What do you observe others doing "wrong" the most?

Freeda

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When you watch other people, like at jams and such, what do you see as being the big issues?

The jams I attend have people 1) playing along, 2) singing along, and 3) dancing.

I think the biggest problem for a lot of people is not having a steady tempo. If more people understood how many beats go in a bar and practiced with a metronome that would solve a lot of problems!

What do you see? What would make someone easier to play, sing, or dance along with?





(Ulterior motive: Hoping there's some tips for me in there somewhere!)
 
Most people I play with play way better than me lol
But something I sometimes see with beginners is that they fret with their fingers flat against the fretboard instead of perpendicular. Then they get buzz and they also have to press harder.
 
Most people I play with play way better than me lol
But something I sometimes see with beginners is that they fret with their fingers flat against the fretboard instead of perpendicular. Then they get buzz and they also have to press harder.

Ooo...this helps me, because I do that sometimes and have wondered why it doesn't sound as good! Thanks, I shall work on correcting it!
 
Ooo...this helps me, because I do that sometimes and have wondered why it doesn't sound as good! Thanks, I shall work on correcting it!

Always happy to help :) Works best with the nails cut short
 
I think the biggest problem for a lot of people is not having a steady tempo. If more people understood how many beats go in a bar and practiced with a metronome that would solve a lot of problems!

Yep, this. In fact, directly from an email exchange with my uke instructor last night:

"Time is not easy...the hardest thing when playing with others."
 
One thing that bugs me (yet I'm guilty of it, myself) is angling stringed instruments more toward yourself so that you can see the strings easier.
 
Interesting thread, so long as it doesn't get into people complaining about odd styles or technique. And on that point, if a player is making a good sound, tone, volume and nice music, who says anything is wrong, regardless of how it is held or played?

A player can strum with his toes if he likes so long as the music moves me
 
Our local uke club has everyone from beginners to near-pros so we all try hard to share tips and get everyone playing together. Ultimately, goal #1 is to enjoy yourself and go with the flow.

A monthly jam that I attend has a number of extremely talented guitar players but again, it's casual. Everyone just wants to sing and play and have a good time, so no one gets their nose out of joint if you hit a wrong chord or whatever.

That's my 2 pennies.
 
This may sound a bit arcane and possibly even petty, but one of the issues I had recently reminded me of that saying, "when your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" -- sometimes people use the same strum for every song. Someone in a group I played with once liked to chunk, and she did it on every song. It's not that a given song sounds bad when chunked, and I appreciate that everyone might want to interpret each song in his or her own way, but I didn't like sitting near her because it made it difficult for me to hear myself strum, and I think part of developing as an ukulele player is to expand one's strum arsenal and to find a strum that best expresses the beat and character of the song; even if people disagree on what that strum might be for a particular song, not every song is best served by chunking.
 
I'll tell you what everybody's doing wrong!! THEY'RE PLAYING BETTER THAN I AM!!!
 
Interesting thread, so long as it doesn't get into people complaining about odd styles or technique. And on that point, if a player is making a good sound, tone, volume and nice music, who says anything is wrong, regardless of how it is held or played?

A player can strum with his toes if he likes so long as the music moves me
Fair enough. I'm thinking more of in a group setting, what makes it more difficult for people to play together. There are friends I enjoy listening to, but can't play with because their timing is so "individual". I want to learn to be a good jam partner. :)
 
This may sound a bit arcane and possibly even petty, but one of the issues I had recently reminded me of that saying, "when your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" -- sometimes people use the same strum for every song. Someone in a group I played with once liked to chunk, and she did it on every song. It's not that a given song sounds bad when chunked, and I appreciate that everyone might want to interpret each song in his or her own way, but I didn't like sitting near her because it made it difficult for me to hear myself strum, and I think part of developing as an ukulele player is to expand one's strum arsenal and to find a strum that best expresses the beat and character of the song; even if people disagree on what that strum might be for a particular song, not every song is best served by chunking.

I'm guilty of only really having one strum. Haha!
 
I don't know about "wrong" but I see people doing things that make playing a lot harder for them. Most people I see make very little or no use of the pinky on the left hand. I guess because I started on guitar and couldn't play without it, I use my pinky heavily. It seems to me that not using the pinky in chords makes them harder and using the pinky regularly makes incorporating it more natural.

Another thing people do is attempt to play barre chords with just the top of the finger. You get a lot more leverage if you use the part closer to your hand.

One thing I did wrong for years is not to put the wrist around to the front of the fret board. I used to use my thumb on the left hand but found that my reach improved dramatically by moving my hand around.

Not understanding that learning to play fast involves first learning to play slowly but accurately and gradually speeding up is a mistake many people make.
 
This may sound a bit arcane and possibly even petty, but one of the issues I had recently reminded me of that saying, "when your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" -- sometimes people use the same strum for every song. Someone in a group I played with once liked to chunk, and she did it on every song. It's not that a given song sounds bad when chunked, and I appreciate that everyone might want to interpret each song in his or her own way, but I didn't like sitting near her because it made it difficult for me to hear myself strum, and I think part of developing as an ukulele player is to expand one's strum arsenal and to find a strum that best expresses the beat and character of the song; even if people disagree on what that strum might be for a particular song, not every song is best served by chunking.

You can never have too much chunking, just as you can never have too much cowbell. :D
 
I don't know about "wrong" but I see people doing things that make playing a lot harder for them. Most people I see make very little or no use of the pinky on the left hand. I guess because I started on guitar and couldn't play without it, I use my pinky heavily. It seems to me that not using the pinky in chords makes them harder and using the pinky regularly makes incorporating it more natural.

Another thing people do is attempt to play barre chords with just the top of the finger. You get a lot more leverage if you use the part closer to your hand.

One thing I did wrong for years is not to put the wrist around to the front of the fret board. I used to use my thumb on the left hand but found that my reach improved dramatically by moving my hand around.

Not understanding that learning to play fast involves first learning to play slowly but accurately and gradually speeding up is a mistake many people make.

True. Some ergonomic mistakes people do make it harder for them to play and might strain their hands in the long run. Beware of Carpel Tunnel!
Otherwise as long as you play in time, in tune, and not 100 times louder than anyone else, as far as I'm concerned it's anything goes.
 
Honestly, the "worst" thing I notice from time to time is when people stand behind you to read music over your shoulder and they are playing RIGHT into your ear. Makes it impossible to play or sing correctly imo. I just politely ask them to move to the side and move my music so everyone can see it better. :D
 
There are friends I enjoy listening to, but can't play with because their timing is so "individual". I want to learn to be a good jam partner. :)

^^^ I think this sums it up totally.

Timing is everything! Whether you're all using the same pattern or some variations within, timing is everything. When you have up and down strums a few split seconds apart it is a bit cacophonic, kind of like hands clapping randomly. As a solo player you can take more liberties with phrasing, timing and tempo variation but you all gotta be so tight playing in a group. I know because I ran one for awhile and we were ugly. :eek:
 
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