[The_Bumble_Bard]

@grannieannie, thank you so very much for that! I pray every day non-stop about what’s been happening and God has answered already in incredible ways. There are still some things that are really hard – some of the hardest things we go through in life – that are happening right now, I think. But only time will tell. Sometimes things happen in life that we have no choice but to leave in God’s hands, which is why I believe we go through certain things and why suffering exists – to draw us nearer to God. And I am basically clinging to Him like a barnacle right now. 😂 Thank you, I appreciate those hugs so much and I send virtual hugs right back!! I also listened to all the entries I missed and they made me smile so much, very beautiful work by all, and your entry was so lovely! Music can be so comforting during hard times! 🥰

I did actually start learning the ukulele chords for I Fall In Love Too Easily. After watching the lesson, they were way more manageable than I thought. That’s the beauty of the lessons here; they’re so thorough and make impossible-seeming things… possible, even easy sometimes. That’s one I am going to continue working on, though, and when I can, I’ll share the recording. Thank you to this beautiful community for all the inspiration, lessons, and encouragement! 🥰

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Hey ukulele friends!

Quite unfortunately, many a crisis has once again befallen me in my life and I’m not going to make this challenge. I haven’t missed one for maybe 3 years straight? Maybe longer? But in my heart I’m counting my “alternative” piano entry because with RC101, like most people here, I’ve always liked to make these challenges my own in some way – even though I am breaking a major rule by no ukulele in my entry. 😂 You know it’s serious when I can’t really say what’s happening – I can name one crisis and it’s that my root canals from last year failed so I have to get them redone next week, but it’s free, wheeeee! It’s actually free; they’re not charging me, so that’s nothing shy of a miracle. But there are other things happening far more troubling than that. So, if you’re the praying type, please pray for me and my family right now, and also for my brain to keep working (as much as it ever has).

So many lovely entries, though! This group is the best!! I truly hope to return to light-hearted ukulele fun times soon. Hearts to you all! 🥰

[The_Bumble_Bard]

I replied to everyone else because I got to have a lazy Saturday with only plans in the eve! So many amazing entries and so much talent in this group! As Dianna and others have said, so very inspiring!! 🥰

@nat-uke, thank you so much for that, very encouraging! Hopefully I can get an even better take with the ukulele and singing, but I definitely love how it sounds with the piano, too. I think it helps with piano because I can play the piano part without thinking as much, but still with ukulele it can take a lot of conscious thought just to get the playing right, which makes singing along even harder. But at least the rhythm seems pretty easy in Ashley’s version, which gives me a chance! I guess we’ll see what happens with that! Looking forward to your take on Winter Glass, that’s a lovely one! 😊

@otzepeng, very beautiful take on Winter Glass, so lovely! Honestly, that was perfect. Thank you so much about my entry, your encouragement means a lot! 😊 Hopefully I can get a pretty good take with the uke, too! 😂

@katazumiri, that’s really interesting about “cool jazz,” thanks for sharing that! I guess when I do sing I tend more toward that style, too. I thought your take on the solo of I Fall In Love Too Easily was lovely! And your second video, that was so crazy good! I love the xylophone (I think you’ve told me before that it wasn’t that, but a different instrument, but now I can’t remember, lol). So gorgeous, great work! 😊

@dianna, thank you so much for that, friend, your kind words mean a lot!! 🥰 I hope you do get to share your take on I Fall In Love Too Easily, would love to hear that! Your take on Winter Glass was so lovely! To my ears, your new mic sounds amazing, too, very clear and beautiful – capturing your playing! Thank you again! 😊

@malku2603, your take on Winter Glass is coming along beautifully!! Well played! 😊

@grannieannie, thank you so much for that, friend, that really means a lot!! 🥰 I’ve had a lot of issues with that neighbor playing music with floor-shaking bass at all hours (from the radio or whatever), so maybe I should be happy that he probably can’t hear me! 😂 Thank you, I made it through the storm, I ended up missing work because it was just too dangerous to drive with the blizzard conditions! Further north, they set records for the amount of snow – some places over 3 feet!! I have a friend in the UP of Michigan who had snow up to her roof with the drifting. Getting all Wisconsiny on this topic, but now so much of it has already melted and we’re approaching 70 degrees fahrenheit ! Oh, Wisconsin, you’re such a goober… ANYWAY, looking forward to your entry this month! 😊

@rw1950merritt, beautiful take on Winter Glass! Very lovely. 😊

Beautiful work by all!! 🥰

…

I’m going to push through my anxiety today and watch the lesson by Ashley and hopefully I’ll do okay with it. Looking forward to hearing more entries this month!! 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Okay, here is my one longer reply, then I’ll come back with some shorter replies to everyone else: 😂

@misterbones, I find it so interesting how different people play by ear and approach things like that – thank you for sharing! Playing by ear is one of my strengths, along with remembering melodies. I’ll go back and realize I wasn’t 100% accurate, but you still get the idea, lol – it usually still sounds like the song. Theory, though, is my biggest weakness. I have trouble comprehending chord names and technically describing what’s happening, even though I can hear it and visualize the shapes on piano and uke. That’s really cool that you did it that way and it worked so well – it came together beautifully. I also didn’t realize that’s what “cantabile” means, even though there’s a classical song I love with that word. Maybe that’s why I love I Fall In Love Too Easily – I’m drawn to songs that flow gently and beautifully like that.

