Stuck in a rut, help! Not sure what to do

Youkalaylee

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So I can play a few chords confidently and switch between them correctly most of the time - D, Am, A, F, G, Dm, Em, C.

The first few weeks of learning I followed the Dummies book. However I felt like I was just being bombarded with techniques and (at the moment) I just wanted to learn enough to be able to play through 1 or 2 songs.

So I got 2 songbooks (The Ukulele Playlist Red and Orange book) and I've been learning to play "I can see clearly now" as it only features 6 different chords (D, G, A, F, C#m and D6). Been learning it roughly since Christmas.

But I've felt frustrated as this song features 2 barre chords. Now I know that these things come with time so I've been practising barre everyday and I have noticed a gradual improvement, no problems there.

Yet during the rest of the song I've felt like I've made little improvement the last 2.5 weeks. Chord changes between D and G are really awkward, my fingers feel really slow. I watched a video on here about doing the up-strum open so you can change chords, but the strumming pattern for this song is the "swiss army knife strum" from the dummies book, so DDU(D)UD, with the part in () being 'silent' (theres a 'tie' between the notes), so what I actually play is DDU(pause)UD. Don't feel like I can change chords in time, even slowly.

I'm beginning to think that the strumming pattern + the barre chords makes this a poor choice for me to start out with, even though I intend to practice barre chords regardless. I know 2.5 weeks isn't very long, but I've been practising around 2 hours every other day, my partner says I have got better but I just think I'm gonna get frustrated before I achieve anything.

So, should I just stick at it until I get it, choose something else but still practice this, or abandon it entirely and do something else? I feel like I'm in a rut.
 
They are referring to Uncle Rod Higuchi's Ukulele Boot Camp.
Here is a link to his mediafire folder which contains a PDF of his Boot Camp program, among other helpful ukulele tips and chords.
http://www.mediafire.com/?rvr286vaqavab

Keep practicing! You will get it though! Try to relax your grip, you are probably fretting harder than you need to.
 
if you know the chords you mentioned there are lots of songs you can play, the main thing is find a song you like, with the song you are learning throw another one in to learn aswell it will give a bit of variety to practice, barre chords will come in time and the strum pattern you are playing with song you are learning keep at it..it will come,
try playing song through and just count the measure, then when you feel ok with that add words, slow at first then build up
 
Just for fun turn on the radio or iPod, whatever, and try to play along. Even if you only figure out one or two chords it's a great way to learn.
 
Also, it takes time to develop muscle memory in your fretting fingers. It comes with time and practice. I have been teaching someone for the past three weeks, and they are frustrated going from F to G7 because they can't do it fast and smooth enough. I've explained to her the same thing. When I learned my first instrument, the banjo, it took a couple of months to be able to change cords smoothly. It's that muscle memory I had to develop, and you have to develop it with every chord.

I would also suggest staying away from barre chords for now and learn simpler 3-chord songs while you are developing that muscle memory. Once you have those down, try four chord songs, then 5 chord songs, throw a couple of barre chords in there, etc. Before you know it, you'll be doing fine. Just keep in mind that it all takes time. I don't know what the boot camp is, so I cannot comment on it.

Dan
 
I would suggest slowing the pace of your chord changes even further than you have been. Focus only on the chord change giving you trouble. Back and forth and back and forth. Use a metronome and slow it down to the point where you can form the next chord correctly. Then, when you are comfortable, slowly increase the beat speed of the metronome and repeat the process until you get up to speed.
 
I agree with the above advice and suggestions.

Playing the ukulele is about chord transitions. That means knowledge of the chord shapes and practicing chord changes... even BEFORE learning to play songs!

It's like learning to type before typing a story or sentence.

It's like learning to use a complicated tool before using it to make something with it.

Think of your ukulele as a tool with which to make musical sounds. The sounds are the chords.
Putting the sounds together ( smoothly, and in tempo with the melody of a song ) requires practicing changing from chord to chord. Once you get some of those changes down (muscle memory, finger strength and dexterity, etc) THEN you're ready to learn to accompany a melody/song.

