Rhythm Ring

ritzer012

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i just bought one of these from flea market music. anybody else buy/try/use one? what do you think?
 
I haven't seen or tried the rhythm ring, but I have played while holding an egg-shaker in my right palm. I can hold the egg-shaker in my palm with my ring and pinky fingers, as I strum.
 
I bought one about a month or so ago. Got it directly from the guy who makes them (shipping was much cheaper than FMM if you're just getting the ring).

It's a fun little gadget, but it doesn't work that well for me when strumming. The problem (I think) is that the shaking and the strumming motions don't "match up", rhythm-wise.

That is, the point in the arc of your hand/arm where the shaker makes its note (near the extreme bottom and top, I guess) is not the same point where the uke makes its note (after you've already been to the top and are back on the way down). So the two rhythms aren't really in sync with each other. It sounds like I'm jamming with a percussionist who can't play on the beat. Maybe I just don't have the right technique down.

But it works quite nicely when you're just drumming on something with your hands (bongos, djembe, the steering wheel of your car). And, of course, it works fine when held and played the same way you use any other small shaker, like an egg.

JJ
 
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I got a couple of these recently, too, directly from Rhythm Ring.

It doesn't work very well for me because I do more picking than strumming.

Rich hasn't been really anxious to try his out yet (he's my rhythm ukuleleist), but I'll see if I can get him to use it tonight while we jam... :D
 
I got a couple of these recently, too, directly from Rhythm Ring.

It doesn't work very well for me because I do more picking than strumming.

Rich hasn't been really anxious to try his out yet (he's my rhythm ukuleleist), but I'll see if I can get him to use it tonight while we jam... :D

cool let me know how it goes!
 
Those are made a couple of miles from my house. They work great. You just have to modify your strumming style to get the synchopation right. Some use shaker eggs palmed while strumming. They ad dimension to your strumming. I gave a couple to Rayan and Aldrine when they visited SoCal. Ric

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I haven't seen or tried the rhythm ring, but I have played while holding an egg-shaker in my right palm. I can hold the egg-shaker in my palm with my ring and pinky fingers, as I strum.

Dang! I thought I was the first to do this!

I say we are co-inventors... like Newton and Leibniz with calculus.
 
Rich and I both used them during last night's jam, and they sounded great!

He plays mostly rhythm, so he had a nice steady rhythm going with his. I do mostly leads and fills, with a bit of rhythm here and there, and it added a nice emphasis to the melody line.

What cool little shakers!!! :shaka:
 
Those are pretty sweet! Sometimes I use the little eggs (they even make one with a guitar pick grafted onto it!) when I'm playing guitar, but with all the wacky two-finger rolls I've been using lately, those look even more convenient.
 
Rhythm Ring -- Shaker attached to strumming hand

Just got this yesterday.

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(not my uke!)

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Sample: Sip de rum


I used a different strum than I usually do on this tune, and I think it starts settling in a bit around 30 seconds in or so. Uke is my Kala archtop.

A little more practice and I think it could be quite useful.
 
Fascinating concept, thanks for the heads up.
 
I have one of these and I could never get into using it on my hand as intended. I'm more of a fingerpicker than a strummer.
When stumming I was always slightly off beat. So I now use it on one of my toes ;) (or tied to a shoelace)
 
@minipixel -- the toe is a clever idea!

@Mary-Anne -- I've done the shakey egg, too! It'll do in a pinch -- or should I say a grip -- but I always felt like it restricted my strumming just a bit. I was always afraid I'd drop it and it would roll somewhere far, far away.
 
I've got one too and, no, I'm not a fan. The sound starts to drone a bit by halfway through a tune (too light and "tinny" for my ears) and it doesn't seem to give you enough flexibility changing dynamics / technique through a song. Like minipixel, attaching it to the toe gives you more control about how and when you want to use it. For percussion sounds while playing the uke, I tend to either use a little homespun footstomping or tap on the edge of a tambourine lying at my feet. Chuck in a little kazoo or harp and it's happy days all round!
 
I've got one and like it. I tried using the egg shaker but didn't like the fact that I was limited to strumming only with it. The Rhythm Ring allows me to strum as well as use fingerstyle. My strumming pattern seems to lend itself well to using the ring...I have a constant up/down style that bypasses the strings when I'm not looking to hit them, but keeps the rhythm of the ring going.
 
I don't have one, but I would think that it would limit your strumming capabilities to play the ukulele correctly... its difficult enough to strum/frail/fan the strings and maintain a percussive rhythm. My recommendation: let someone else have fun and join in as a percussionist. That way, you can concentrate on playing the uke. :):cool:
 
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