That’s really cool about the James Hill course! I can see how that knowledge would be so helpful! I somewhat knew about moving chord shapes and transposing from lessons with Matt Dahlberg, but some shapes are physically harder for me, like the… zigzag chords. 3434, diminished chords – those ones. 😂 With piano, it’s easier because I know the notes and many scales (I love playing them), which is how I can make up runs and play more freely. I’ve also been playing since I was 8, so there’s that. There are definitely patterns, but the “shapes” aren’t as consistent as on uke.

Thank you so much about my entry, that really means a lot! I still feel nervous and unsure with singing, but when I break through and can feel more confident, it makes a huge difference. I practice almost every day in the car now, and it’s great for physical and mental health, which is a bonus. It’s also something I’ve always wanted to do, so now as a middle-aged lady I’m putting in the effort. 😂 My sister and I have car singalongs too, so I have to practice for that, obviously!

I actually took Ashley’s version chord-for-chord, put it into ChatGPT to figure out the notes, then memorized them on piano. The 7 chords follow a pretty consistent pattern, which helped. I shared that take because the spontaneous run I made up turned out really well (they don’t always), even though there were better vocal takes, LOL. Since I can’t really sing like Ashley, I did listen to the Chet Baker version multiple times and leaned toward that style. I also listened even more to this version by Allison Young:

…because it feels closer to how I can sing – looser, for lack of a better word. Listening again, I think my singing mimicked hers more than I realized, though I was going for a moodier, sadder feel – that’s just how I interpret songs like this. If I can connect to the feeling of a song, it helps tremendously of course.

Thank you again, though, for your kind words and all your thoughts! 😊

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@Andrew, very presh! They are two of our heroes here for sure!! 🥰

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@Andrew, thank you so much! That definitely explains it! The new look is nice!! I am the glitch police, but this one was a false alarm. 😅🥺

Edit: Just saw the home page, that looks quite snazzy!! Also two cameos from RC101 friends! 😅😊

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by The_Bumble_Bard.

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Hello uke friends!! I just want to say thank you all so much for your kind words about my pseudo-entry with the piano! Your encouragement means so much to me and really honestly moves me. I have so many thoughts, but I’ll finally be able to reply more this weekend, especially about the “cool jazz” tangent 😂 but also all the new entries I’ve missed! So many hearts to this talented, thoughtful, and kind community of RC101! 🥰

Also, is it just me, or did the appearance of the forum change? I don’t know if @Andrew is around as much, but hopefully this isn’t another glitch. 😂

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@marianne, such gorgeous playing as always! I love that composition by Matt. Beautifully done! 😊 @misterbones, wow, such a lovely version of that tune you came up with! Really an amazing performance! How did you create the instrumental melody line, by ear? 😊 @abster, beautifully played! Honestly, perfect! I love that you’re playing with even more emotion now, another layer to your skill! 😊

Really looking forward to more performances this month! Again, I’ll share the uke version, I’ve just been, frankly, really distracted by my new piano gift, but also experiencing anxious avoidance about the difficulty of the uke version because for some reason I really struggle with jazzy chords like that on uke. 😂 I guess that’s another layer to this challenge for me!

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Hello uke friends! With an alleged blizzard looming over Wisconsin the next few days, how should I spend my time but horsing around with music stuff. I am well stocked with food and water, so just praying the power doesn’t go out – which it well may. Further nort’, they are suppose to be getting record snowfall measured in feet so that’s pretty crazy. Praying everyone stays safe. 🥰

Anyway, so this is something I have been working on. I know this won’t count as an entry, but I’ve basically also fallen back in love with my first musical love which is playing piano and, well, like misterbones, I also fall in love too easily. Or back in love. Sigh, trying so hard to focus…

So, this is just a little snippet that I amused myself with way too much, which is why I thought I would share this sample. This is the kind of singing “style” I am going with, but I was so scared someone would hear me, so I was extra whispery. This week coming up, hopefully I can get a better take because the neighbor who listens in to everything I do won’t be there. 😂😂😂 What is my life, I just can’t say…

