Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
You can only tune up and down a certain amount without the strings snapping or being to loose. Where as with a Capo you can put it on the 5th fret which is way beyond what you can tune upto (I think).
If you tune one string only it will sound off as your Uke won’t be in tune (with or without a capo).
I’ve started off with very modest equipment. I think it’s actually better that way as when you do upgrade you can feel the difference. For example I love my Cordoba (in the video) but after upgrading it I realise the pickup is awful, the setup on it is non existent and the string tension is really hard.
With my new Uke my playing level was elevated as it’s smoother to play and the sound from the pickup is crystal clear. Important to pay good and bills before buying a new pickup I waited a year and a half to buy the new Uke.
Our cows are pretty standard. Not the best looking tbh. But pretty heat resistant.
Israel is a beautiful country. Very small (it’s 7km wide in its narrowest point) and 2/3 of it is desert 😎 People always talk about Israel as if it’s this huge super power but the entire country fits into New Jersey! Great place to visit lots of history, beautiful beaches 🙂
Tuning.. If you have a clip on tuner it should have a Chromatic setting. So choose this setting and play the G string. Now tighten the tuning peg until ur says ‘A’. Then goto the C string and tighten the tuning peg until it’s D. This is the tuning for all strings.
G > A
C > D
E > F#
A > BSo now when you play a C it’s actually D. Any song in C Major is now in D Major 🙂
No Capo required, just tune as above and play as normal.
Recording is hard. I think most people have experienced being able to play the song and then press record and it’s as if you’ve been given someone else’s hands and can no longer play.
A good way to avoid this I found was that if I’m going to play for 30 minutes I’ll just hit record at the start of the 30 minutes and then stop it once I’ve finished the session. This bypassed the entire press record oops I made a mistake, press stop, press record which just adds to the pressure. After a while you can even forget it’s recording. You can then edit the video and cut anything out that’s decent.
Also getting a looper (I know I’m repeating myself) you are constantly recording yourself so I really feel that desensitises you.., also playing through an amp at first was odd as you can hear everything but again after a while it becomes normal.
Yup, I live in Israel the land of Milk & Honey… so we have plenty of cows also and bees 😂😂😂
Im glad I’m now not the only one on the site who writes long replies 😂😂😂
Freer and smoother are definitely things that come with time. I’ve actually learnt that for me it’s also about learning to relax and accept it won’t be perfect. That’s literally why I just do one take when I record and all of the bum notes and screaming in the background is just my style haha
This site is by far the best real learning resource. I to always feel like I’m plugging them but like you said the truth is it’s a great place to hang out and improve.
Scales/Tuning. One of the most friendly keys on the Uke is C Major as we know. What I found is that due to this if you play two songs back to back in the same key… they can sound pretty much the same and not so interesting to the ear. So the standard tuning of the Uke is in C (GCEA). What’s more important is that the chords/scales im playing are in C Major in this video.
Now if I want to play it in D Major ie Canon in D not C I would need to transpose the chords and then shift all the scales up two frets to play in D Major. It’s not a problem to do but C is more friendly than D so all I do is tune the Uke up a note (whole step). So the tuning of my Uke would become A D F# B
Now when I play a C Major chord it becomes a D Major chord with this tuning.
Depression/Anxiety probably lost about 10 years of my life to both of those before I understood what it was. Music is a good way to keep those in check.
I grew up in London and at 19 discovered surfing. I basically got the bug and spent my twenties travelling all over surfing. After travelling I was looking for somewhere warm by the beach with some waves to live and by chance visited a friend in Israel which ticked all the boxes and I never left. That was in 2009 😎
Where are you from?
@recdog Thank you kind sir it means a lot 🙂
@potato_lady The great thing about the Uke is that it’s a very versatile instrument. You can literally play so many different Genres and styles. For me, I’ve always loved playing music with other people and I really wanted to learn to jam with others. The only problem being I have no friends haha well at least musically orientated ones. Enter the looper and you can literally do something as simple as laydown a simple chord progression and learn to improvise over or build loop covers etc.
