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ccwuke – Great job! This is a very tricky song with all of the shifts, especially in melody B. Try playing the whole song at a slower tempo to give yourself time to think ahead while playing these sections. Work on keeping the beat steady throughout these parts as well. You’re doing a wonderful job of playing the notes, just a little more work and you’ve got it!
mr_moltes – Excellent job on this one! You’ve definitely got a hang on this one, even on the harmonic at the end. Well played!
bklynsoul – You are off to a great start! I recommend playing along with a metronome or the tab player at a much slower tempo, which will help push you to shift and transition between sections in time. I think the piece sounds great with the high G, though! Keep up the good work, and just tighten up the timing a bit by playing slowly.
lhamilton – Very well played, and it sounds great on baritone uke! The only suggestion I have is to work on shifting from the lower positions to the higher positions (between 0:12 – 0:14 and other places like this) without hesitating. Aside from this, you’re doing great!
joannetala – Awesome job on this one! Your playing, the notes, and even the harmonic at the end are spot on! The only tiny advice I have for you: at the end of the phrases, count all three beats in your head to not rush into the next phrase. In measure 8 for instance, make sure to count either “one two three,” or “one two rest” to let the piece breathe before going into theme 2. It’s a small detail, but it will make the piece feel more relaxed. Excellent playing on this one!
stinyuke – Very nicely played! The variations are cool as well! Keep up the great playing!
gstriph – What a crazy month! I hope you are alright and remain healthy! Your playing on this is great! Just a tiny bit of work on getting that harmonic accurate at the end, and you’ve got it!
slasher78 – You are doing a very good job on this! The chords in the fourth measure of theme 2 are a bit overly drawn out…you can play those a little bit closer to in time with just a slight ritardando. Then it’s just a bit of extra work on the harmonic, and you’ve got it!
brettboy – Wonderful! Great job tackling a monster of a piece! You still have a few spots that could use a bit more work, but you’re sounding excellent!
joe150 – I like the lick at the end! You’re off to a great start on this song, if you can memorize it, I think you will work out the hesitations from looking at the music and down at your ukulele. Keep it up!
holly1 – I like the swing feel! You did a great job on this…now it’s time to tackle that harmonic!
mac1984 – You have a good feel on this! I kind of like the high G on this one, even though it’s meant for low G. When you let go of notes, just make sure you don’t pull down on the strings too much. Towards the end it sounded a bit like there were pull offs rather than just hand shifts. Other than that and letting the harmonic ring out by getting your right hand out of the way quicker after hitting it, you’ve got it!
lyndallk – Wonderful job on the dynamics and feel on this one, and great work getting almost zero squeak out of the low G! You are rocking this one!
laurakarr12 – Great job on this! Just a tiny bit of work on the harmonic and you have it! Every now and then I hear a tiny amount of fret buzz like between 4 and 5 seconds in. Is this from a finger grazing the string, or might the low G need to be adjusted? Either way, your playing is great, just something to think about. It may just be that you can hit it just a little bit lighter, either way it’s a tiny detail. Awesome playing on this one!
timolnz – Excellent work! Great tempo, playing, and just one slight buzzy note at the end. That was a very clean harmonic at the end!
nathalie – I kind of like the sound of it with the high G! Your playing is very nice on this one! I have one small suggestion: work on getting the pinky to hold out of the note in measure 3 (and all times this part comes back) just a bit longer to keep the legato vibe of the song through this part. It takes a bit of work, the main thing is just not to eject from the note quite so quickly. I would practice just that measure into measure 4 to make it a bit more fluid. Great job, keep up the good work!
surfnrz – Wonderful playing on the rubato and the dynamics! Keep up the great work!
uku_on – Excellent work on this! You’ve certainly got the notes down, and your right hand technique is excellent! I would exaggerate the dynamics to give the song a bit more emotional appeal: each phrase can start quieter, crescendo towards the middle, and gradually return back to the quieter volume for effect. This works best on Melody A. Melody B can be a bit louder over all to match the intensity! You’re well on your way on this one! Keep it up!
Here’s everyone on page 8:
stinyuke – Great job on this one, and you definitely have all the notes down! It’s hard for me to tell in the video, but are you only using your thumb on the G string? In this song, the claw hammer technique uses the thumb only playing the G string, and every other note is a down strum with the fingernails. The thumb is anchored, allowing the hand to strum with a little bit more force to get the “twang” sound like a banjo. I hope this helps a bit to make the technique sound more authentic. Keep up the great work, and thank you for your entry!
karenj – Great job on this, and way to go on playing the advanced version! my only advice for now is to not wear the bracelet since it is hitting the banjo head out of time and obscuring some of the notes! Then just continue to play until you work the song up to speed. Awesome playing, and thank you for joining the challenge!
lisa-k – Wow! Great work on this version! You are definitely getting the idea down beautifully! My only advice is to put a little more arm weight into each note with the plucking hand. This extra push will help the notes have a bit more of that banjo “twang.” This was an excellent performance! Thank you for entering this challenge!
apblondie – Wonderful job on this! You already know which harmonics are the most difficult, so go back and practice those few, and you’re golden! I love the video intro and outro. Keep up the great work, and thank you for your entry!
omaon4 – You are off to a wonderful start! Just a little bit of extra work on a few chords and being careful not to hit any extra strings with the right hand pointer finger, and you’ve got it! Then you can work your way up to speed when you’re ready! Awesome job, and thank you for joining the challenge!
