first attempt at a real song!

pixiepurls · Apr 12, 2014

AND really trying to sing while playing!!! ACK!!!! I want to do it right so bad lol!!! Best compliment was when I was playing I said "ugh that was hard" and then my 6yo said "yeah but I liked it!". This is basically my first 10 minutes with the song.. am I doing it right???

Tabs here: http://ukuleletab.net/u/u2/with-or-without-you/

D DU UD U is the strumming pattern I got from a youtube tutorial.

<removed video link>

sukie · Apr 12, 2014

pixiepurls said:
D DU UD U is the strumming pattern I got from a youtube tutorial.

That's my "go to" strum! I think it is for a lot of people. Although I do try to mix it up. Except at ukulele club. They don't seem to cater to chunking. Which I love to do.

pixiepurls · Apr 12, 2014

sukie said:
That's my "go to" strum! I think it is for a lot of people. Although I do try to mix it up. Except at ukulele club. They don't seem to cater to chunking. Which I love to do.

I am open to other strumming patterns

I just am doing what the other dude did on youtube heh!

sukie · Apr 12, 2014

Here is an exercise I learned from another UUer...hope I can describe it well......

Take some index cards.
Use 8 cards per measure -- a 4 beat measure.....4 downs and 4 ups is an example....

Now...put a D or a U on each card. If you can chuck or do rolls, those could be added to the cards. I suppose a blank card could be used for a silent strum, too.

Now...mix up the cards and lay them out face up. Voila! A new pattern to practice.

But nothng wrong with D DU UDU either. It's easy and fun.

You are doing fabulous PixieP!

DownUpDave · Apr 12, 2014

When learning any song it is best to break it down into bite size pieces, particularly as beginners, which I am as well.

Start with learning the chords and go really slow, no tempo. It is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together at this point. Any areas of difficulty with a chord progression gets more reps with no tempo. When you get to the point you can play with no mistakes then take it up to speed. Now we hum along with the song as we strum. When that is done we finally add the voice.

It took me 6 hours total over about 7 days to learn a simple song like " You are my Sunshine" . But I can now play it by heart without the sheet music. This long slow drawn out BORING method of learning a song is standard for all instruments and really important for beginners still struggling to just learn the chords

You really are doing great. Very nice timing to your strumming pattern. The above has helped me alot so I thought I would share it.

pixiepurls · Apr 12, 2014

DownUpDave said:
When learning any song it is best to break it down into bite size pieces, particularly as beginners, which I am as well.

Start with learning the chords and go really slow, no tempo. It is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together at this point. Any areas of difficulty with a chord progression gets more reps with no tempo. When you get to the point you can play with no mistakes then take it up to speed. Now we hum along with the song as we strum. When that is done we finally add the voice.

It took me 6 hours total over about 7 days to learn a simple song like " You are my Sunshine" . But I can now play it by heart without the sheet music. This long slow drawn out BORING method of learning a song is standard for all instruments and really important for beginners still struggling to just learn the chords

You really are doing great. Very nice timing to your strumming pattern. The above has helped me alot so I thought I would share it.

Thanks thats a great idea! This one is super simple just the same 4 chords over and over which I am fine with. But once I add words for some reason the G gives me issues but it doesn't when I don't sing!

RAB11 · Apr 12, 2014

Sounds good to me! Keep at it, can't wait to hear the finished product!

pixiepurls · Apr 12, 2014

a few hours later, I think I improved but its hard to tell lol

<removed video link, thanks for the feedback guys!>

Concertina · Apr 12, 2014

You sound great! And you sing very well. Awesome song too.

There's nothing to it but to do it... Practice practice practice. You'll get it smooth eventually.

There are some nights when I've practiced my eyeballs out and I still flub... And there are some nights John asks me if I'm having seizures while I'm playing because I keep stopping and starting hehe

stringy · Apr 12, 2014

The thing is pixipurls, you are going to get better and better and better playing the ukulele, but I am never going to sing as good as you do right now!

pixiepurls · Apr 12, 2014

stringy said:
The thing is pixipurls, you are going to get better and better and better playing the ukulele, but I am never going to sing as good as you do right now!

You are very kind I don't think I can sing very well at all but I don't think I can learn to play for OTHERS to sing unless I try myself.

Tootler · Apr 13, 2014

There's a very clear improvement between the two videos. You're doing fine. Keep it up.

You have a better voice than you think. Most importantly, you sing in tune. Many of us don't have a high opinion of our own voices. Some years ago I was surprised when I overheard someone say they liked my voice as I didn't rate my voice.

pixiepurls · Apr 13, 2014

Tootler said:
There's a very clear improvement between the two videos. You're doing fine. Keep it up.

You have a better voice than you think. Most importantly, you sing in tune. Many of us don't have a high opinion of our own voices. Some years ago I was surprised when I overheard someone say they liked my voice as I didn't rate my voice.

Thanks yay! it is so hard to view myself and know if its improved sometimes. I find if I look at the video's like a month later, then I finally see it. So weird!! Thanks all!!!

peaceweaver3 · Apr 13, 2014

I never heard the song before. And it sounded like a song to me. So are you doing it right? Well since you asked, I'd say yes!

I'm not comparing the tabs to the song, for one thing because I don't have the visual acuity to do that and for another, what's the point of just reproducing what someone has already done, exactly the same way?

I agree 100% with your 6-year-old, I liked it! And really, it took some nerve, going on Youtube and all. Yes, I know people do it all the time. But I'm not one of those people. Congratulations!

peaceweaver3 · Apr 13, 2014

pixiepurls said:
You are very kind I don't think I can sing very well at all but I don't think I can learn to play for OTHERS to sing unless I try myself.

LOL I didn't read the whole thread first, just went straight to the first video and replied. I just assumed you'd been singing for a while.

pixiepurls · Apr 13, 2014

peaceweaver3 said:
I never heard the song before. And it sounded like a song to me. So are you doing it right? Well since you asked, I'd say yes!

I'm not comparing the tabs to the song, for one thing because I don't have the visual acuity to do that and for another, what's the point of just reproducing what someone has already done, exactly the same way?

I agree 100% with your 6-year-old, I liked it! And really, it took some nerve, going on Youtube and all. Yes, I know people do it all the time. But I'm not one of those people. Congratulations!

It's not a public youtube post, it only shows up to people who have the link

hehe!

TG&Y · Apr 14, 2014

You're a brave soul to post what most of us go through in private while learning a song. This particular song is in my stack of printed out favorites. Nice job. Are you a lefty or is this one of those Apple/iPhone reverse image deals? The Fender headstock tells me righty, I think.

pixiepurls · Apr 15, 2014

TG&Y said:
You're a brave soul to post what most of us go through in private while learning a song. This particular song is in my stack of printed out favorites. Nice job. Are you a lefty or is this one of those Apple/iPhone reverse image deals? The Fender headstock tells me righty, I think.

The links are direct only so only you guys can see them. I removed them today as they don't need to sit here forever, hehe. Its a wonderful tool for feedback tho!

Yes I am a righty

first attempt at a real song!

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