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Hi, Andrew,
Thanks for the tip concerning bars 11 and 12. I tried it out tonight and found that it works very well. I just need to leave the barred fingers in place for that passage. This is no problem for me. Playing a baritone uke with low D tuning makes these pieces harder for me to do. String 4 is an octave lower than it would otherwise be, so I need to find alternate positions for notes ordinarily used on string 4 in your arrangements. Otherwise, things do not sound right. This was not too much of an issue with the song Mr. Sandman, but it is with the Brahms Lullaby that I started working on. I try to find alternates that are easiest to reach.Hi, Andrew,
Here is the link for my performance of this month’s piece.I am submitting it early as we will be away for a few days. The performance is far from perfect and is certainly not up to full speed. I still have difficulties with a several tricky chord changes even though I have worked hard on them for a long time. Polishing this piece and getting it up to speed is going to be a long term project. I seem to have poor muscle control on the fretting hand. It is easy to spread the fingers when the back of the hand is facing. However, when the hand is placed over the fret board, I find it difficult to spread the fingers, especially the second and third fingers. The pinkie also wants to lay down on stretches instead of being up on the tip. Do you have exercises that I could work on to improve this?
Attached, you will find my practise schedule. Do you have any recommendations about it?
Thank you very much for taking the time to look at my submission and for your comments.Regards,
Vida Fenton
Hi, Andrew,
One of my main goals for this month is to play my song cleanly without it being choppy. About a week ago, I replaced my 9 month old Aquila strings on the baritone uke with a set of red series Aquila strings. They have beautiful sound and are very responsive. However, I notice, particularly with the wound strings numbers 3 and 4, when I take a finger off of the string, I get a faint sound of the note in open position. I did not hook the string on the way off, just lifted the finger off. What am I doing wrong? Do I have excess finger pressure on the strings? My old clunky strings did not do this.
The piece Mr. Sandman is coming along fine, but I still have trouble with the chord change just before the tune repeats and also the ones near the end where the thumb is used to hold down string 4. It is going to take a lot more practice to get these transitions smooth.
Vida
Hi, Andrew,
Thanks for your reply to my video question.
I carefully watched your video demonstrating tapped harmonics and tried a lighter tap. It seems to work reasonably on the open strings. This ukulele has been damaged. The fret board has a slight bend where it meets the body of the instrument. Last December,I had frets 14-18 filed down and the saddle raised about 1/8 inch so that the upper frets would be in tune. If I tap at fret 15, the string will hit frets 14 and 15. If I do the plucked harmonics, this problem does not happen. I can get nice clear notes with more than twice the volume. I know that this uke is a ‘dog’, but it is what I have got. I hope I can work around its deficiencies most of the time.Regards,
Vida
Hi, Andrew,
Thanks for your video about tapped harmonics in the song Mr. Sandman. I had a go with what you suggested and still have difficulty. Here is a video of my question. Just how much force and speed are required?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpakMiEmbIwRegards,
Vida Fenton
Execution: To take Andrew’s advice to make my playing less choppy. I want my playing to be smooth and clean. I also want increased awareness of excess muscle tension and to release it.
Application: To learn the song Mr Sandman and play it smoothly. Speed is not a priority. I am taking it in sections. So far, I have not had success with tapped artificial harmonics on the baritone uke. I am using a plucking method that I saw in a guitar tutorial. It works OK, but it is tricky not to touch an adjacent string and mute it. I am following a practice schedule similar to that posted by techdojo on Aug. 18.
Evaluation: To post a video of this song by month’s end and play it well. I will also post my completed practice schedule as of the date that the video is posted.
Comment: I find recording videos of my playing and performing for friends to be very difficult. I get the jitters, lots of muscle tension, and the quality of my playing goes down the drain. What is the best strategy to overcome this? Oddly, I have been a church musician for years and am totally relaxed playing for the congregation to sing. The focus is not on me.
Hi, Andrew,
The performance that I just posted seemed to me to be very stiff and mechanical. I wanted to make sure that I played the piece at the recommended speed and stayed right with the metronome’s beat. I need to do a lot more work on this piece. I notice that the other performers were a lot more relaxed with their playing than I was. There was also more expression. What do I need most to work on?
Thanks for your recommendations.
Regards,
Vida Fenton
Hi, Andrew,
Once again, I wish to participate in the monthly challenge just for fun, not to win anything.
Thanks for hosting these enjoyable challenges.Regards,
Vida FentonHope your treatments are successful and that you make a complete recovery. May it cheer you to know that many people are thinking of you and praying for you. Hugs.
Hi, Andrew,
Here is my entry for the July challenge. I am only entering for the fun of it, not to be entered in the draw. I am content with one ukulele.
Regards,
Vida Fenton
In the last finger picking and strumming song in the beginner’s course, first ending of C melody, there is an Em chord. I notice in your teaching demo that you seem to be using Form 1 with the left hand. The thumb appears to be at the back of the neck and the hand seems to swivel at the second finger on fret 2 string 1 as pinkie reaches down to fret 4 string 3. My question is how do you use left hand form 1 with confidence when you are playing standing up and not using a strap? With the round shape of the back of the ukulele neck, the thumb tends to slip out of place allowing the neck to drop.
Hi, Everyone,
I have a baritone Lanikai LU-21B with Aquila strings. I am also having difficulty getting clean notes and chords with finger picking and chord/melody pieces. There is an ugly buzz, something like an angry bee on note and chord changes. It seems to come with the string vibrating against the skin of a finger or fingers when a note or chord is struck or released. It can be minimized if I carefully time the pluck with the placement of the finger or fingers, but I do not seem to be able to eliminate it entirely. Andrew’s playing has beautifully clean notes. I do not hear any buzz when he plays. What needs to be done?
Vida
