Pet peeves (or, don't ever do that again!)

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DKayne

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Just like there are purists in any walk of life, I am quite confident there are ukulele purists. And, while there are different techniques to achieve the same (or similar sound), I am quite confident there are a few no-no’s.

When watching a newbie (or even an intermediate player), are there times when you are watching a person play and they are doing something that just raises the hackles on your neck? What are they doing? What uke pet peeves do you have?

This is just more out of curiosity than anything. Plus, I want to make sure I’m not doing anything that will make anyone want to confiscate my uke.
 
Listening, more so than "watching," would be my trigger for potential annoyance. Mechanically rhythmic strumming, with no nuance in tempo, maybe?

But since we all play primarily to entertain ourselves, the thing I'd change, if I noticed a listener's hackles had been raised, would be my audience.
 
Let me begin by saying that I would not try to tell anyone (who hadn't asked) what to do or not to do while playing their uke. It's meant to be fun. Do your own thing, and all that.

That being said, there are a couple of things that bother me when I see other uke players doing them.

#1. Fretting the strings with the thumb. I know it works for some folks. I guess maybe it's easier in some circumstances. But it bugs me.

#2. Playing the ukulele with a guitar pick. If you want to play a guitar, well, go get a guitar.

#3. Folks hanging a uke strap around their neck like a camera strap, with both sides coming over their collar bones.


Sorry. You asked me, so I felt obligated to tell you.... :D
 
My pet peeve is when somebody tells me I'm doing something wrong when I dont ask for their help or opinion.
 
Well , the first thing that came to mind was thumb fretting, but hey, it worked great for Ritchie Havens. man could he strum. RIP
as for playing with a pick, if I'm playing with louder instruments [guitar/bass/etc.] I play my 8 with a pick. that way I can at least hear myself.
 
nongdam said:
being told I'm doing something wrong when they can't play any better
Click to expand...

Ha! Good one. And I sure hope I've never done that to anybody!

I'm usually so focused on what *I* am doing wrong so I don't really notice others that much, but a few things that I have found crazy-making:

1) Not staying in tempo when playing in an ensemble. I've seen this happen in both newbies (okay, forgiveable, but still...) and experienced players (who would pretty much rather solo and do their own thing than play in time with the group).

2) Playing an out of tune uke. If you can't tune by ear (I can't), buy a few tuners and keep one in every case so that you're not caught without one.

3) If you're playing in a group and can't actually *play* the song the group is playing, just sit it out and listen respectfully and learn. Do not - and yes, this has actually happened - turn your uke over and start thumping on it like a drum, trying to keep rhythm and "conduct" the group. ESPECIALLY do not do this if you can't keep rhythm and don't know the difference between a 3/4 and 4/4 time. Please.

As for the other technique-type stuff, which fingers one uses to fret or strum, etc - eh, anything goes as far as I'm concerned. Make it work for you. I finger chords in weird ways, I use a thumb pick sometimes since my darned thumb nail refuses to grow, I play triads instead of tetrads if the note in question is too much of a stretch for my little hands. I'm sure there are purists who would take issue with all of this, but in the end it's not impacting anybody else so I don't see a problem :)
 
I agree. Anything goes so well as it sounds good. I don't care how someone frets their instrument or strums as long a they're enjoying themselves and/or it sounds good.
You'd never teach someone to play an ukulele with chopsticks but James Hill makes that sound good!!

Whilst we're on it though, my pet peeve is the whole hipster ukulele thing and those whimsical backing tracks you get on adverts over here. I used to go to so many indie gigs with hipsters playing ukuleles with a plectrum and thinking they were automatically a quirky genius.

I love an understated yet accomplished performance. I was watching Ken Middleton play Worried Man Blues on YouTube today. He plays in an understated way but with such ease and he gets an incredibly lovely sound out of his ukuleles. That's what I aspire to.
 
I think the only ukulele "pet peeve" I have is when somebody is playing an instrument that is really out of tune or has really poor intonation. I just really can't listen to it - it's like fingernails on a blackboard to me anymore. I'm not going to say anything about it, though, I just remove myself from the presence of the irritation. :)

Now...shakers and tambourines...those drive me absolutely nuts. A shaker is okay in the hands of someone that knows what to do with it but it seems like most people that show up with them in hand aren't that someone. I remember once a guy showed up at a jam with three egg shakers in each hand and proceeded to shake the daylights out of them with no discernible sense of rhythm or dynamics - he might have gotten better results if he'd put them in a sock and let the dog attack them.

