Does your uke stress you out, or calm you down?

SamJ1206

SamJ1206

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It seems recently, me and my uke have such a love hate relationship.

One minute i couldnt imagine doing anything better than sitting in the sun with my ukulele.

Then 10 minutes later, have got so frustrated that my fingers just wont move fast enough, or in the right place that i end up in a Tiz all stressed. i tried to turn the frustration on its head today with this
http://youtu.be/KZ5qRRQdOK8

after a really annoying day of work, and so much todo i wasnt inthe mood to be stressed.

But seriously

Is this Common, or is it just me?!
 
Nice video! Way to utilize the energy of frustration. :cool:

I can only speak for myself, but I have regular frustration because of my old and beat up hands, so I am pretty much grateful for days I can spend time with my ukes without having to take anti-inflammatories afterwords or before. I also have CRS so if I can remember most of the three songs I have been practicing for a year or two and a few chord progressions, I am pretty content with that. But I don't associate the frustration with the ukes themselves. I know that my fingers will only ever move so fast and am grateful they are still moving. You're young and still bullet-proof so I would say when you get frustrated, take a deep breath, take a minute to think of everything you can for which you are grateful, which always shifts frustrations for me, then come back to the uke with some patience with yourself. ;)

I actually sat on my patio yesterday with a uke, and I was grateful for the time, the patio, the weather, the soft breezes, the trees, the birds singing, the rescued rocker I was sitting in, my health, my house, my jobs, my family, my friends, my Poodle kid and my ukes.
 
Last edited:
Some days you practice, some days you play. Practice is about challenging yourself to improve. Playing is about enjoying the instrument and enjoying music. Do both.

:)
 
If your uke is stressing you out, something is seriously wrong.

But pretty cool video and good way to work it off :)
 
RichM said:
Some days you practice, some days you play. Practice is about challenging yourself to improve. Playing is about enjoying the instrument and enjoying music. Do both.

:)
Click to expand...

Well said, RichM. And eventually a song that's been in the "practicing" category moves over to the "playing" category and you say, "Wow, how did that happen?"
 
I think it's great to be on the grow. However, if the process of growing becomes frustrating... stop.
Fortunately we can choose when and how we will 'grow' as ukulele players. I understand that we may
have internal and/or external pressures (like a competitive spirit or a deadline for a performance!), but
we still have choices and fighting against ourselves is NOT conducive to 'growth' or happiness :)

Make a deal with yourself to have fun even if a deadline is approaching or if your nemesis is there egging
you on with their level of skill, etc. We can choose to let go of the things that hassle us (but do keep
your promises and perform on time :) ).

I hope you make peace with your uke... and yourself and have a wonderful day, and LIFE! :)

meanwhile, keep uke'in',
 
Generally I get calm when playing. But when trying to actually work on a project (e.g. figuring out how to transcribe a song to the uke, composing, etc) and it gets challenging, the frustration can be maddening sometimes. But all passions in life have to annoy you a little bit. It makes the good times all the better. :)
 
RichM said:
Some days you practice, some days you play. Practice is about challenging yourself to improve. Playing is about enjoying the instrument and enjoying music. Do both.

:)
Click to expand...
Agreed!

I keep an ever-changing list of specific things to practice (chord transitions to smooth out, a song to memorize, and now some fingerpicking challenges) but I often just spend some time playing easy songs that make me happy. Also, I learned very early on not to compare my progress or my abilities to others--although I am making steady progress, I have accepted that most people are way better at this than I am!
 
Playing/practicing is always relaxing and soothing.
Teaching is a joy, but having students who only pick up their ukulele when they come to class is frustrating.
If you are going to take time to go to a class or workshop, how about a little practice time.
 
I've found it really helpful to have a few songs that were not difficult to master. When I would try something challenging and get frustrated, I would revert to playing one of the easy songs that that I could play without getting frustrated as a way of just enjoying playing my ukulele (and remembering that I once didn't know how to play those songs either and now I do). Over time, I've been able to increase the number and difficulty of the songs I can play without getting frustrated, and I find myself getting less frustrated with challenging stuff. If you think of improving as an ukulele player as a journey instead of a series of tests, you may be able to focus less on being frustrated and more on the joy of playing.
 
the uke has helped reduce my blood pressure. If I get frustrated I just go back to a simple song that I know and love.

It's OK to challenge yourself but keep it fun.
 
When I get frustrated, its time to put it down or at least move on to something fun. On the up side, you also occasionally get those days where something you have been struggling with just clicks and you've finally got it. That's a good feeling.
 
I don't think my ukulele has ever added stress to my life. I have so many other things that do it. The ukulele is one of the very few things that brings a smile to my face. I am stressed out here at work right now, and unfortunately, I don't have a uke here, and wish I did so I could calm down. Being on this site helps a little because it makes me remember that I get to go home and play my uke, though I really shouldn't be doing anything personal on the internet while I'm at work :)

Dan
 
SamJ1206 said:
trying to do the same thing and failing over and over again does stress me. And i suppose its always easier to blame the uke than me ;)
Click to expand...

Visualize yourself playing whatever piece you are trying to learn. After visualizing it all the way through several times, think about your visualization exercise and play along with it... you will be amazed at what you can achieve this way.
 
RichM said:
Some days you practice, some days you play. Practice is about challenging yourself to improve. Playing is about enjoying the instrument and enjoying music. Do both.

:)
Click to expand...
That! In spades.
 
Totally get what you are saying. I do get frustrated at times but never stressed. I realize that some things I am working on will take time but I will get them down eventually. If I need a day off here or there I take it. Ukulele is supposed to be fun. The journey of learning new stuff is all part of it.
 
Completely relaxed and zen, untill I try some of that stuff that Jake Whatshisname does on fretnumbers above 12. Big fat fingers.
 
Pippin said:
Visualize yourself playing whatever piece you are trying to learn. After visualizing it all the way through several times, think about your visualization exercise and play along with it... you will be amazed at what you can achieve this way.
Click to expand...



ill have to give that a go!

i think the best thing to do i suppose, is what i did today.

I was so annoyed and stressed with it all, so i stopped and did something that i really enjoyed.

except this time filmed it and shared it wit all you lovely folk.

and sure enough i was laughing minutes later
 
RichM said:
Some days you practice, some days you play. Practice is about challenging yourself to improve. Playing is about enjoying the instrument and enjoying music. Do both.

:)
Click to expand...
:agree:
As soon as the uke starts p*** me off, I put it down. As easy as that.
 
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