Help Getting From point A to Z

Today I have been repeatedly playing Roving Gambler as per the first video below by Matt Chung.

Matts video shows pretty much where I am at after 12 weeks of playing the Ukulele.
I am reading the tabs/music but I am finding it hard to memorize the strings to play without a visual aid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8wttk4IBIk

Here is where I would like to be eventually.
What is this style of playing and can you point me at resources to help get me there?

I am currently following Uke Way which I am loving but I am eager to find more. Thanks for your time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWJQ85dpV8Y

It takes time. You need to become accustomed to listening to the notes as well as watching the tab. Try playing short passages with your eyes closed.

Like memorizing a speech where you remember one sentence at a time
. Memorize (and practice) one musical phrase at a time. Or one measure at a time if you can't identify phrases.

Standard wisdom for beginners; Practice,Practice,Practice..... and one day you will realise,that the chord changes that used to be a threat to you,are just coming naturally and easily. Love your instrument, and it will love you back!

wab223 said:

..
What is this style of playing and can you point me at resources to help get me there?
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWJQ85dpV8Y

Click to expand...

Hey, I noticed nobody answered your explicit question (including me : ) I guess it is kind of buried inside your post on how to memorize songs.
Anyway, I think this style is Travis picking, where the thumb is playing a regular bass pattern. The key point I remember was that fingers must caress the strings and they need to curl up. I'm a beginner at guitar with only 2 years of lessons many years ago; I'm very new at the ukulele.

Maybe now that I've highlighted your question, more experienced players can chime in.

oh its a form of Travis picking. I have just started looking at Travis picking. I was not sure if the piece played in the second video was some variation of it. Thank you.

I am finding memorising the tunes very difficult. Which strings to strum/pluck and which strings to fret is hard for me. I am only learning short pieces and I am taking them a bar at a time. By the time I get to the end of the piece I have forgotten parts of the beginning.

I can only compare it too noodling around on a wind instrument, flute, penny whistle etc. There are more notes to remember once you add 4 strings. It seems much harder on my brain.

As some said above, I think I need to be able to hear/recognise the individual notes when strumming the strings inorder to play without the music. Then I will just have to learn the tune in my head and I will know how to play it with practice, practice, practice. Does that make sense?

wab223 said:

...
As some said above, I think I need to be able to hear/recognise the individual notes when strumming the strings inorder to play without the music. Then I will just have to learn the tune in my head and I will know how to play it with practice, practice, practice. Does that make sense?

Click to expand...

Music is composed of repeats and motifs which makes memorizing less difficult than otherwise. But, yes, you should be able to hum the music (each note) once you've got it memorized. It is always good to have something in your repertoire, so when somebody askes you to play something you don't just say ... "sorry I can't play anything".

It's helpful to break the task of learning a song into small, manageable parts. So for finger picking in Travis style, learn the alternating thumb picking until it becomes automatic, and you can do it while having a conversation. Play the melody line by itself until you have the melody in your head. Then combine the two.

Play slowly. If you play too fast and keep making mistakes, you will be practicing mistakes.

As for memorizing a song, memorize the first measure, then add the second, etc. Start in the middle and learn measure by measure. Eventually it will all come together.

As far as the finger picking goes, a good resource is Aaron Keim's Fingerstyle Ukulele. I've also found some of Stuart Fuch's resources on finger style illuminating although not as detailed. If you don't want to buy anything, here it is in a nutshell: 1. form a chord you can form; 2. pluck the outside strings; 3. pluck the inside strings. 4. repeat.

That's it. Obviously there are countless variations. For example you can pluck inside strings, then outside strings, you can pinch two strings together, you can disrupt the pattern by plucking any of the strings you desire, etc.

This is actually--in my experience--the number one way to impress people. If you memorize a chord progression and then finger pick through it, people act as if you were John Fahey on a ukulele.

I might buy Aaron Keims finger style, hopefully I can display it in large enough print to read it. I don't have a kindle.

Clear, "sorry I can't play anything". I learnt the first few bars of stairway to heaven. No one ever wants more after that so I should be covered in that event.

Thanks a lot for the replies guys.

ripock said:

As far as the finger picking goes, a good resource is Aaron Keim's Fingerstyle Ukulele. I've also found some of Stuart Fuch's resources on finger style illuminating although not as detailed. If you don't want to buy anything, here it is in a nutshell: 1. form a chord you can form; 2. pluck the outside strings; 3. pluck the inside strings. 4. repeat.

That's it. Obviously there are countless variations. For example you can pluck inside strings, then outside strings, you can pinch two strings together, you can disrupt the pattern by plucking any of the strings you desire, etc.

This is actually--in my experience--the number one way to impress people. If you memorize a chord progression and then finger pick through it, people act as if you were John Fahey on a ukulele.

Click to expand...

Believe it or not but you sir have helped open my ukulele eyes.
Just plucking away without worry, adding a bit of rough claw hammer and some gentle strumming. I have just played two million bars of what shall we do with the drunken sailor (D minor and C). Every one was fun and new.

Thanks!