Ukulele Underground

Got my Risa solid electric tenor yesterday. Using it with a micro Marshall amp (powered by a 9V battery). Great fun to play, and good for quiet (unplugged) practice.

Chords and scales practice!

Still only have a single uke: soprano. When I get another, it will be a tenor (solid), but what kind? Traditional acoustic? Acoustic with pickup? Resonator? Banjo uke? One of the Mya-Moe resonators would be nice.

Just watched Uke Minutes 119, Singing and Fingerpicking.
Really useful, guys. Thanks.

Just watched Uke Minutes 117 (on Viddler). Spookily, this addresses one of the things that holds me back *the*most* when working on my ukulele playing skills. My hands are XL, and getting my fingers in the right place for some chords ain’t easy. It does get easier with practice, though. Nice to have Aldrine confirm that technique of…[Read more]

Just realised. I’ve now been learning Ukulele for six months and 3 days.

My fingerpicking practice is paying off, litle by little. Just about have the rolls exercises in the ”Bluegrass Ukulele” book sorted. Working on first song in the book, Banks of the Ohio. That song always reminds me of Olivia Newton John… aaaah

Still finding the (lowest) Bb chord really tricky on my soprano uke. I can just about get it ”clean” (strings free and firm on the fret wires) but it takes a second or two to get this. I guess I just need to practice more and increase strength in my fingers. It will be easy, one day…. at least, that’s what I keep telling myself

Finally getting the hang of the fingerpicking rolls on page 5 of the Bluegrass (Jumping Jim) book. Still working on them, but finding it easier every day. When I get these close to how they the sound on the CD (at tempo), I’ll move on to the first real song in the book (Banks of the Ohio).

The Bluegrass fingerpicking is improving _very_ gradually. Still on the initial exercises, but they are becoming much more natural for me, now. Even find myself inventing little variations and adding these to my strumming pieces and improvisations. Enjoying my ukulele

A belated Happy New Year to all
I didn’t get to play my uke much over the hols. Back on it now, though.
This’ll be my first full year of ukulele playing. I wonder how much I will have improved 12 months from now.

Hope you’re all having a uketastic festive season

The early fingerpicking exercises in Bluegrass Ukulele are coming along quite well. It’s taking longer than I had expected, but progress is noticeable, so I am not disheartened

I think it’s true that the brain just needs a little time to make the connections required for a new fingering pattern. I remember this happened when I was learning…[Read more]

Maybe my synapses just aren’t what they used to be…

I find it takes a week or more for my fingers to do what my brain is telling them. The muscle memory takes that long to form. I’ve been going over and over the first few exercises from “Bluegrass Ukulele” by Fred Sokolow, in the Jumpin’ Jim’s Ukulele Songbook series.

Getting there, but…[Read more]