A Good Starting Point for Players of all Abilities

I don't typically make New Year's Resolutions, but I found this quote from Beethoven a good one to hold close and help me grow in my ability to perform on the ukulele...

"To play a wrong note is insignificant. To play without passion is inexcusable."

--Ludwig van Beethoven

That is a great thing to think about. I do a lot of insignificant things!

As a beginner, I’ve noticed I’ve played quite a few “wrong” notes. As I’m sure everyone has. In fact, even professionals in all walks of life have a misstep or two every now and then.

I help coach the Academic Decathlon team at the school I teach at. I assist them in the speech and interview competitions. Countless times we’ve told them, “If you mess up in your speech, just keep going. No one besides you will know you mess up UNLESS you call attention to it.”

When playing the uke, wrong notes are bound to happen. Enjoy the process. Enjoy the discovery. Enjoy the fact that, unless you call attention to it, the odds are no one else will know, or even care, that you hit the wrong note. They’ll just love the fact that a ukulele is being played by someone who is enjoying it.

good advice, DKayne.

I was up in Anacortes, WA yesterday visiting the Senior Ukulele Ensemble as they did a kind of dress rehearsal for an upcoming event.

They graciously asked us (group of 3 plus one of their own members) to play something, and sure enough I botched up a few chords along the way. But we were passionate even in our/my mistakes. No one seemed to notice nor did
anyone mention anything. We just had a great time enjoyin the uke with each other.


Happy Easter everybody!

keep uke'in',

On the Eric Clapton Unplugged album Eric completely blows the intro to a song he's been doing for years and has to stop the band and start over. It was a live show and they left that on the CD. Once I got that album I stopped beating myself up so badly over making the occasional mistake...

John