jinajupiter – Great work on both of the songs! On Shortnin’ Bread, it sounds like you are bending the 2nd fret on the C string out of tune as you are playing, so make sure not to pull down that far on the string. If this isn’t the whole issue, it might be an intonation or tuning issue on the C string. Great job, and I love how you were keeping time! Are you playing a kick drum or stomping on something out of the camera? Wonderful playing as always! I look forward to the surprises you add to the songs! Thank you for your entry!
annemarie – Very well played! Your timing, feel, and notes were great! It sounds like there’s only one tiny spot around 20 seconds in that could use a tiny bit of extra practice, and then you’ve got the whole song nearly perfect! Thank you for entering this challenge!
lakeside339 – Excellent work on this one! You are doing a great job with this technique! If you want to sound a bit more like a banjo, just put a little more push behind each note to get the “banjo twang.” You’re ready to start speeding it up to full speed! Thank you for your entry!
ukukelley1 – Nicely played! The notes are clear and have a bit of than “twang” sound that this technique is great for! My only advice on this one is to keep a steady rhythm throughout. If one section is too hard to play as fast, try starting the song at the speed you can play that section at comfortably. Keep up the great work! Thank you for joining the challenge!
isabelm – Awesome job on this! My only advice for you is similar to ukukelley1’s: Play slightly slower for now until you work out all of the hesitations. Then work on building speed, but only after playing slow and steady with accuracy. Thank you for your entry!
kirpuff – Congratulations on your one year uke-iversary! Great playing on this…that was very fast, and you were comfortable at that speed! Spend just a little bit more time on the section at the end to work out a slight hesitation, and you’ve got it! Have you really only been playing for one year? You are playing like someone who’s played much longer! Thank you for entering this challenge!
Here’s everyone on page 7:
ccwuke – Great job on this one! You are playing the notes well, and have the mechanics down! One thing that takes a bit of work is getting the thumb notes to come out a bit more clearly at the faster tempos. Try practicing slowly and work on getting the open G string note to ring out a bit more. I’m not sure, but it sounds like you may be muting it accidentally with the left hand. Double check to see if that’s the issue. If not, it’s all about developing the thumb motion a bit more. You are well on your way! Great work on a challenging technique! Thank you for your entry.
cloud_cactus – You are doing a wonderful job on this! Your harmonics are ringing beautifully! The only part that you could improve upon is a few spots where your hands shifting caused a few open strings to sound unintentionally. This happened mainly at 0:18 seconds in when you were placing your hand for the C chord in measure 10. This is such a small detail that I honestly wouldn’t mention it normally, but you played so well, it’s really the only criticism I can find! Excellent performance on this song! Thank you for joining the challenge!
wongbrown – Well done! You sound like you are off to a great start, and I would recommend playing the piece a bit slower to help with accuracy on the harmonics and chords. Your left hand pointer finger is occaisionally a bit behind the fret rather than right over the piece of metal, causing a slightly muted harmonic. Then it’s just a slight bit of accuracy work when shifting to the few chords in the piece. You sound great on this, just a tiny bit of slower practicing and you’ve got it! Thank you for participating!
samash07 – Congratulations on your first entry! I think you are playing the harmonics very well, and the strums sound fine! The main advice I have for you is to work on the timing a bit more. I hear some hesitations as you move around, and certain parts are slightly rushed as well. I recommend playing along with Andrew at the end of the lesson video. He counts as he plays at a slower tempo. This will help you understand the counting while keeping a steady pulse. Keep up the great work, and thank you for your entry!
Catherine – Excellent! This is a tricky technique, but you have the hang of it! It’s tricky to keep the pulse even while using the thumb in this manner, and you are up for the challenge! The main thing you might be able to improve upon is accuracy with the right hand strumming fingers. When you hit the C string on beat one of measure two, it’s tough not to hit the E string with it. One way to avoid this is to mute the E string slightly with the left hand, or you can stop your right hand from going through the E string by stopping on it after traveling through the C string. It’s a small detail, and really doesn’t affect the piece, but it’s something to work on simply for the sake of technique. Awesome feel on this. Thank you for participating in this challenge!
laurasil – Great job on this one! You have almost all of the harmonics ringing out crystal clear! Your timing is also very strong on this one. For effect, when you strum the C chord in measure 10, you can move through the strings a bit slower to create the effect of three separate hits being quickly played if you would like to add a little embellishment. However, this performance is strong the way it is, too! Thank you for your participation!
marama – You are off to a great start! This technique is a hard one for sure, so practicing it at your current speed is a great idea! The rhythm is a bit different than what you are playing: instead of playing the first two hits back to back and then leaving space after the 2nd, you want to leave space after the first note. If you counted “one and two and three and four and,” you would play on “one,” “two” “and” “three” “four” “and.” If this is super confusing, try using the tab play along, and slow the speed down to 30%. Then stay at this tempo until you’ve developed the muscle memory a little bit. You are doing a great job, it just takes a lot of work on this technique! Thank you for your entry!
jonathan_gabel – You’re off to a great start on this! The main challenge on this is to keep the thumb notes in time with the other notes: the rhythm is: “one two and three four and” where the thumb notes are on the “ands” which are timed evenly between the numbers. Right now your thumb is hitting those notes a tiny bit too quickly, making the feel very different even though you have the notes right. I would practice at a super slow tempo with the play along, working to have control of where the thumb notes end up. Then gradually speed it up making sure to keep the feel. It’s hard to develop control over the thumb, but you can do it! Keep up the good work! Thank you for joining the challenge!
