The blues got me out of the doldrums

Janebug

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I’ve been learning for about two years. I love to strum and sing but I’m not much on fingerpicking. My singing is pretty good but my strumming is , er, well, I thought it was decent till I recorded myself, and then I was horrified. Although I’ve been making a steady kind of progress, I felt a little bit stale in my approach. Recently a couple of new ideas made a revolution in my playing.

The first was Danno Sullivan’s “Strum like a Drummer” video which I caught on one of his “Free Friday” lessons a couple months back. I’m not sure how much better my strumming is but I’m having a hell of a lot more fun with it.

The second was a few weeks ago when my teacher taught me the blues scale on the uke. It was galvanizing! I love how the notes are all close together and the same pattern just moves up and down the neck for different keys. It’s great finger exercise – stay in the pattern and every finger gets a chance. I never considered myself a blues fan at all (just because of unfamiliarity) but when I found out how fun and comparatively easy it was, I began to enjoy blues improvisation. My cable TV setup gets music channels, and if I select the Blues channel, I can find myself improvising with the likes of BB King and Muddy Waters. All I have to do is find a couple of notes in the key being played, and then the pattern shows me the rest of the key. It’s doing wonders for my technique beyond strumming.

So I just wanted to say, I had no clue about playing blues but now I totally love it!! I thought I would recommend it especially to those who’ve never thought about it.

I don’t have a link because it was from a live lesson, but I bet you can easily find online instructions for the blues scale on the uke.
 
Glad you are getting in the groove. I figured out early on to get some strumming patterns from not only the drummer, but in some cases, the bass player as well. I think blues is great. Lots of blues lessons on youtube as well as blues lessons on DVD and CD with books. A thread on the subject just started a day or so ago. You likely already saw it, but just in case, here it is: http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?116947-Blues-Ukulele-Book
 
Blues are the best , five note patterns and countless variations. Music's panacea for what ails you.
Fast ,minor,major , slow....gottsta lurve dem blues.

Enjoy.......
 
yeah we are big blues uke fans in my house. Even my six year old little girl can rip out some improv. Keep at it.
 
I'm not a fan of the blues. However, if you are, that's whats important, lol... It's awesome that you found a niche that appeals to you. Now, get yer *** down to the crossroads and start posting amazing vids on SotU!

;)
 
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