Tambourines are even worse because I can only take a limited amount of that particular noise even in the hands of someone who is a really good percussionist. Shakers and tambourines are like bohdrans at Irish sessions...often brought by people who think "anyone can play this."

John
 
I like this thread! These are things most of us would never say to someone. It is nice to vent.

1. Playing an 'out of tune' uke. The big problem is you get use to what you hear and you won't even know it.

2. Keeping the tuner clipped on the headstock while playing (after the strings have been played in) If your uke still goes out that bad you need to invest in a proper instrument.

3. Playing an uke that does not intonate properly or that buzzes.

Why is it the worst sounding ukes are usually played the LOUDEST! By the way, I am not talking about the talent of the player here. Many of them are way better than me. I am talking about the low quality, tingy, out of tune, instrument that many seem to think sound just fine.
 
My pet peeve is too much use of the uke body as a drum. I don't mind it very sparingly for punctuation here and there, but when it is the main use of the uke in a song, I'd rather hear the player play the uke.
-Vinnie in Juneau
 
Poor timing.
Students running their mouths during a lesson.
Know-it-alls. We can all teach each other something, but don't act like the next guy is a noob when he's not.
 
Actually it doesn't bother me as uke people are nice and most do it in a very tackful way. They are genuinely trying to help you.

Playing something in rhythm is probably the hardest thing to do in an ensemble because we typically know the songs at a certain tempo but play it much slower because not everyone can play it at a certain speed. So what do we do, ask that person to sit out and keep rhythm by tapping on their uke? hahaha Unfortunately, most of us are busy so don't put the practice in before any meeting, which is totally fine.

The funny thing about rhythm is that if you start speeding up, people intuitively follow you...if you decide to play it slower than everyone else, that's a trainwreck.



janeray1940 said:
Ha! Good one. And I sure hope I've never done that to anybody!

I'm usually so focused on what *I* am doing wrong so I don't really notice others that much, but a few things that I have found crazy-making:

1) Not staying in tempo when playing in an ensemble. I've seen this happen in both newbies (okay, forgiveable, but still...) and experienced players (who would pretty much rather solo and do their own thing than play in time with the group).

2) Playing an out of tune uke. If you can't tune by ear (I can't), buy a few tuners and keep one in every case so that you're not caught without one.

3) If you're playing in a group and can't actually *play* the song the group is playing, just sit it out and listen respectfully and learn. Do not - and yes, this has actually happened - turn your uke over and start thumping on it like a drum, trying to keep rhythm and "conduct" the group. ESPECIALLY do not do this if you can't keep rhythm and don't know the difference between a 3/4 and 4/4 time. Please.

As for the other technique-type stuff, which fingers one uses to fret or strum, etc - eh, anything goes as far as I'm concerned. Make it work for you. I finger chords in weird ways, I use a thumb pick sometimes since my darned thumb nail refuses to grow, I play triads instead of tetrads if the note in question is too much of a stretch for my little hands. I'm sure there are purists who would take issue with all of this, but in the end it's not impacting anybody else so I don't see a problem :)
Click to expand...
 
I Must say I am surprised some people are actually bothered by thumb fretting. I get not doing it if you don't like it, but who cares how someone else frets their instrument? They can fret with their forehead for all I care.

Thumb fretting has been around in the guitar community for years, and while some folks will tell you it is not orthodox technique (and they would be correct), I've never once heard someone say it bugged them to see someone else do it.
 
nongdam said:
So what do we do, ask that person to sit out and keep rhythm by tapping on their uke?
Click to expand...

No, maybe I wasn't clear - what I meant was PLEASE DON'T keep rhythm on your uke if you can't play the song! If you don't know the song or can't play the song, lay out.

The speeding up thing is just something that happens. Having a strong rhythm player or two helps; having a bassist helps even more. Practicing with a metronome helps A LOT if everyone does it, but few do.
 
hoosierhiver said:
I've got another one,
Apologizing before you start playing.
Click to expand...

Yes! Or stopping and apologizing and explaining yourself EVERY TIME you make a mistake while you are playing. Just keep going, mistakes happen!

(And, wow. I had no idea I had so many pet peeves about this stuff but... yeah...)
 
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