nitsur – Awesome! This technique is super hard, but you seem to be getting the hang of it! Once you work out the few hesitations that were happening, my advice is to put a little more force behind the the notes to try to get the finger nails to add that “twang” sound to have it sound a bit more like a banjo. It might also be easier to get that sound on a smaller ukulele or one with a brighter tone wood. Great job on the new technique!
surfnrz – I really like the upbeat chorus section! The song sounds great so far, and I hear a lot of Classic Rock/guitar influence! My one suggestion is on the solo at 1:50, try bending just slightly less. This style works on guitar very well, but much less motions on the vibratos will keep this section in tune a bit more. I love the energy, passion, and direction your song is going in! Keep up the great work, and I hope your surgery went smoothly! Thank you for sharing your song!
kelsey91 – You’re off to a great start on this! AJ’s melody on this is very cool! You’re playing the notes great, so now it’s time to work a bit on making the notes more legato rather than staccato by allowing each note to sustain more. You can do this by leaving your fretting hand fingers down longer on each note rather than lifting them early as move towards the next notes. The latest lesson is all about this, so check it out here. Thank you for your entry, and keep up the good work!
ccwuke – You did a great job capturing the lullaby aspect of this song: a very relaxing vibe, and I like the tempo you chose to do it at! My only advice on this one is to work on shifting with a little less string noise in spots. When you lift your fingers off the strings to move to certain chords, sometimes you are lifting your fingers in a way that causes the open strings to sound. Work a bit on muting during these transitions. If that’s not solving the issue, it may be that your hands are sticking to the strings a tiny bit. Sometimes wiping the strings down after each use can fix this. Thank you for your entry!
ealtman – You are doing a great job on the notes and getting a wonderful tone out of your ukulele! Now it’s time to tighten up the timing a bit: those pauses in the intro melody are just slightly longer, and cutting them short slightly interrupts the soothing vibe of the song. Then there are just a few spots like 1:23 where a little bit of extra practice will help you get to the shapes a bit quicker and avoid some fret buzz. I highly recommend playing with a metronome at a slightly slower tempo to fix these small things. You are doing a wonderful job, these are only slight things. Thank you for joining the challenge!
smokealot – Excellent job on this one! You seem to have the notes down very well! I recommend playing the whole song at the tempo you played the Chorus. It has a very nice relaxed feel, while the first section just seems a tiny bit too fast. Pick a tempo that you can play the Chorus section smoothly at, and then make sure to start at that tempo. A metronome might help you for now. Then, you can add in some dynamics (volume swells) into certain sections to really get the emotion of the song across. You are doing very well, keep working on this one! Thank you for entering this month’s challenge!
lisadmh – This sounds like a fantastic start! I think what makes it different than noodling and more of a song to me is your strong rhythmic theme throughout. By allowing each phrase to breathe at the end, it sounds very defined. The phrase between 0:30 and 0:36 is very catchy! I would recommend repeating how it starts, and following it up with a different ending…like a “call and response” kind of thing. This will give that section a pattern for the listener’s ear, and a development that really moves things along and ties things together. Keep going with this idea, I can’t wait to see where you take it! Thank you for sharing your song.
andrewvh – I really like the speed you chose to play this at. You have a great feel on this, and captured the lullaby vibe very well. There are just a few spots in the chorus to practice the shifts a little more, and then you can experiment with dynamics (like volume swells into and out of phrases) to add more emotion. Very well played! Thank you for your entry.
nitsur – Very nicely done! The Intro and Verse parts sound very good! There are only a few spots in the Chorus to isolate and work on slowly to have the whole song flow smoothly. spots like 0:55 to 0:58 are tricky to play in time. Coming out of the melody and back into a chord smoothly is difficult. Try playing just this part at half of the speed you were playing the song here until your hand is comfortable with the shift, and then work it up to full speed in increments. Just a few spots like this to work on, and you’ve got it! Keep up the great work, and thank you for taking part in the challenge!
stinyuke – Wow! I’m impressed with your performance all around on this one! Great tone, smooth transitions, and great feel all the way throughout! I noticed that your fretting hand wrist is bending in an interesting way when you have to barre chords. If you aren’t doing this too often, it’s most likely not going to cause and wrist problems, but keep an eye on how you are doing those chords just in case. Very well played, this was wonderful to listen to!
iyers408 – Great work on this one! The backing track is just a tiny bit too loud for me to hear every note of what you are playing, but what I can hear sounds good! If you record this way again, just make sure the ukulele melody is standing out above the track. Great job on all the nuance with the slides and embellishments! Melody B sounds great, I think there are a few timing things in Melody A to work on. The syncopation is tricky! Try slowing it down a tiny bit more, but really line up with the piano. Keep up the good work! Thank you for your entry.
