My 2017 Ukulele Journey

SoloRule

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The year is coming to an end so what have we done in our ukulele journey?


I have made more friends on UU. They are very special to me - they held my hands, cheered me on, told me not to get well whenever I was sick with UAS! Oh yes , you know who you are!

Because of YOU. I added 8 new ukes from all sizes (even a Risa stick and a pocket uke ) ! One is in the process of finishing in a few weeks so that falls into next year inventory therefore I did not meet this year quota! Thanks goodness the year is not over yet!

I learned a new tactic from one of you - "buy it to tide you over to the next uke."

I also learned that the highlight of my 2017 journey was clicking on those beautiful tracking numbers from all different carriers ! I even chased after the mailman in the snow when sixth sense tells me he got the uke that he claimed he didn’t have.



My goal of the year was to improve my dynamic - I think I have achieved that ! I have also started a new playing technique that is using a thumb pick - some of my UU friends called it my band aid !

Looking back at my journey:
2015- bought my first uke
2016- improved sight read...uploaded my first video
2017- uploaded video with added footage

My goal for 2018 is to continue improving my skill , continue searching for a unique looking uke! Thank you all for giving me a year of fun and laughter and most of all lots of encouragements!
How about you? Did you achieve any of your ukulele goal ?
 
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Sadly, no, I did not achieve my ukulele goal, but 2018 is a chance to start over. **Today** is a chance to start over.

When people see me with a uke and ask,"Do you play?" I usually make a joke about being better at buying ukes than playing them, but that's getting old, even for me.

I need to pick a method and stick to it. That would be the best way to achieve good progress. In-person lessons have proven to be a waste of time, and my schedule is too chaotic anyway.

Thank you to all of my good UU friends!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy 2018 to all!

P.S. I learned the "tide you over" technique from former member OldePhart (wherever you are) - he purchased an Ohana 5-string while waiting for his custom 5-string to be finished.
 
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This year, I more or less put aside my ukes & concentrated on my chromatic harmonicas.
But what I was learning, whilst learning to play them, was also to learn to read sheet music.
I'm still not good at it, but that, & playing my ukes again, along side my chromatics, is my aim for next year.
So 2018 will be the year that I improve at all three, hopefully. ;)

2016 = learned to play ukulele
2017 = learned to play chromatic harmonica
2018 = improving :)
 
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Started playing Ubass and recently got my 2nd Ubass and sold the first one. I play "basic bass", but the people I play with appreciate it. Also, started helping out with the Mentoring program in our club, although the program seems to focus on music theory/circle of fifths type stuff that I really don't fully understand and don't think most beginners need to worry so much about it. :shaka:
 
I had a pretty good journey this year. It had highs and lows, but the highs outweighed the lows. I think that the high was doing a solo set on the stage at a seedy bar full of loud patrons in September. The Blues Brothers and their gig at the country bar has always been my inspiration. The low point was just when I thought that I was pretty hot stuff and could just wing my way through anything, I bombed at an open mic just a couple of months later and lost a lot of confidence for a month or two. I learned a bit of humility there. Also I learned that I have a lot left to learn, especially about paying attention to preparation and knowing what I'm going to play, which is good in a way, it gives me something to work on. But this is year four for me, and I still feel like I want to play my ukulele every day. Great thread, by the way.
 
I began my ukulele journey in April 2017. Until the ukulele, I have never played any musical instrument before. I went looking for a portable instrument to play while on rafting & kayaking trips. I work at a children's hospital that is blessed with a wonderful music therapy department and the music therapists urged me to give the ukulele a try. The rest is history!

I bought a starter uke and began learning from You Tube. Next I found a beginner ukulele class through the University of Utah community ed program. That lead me to finding two local ukulele groups, attending monthly jams, and then finding a weekly workshop where I have learned a ton.

I have been through 7 different ukuleles since April. Some purchased, one was a birthday gift, and one I won at a local uke festival. I have gifted and sold a few. I currently own 2, with one more in transit from the luthier. I have my eye on a possible fourth to round out my ukulele family. While I've been learning & playing daily, I've also been refining what size, build type, and sounds I prefer.

My big step for 2017 has come in the last two weeks. I volunteered to join the worship band at my church. It has been fun, and challenging, and fulfilling all at once.

My goal for 2018 is to get my UAS under control and have 3-4 ukuleles that I play regularly. Each with a specific sound & purpose. Then I want to focus more on learning and perfecting my skills. I want to continue to play with groups and at church. Maybe my fear of singing will even improve in the coming year.

Happy Holidays & many ukulele blessings to all my UU brothers & sisters. You have been so helpful to me this year!
 
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2017 has been a good year for me on ukulele. I attended my first real ukulele festival, the Kentucky Uke Fest, and had a great time meeting and jamming with folks, and doing the workshops and open mic. A month later, I was at my first old-time music weekend and discovered I really like the sound of a bunch of fiddles and banjos all playing together.

In 2018, I wanna learn to play old-time fiddle tunes on ukulele, attend UWC and a few other events, and just get out and play more music with more people! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All,

Stephen
 
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My journey is just beginning. To use a baseball analogy, I am only in the 2nd inning of my journey, which started in 2016. 2017 was a very satisfying year, having satiated my UAS by buying two custom made instruments. Looking ahead to 2018 and beyond, my goal is to join a band, and to visit the ukulele motherland, Hawaii, and attend a Hawaiian ukulele festival.

Merry Christmas to all!

