Who says you can’t teach old dogs new tricks

[Olmeck]

We need a hat thread (mostly specific to ukulele playing while wearing a hat, but honestly, this is UU, so I completely anticipate and relish divergence pretty quickly). Anyone up for starting one?

I would be into this. I’m currently trying to decide between a palm or Panama hat from Stetson. Then if I like it I’d be looking to purchase a winter/fall hat from them when the season comes.

 

[rreffner]

My first soprano ukulele arrived late yesterday. TUS always does a great setup. I’ll now begin my adventure without a strap. I’m going to follow Uncle Rod’s Boot Camp book and see how it goes. After a month or so of daily practice I’ll give an update. In five days I’ll bring “Manini ” to Tallahassee Uke Jammers, leaving my tried-and-true tenor at home.

 

[ploverwing]

Looking forward to hearing of your adventures with your new snuggle uke!

 

[Kenn2018]

We need a hat thread (mostly specific to ukulele playing while wearing a hat, but honestly, this is UU, so I completely anticipate and relish divergence pretty quickly). Anyone up for starting one?

Oh great. Now I have to see if I can find my Pith helmet...

 

[rreffner]

My one month report. Well has been a challenging month. My goal is to become comfortable playing a soprano ukulele while standing, without a strap. I can strum chords on the first four frets, mostly... Switching between second and third position chords smoothly is almost impossible. Forget fingerpicking altogether.

I plan on changing strings to black nylon this week and continue practicing. I watch Christopher Davis-Shannon‘s videos and am encouraged it is an achievable skill set. I’ll repost in another month or so.

 

[John Colter]

I only play sopranos and have never used a strap. I do remember it was like wrestling with a wet fish at first but I persevered until I had no problem either standing up or sitting down.

 

[ploverwing]

I do remember it was like wrestling with a wet fish at first

Hah! This is such an apt description!

One of the tricks I'm starting to learn is leaving fingers where they are when they don't need to be moved - that helps hold stuff in place, too, when you're changing chords. I'm still not 100% comfortable without a strap insofar as the neck still sometimes slips a little when I shift between some fingering shapes/positions, but I'm not terrified of doing so while standing up.