Here’s the last 2 entries on page 8 and everyone on page 9:
holly1 – Great job on this one! You have a nice sound on this one, and really captured a peaceful happy vibe! Very well played! Keep it up! Thank you for entering the challenge!
andrewvh – You are off to a great start on this one! Not bad, especially since the thumb technique is new to you! Towards the end, it looks like a few of the chord shapes (mainly the Ddim7) are in need of a little more practice. I noticed that your ring finger and pinky are collapsing inward on that chord, rather than curving. Try playing just measure 19 to the first beat in measure twenty to practice getting into and out of this chord without your fingers collapsing. Keep up the great work! Thank you for your entry!
morrieuke1 – Awesome job on this one! You played this very well! There were only a couple of notes with a tiny bit of extra buzz and pretty much everything else was flawless! Thank you for your entry and donation!
karenj – I love that ukulele! The doubled strings sound so cool, even though they’re a bit trickier to hold down without added buzz! Some of the buzz can be fixed by pushing down closer to the actual metal frets or at least slightly more than halfway between the frets. This means, within each square created by the frets, your finger should be at least slightly closer to the body of the ukulele and further from the headstock/tuners. I hope this isn’t too confusing, and I know it’s tricky to do on some chords, but you won’t have to push down quite as hard if you can master this concept. Great job keeping a nice tempo throughout, and a good feel throughout. Thank you for joining the challenge!
jinajupiter – Wow! Fantastic job playing all of those instruments, and excellent editing/mixing as well! That was very entertaining, and I loved the surprise of the other instruments joining in! Thank you for your hard work, creativity, and consistently rising to these challenges!
timolnz – Nicely done! I like that you have a nice playful bounce to your performance. My only suggestion is to try to not cut the last note of every phrase quite so short to get a slightly less staccato feel. Wonderful job! Thank you for entering the challenge.
oldan_ – Great job adjusting to the thumb picking! Once you got past the first few notes and started looking at your ukulele, you sounded great! My only suggestion would be to play the song with a metronome a few times to figure out where you are hesitating/rushing in a few spots. Thank you for your entry!
aquatopaz – You are off to a great start! With more time, you will get this one down! You are close to having the notes down enough to start playing with a metronome. This will challenge your mind to think/look ahead to stay in time. Before doing that, work a bit more on the ending so that you are more comfortable with it. Keep up the great work! Thank you for joining the challenge!
robinboyd – I love the soothing sound of the waterfall! You played this one really well and with a great feel! Nicely done! I’ve noticed that people often like to stop and listen. Thank you for your entry!
laurasil – Very well played! I love this melody, and you got the feel just right! Wonderful playing! Thank you for your entry!
brenna – I love that intro you added! I think you chose not to swing the rhythm like Matt did since the intro was in straight time, but I like the choice! I think the Coda was the only part that might use a little work: the main thing I noticed is that right before shifting to the upper frets on the neck, you missed one note by looking ahead too soon. Just practice not getting too far ahead of yourself, and you’ve got this one! Great work, and happy holidays! Thank you for entering the challenge!
jedart – You are off to a wonderful start! You are doing a great job getting the notes to ring out cleanly and shifting in most spots! With a slight bit more memorizing, you’ve got it! In Matt’s version, he chose to swing the rhythm, but it sounds great straight or swung. I recommend giving the swing 8th notes a shot for fun! Way to go, not bad at all for one week! Thank you for joining the challenge!
suesbarn – I’m so glad the directions were a bit misleading, your voice is great on this one! I can see how that note look like it applied to all of the songs instead of Blue Christmas only. My only suggestion for you is for if you just play the piece without singing: Try to get a very smooth and flowing sound with the ukulele, making sure to let the notes ring out for the full length on every note and chord. Also, Andrew adds some nice nuance and embellishments with the right hand that you can add as well. Well played, and great singing! Thank you for your entry!
nosferatu – Great work on this one! I think there are only a couple of spots to work on the timing: mainly on the transition from measure 4 to 5, try not to hesitate. If you get this down, and a few similar spots, then the song will flow even more naturally! You have a great tone and sound on your ukulele, so you are 90% the way there already! Thank you for entering the challenge!
Here’s everyone on page 16:
kelsey91 – It’s great that you are playing the song at a comfortable tempo. This is a great way to improve! You have most of the song down, and there are only a few sections I would isolate and practice before speeding up the tempo. Measure 8 has a chord transition that seems to be giving you a little trouble, so I would recommend looping that measure until the shift from E to the E7 is almost second nature. Then there’s one note at the end of measure 11 that seems like you just played the wrong string. Maybe plucking that note with the thumb will make it easier to hit accurately. I would go through those spots at a slightly slower tempo, and then put it all together. You’re doing a wonderful job! Thank you for your entry!
wongbrown – The notes are sounding good, and I’m sure a little practice is all it will take for the D to F transition. One thing I noticed is that you are making up your own rhythm throughout the piece. While it sounds kind of cool, I highly recommend playing along with the on screen tab player at 50% speed to try to match Matt’s rhythm. Once you get that down, the rest will fall in place! Thank you for joining the challenge!
dubrova – You are off to a great start! The notes sound great, and the strumming is on it’s way! One thing I notice is that the rhythm of the fingerpicked section is slightly different: the fifth note in each pattern is just slightly after where you are currently playing. If we just thought of the rhythm as long and short notes, the pattern would be: “long short short long long long long.” Right now, you are playing “long short short short long long long.” If this is confusing, try using the on screen tab player to slow Matt’s performance to 50% and play along. With the strumming, try playing that section at a slower tempo and relax the strumming hand. Playing along with the whole song at 50% will help both of these things. Keep up the good work! Thank you for entering the challenge!