Luke
 
Brenda, what a nice thread. You are getting a jump on the "year in review" idea that happens at the beginning of the new year.

The year of 2017 has been very good to me. I acquired a few more outstanding ukes and rehomed some others to happy recipients. I am always amazed at how slow playing improvement can be but at the same time it is there. I have memorized at least 8 chord melody pieces this year.

I continue to enjoy doing open mic performance with my "Girl Band" I am the token male. We are improving noticably as well. We are now able to prepare for performances with less practice sessions. I started attendinga different jam at a local music store. They do an open "kitchen" jam, all acoustic instruments welcome. There are uke, fiddle, guitar, banjo, harmonic players of different numbers in attendance. It is an absolute blast to play with other instruments.

For the year 2018 there are certain things I want to do. Attend a few uke festivals or a week long Uke Retreat held up in the cottage country a few hours north of me. I want to perform more solo open mic performances. I have just paired up with a friend and fellow uke jam member who has always wanted to do an open mic performance for the first time . We are currently working on two songs we will do in the new year. I just want to continue to improve. I LOVE everything about the uke, the making of music and most importantly all the new friends I have made because of it.
 
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2017 was a very interesting year.
The low point was having the motor home broken into at the Reno festival and several instruments stolen.
A much better experience was when they were recovered from a pawn shop.
The real highlight of the year was starting a Ukulele program at the Boys & Girls Club.
Many of my ukulele friends donated to the cause and I was able to purchase Ohana Ukuleles for the program.
Ohana also donated some ukuleles to the cause. My goal for 2018 is to expand the program to some of the satellite clubhouses.
 
2017 was a very interesting year.
The low point was having the motor home broken into at the Reno festival and several instruments stolen.
A much better experience was when they were recovered from a pawn shop.
The real highlight of the year was starting a Ukulele program at the Boys & Girls Club.
Many of my ukulele friends donated to the cause and I was able to purchase Ohana Ukuleles for the program.
Ohana also donated some ukuleles to the cause. My goal for 2018 is to expand the program to some of the satellite clubhouses.

Wow that is fantastic. Thank you for doing that for our young people. May you have much success with it and bless you for doing it.
 
Approximately a year ago, I began sniffing around this forum, subsequent to reading threads on MandolinCafe that discussed substitute mandola- and octave mandolin- fingered instruments, achieved by tuning tenor and baritone ukuleles in fifths. Many thanks to those here who recommended Pono as a solid brand; I am very happy with the two I acquired. The experiment has been (pleasantly) more than I had bargained for, also. Not only am I gaining the ability to fingerpick, but I'm finding that this way, I can even do some things I couldn't do with a pick - such as playing non-adjacent strings simultaneously without hitting the one(s) between! This is an advantage I previously hadn't even thought about, and has opened up great new possibilities for my chord melody arrangements. What fun!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

bratsche
 
Looking back at my started threads, the first quarter of 2017 was pretty good with a new album release, receipt of the new Covered Bridge cuatro, and a successful collaboration with Mezcalero. After that it slowed way down. I did get a handful of tracks written and recorded with ukes and Native American flutes but I'm probably no more than halfway towards having enough material for the next album. Maybe early 2018 will get productive again.
 
Brenda,
I would love to see link to video for your 2017 year's playing accomplishments!
We would get to see your wonderful ukes too!!
 
Keep the UAS PASSION AND PLAYING STRONG FOR 2018 AND BEYOND.. AS THE OLD SAYING GOES.. BUY TILL YOURE BROKE ������play till your hearts content too ������
 
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Thanks Brenda for starting this wonder topic.

My ukulele journey started in April 2016. It took me 6 months to acquire 3 Ukes. Then starting in 2017, I got bitten by the UAS bug and expanded the collection to 17 at its peak. A few was later re homed and got the play time it deserved. I still have 2 being built and hasn't arrived yet.

As for the music journey, I feel that something clicked in the last few months in 2017. Chords that were difficult before, or right hand techniques that seems to be impossible previously, are now attainable. Coincidentally, that's about the same time I joined UU forum. Coincidence? Hmmmmmm......

I hope to get more ukulele practice time in 2018. Find some local uke group to join, and maybe get good enough to post some videos...
 
Bought my first uke (Pono mahogany concert) in April 2017 and jumped in with both feet. I took piano and flute as a kid, so I had a little base to start from.

I bought several of Fred Sokolow's books and Tony Mizen's Lute to Uke book - really liked them. But the highlight for me was in discovering Sam Muir's classical ukulele site. I've worked through a Bach rondo and most of the first Carulli book. My goal for 2018 is to be able to play each of her classical books.

And I just recently joined a local uke group that plays rock and roll and performs benefits for UKC. Also hoping to learn some cool strumming techniques from YouTube.
 
Everyone has an interesting story to tell
Glad 2017 was a good year whether you achieved your goal or not. The most important thing is we are still here learning from each other through this forum !
May 2018 continues to be a happy year in our ukulele journey!
 
I began 2017 searching for a local the group to play with. I had played on my own off and on for years but wanted to find others to jam with. After no luck finding any local groups, I decided to try starting one. It turned out to be short lived, unfortunately, but it was fun while it lasted.

As the year went on, my UAS fully transformed into the even more chronic UBS (ukulele building syndrome). I just finished building my 11th. I am learning and trying new things with each one. It has been quite the journey.

In 2018, I want to continue to learn and improve in the craft of instrument building. I'm also going to focus on improving my fingerstyle playing.
 
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