To Chord knowledge and Chord changing ability, add Melody familiarity, then Lyric familiarity, then Rhythm (strumming). I suggest working on strumming LAST so that the other variables will have already been mastered.

keep uke'in',
 
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I agree with all the above advice. Sometimes I will find another version as well.
http://www.scorpexuke.com/songs/I_Can_See_Clearly_Now.pdf.php
I have spent a lot of time playing songs on this site. When I first started out I found versions with weird chords or didn't sound good to me, and became frustrated. I have been happy with the scorpex ones. Certainly always good to play a lot and improve. It is easier to do that when you are enjoying yourself. Now I play songs from all over. Guitar sites, etc. but enjoying myself here helped me learn a lot of chord shapes.
 
Wow! How helpful is this thread?! I was thinking the same thing as the OP. Lots of great ideas here. Think I'll go try to put some into practice!
 
Thanks everyone for the really good advice.

I'm going to go back to the dummies book and carry on playing the songs on there. It's not what I wanna play yet I think going back to basics and trying to graduate from that book first may be the best thing to do. The uncle rod stuff looks ace too, going to print that off.

I'm other news got a really nice strap for my uke today. It's handmade, white with black musical notes on. Do you think it'll be ok leaving the strap on while the ukes in my case?
 
Do you think it'll be ok leaving the strap on while the ukes in my case?

Shouldn't' be a problem. I do that with all my instruments, whether the strap is leather or nylon. It's never been a problem.

Dan
 
I don't know if it'll help, but i managed to learn a few very simple songs with a few hours of practice.

I started with Woody Guthrie's lonesome road blues in C. For me it helped as an exercise for the chords C, C7, F and G and instead of randomly switching chords, i learned a song in the process, and figured out a lot of other songs by making mistakes here and there, since so many other songs are very similar.

A few other easy songs i've found are Folsom Prison in C, Johnny Cash's cover of Rusty Cage, which is basically two chords, C and Am, and the basic 12 bar blues pattern in C, which can be thousands of songs depending on how you play it.

I just started playing a few months ago but these are the things that helped get me playing a few songs fairly quickly, and are serving me as solid building blocks so far with learning new stuff.

Peace
 
incumbent matstac

I agree with the above advice and suggestions.

Playing the ukulele is about chord transitions. That means knowledge of the chord shapes and practicing chord changes... even BEFORE learning to play songs!

It's like learning to type before typing a story or sentence.

It's like learning to use a complicated tool before using it to make something with it.

Think of your ukulele as a tool with which to make musical sounds. The sounds are the chords.
Putting the sounds together ( smoothly, and in tempo with the melody of a song ) requires practicing changing from chord to chord. Once you get some of those changes down (muscle memory, finger strength and dexterity, etc) THEN you're ready to learn to accompany a melody/song.

To Chord knowledge and Chord changing ability, add Melody familiarity, then Lyric familiarity, then Rhythm (strumming). I suggest working on strumming LAST so that the other variables will have already been mastered.

keep uke'in',


Are some of the chord fingering numbers off on the practice sheets? I'm super confused. For example wouldn't a G7 be fingerd 0213 and NOT 0212? And E7 be 1203 and NOT 1202? There's a few others too. Am I missing something? Please help as I really see the value in this method but don't want to be teaching myself incorrectly either due to a typo or my own misunderstanding. Thank you!:cool:
 
Are some of the chord fingering numbers off on the practice sheets? I'm super confused. For example wouldn't a G7 be fingerd 0213 and NOT 0212? And E7 be 1203 and NOT 1202? There's a few others too. Am I missing something? Please help as I really see the value in this method but don't want to be teaching myself incorrectly either due to a typo or my own misunderstanding. Thank you!:cool:

G7 is 0212
E7 is 1202
 
Uncle Rod's Boot Camp is a GREAT place for beginners to get on the right track.
 
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