tiff27 – The fingerpicking section sounds great! That tempo is a wonderful place to continue to practice at until you get the chord transitions and shapes a bit smoother. It seems like while you have the piece memorized, there’s a bit of hesitation on the last half of the strumming section. I would just play through that until you can mentally stay a step ahead to avoid hesitating. You are doing a wonderful job, keep it up! Thank you for your entry!
jazzitup – Great job keep a solid tempo and playing the notes very consistently! I like the sound of this one on a low G ukulele as well. Now that you have the notes and rhythms down, try adding some dynamics to your playing: start soft at the beginnings of phrases and crescendo into the middle, then gradually get softer again at the end. This will allow the song to “breathe” and add some extra emotion to your performance! Thank you for joining the challenge!
ramon91 – Great job on picking a tempo you can play smoothly at, your timing and notes sound great! The only spot where the timing is noticeably different than how you played this is at the end of measure 11: There is more space between the open E string and the first fret on the G string. If you were counting “1, 2, 3” (or tri-ple-et), the open E string would be on “1,” or “tri,” while the note on the G string would be on “3” or “et.” I hope this makes sense! After getting this down, it’s time to gradually speed up your tempo. Great work! Thank you for joining the challenge!
jinajupiter – That Les Paul ukulele is so cool! First, super job on the solo! Your timing is great, and sense of rhythm is superb! On the intro, try to sustain the notes as long as you can before moving to the next note. The 10th fret on the A string is where it’s most noticeable if cut too short. This is a small detail, but it will make the whole pattern flow much more smoothly! You are doing a wonderful job, and steel strings have a whole level of differences…one being how much more necessary muting strings becomes! You are doing a wonderful job, and your awesome take on this made me smile! Keep on rockin’! Thank you for your entry!
yukalele – Nicely done! That was very fast! There are a few transitions that I would recommend playing at a slower tempo in the strumming portion: when you go higher up on the neck in measures 7 and 9, you are slightly overshooting the 12th fret. Playing the whole piece at a slower speed will give you time to practice the accuracy needed to play those notes and get every note in the chord to sound. It’s tough work, but with a little practice, those notes will ring clear! Thank you for entering the challenge!
Here’s everyone on page 14:
alterin – You are off to a great start! The notes are well on their way, and you got the harmonics clean at the end! The biggest thing I’m noticing is that the rhythm needs some work! I would highly recommend playing along with the onscreen tab play along at 25% or 50% speed and really lock in with Matt’s playing. Listening to it will hopefully give you an idea of the rhythm. start with the intro: even if you have to think in terms of “long” notes verses “short” (where long are exactly twice as long as short notes) it might help to know that the main rhythm through each chord shape is “long short short long long long long.” This might be easier than counting in eighth notes for now. I hope you get a chance to put this in action after the holidays, but for now, have a great Thanksgiving! Thank you for entering the challenge!
nerdjenni – You have an excellent feel on this one, especially on the strumming section! Great job on having such a natural, relaxed vibe. It seems like there were only a few chord shapes that tripped you up slightly on this take. Since you appear to be reading the music, I suggest making a mark on the music to remind yourself that those particular shapes still require you to look down at the fingerboard to get them accurately. Other than those few tiny hiccups, you sound wonderful on this! Thank you for your entry!
lisamcc – I enjoyed the ending! That was a very fast take on this one, great job! Try playing it just a touch slower to get the transitions in measures 7 and 8 just a slight bit smoother, it will help with the left hand accuracy. However, your consistency was great on this, and your fingerpicking accuracy was super impressive! Thank you for joining this challenge!
ramiro – Using the metronome made this super consistent! Way to go, and great work! There were only a few spots where it seemed difficult for you to get to the chord accurately in time: the D chord in measure 6 and measure 10. I would recommend practicing that shape and approaching it from the end of the previous measure. Then you may want to take out one headphone to hear that your D chords are ringing out clearly as soon as you get there. But this is a very small detail…you sound excellent on this one! Way to go! Thank you for submitting your entry!
mac1984 – Your timing and rhythm, especially on the verses is great! There are a few spots in the bridge that are slowing you down a bit, mainly the transitions to the B7 chords! I would recommend focusing on the bridge a bit more, and try to play it in time to get the transitions. After you get the transitions down, you can slow down in these spots a touch stylistically. Great job, once again! Thank you for entering the challenge!
Here’s all first entries on page 13:
cyukug – Great work on this one! Very well played! As far as the harmonic at the end, find it on each string, then figure out how to line your finger up to those spots. Practice this with great detail, and rather than pulling your hand immediately away, focus on touching the strings light enough to still have the harmonics ring out. If you practice this daily, you will figure out how to get the slight nuance of the angle/pressure more consistently. Wonderful job on the rest of the piece! Thank you for entering the challenge!
mdugal – You are sounding great on this one! The verse melody is very strong! On the bridge, there’s a rhythmic issue to tend to, but nothing too major! You are waiting just slightly too long between the chord on beat one and the note that follows it. The rhythm is “one and a” for the “strum pluck pluck at the beginning of that measure. Then, the next three notes are a triplet, which is a tricky concept to get down! I recommend playing this section with the on screen tab play along to really internalize the rhythm. Try it at 75% speed, then at full. You are off to a great start, and the way you are playing it works as well, but this is a really cool rhythm that can help you grow as a player! Thank you for your entry!