Refocusing again – I do intend to also learn the uke version, but I am having an anxious moment with the difficulty of those jazzy chords that Ashley plays. Also, listening to her singing, I knew there was absolutely no way I could sing in the angelic style she sings in, so I am blazing my own trail with my approach to this tune. Trying to. Okay, but just sharing this sample for fun of me playing a piano version. I hope you enjoy / find the minor chaos funny! 😂

Oh, a fun thing about this is, because I had no idea how to play jazz chords on piano at all, I took the uke chords with the lyrics from RC101’s arr. and put it into ChatGPT and told it to tell me note-for-note what all the chords were and that’s how I learned them. 😂

Warning: The rustling at the beginning might be really loud. It’s also hard to say if it’s too quiet or too loud overall because I swear my videos sound different on every device…

Thank you if you give it a listen! Going to go back and listen to the few entries so far! 🙂 🥰

[The_Bumble_Bard]

I love the idea of this challenge! It’s an interesting change of pace to have only two options, not being paralyzed by choice for once! 😂 They’re both great options, too. I’m already cooking up something pretty fun, hopefully it works out, many layers of challenges and trying new things for me! I also really like the uke prize this month! I have a sopranino in willow wood and that brand of uke, but not a soprano! Looking forward to hearing what everyone does! 🙂

• This reply was modified 3 months, 1 week ago by The_Bumble_Bard.
• This reply was modified 3 months, 1 week ago by The_Bumble_Bard. Reason: deeply struggling to write sentences

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Many congrats, @lhamilton, Linda! 🙂 That uke is pretty neat! @mysticrick, that Kanile’a is sounding quite gorge, beautiful playing, too! Brilliant work by all this month!! 😀

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Hello ukulele friends!! 🙂

Uh oh, guess what?! I learned this today, LOL, in literally one hour. Well, relearned it. If I hadn’t previously learned this a long while ago, I probably would’ve been in trouble, and thankfully the old gears in my brain turned surprisingly well. I have to do a bunch of stuff for my nephew’s birthday party today – including wrap gifts and make cookies, so there just ain’t no time for more tries! Overall, I am pretty pleased I was able to relearn this and get some of the feeling I hoped to achieve, though I forgot to do the vibrato; I got some rubato and dynamics, I think. I really love this one; it’s one of my favorite ukulele tunes. 🥰

Here is my not-perfectly-smooth take of Spanish Romance:

NGL, I will miss @Andrew’s feedback this month and any month where we don’t get it and it seems pretty much everyone feels the same – so I also hope for a Gandalf-the-White-esque return of his feedback. 😂

I also hope to smooth this out even more and post my take of this one on my lil’ YouTube channel publicly later because it’s such a lovely one – and quite obvs, attribute it to RC101. 🥰

Oh, I was going to say that I look forward to going back and listening to all the entries I missed! Good jorb everyone!! 🥰

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by The_Bumble_Bard.

[The_Bumble_Bard]

@marianne, so amazing! Perfectly played as always!! 🥰 Oh I was going to say, I found it interesting that one was described as classical, I can see it, but it’s almost like classical surfer rock (if that’s a thing)! 😅 Anyway, great performance!! Also your sound quality is so good!

@malku2603, sounds so great!! You already have a good sense of the rhythms and it’s sounding really smooth! Also your focus is on point – if someone walked into the room while I was playing, my anxiety would kick in. Great job!! 😊

Uh oh, I haven’t even started my entry (shocker) but hopefully I can work on it today since, well, I ain’t got no dates! Enh, I should probably be relieved about that. I’m buying myself flowers today, big time! I’ve got a pretty great day planned actually! Happy Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate! 🥰😅😂🌼🌸🌹

[The_Bumble_Bard]

Really looking forward to this one, should be super interesting and full of new learnings!! 🙂

When I think about changing the key of a song, I always think of how to do it on piano, still, because in my opinion it’s so much clearer and simpler to visualize that process on piano, seeing how different key signatures are “parallel” – such as major and minor scales. For me, it’s a very visual thing that way. Even while playing ukulele, I still visualize how the scales look on piano. I hope you magically know what I mean by that, Matt, as you always seem to do! 😂

So, if you play a chord that starts on the “C” note of the C major scale, that is the same thing as playing a chord on the “F” note of the F Major scale. Those are the “1’s” of each of those scales. An “F” note is also the “4” of a C Major scale.

Does that make any sense? So sorry. This is always how I’ve thought about changing keys on instruments. 😂

[The_Bumble_Bard]

I have returned to share another little clip I recorded tonight of another piano tune I’m relearning! I haven’t forgotten about this month’s RC101 challenge, but yes, I am infatuated with my new piano. 😂

This is a really fun ragtime tune, The Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin! I relearned a bunch more even after recording this, but it’s just a matter of smoothing out the new material. I hope anyone who sees this enjoys it (and that it’s audible)! 🙂

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