Ideas for a more challenging season?

Dan Uke

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I remember reading that Austin1 and Fermin were talking about techniques when they host a season.

I was wondering what are some of the more unique and challenging ideas? I thought of one but would be impossible to do is a Busking Challenge.

A more realistic challenge would require harmonics to be played in the song or flamenco strumming.

What are some other ideas for a season?
 
ha ha Daniel...I'll tell ya in a couple of weeks... :p
 
Personally, I have little interest in a season that requires me to play a genre that I don't listen to. I would almost definitely skip a season that was based on using a particular technique. The seasons I enjoy are ones that give me an excuse to learn how to play a song I like but would have otherwise never gotten around to, and ones that have more of an open mike feel than a competition.

One idea I considered but passed on was a season where everyone had to make up parody lyrics for a song, a la Allan Sherman or Weird Al Yankovic. I didn't know if this would be too hard for a lot of the Seasonistas.
 
Personally, I have little interest in a season that requires me to play a genre that I don't listen to. I would almost definitely skip a season that was based on using a particular technique. The seasons I enjoy are ones that give me an excuse to learn how to play a song I like but would have otherwise never gotten around to, and ones that have more of an open mike feel than a competition.

One idea I considered but passed on was a season where everyone had to make up parody lyrics for a song, a la Allan Sherman or Weird Al Yankovic. I didn't know if this would be too hard for a lot of the Seasonistas.

I agree with a lot of what you have said. I am so shy that very few people have seen my videos. I have had others encourage me to jump in that it is not to competitive and that all levels are welcome. I have been trying to get up the courage.. but haven't yet..
I laugh at the idea of paraody lyrics because my kids joke that I should have been Mrs Weird Al. I love making up paraody lyrics its so much fun!
No matter what I have so enjoyed the seaons lately and will continue to watcht the videos.. maybe even make one myself.. The thing I enjoy most is the fun of the spirit of making music with the ukelele..
 
Maybe the challenge should be a song that you've never played before!

I'm amazed at people's memorization skills or is it that they had a song that fit the theme?
 
Hi there,
Most every week I pick up a song I have never played on the uke- that is really the beauty of the seasons-encourage yourself to play something new.

Maybe the challenge should be a song that you've never played before!

I'm amazed at people's memorization skills or is it that they had a song that fit the theme?
 
I think it's a great idea to have a more challenging contest from time to time. I've been following the contest since the beginning (which is the only one I entered so far). I keep meaning to host a week but never seem to find the time. I even wrote a song for the garden challenge but never put a tune to it and never got it posted.

How about claw hammer uke or the challenge of changing the tuning on your uke or, or, hey I got it! CHOPSTICKS!
 
I think it's a great idea to have a more challenging contest from time to time. I've been following the contest since the beginning (which is the only one I entered so far). I keep meaning to host a week but never seem to find the time. I even wrote a song for the garden challenge but never put a tune to it and never got it posted.

Hey there! I was thinking about you when I did a song for Guilty Pleasures week with my daughter singing along using a Pets.com puppet.
 
I think that people who are posting their first seasons video should get extra points to encourage people to join in!

I would be all for learning some new song, but new strum patterns take me ages to learn so that would be difficult to accomplish in a week.
 
I'm amazed at people's memorization skills or is it that they had a song that fit the theme?

This week is one of the rare times I already had a song for the theme. I've practiced "Question" in the past, and I tried unsuccessfully to do a video for it back in July. Usually I'm looking through my big iTunes library to give me ideas, and then looking up chords on the Ultimate Guitar Tab Archive site. This site lets you raise or lower the key to let you find a key you can sing in. Then I copy the thing into Word, make the font as big as I can, and print it out. I memorized the songs for Garden Week, but a lot of times I have the page of lyrics and chords on a music stand just out of the camera shot.
 
The seasons are an amusing beast...let me break down how it goes in my house. Saturday, check the theme and scour music library for a tune that will fit. Play it through a few times, then decide it is ready. In most cases this is less than an hour of playing because it has to be-I only have a week to do it. I agree with uke4ia, I have sat out seasons that do not have anything to do with what I would ever listen to...but back to your original question. A technique? Well that takes hourse to perfect, and while it is fun to do so and it pushes us, that is not really the spirit here. Shoot...I am highly opposed to the multi tracks as well (because that is an art not learned quickly).
To me, the seasons are "here's your theme, run what you brung". Yeah...I half hour of practice ain't never gonna see my name in the winners circle, but I have heard a lot do cool songs in a lot of cool styles, pushed myself pretty far out of my comfort zone, and made a few friends on the way. There is a voice in my head telling me to tell you to keep it simple, as it will ultimately be more fun for the rest of us
 
Pretty much every song I've done for the seasons is one I've never played before. How about everyone come up with an original tune? :)

Maybe the challenge should be a song that you've never played before!

I'm amazed at people's memorization skills or is it that they had a song that fit the theme?
 