joe150 – Your right hand technique looks very good and fluid! You are getting a great tone out of that ukulele, and playing the notes well! Now it’s time to to work on the rhythm! I recommend memorizing the first section so that you can practice playing it along with the on screen tab player at 25% speed. Once you get the timing solid at this speed, try 50%. You’ve got the idea, but having to read each measure is causing lots of hesitations in the melody. Hopefully doing it this way will help you internalize the rhythm! I’ll mention to Andrew to listen to the second part. I hope all is well, Joe! Thanks for being part of the challenge!
fiona99 – You are doing a great job on each section…hardly any hesitations once you got into it! You are playing the fingerpicking section at a very fast tempo, but the strumming section at a much slower one. I would recommend slowing the fingerpicking part down to match the speed you are playing the first section at. It sounds really close to 75% speed with the tab player. Try playing the whole song with the tab player at that speed. Wonderful job, it’s hard to believe you are a beginner! Thank you for your entry!
ripley – Great job on this one! It sounds like your cat is really attacking your bed! I hope it’s ok, haha! You are playing this wonderfully, and your technique is pretty solid! The only thing I’m hearing that you might be able to control a little bit is muting the strings when shifting from chord to chord, or figuring out how to not move them in such a way that creates as much open string noise (some almost sound like pull offs). This is a small detail, and it’s not super noticeable, but it might be a good goal to work on. You can either mute the strings as you shift, or as a better option for this song, wait slightly longer before transitioning to the new chord shape. Great job, and thanks for entering the challenge!
joannetala – Great job keeping the same tempo from the fingerpicking section into the strumming portion! The only suggestion I have for you is to work a bit extra on the transition from the strumming back into the fingerpicking a bit. This is 0:41 to 0:43 on your recording. The last strum was just slightly late, and then the two notes afterwards have one more 8th note of space between them. Listen and play along with the tab player at 75% speed from measure 11-12 a few times, and you’ll get it! Very good job on this one, and your ukulele looks and sounds awesome! Thanks for joining the challenge!
kellyblackburn – You sound very good on this one! You’re timing was very solid throughout, and your playing was also very consistent! If you want to, you can go back in and add some dynamics (simple crescendos and decrescendos) at the beginnings and ends of each phrase to give the song a little added emotion, but it’s great the way it is! Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you for your entry!
Here’s everyone’s 1st entry on page 11:
jkulele – Wonderful job! I think you picked a great tempo to play at, and you stayed in time very well throughout 99% of the piece! The main thing I would focus on is getting the timing solid between 0:46 and 0:48. The transition from the strumming to plucking should happen in time, not slowing for those couple of notes in between. The rhythm there is a bit tricky, but if you are counting 8th notes, the last strum in measure 11 is on beat 7, then the open E plucked note is on beat 10, and the last note is on beat 12. This leaves less space before hitting the downbeat of the following measure, and less of a pause before “beat 10” as well. I hope this isn’t too confusing. If so, try counting along as Matt plays it at a slower tempo. I know it’s a small detail, but working through rhythms like these will make you a better player in the long run! Great job, and thank you for your entry!
laurakarr12 – I really like the tempo you picked to play this one! It sounds very relaxing at this speed, and you are getting a great sound out of every note! Your timing is very solid as well. I think it’s time to work it up to a faster tempo, and add some dynamics (gradually getting louder at the beginnings of phrases and softer at the ends of them) to add some emotion. You are doing an awesome job, and your ukulele sounds great!
russellbarnett – I love the dog in the background! You have a very nice sound, and I can tell you understand the rhythm very well! There are just a few hesitations here and there, and it seems like they are on different spots each time. This could be fixed by warming up a bit more before recording, and possibly isolating a few of the transitions to certain chords to get them into your muscle memory. If it’s because you are reading the notes, try looking slightly further ahead so that things don’t catch you off guard. But over all, this is fantastic! Keep it up! Thank you for joining the challenge!
karenj – The fingerpicking part sounds wonderful! I think the strumming section is the most challenging part. More than the left hand positions, it’s the timing throughout that section that I would focus on first: right now you are speeding up in that section quite a bit! Practice intentionally playing it slowly and focusing on accuracy. Try using the tab player to slow this section down to 50% and focus on not getting ahead of Matt as you play along. You are off to a great start! Thank you for your entry!
ccwuke – You’ve got the fingerpicking part pretty solid! Now it’s time to go back in at a slower tempo and really get that strumming pattern down! I suggest playing along with Matt at 50% speed using the tab player so that you can hear where every single note goes, and how to approach it. Then it’s just getting the couple of notes that lead back to the fingerpicking at the end in time. You’re doing an awesome job! Thank you for joining the challenge!
robinboyd– What a scenic place to record! You played this one very well, too! My only suggestion is to not pause quite as long after each phrase in the bridge. While a slight gradual slowdown is nice, pausing an extra beat every time can lose the effect slightly. However, your approach, technique, and tone still make the piece very soothing and relaxing even with these pauses. Excellent playing, Robin! Thank you for entering this challenge!
timolnz – Great job on the notes in this one! You are doing well! It seems like this song could use a slightly lighter touch to really get the emotion across, and I would add crescendos (gradually getting louder) and diminuendos (gradually getting softer) for effect as well. Your ukulele seems to naturally project high notes loudly, so plucking lighter will really help with this. I like how you are slowing down at the ends of phrases for effect, though…just add these dynamics to make it really connect emotionally! Keep up the good work! Thank you for your entry!
