I'd like to thank… but I can't

BigJackBrass

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After dipping my toes into the ukulele waters some years back my life encountered a period of unexpectedly turbulent conditions, physical upheaval and mental health combining to keep me away from the instrument until only a matter of weeks ago. Now I'm actually feeling enthused again and, more than that, actively working on my playing skills in a way I never did in the first flush of musical exploration.

I bought a ukulele workshop DVD (actually a download: I'll not go into it here but my advice is to avoid the downloads and get the DVDs instead) presented by Bob Brozman and something about his manner and the pacing of the lessons really clicked for me. I've started regular fingerpicking exercises, practicing fretting techniques, going over scales, and of course playing songs I enjoy just as I did before. So I'd like to thank Bob Brozman for making a difference and helping to spark my interest again, giving me enough direction to allow enjoyment of progress without feeling that I'm buried under a workload. Of course, I can't thank him directly, it's too late for that, but part of his legacy is to still be inspiring would-be musicians like me, and that means a lot.

Likewise, I'm almost half a century too late to thank Cliff Edwards, whose seemingly effortless playing and wonderful showmanship continue to entertain and delight me. I started playing the ukulele because I love the sound and many of the old songs it helped bring to life: nobody put it all together as well as Cliff.

Thank you, gentlemen. I'm sorry it took so long to say it.
 
Well stated, Jack. We are inspired by so many, both living and dead, and it's cool that you have taken the time to actually stop and say "thank you" to those who inspired you. We all hope that the turbulence in your life has run its course, and that your physical and mental health will be good from here on!
 
Great that you've rediscovered music, Jack, and found workshop tutorials that work for you. Thanks for the heads up regarding Bob Brozman.

Wishing you all the best for your continuing musical and personal journey
 
Thank you both for the kind comments. It's an ongoing process, but finding joy in noodling and strumming lifts my spirits in all sorts of ways and gives me hope that I will one day feel the urge to return to other old interests (I went from reading half a dozen novels a week to zero, and from being a semi-professional cartoonist to rarely picking up a pencil. Serious depression drains all the living out of life).
 
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I've always said,

"it's okay to get depressed, but it ain't okay to stay depressed."

Depression can be soul sucking.

Laughter and music are soul healing.
 
Serious depression drains all the living out of life).

That it does. It gets better.

I found that for me exercise and music help a lot to get over episodes of severe depression. Both have prevented the return of really bad bouts from reoccurring. But everyone is different. I'm glad playing ukulele has helped. It's fun!
 
I bought a ukulele workshop DVD (actually a download: I'll not go into it here but my advice is to avoid the downloads and get the DVDs instead) presented by Bob Brozman....

It looks like downloading is the only way to go now. Which programs did you get?
 
The Ukulele Toolbox from Homespun. The problem is that instead of letting you download a media file to watch in any appropriate viewer it forces you to use something called PurplePlay. On Android it frequently glitches, on Windows it won't let me log in and on no platform does it let you access downloaded material as files, so I can't make a backup or easily share across my devices.

Their technical support and customer has been hopeless, so far telling me on three occasions to download the latest version of the software, which always turns out to be the version I already had. A shame, because the content is terrific.
 
The Ukulele Toolbox from Homespun. The problem is that instead of letting you download a media file to watch in any appropriate viewer it forces you to use something called PurplePlay. On Android it frequently glitches, on Windows it won't let me log in and on no platform does it let you access downloaded material as files, so I can't make a backup or easily share across my devices.

Their technical support and customer has been hopeless, so far telling me on three occasions to download the latest version of the software, which always turns out to be the version I already had. A shame, because the content is terrific.

Thanks. I installed their downloading tool, but I can't register the computer to do anything else with it. I have enough instructional DVDs and downloads, though. All I have to do now is study them. : )
 
The Ukulele Toolbox from Homespun. The problem is that instead of letting you download a media file to watch in any appropriate viewer it forces you to use something called PurplePlay. On Android it frequently glitches, on Windows it won't let me log in and on no platform does it let you access downloaded material as files, so I can't make a backup or easily share across my devices.

Their technical support and customer has been hopeless, so far telling me on three occasions to download the latest version of the software, which always turns out to be the version I already had. A shame, because the content is terrific.

I wonder if it has to do with your location (region)? Try using a VPN and then selecting a US server. Se if that helps. It's just a WAG on my part. So it may not work.

Some browsers, such as Opera have a built in VPN and I think it allows you to change your location for browsing. Good luck.
 
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