Brozman's Ukulele Toolbox--What a Treasure Trove!

Ukettante

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Just want to say I highly recommend giving Bob Brozman's "Ukulele Toolbox" set a try. I haven't looked at any tabs since starting his Toolbox lesson, and every time I pick up my uke, I feel as if the sky's the limit; everything I need is in my head, not on a tab. He shows you how you can "own" your instrument, make it do your bidding, and express yourself on it. It's so refreshing and liberating.

I'm proceeding very, very slowly through each chapter, practicing and internalizing each nugget of instruction and advice. It's been months, and I'm just halfway through disc 1, improvising and coming up with variations and connecting dots. I don't want it to end and wish there were more uke lessons like his for purchase.

If I have to sum up what I've gained from this set of lessons in one statement, it's this: It gives me the confidence to say I know how to play the ukulele.
 
I ripped the DVDs to video files and saved copies on my phone so if I need a quick pick me up I can dip in and learn something new.
 
Ordered it when I saw this post...will see how it goes. If I get half out of it that you all do, I will be very happy.
 
Let me throw in this little digression...
A couple of years before his death, Brozman played the Blues in Hell festival in Hell, Norway. I also had a gig there, and in the artist lounge Brozman entertained the rest of us with some incredible guitar tricks. We were all sitting around a big table, watching Brozman play stunning stuff on an old National steel. Then, mid-song, he tossed the guitar around, grabbed it left-handedly, and continued playing flawlessly before he matter-of-factly swung it back to right-handed playing again. Nobody could believe what they saw. On stage, he was also breathtaking; a master musician.
 
Thanks for the feedback
 
I just ordered a copy as well.
 
OP here

Really glad to hear some of you have taken my recommendation and are giving Brozman's Ukulele Toolbox a try. By the time you get to the chapter "Basic Slants," around the halfway point of disc 1, you'll be roaming up and down the fretboard freely, getting a taste of what the ukulele is truly capable of. And the fantastic, lively playing that opens the disc, which I believe is improvised? You'll know exactly how he does it and how you too can do it.

Have fun, guys!

Oh, and if for some reason the disc doesn't work out for you, feel free to write me. I'd be glad to share how I worked with the DVD lessons.
 
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With all your positive vibes, I ordered a set as well. Can never have enough good learning materials. Thanks to the OP and other posters for bringing this to my attention.
 
Wow, and it has a 27 page pamphlet showing the exercises and lessons!

I watched the DVD today and think it will help me a bit to a bunch depending on how well I dedicate myself.....but honestly my favorites parts were when he mis fretted or mis strummed a note!

Most/all of the youtube videos, and recorded music never shows those human mistakes. In his video, there were several places where it happened, and it helped reinforce that just because you make a mistake does not mean you suck, and that long time professionals can make a mistake.
 
Haha. I noticed the slip-ups too. I think the guy was so confident that he didn't care, you know? Also, much of what he did was improvised on the spot. Not rehearsed. Very natural.

By the way, I think this DVD set is a real UAS killer. You'd be so engrossed in it, getting intimate with your uke that you stop thinking about getting a mango uke, or a tenor uke, or a custom uke, etc.
 
Thank you for posting. I feel like I have been under a rock because I was unaware of this DVD set.
 
You guys are terrible for the UAS...just amazoned both DVD's :facepalm
 
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