rickjava – Very nicely done! I like the speed you picked to play it at, and you stayed fairly near the same tempo. I want to challenge you to to try fingerpicking with AJ’s pattern instead of only using the thumb. While it does sound nice, memorizing the fingerpicking would allow you to focus on the left hand, especially during hard sections like the bridge. There’s still a learning curve to mastering fingerpicking like this, but it will help future songs become easier to learn as well. Wonderful job! Thank you for entering the challenge!
andrewvh – You are off to a wonderful start on this! The fingerpicking is great, and the strumming is well on its way! What you are doing is working well, but there’s one thing you are doing that is making the strumming section a bit more complicated: By anchoring your hand and only making such slight motions, you are limiting the range of motion of the strums, and making your thumb work harder. Notice how Matt changes his arm position for strumming and simply picks which finger/thumb is doing the actual strum. This way, the arm motion of the strum is all that’s needed regardless of if the thumb is playing the note or if the fingers are strumming. The way you are playing requires the thumb to have its own motion, and it is occasionally getting caught on the G string, causing the note to sound slightly late. Try experimenting with the arm position as you strum to get a more fluid motion and sound. Thank you for your entry, and you are sounding great!
nosferatu – Way to go! You sound great on this! My only suggestion on this song is to not pause quite as long after each phrase in the bridge. AJ slows down a bit, but the momentum never entirely stops in his arrangement. Try not to think of it as completely stopping, but merely slowing slightly down. That’s really the only suggestion I have, you are playing this one very well! Thank you for joining the challenge!
lisadmh – Your timing on this one is great! Way to go on keeping the notes and rhythm very solid! The vibratos also give it a nice touch! Now that you have the bulk of the song down, this one can use some crescendos and decrescendos to add some texture…especially in the bridge. Try starting softly and delicately at the beginning of the bridge and swell into each phrase, then bring the volume down slightly at the end of each phrase. Also, a slight ritard (gradual slowing down) at the end of each phrase in the bridge adds to the feel as well. Don’t overdo this, but you can hear AJ do this in the performance video for a nice effect. You sound wonderful on this! These little additions will help things breathe and flow a bit. Thank you for entering the challenge!
Here’s everyone on Page 18:
tomolnz – You are doing a great job on this one! It’s quite challenging for several reasons, but you are up to the challenge! It sounds like you are plucking the strings with a lot of force. Try relaxing a bit to get a warmer sound. If you’re picking close to the bridge, try playing over the sound hole or near where the neck starts. There are a few slight rhythms that just need to be counted. In a few measures like bar 15, you are holding the first note slightly too long: the second note starts on the upbeat (“and”) after beat one instead of on the downbeat (beat two). On measure 18, you are also holding the first note out too long. If you work through the timing of each section, it will make playing the sections much easier. All in all, you are very close to having this one down, and your timing is great besides these few rhythms to count. Thank you for your entry!
alterin – You are doing a great job on the notes! This tune is quite a challenge in many ways, so way to go on playing through it! I recommend breaking each melody into 4 or 8 measure sections to work through. Try to keep a much slower, yet steady tempo. One way to do this is to play along with the on screen tab player set to 50% speed and try playing along to really memorize the timing and sound of each section. Once you get through 2 or more smaller sections, try playing through them together. Then you can slowly build from there. But the focus on timing is essential to learning new songs, and this work will carry through to make future challenges easier! You’re doing great, keep it up! Thank you for joining the challenge.
mfaske – Way to go on keeping a solid tempo on this one! Playing at a slow pace like that is the best way to get the song into your ear and muscle memory. Towards the middle and end there were a few pauses, but I can tell that you understand the rhythm very well. With more time, you’ll be able to gradually speed this up. Then you can focus on plucking in more fluid way to get a legato (smooth) flow in the music. Awesome job, you’ll get there with a little more practice! Thank you for entering this challenge!
givingtree89 – I love the costume, and congratulations on your first Rock Class 101 challenge! The chords and notes sound great on this one. The rhythm and flow of the song is the main aspect I would work more on; try playing the whole piece at 3/4 of the tempo of your performance. The goal is to get to the chords in time without any hesitations. Melody B is the main section I would focus on with this approach. The more familiar you get with these note shapes, the easier it will be to play with fewer hesitations. You are doing a great job! Thank you for your entry!
kcharles15 – You are off to a great start! The beginning was very good, and it seems like you were most familiar with that section. Now it’s time to practice playing through entire sections without pausing. Have you tried playing through a section with the on screen tab player set to 50% speed? I feel like this would be a good way to challenge yourself not to pause and get into the flow of the song. Keep up the great work! Thank you for joining the challenge!
kelsey91 – You are doing well so far! I think you will develop your feel for the song as you practice more, but this is good for starting 10 days ago! I notice that your wrists both seem to be bent a little too much as you’re playing. Look at the beginner course on Rock Class 101 for the module on how to hold your ukulele. Try to incorporate this into your playing by continuing to film your playing and comparing it to this part of the course. Keep working on this one, you’re very close! Thank you for entering the challenge.
ukuleleloo – I really like that you went with a slower pace on this one! This helped you to keep a nice flow through most of the song. There are still several sections that require a bit more work, but you have a very nice feel on the parts you are familiar with. The main section to work on is starting at measure 15, and working through Theme 2. You are very close, a bit more work and those tricky spots will become muscle memory. Thank you for your entry
jkulele – Awesome job! You are doing very well for a first venture from strumming! If you play the whole piece at a slow and steady tempo, it will have a much nicer flow than slowing down and hesitating on the tricky sections. Try playing along with the on screen tab player at 50% speed to work on this. Keep up the great work, and thank you for joining the challenge!
