How to continue to improve my skills?

[beginnerukeman143]

I've been playing for about.... 8 months now, and I'm at the point where just playing the chords and singing is getting pretty old....

I want to continue to play, I just don't know what would be more challenging for me right now....

So does anyone have suggestions?


-Nathan

[chris667]

Find harder and more interesting things to play. That way, you keep motivated.

[zac987]

Learn fingerpicking techniques and songs.

[itsme]

Work on learning to fingerpick? It's a lot of fun. I do mostly classical, but there are a lot of other styles out there.

[Skrik]

Try this:



Tabs: http://ukuleledav.web.officelive.com...in%20Wells.pdf

It's not as complicated as it might first appear.

[bazmaz]

Find a group and play with others. The most sure fire way of improving. You can bounce ideas off each other, find songs they can play but challenge you. Consider performing too. Baptism of fire!

[angusdegraosta]

Listen to every kind of music you can and love as much of it as you can.

[Pete Beardsley]

Find a group and play with others. The most sure fire way of improving. You can bounce ideas off each other, find songs they can play but challenge you.........

I concur! Helps to renew enthusiasm as well.

[PoiDog]

Along with all the other great suggestions already made, how about taking a small step back and re-assessing your situation.

I mean, if playing the uke gives you joy, then even simple songs and strumming should never get old. I think that somewhere along the way there was a small shift from having fun to work.

That isn't to say you shouldn't try to get as good as possible. Absolutely you should. And the ideas already here are great to help you along that path. Of course, as with anything, there seems to be a definite multiple sigmoid curve to learning the uke. At first, progress is a bit slow as you grow accustomed to the instrument and the basic mechanics of it. Then, there is a sharp increase in progress as the fingering for basic chords becomes easier and the transitions smoother. This is followed by yet another reduction in rate of progress as you incorporate more difficult chords and begin to work up the neck as well, only to again reach another rapid increase in progress as those click. It seems you've just finished that third stage of the curve are at the beginning of another flatter part.

But your post does really seem to me to have a level of frustration in it, which should never be associated with the 'ukulele. Get back to where you pick up a uke to primarily have a good time and I bet you soon find yourself acquiring more skills.

Just a thought.

[csibona]

I am transitioning from basic chord strumming to chord/melody arrangements. To make this transition I use music books with chord and melody lines (lead sheets) (well, OK, some will tell you that they just figure out the melody note as they hear the song and incorporate the melody into the chord - but this isn't me...). Reasonably good arrangements can be found in tab form here:
Lyle Lite: 16 Easy Chord Solos Arranged by Ukulele Jazz Master (Jumpin' Jim's Ukulele Masters) but my goal is to pick up something like "The Real Book" and play chord/melody arrangements on the fly without tab.

Of course, as others have noted - your path depends on your interest - there are many place to go beyond basic strumming. Some options include clawhammer techniques, campanella, pull-ons and pull-offs, interesting strums, etc. I like the chord/melody option because, well, I can't sing, and playing a musical composition suddenly becomes a whole puzzle that must be solved...