I’ve only been playing the Uke a year and a half(ish) so am also new relative to some of the people on this site but the two biggest improvements for me were:
1. Progress on this site. Make your way through all of the levels until you get to the most difficult ones. If you can tackle then you can tackle most things on the Uke (bit of a sweeping generalisation but you get what I mean).
2. Music Theory – I always repeat this but honestly this is the one thing which allows me to A) Fully understand the instrument B) Look at people playing and understanding the structure of the music.
This all sounds really boring but as an example. Just by understanding that the loop I was playing is in C Major (you can actually tune your Uke up a whole step to play in the original key) I was able to add in my own bits and harmonise two loops in ‘thirds’ and then the last minute completely the entire thing.
It all sounds complicated but it’s not. Harmonising in 3rd’s just means when playing a C note you would play an E as well at the same time.. When playhing D play a F note as well. Try it, it sounds great. you can also harmonise in 5ths bla bla
The solo/improv is literally just the C Major Scale. I’m literally playing the white notes that are on the piano. I can play them in any order and they sound good tbh you just need to know where the white notes are on the Uke (as the C Major scale is all of the white notes on a piano).
Hopefully you have not fallen asleep 🙂 Enjoy your Uke Journey.
Welcome!
I to have a broken finger which today would have been fixed properly and clearly was not at the time.. Let’s just say most people can’t look at it without crying 🙂
You’ll find with the Uke there are lots of ways to play the same thing i.e Different fingers for plucking, different ways of holding the Uke and constructing chords.
What I love about the Uke is the simplicty of it. You can literally construct a beautiful melody with one finger.
Enjoy the journey 🙂
I’m using a looper pedal. If you’re thinking of getting one I’d recommend the LEKATO one. It’s super cheap, works really well and also has a digital display which shows you when the loop is starting and finishing which really helps. I think it’s about $40 (on Amazon it’s more expensive but I got mine from AliExpress).
It’s also a great tool for practising as it helps with timing and you are constantly listening back to you’re playing.
I’ve seen similar sets for sale. I have a new Uke arriving this week so I’ll have a play with my Cordoba and try and try and lower the action.
If I mess it up I’ll take it to a professional.
Very cool. I intend to learn this at some stage when I have a bit more time.
Really awesome, well done 😎
Thanks everyone 🙂 I hopefully will get it in the next couple of weeks the pictures are from the shop.
I’ll upload a sound sample for sure 🙂
@gi_gi_ I’ve had a play with a lot of cheap pedals which are great to experiment with but I’ve found the following problems:
– Cheap pedals tend to provide a buzzing sound.
– They always seem to make a popping sound at some stage when activated/deactivated which Worries me as I don’t think its great for the amp.
– I have a fishman amp which gives my Uke a warm tone. The pedals make this more of a synthesised sound.When I add up what I need it’s really only a looper with two loopers on it (Ditto x4), decent reverb, delay and compressor. It comes out at around $200 a pedal.. $800.
What I decided to do instead is.. Use Ableton live and buy a x3 USB pedal off eBay (they are like $20).
This way you can use all of the effects via Ableton plus map the Ableton Loopers to the USB pedal giving you 3x separate loopers you can activate with your foot.
Obviously can’t be used for live performance when busking but for home studio you can get a professional sound and functionality for less than a $100.
My next upgrade will be my Uke so splashing $800 on pedals on my little Cordoba Uke $250 might be overkill.
@potato_lady that was awesome! When I record I literally do one take then upload it (unless it goes really wrong). I’ve honestly found for learning this is the best way.. I realised my last upload my timing was out which someone pointed out.. I would never of improved this aspect if I’d gone for the perfect take …
Keep posting awesome take 🙂
Hi Sarah,
Welcome!
In my opinion it depends what you define as good.
Can you learn a level 4 song on this site without understanding the theory behind it. Yes. If you define this as good then there is your answer.
Can you understand the required tonal changes to play in D Dorian (both in chords and scale) without any music theory.. Probably not. If you define this as good then you’ll probably going to need some theory.
So I guess it depends on where you want to go.. for me personally learning theory allows you to create/improvise which for me is where you can both lose yourself and find yourself in the music all at once 🕶
