So I took the plunge, ordered a flea and am now spending most of my days looking at uke videos on the net while I wait for the package to arrive. I would like to have your opinion on something that has kind of annoyed me when watching a lot of those videos.
It seems that the dreaded unsteady-rhythm problem is especially acute in the ukulele community. I have seen countless videos and heard a number of sound samples in which people just randomly accelerate and decelerate the beat of their playing to the point where it really gets annoying to listen to. The music loses a lot of its impact because the flow is really affected. This seems to not only be true of random uke players on youtube, but also of accomplished players.
Edited
Exhibit B:
Sorry, no sample here, but if you watch the dvd The Joy of Uke, there is a guest appearance of Travis Harrelson who plays an amazing couple of songs. Same thing though, he doesn’t seem to care about keeping a steady beat.
So here are the explanatory hypotheses I would like you to help me appraise:
1- The Uke comes from an informal music tradition in the context of which little emphasis has been placed on the structural constraints usually imposed on music of other styles such as classical or even rock music.
2- The uke is not an intimidating instrument which means it attracts players who have little formal musical background and are likely to learn by themselves (not being coached to keep the beat).
3- Most uke players play alone and therefore have no need to be keep a steady beat to ensure they play in sync with others at jams.
4- I am too stuck up for such a laid-back instrument.
5- Any other ideas?
What do you all make of this?
Vincent
It seems that the dreaded unsteady-rhythm problem is especially acute in the ukulele community. I have seen countless videos and heard a number of sound samples in which people just randomly accelerate and decelerate the beat of their playing to the point where it really gets annoying to listen to. The music loses a lot of its impact because the flow is really affected. This seems to not only be true of random uke players on youtube, but also of accomplished players.
Edited
Exhibit B:
Sorry, no sample here, but if you watch the dvd The Joy of Uke, there is a guest appearance of Travis Harrelson who plays an amazing couple of songs. Same thing though, he doesn’t seem to care about keeping a steady beat.
So here are the explanatory hypotheses I would like you to help me appraise:
1- The Uke comes from an informal music tradition in the context of which little emphasis has been placed on the structural constraints usually imposed on music of other styles such as classical or even rock music.
2- The uke is not an intimidating instrument which means it attracts players who have little formal musical background and are likely to learn by themselves (not being coached to keep the beat).
3- Most uke players play alone and therefore have no need to be keep a steady beat to ensure they play in sync with others at jams.
4- I am too stuck up for such a laid-back instrument.
5- Any other ideas?
What do you all make of this?
Vincent
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