Personally, I have little interest in a season that requires me to play a genre that I don't listen to. I would almost definitely skip a season that was based on using a particular technique. The seasons I enjoy are ones that give me an excuse to learn how to play a song I like but would have otherwise never gotten around to, and ones that have more of an open mike feel than a competition.

One idea I considered but passed on was a season where everyone had to make up parody lyrics for a song, a la Allan Sherman or Weird Al Yankovic. I didn't know if this would be too hard for a lot of the Seasonistas.
I love your idea ue4ia! It would be an interesting challenge to write different lyrics to our favorite tunes. Granted we're not all poets but the Seasonistas are all creative types and nobody's expecting perfection. We're all in this to have fun. And to better our ukulele playing skills and musicianship. And writing a song would definitely broaden all our horizons.
 
I love your idea ue4ia! It would be an interesting challenge to write different lyrics to our favorite tunes. Granted we're not all poets but the Seasonistas are all creative types and nobody's expecting perfection. We're all in this to have fun. And to better our ukulele playing skills and musicianship. And writing a song would definitely broaden all our horizons.

Take it a step further and the host picks only one song!!
 
The seasons are an amusing beast...let me break down how it goes in my house. Saturday, check the theme and scour music library for a tune that will fit. Play it through a few times, then decide it is ready. In most cases this is less than an hour of playing because it has to be-I only have a week to do it. I agree with uke4ia, I have sat out seasons that do not have anything to do with what I would ever listen to...but back to your original question. A technique? Well that takes hourse to perfect, and while it is fun to do so and it pushes us, that is not really the spirit here. Shoot...I am highly opposed to the multi tracks as well (because that is an art not learned quickly).
To me, the seasons are "here's your theme, run what you brung". Yeah...I half hour of practice ain't never gonna see my name in the winners circle, but I have heard a lot do cool songs in a lot of cool styles, pushed myself pretty far out of my comfort zone, and made a few friends on the way. There is a voice in my head telling me to tell you to keep it simple, as it will ultimately be more fun for the rest of us

:agree: brothers and sisters can I get me a witness?
 
Maybe the challenge should be a song that you've never played before!

I'm amazed at people's memorization skills or is it that they had a song that fit the theme?

Hi there,
Most every week I pick up a song I have never played on the uke- that is really the beauty of the seasons-encourage yourself to play something new.

I'm with chrimess and everyone else who commented that they learn a new song just about every week. I'd never even heard of Zac Brown and The Wind before Billboard week. Just like TCK, I find out the week's theme and then am off and running trying to find a song that fits it. Sometimes I'm lucky (like French week or Classic Country week) and I already know a song that will work. But most of the time I'm finding and learning songs I don't know and that I have never before played on the uke. I've gotten really good at transposing songs since they never seem to be in my singing key. Or maybe I'll retune my soprano or pick up the baritone. With only a week to learn it, film it and post it I find myself getting creative (and practicing more). Like chrimess said, "that is really the beauty of the seasons".
 
I agree with some in that I sit out weeks that I don't really respond to the theme immediately. 90% of the time I am very excited to find, learn and record a new song but some of the themes never grab my fancy and I stay out for that week, oh well. Now, of course stepping out of your comfort zone is part of the challenge and makes us all grow as uke players. But, correct me if I'm wrong, another part of the original idea of the Six Seasons, was that we only had to perform in four of the six weeks to qualify. So, this meant we could miss a week or two because of work, life or just not having a song idea for that week. But, things are meant to grow, evolve, change ya know. I will be a contributor to the Seasons until the end, I love it.

As for strumming patterns or certain styles those are fine. We have had specifically "French", "Flamenco", "Duet" and "Other" themes that have not fit everyone. Hell! We can't get every one in our wheelhouse every time. I sometimes actually welcome a break every few weeks if the theme doesn't fit.

With that said, I like the idea of everyone playing their own version of the same song and I have also written three songs in the last few weeks so I can do the original song theme too. That takes care of two weeks so we just need 50 more.

Thanks Seasonistas
 
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just my 2 cents...the way the season's contests have evolved is very inclusive to most all players on all levels...
i don't mind a harder challenge, but i think it could/should be a different contest..
i started entering these contests when mim had the remix contest..that was a tough challenge, but fun!
it brought out so many wild, clever, and funny versions of songs...but we had 7 weeks to get as many entries in as possible...
to ask somebody to write a song, or a parody in a week , i think is asking alot..to learn a song at times, is all that one could handle...
no reason we can't have an off-shoot of the seasons challenge that might last a little longer that would really test the creativeness of all who sign up.
anyhow, i'm game for most all challenges...wish i could just figure out how to multi track...ha!
 
Pretty much every song I've done for the seasons is one I've never played before. How about everyone come up with an original tune? :)
Now this would be fun. Also noobs like me could make the song as easy to strum as we like hehe
 
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