat seem to be different pitches from the original. Did you tune your ukulele differently, or did you change these notes on purpose? Either way, it’s very interesting.
coffeemug – Great work on this one! You played this very well, and the ritard was well executed both times.
lisa-k – This is only your third month playing ukulele? I’m very impressed! I like the harmonic at the end as well. You did a phenomenal job considering how long you’ve been playing. Muting the strings and having less string noise is definitely something that comes with practice. If you take the sections that you have this issue the most with and play them very slowly, you can become aware of where it’s an issue and what part of your playing is causing the noise. Then you can find a way to mute at the slower tempo, speeding up gradually only when you’ve succeeded in properly muting at each speed. Wonderful job!
smudge – This was the perfect tempo for you to play this at! You did a wonderful job on this! Now it sounds a little bit mechanical due to playing along with the metronome, so the next step is to play with a more legato feel, letting each note ring out a bit more, and eventually parting ways with the metronome to develop a more musical feel on the song. You have the hard work out of the way, the notes and shifts are certainly the bulk of this one!
schaap123 – You are doing very well on this one! There are a few rhythms in certain spots that are slightly different, and I highly recommend playing along with the tab player at 75% speed to figure out all of the spots you are changing the rhythm on. I also think playing at this slightly slower speed will help you get the notes to ring out a bit more. You’re doing great, keep it up!
omaon4 – Nicely done! You sound great on this, and with a tiny bit more work on the harmonic at the end, it will be superb! Your fretting hand wrist is bending a little bit too far in the way a waiter’s wrist would be while holding a tray over their head. Try to keep it straight rather than letting it bend this direction to avoid wrist pain. You’re doing a wonderful job!
jinajupiter – That reverb compliments this song very well! You’ve got most of the tricky parts down, it’s just getting all of those higher fretted notes to ring clearly at this point. I feel like playing slightly slower would give you time to get your fingers placed in time. Still, you played this very well over all!
dorabr – Great playing on this one! Just a tiny bit more work on the harmonic at the end. It’s tricky to get it right over the piece of metal accurately in time, but you’re close! My only other suggestion is just to pluck a little bit lighter throughout the piece to give each note a slightly softer attack. Good job on this!
mirthy – You’re off to a great start! Recording makes things harder, but I can tell you can play this, it’s just playing enough to lessen the anxiety at this point. One small thing rhythmically to change is in measure 16, make sure to count the rest after the half note. Right now you are cutting one beat out of the measure, so make sure to count to three (either “one two three” or “one two rest”) to keep your place. If someone were dancing a waltz to this, they would have to skip a step to stay with you otherwise! Still, you are doing great!
santai – Very nice job, especially with only 3 days of working on this one! You really got that harmonic to ring clear as well! I only heard one spot transitioning from theme 1 to theme 2 where the rhythm was slightly off, but judging by the rest of it, this was a simple mistake and I know you would play it correctly on another take. Keep up the good work!
Here’s the bottom half of Page 8:
lisamcc – Very well done! My biggest advice to getting the song down cleaner quicker is to slow down. When you are going at the faster pace, you sound great until you get to the spots that give you trouble, and then you play slower through those sections. Try going the speed you slow down to between 0:29 and 0:31, or play along with the tab player at a slower tempo. There are a couple of places where the rhythm sounds slightly different as well, but this may be due to large shifts, so try slower with the tab player for now. You’re very close to having it spot on, keep it up!
andracass – Nice work on this! The first time through everything was great, even though the repeat of theme two had a couple of mistakes, I can tell you know the part! Sometimes it’s just a matter of working on a piece just a bit longer to get so familiar with it that those mistakes vanish. Are those steel strings on this ukulele? Great playing, keep up the great work!
samash07 – Very nicely done, even with the fast tempo! The harmonic at the end was spot on as well. I notice that you are using your right hand to deaden the strings for the rests at the end of measure 4 and 8. This is slowing you down, and making a tap sound instead of being silent. Try muting with the fretting hand instead. Then just add the ritardando and you’ve got it! Great job on this one!
nthibode – Phenomenal job on a very tough piece! I like that you perform with a smile on your face and with your eyes closed much of the time! Now that you have the song at this level, try adding/exaggerating some of the dynamics like Evan does in his performance to really add to the emotion. Awesome playing on this one!
annegodfrey – You are doing very well on this one! That middle section just takes a lot of practice. It’s all about memorizing and/or looking ahead of where you are on the music so that the difficult passages don’t sneak up on you. You’re well on your way, keep it up!
wongbrown – Great job on this, the notes and the harmonic in the middle sound great! I recommend keeping your hands more relaxed and playing lightly like you do at 1:00 into the song. Try not to tense up during the tricky parts, as this can often make them harder to play. You’re doing a great job, and a little bit more work will get you the rest of the way there.
kanae926 – Very well played! I’ll pretend that you got it as well as the first time, but only because you got the harmonics very cleanly in the middle! With more time, you will work out all the kinks and be able to play it without having to worry about any of the mistakes you mention. It just really takes a lot of practice to work up the consistency…and then even more practice recording to ease any recording anxiety. You can do it!
cyukug – Very good job! You’ve got all the parts fairly clean at this tempo, now it’s time to add that one extra step of working it up to full speed gradually. You get a really good sound out of that ukulele, and you’re doing great!
morrieuke1 – Excellent job on this! Your timing is great, and you played very confidently throughout. You definitely know the piece very well! Now you can go back through and add dynamics (volume swells) to make this sound less like an exercise and add a little emotion. This isn’t necessary, but it might be a fun addition to an already awesome performance!
cloud_cactus – Very good job on this! The more you play, the easier it will be to get a take with everything including the harmonic ringing out. This is great for now! It might be easier to get the harmonic in at a slightly slower tempo. Great playing on this!
debb1985 – Nicely played! Everything sounds good on this take, now it’s time to add that harmonic at the end. Keep up the great work, and hopefully this crazy time will pass soon!
cncamacho – You’re off to a great start on this, and you got the harmonic at the end, awesome! Now it’s time to work on a few spots where your fingers seem to be getting confused. I recommend playing at a slower tempo to work these spots out and commit them to muscle memory. Once you get those spots, you’re there! You’ve got the hardest part already!
karenj – Great job on this! You have the feel, timing, and ritardando sounding great! The only thing left is to get to that harmonic in time. It’s challenging, but you can do it! Just practice the ending several times slowly and work up to a comfortable speed and accuracy. Keep up the great playing!
lildevil – You played this very well! You have the notes and feel down great, and even got to the harmonic in time at the end! My only advice on the recording is to maybe get an external microphone to improve the sound. Great work on this song!