Progress.........it can go unnoticed

I started playing uke almost one year ago. Two to three months in I was doing well, lots of chords learned, some strumming patterns and attending three regular uke jams helped my development. I remember coming across songs that I liked and wanted to play but did not have the skill set to tackle them back then.

I was going through my song book and it occured to me I have mastered a lot of those songs now and it just seemed to happen over time.
*Beatles: When I'm 64, Blackbird, Penny Lane
*Hotel California, with the arrpeggo chord progession at the begining. I actually have that written down from a post Old Phart made about 7 months ago detailing it. I could not arreggiate back then to save my life.
* Ain't She Sweet. Man oh man I remember first seeing that early on with all those chord changes.

There are many others but the point is progress comes slow but steady if you keep at it. All you new people out there go read "Guitar Zero" for a great perspective on how we learn, what it takes and the fact anyone can learn.

What songs and or progress have you made over the last while, that as you look back on your improvements it kind of surprises and astounds you. It might be as simple as swiching from Dm to E7 or finally nailing D DU UDU. The trick to life is to celebrate the small victories because it is mostly a string of small victories that lead to success

I was mostly a mellow thumb strummer. Watching world class players pick, picking seemed interesting. So I think between UU+ and other video's, my picking has improved greatly. I am still having trouble changing from picking to strumming. But then that mantra kicks in " practice practice practice."

The first few months I was playing, I used to post little clips on Flickr to share with a friend up in the Bay Area who was also starting to play around the same time. I took most of these down, but I left one up that I captioned "G7 is no problem, but regular G is almost impossible!" just to remind myself of how far I've come.

I agree, I think sometimes we are to hard on ourselves. It's supposed to be fun!

JJFN said:

I agree, I think sometimes we are to hard on ourselves. It's supposed to be fun!

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Agreed. I play mostly tenor size and can get kinda serious about it all. I have a super soprano to break up that trend. Nothing like putting on an old fedora and playing "Five foot two" to lighten up the mood.

Where is the like button?

Great post Dave! Sometimes we tend to focus on what we can't do and not appreciate what we can!

I have been playing a little less than you (8 months) and I was just able to add singing to a couple songs. Until now I was only able to sing the songs or strum the chords, not both.

Great post Dave, I couldn't agree more, patience is the key. Enjoyment is essential!

Patience certainly is the key isn't it Campbell

Janeray@what a great idea to have kept a milestone improvement like that

Rliink@Your threads are always some of the most likeable

WCBarnes@ congrats on making a quantum leap because now you can really make music. "Do we sing because we are happy or are we happy because we sing"

Great thread Dave. The other thing I'll add is not only is progress gradual but sometime it may seem stalled. Don't sweat it but keep plodding along and eventually you'll get out of the slump.

Great thread. I've been playing only a few months. I'm making slow, steady progress but more importantly I'm having fun and not getting frustrated at all. I have a folder with songs I can "sort of" play in the right pocket and songs I aspire to play in the left. "Ain't She Sweet" was my measuring stick of sorts. Easy enough chords but lots of chord changes. I made that song my first target to work toward. I'm really pleased that as of this week it lives in the right hand pocket of the folder.
Baby steps...

Thanks for posting this, Dave.

More food for thought ... you may reach some sort of breakthrough, whether it's making a difficult chord progression successfully, or surviving a tough picking pattern, and just when you think you're ready to quit your day job, you find your progress doing everything else has stalled. Keep your chin up! Those a-ha moments can be the exception rather than the rule at times. It could be that muscle memory kicked in for one pattern and it hasn't for others. It's OK. Keep making a joyful noise, and having fun. Your patience will be rewarded.

Yup, definitely a good post with helpful reminders to enjoy the journey and let the destinations be pleasant surprises. I have noticed progress from year to year when, originally, I had expected it from month to month. I keep my bar low and though am disciplined and loosely organized when I practice, I keep an eye on the fun metre to insure that it never drops too low due to pushing myself to reach unrealistic playing levels.

Yes, yes, yes! Agreed. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...

I'm noticing the finger picking and reading of notes is starting to make sense to me. It has been slow going, but I'm starting to make connections.

I've been on and off for the past year and a half but have been going strong the past few months and I am amazed at the progress I made. Still learning my chords and their alternate voicings but I'm definitely a more confident strummer and picking is coming along. I go back and forth between my Soprano and Tenor so that helps with my chord changes. I kick myself for taking off and wondered how much more I would have improved if I hadn't lost that time.

This is a great thread!

When I started playing I decided to concentrate on enjoying the process instead of trying to get to some level as quickly as possible, but I still occasionally get frustrated. This here helps!

I made sure my progress was documented and didn't go unnoticed for me lol. I started filming myself since day 1 and it really helped me see the progress. My improvement from day 1 to about 6 months was really drastic. I kept improving since, but obviously it's not as big of a jump as the beginning. I know the long time posters are sick of me posting this because I have a couple times, but here's so I documented mine.

Oh, I also improved on my facial expressions while playing

JJFN said:

I agree, I think sometimes we are to hard on ourselves. It's supposed to be fun!

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Yes, indeed! Comparison to others are our worst enemy. Set your own goals, and have fun with them. And be kind to yourself if you don't hit them right away.

DownUpDave said:

The trick to life is to celebrate the small victories because it is mostly a string of small victories that lead to success

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THIS!!!
Yes, great post and thanks for the encouraging words!

Kyle23 said:

I made sure my progress was documented and didn't go unnoticed for me lol. I started filming myself since day 1 and it really helped me see the progress. My improvement from day 1 to about 6 months was really drastic. I kept improving since, but obviously it's not as big of a jump as the beginning. I know the long time posters are sick of me posting this because I have a couple times, but here's so I documented mine.

Oh, I also improved on my facial expressions while playing

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great idea...i should have done this too! i am about the same time in, and for a while i did not notice improvement. is wasn't until i wrote on the top corner of the ubc(uke boot camp) benchmark notes of what day i began a practice sheet and how cleanly i went through it. it really helped me understand favorable fingerings for changes. great vid too man, cheers!

I've been playing for a few years and am pretty dedicated, not fanatical but I play a lot. I don't have a strong background with any previous instrument but have dabbled. At first, of course, I saw progress. Later I seemed to be stagnating. I felt guilty that I hadn't moved on to any serious finger picking. I knew that my chord knowledge, chord changes and strumming had improved but I didn't realize how much, until my son, who is quite a good uke/guitar player told me how improved my playing was, that I was playing pieces that I couldn't have touched a year ago. So sometimes, while we know we are making progress, we may be underestimating how much progress we are making, because in our minds we have a much higher goal. We should be easier on ourselves, in general. We usually aren't striving to be professional musicians. We are doing this for our own enjoyment. Some of us (like me) have come into this late in life and we should appreciate the progress we have made and not denigrate ourselves for not being further along. I know that I would like to be better and put in a lot of practice but I do remind myself regularly that if I did not get much better, I find great joy in playing at the level I am right now. I can enjoy a tune I love, strum and sing along and really, what's better than that. I would actually not have imagined that I would have gotten this far and while it would be lovely if I were some kind of virtuoso, I am thoroughly enjoying myself on the lowly level that I am...so keep at it, wherever you are on your musical path.