gardn_gnome – Way to go on keeping a nice steady pace on the first section! Going at this slower pace will help you develop a great flow as you keep working on the piece! I notice that some of the chord transitions are causing you to hesitate as the ukulele shifts. Have you tried using a strap to keep the ukulele steady? This combined with sitting up straight or even standing might help to keep the ukulele from moving too much as you shift from chord to chord. You’re doing a wonderful job, keep it up! Thank you for entering this challenge!
chi-_-t – Great playing on this one! Your ukulele might be a little out of tune, double check every time, especially before recording since ukuleles don’t always hold their tuning for long. If it’s not the tuning, then it might be that you are slightly bending the strings up or down as you are playing. If this is the case, focus pushing directly into the fretboard and just be aware of this. You did a great job keeping the rhythm steady through most of this, with only one noticeable hesitation when you shifted to the higher frets. Now that you have the notes down, try adding dynamics: Start each phrase quietly and slowly crescendo (get louder) in the middle of each phrase, and decrescendo (get softer) towards the ends of the phrases to create a mysterious vibe. Awesome job, and congratulations on your first Rock Class 101 challenge!
santai – I love the pumpkin mask! I also really like how you crescendo on the strumming section of this song! You kept a very comfortable pace throughout the song with very few hesitations. Measure 26 is a bit tricky since it only has two beats rather than 4. I think you tried to change the rhythm for that reason, but it is intentionally short. Double check that spot, and you’re doing a fantastic job! Thank you for your entry!
Here’s everyone on page 16:
marni11 – Awesome job on this one! There were very few hesitations, and with a slightly slower tempo, I don’t think those would have even been there! My only concern is your right wrist and the angle it’s bent at. Try holding the ukulele at a slightly different angle to be able to straighten that wrist out a bit. Look at the beginner course module 2: how to hold the ukulele on this site. You are doing very well, keep it up! Thank you for your entry!
gaevdl – You are off to a great start! Try looping measures that give you trouble, and just play them over and over to get the chord transitions smooth. Do this on measures 22-23 and 24-26. Then instead of worrying about these sections, they will become your comfort zone. Keep up the great work! Thank you for joining the challenge!
kellyblackburn – Excellent! You’re playing this one very fast! Every now and then you are hesitating on chord changes (in sections like measure 22-23), and I think just playing at 3/4 of your current speed, you would be able to to keep a consistent tempo. However, it still sounds wonderful how you are playing it currently! Thank you for your entry, and for being a long time member of the site!
mac1984 – Your timing is incredible! I like that you never sacrificed the tempo for any chords or notes, and only slowed down intentionally for the ending. That’s one of the hardest skills but best practices you can have! While there were a few mistakes, most were just due to some chord transitions taking you a bit more time than the tempo allowed. I would recommend practicing at a slightly slower tempo until you have it consistently before playing at this speed. Wonderful job, and thank you for entering the challenge!
jonathan_gabel – Overall this was great! Your timing is 99% percent spot on, with just a slightly different rhythm at measure 31. The second note in that measure should start on the up beat after beat one instead of on the down beat on beat 2. Aside from this and a few small mistakes that seem like simple errors, not truly sections to work super hard on, there’s only one technique related thing: your plucking hand wrist has slightly more of an angle than necessary, and it seems like you’re fingers are plucking a little harder than they need to. Try holding the ukulele at a little bit more of an angle (45 degree if possible), to help straighten that wrist. Great job again, and thank you for joining this challenge!
lisotta – You are doing a great job! I think this one was a bit challenging because of all chord transitions! I recommend going through and just practicing transitioning the chord shapes from measure to measure and not worrying about the plucking the melody at the moment. Use the chord diagrams above the tab for this, and just practice shifting from one to the next. If a particular transition is harder than the others, just practice switching between the chord that’s hard to get to in time from the one immediately before it. Practice just those two chords until you can get the transition comfortably. This way you will build muscle memory for the chord shapes and not have to think as hard while performing the piece. Keep up the good work! Thank you for your entry!
cyberloh – Nicely done! On the strumming section, you play it with the correct rhythm at 0:53, but then you add an extra strum each time that pattern comes around again. If this is intentional, it works and it sounds cool, but I just want to make sure you know that it’s an addition. Also, rhythmically: in measure 31, the second note happens on the upbeat after beat one, rather than on the downbeat of beat 2. All in all, you are well on your way! Great work, and thank you for taking part in the challenge!
isabelm – I love the costume and the fact that you have a Toto to go with it! On measures 22 through 29, I would work on all of the chord transitions like I recommended to lisotta (2 entries above). This way you aren’t having to think about the melody and the chords at the same time as you develop the muscle memory of the chord shapes. Thank you for re-submitting your entry, it turned out great!
oldan_ – You are doing a wonderful job, especially on the melody and fingerpicking sections. This is excellent for you first video submission! The only thing holding you back is those chord transitions. Each time there’s a tricky transition, isolate the measure before and after the chord change, and practice getting just those measures up to the speed you would like to play the song at. Measures 22 through 29 are a great place to work on in this manner. Excellent job, keep up the great work! Thank you for your entry!