Learning to play with others alone

Piecomics

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It is both the title of a 1970s self help book, and a question I have about the ukulele. :)

I've been messing around for a while, mostly finger style stuff. I'm interested in starting to play the ukulele with others. However I would like to spend a little time figuring it out by myself first.

I have started looking for YouTube videos of Bluegrass and Americana songs to play along with. It seems like it's the way to go, but I was wondering if anyone else has any suggestions.

Thanks!
 
It is both the title of a 1970s self help book, and a question I have about the ukulele. :)

I've been messing around for a while, mostly finger style stuff. I'm interested in starting to play the ukulele with others. However I would like to spend a little time figuring it out by myself first.

I have started looking for YouTube videos of Bluegrass and Americana songs to play along with. It seems like it's the way to go, but I was wondering if anyone else has any suggestions.

Thanks!
What is it that you want to figure out first? My experience is that you learn a lot playing with other musicians. Things you are never going to pick up by yourself. Especially timing, and playing your part while others might have a different part. It is simply a matter of diving in and going for it. I would suggest that you start out in some sort of larger group setting, then move on to jamming with smaller groups. Then you can start jamming with other individuals in a more spontaneous manner.
 
As long as I'm pretending that I know something, learning chord progressions in popular keys for the type of music you are playing helps a lot. In my case, I play a lot of sixties and seventies music, so a twelve bar blues progression, a Do Wop, what they call the 50s progression, the salty dog, and just a plain old I-IV-V progression goes a long way. I don't know exactly which progressions are popular with blue grass, but if that is what you want to do, find out. Keep in mind, those progressions get switched around a lot too, so don't be surprised if they don't follow some supposed formula.
 
So, I think that maybe you're looking for resources that match up with your musical preferences, right?

I would recommend checking out Aaron Keim's online store - his fingerstyle book is highly regarded and Americana is very much his ballpark.

You might also want to take a look at Favorite Old-Time American Songs for Ukulele by Mark Nelson.
 
It is both the title of a 1970s self help book, and a question I have about the ukulele. :)

I've been messing around for a while, mostly finger style stuff. I'm interested in starting to play the ukulele with others. However I would like to spend a little time figuring it out by myself first.

I have started looking for YouTube videos of Bluegrass and Americana songs to play along with. It seems like it's the way to go, but I was wondering if anyone else has any suggestions.

Thanks!

This sounds like a good plan to me. When you feel confident enough, go find your people, whether it is a uke group or a guitarist to play along with.
 
I encourage you to go ahead and try a group. It is so much fun. It doesn't matter how much more time you think you need. You will make friends and have a great time.
 
Playing along with recordings is very useful for developing your timing and rhythm. However, it's no real substitute for playing with other musicians for real. However it is useful and if it helps to give some more confidence that you will be able to cope when you actually play with a group it's worth doing.

I made midi files of tunes to play along with and found it a much more interesting way of learning to keep time and also to keep going when you made a mistake than playing along to a metronome tick which would serve the same purpose.
 
You could try looping.

It's not the same.. but gives you alot of the same issues of timing, and the pressure to play with something instead of just playing.

Also.. it lets you practice playing the same as well as playing something different at the same time as someone else.
 
Nthing the group recommendation. As others have noted, the main takeaway I get from group playing - both for myself, and from observing others - is timing. Playing in isolation (or with non-human sources such as videos or tracks) just doesn't present the same challenges as playing with other human beings does. When you play along with recorded music, you may *think* you're keeping time correctly, but if you are not, it becomes immediately apparent when playing live with others.
 
Having recently started going to the Sun Lakes ukulele group every-other Sunday, I can tell you it is a completely different experience playing with other people --- but I mean that in a good way. It's different but gets you out of your comfort zone. Also, singing and playing at the same time is a new feeling/ challenge too.
 
I basically learned how to play by going to group jams, knew a half-dozen chords when I started going, now I know at least a dozen ;-D

But, seriously, I learned a lot just by figuring it out as we played!
 
There are several different skills involved in playing along with others - but they all can come quite naturally and can be developed alone.

Finding and following a rhythm is one, but not the only one. Here are some others:
- finding the chord pattern (already mentioned above). There are five or six rather standard ones, and if you have played them yourself a few times, you start hearing them in songs on the radio. Watching the others players' fingers helps as well (even if you don't know banjo chords, you'll notice when the hands go back to the 'first chord', or 'second chord'...)
- finding the key. Practice that by playing along with recordings, but only after you've found the chord pattern. Trying to play the melody first usually helps - the last note of a melody line is often a very good indication. If you've earlly done your homework, know that melodies often stay withing the diatonic scale of the key of the song.
- finding a spot in the jam that hasn't been taken up by another instrument yet. Add something, like a beat, a riff, a hammer-on or pull-off that actually contributes, instead of just rowing along. Ukuleles have the advantage of a strong rhythmic sound (think 'snare drum'), and a higher pitched tuning (which stands out by itself). You can try this with recorded music as well. Underproduced, raw recorded music works best (the acoustic, dressing-room version).
- finding and following dynamics: slowing down for a part, speeding up for a chorus, leaving out instrumental bits to accentuate a verse, playing louder and then more delicately, repeating an ending a few times, noticing when someone will play a solo bit... This is nearly impossible to practice alone, and you'll need ears and eyes for it. It's also what makes playing together fun. What all the interviews call 'the chemistry'.
 
So what are some of the "5 or 6 common chord progressions "? I plan to join a group, would prefer an old time or bluegrass jam as opposed to a straight ukulele jam, though I don't know why. I do know I want to get some skill before I go because I have plenty of anxiety to deal with as it is...
 
If I'm reading your post right, I'd say trying to learn to play with others by yourself is like trying to learn to ride a horse without the horse.
Do try playing along with some of Aldrine's videos here if there's no one in your area to play with in person.
And good luck!
 
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This is a pretty good document to get you started for the common ones... scroll down to Ukulele Chord Exercises and download the PDF.

http://www.howlinhobbit.com/ukulele/


Wikipedia explains chord progressions well. I'm not an old timey/bluegrass player so I can't speak to that, but as a uke player who plays with others the most common progressions I encounter are blues changes, the 1950s doo-wop/"ice cream" progressions, for many standards the ii-V-I progression, and good ol' I-IV-V and its variations.
 
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