ZaBeth's Ukulele Journey

[ploverwing]

That reminds me that I should take a look at James Hill -- I've heard really good things about him, plus he's Canadian, isn't he?

Yup he sure is! A lot of people here have really enjoyed James Hill's courses. It really depends what you want to play. I like classical and early music, so the Peterson books are where I started, but took in person classes to get the technique (and my teacher does offer Zoom, I have very much benefited from what I've learned from him, plus I really enjoy our classes together). I couldn't have progressed to where I am now without some feedback, whatever form that may take. Online classes that are pre-recorded are better than learning from a book, but some kind of interaction where you get useful feedback regarding technique is vital IMO.

 

[ZaBeth]

Just started looking at the Shipway Music Theory for Ukulele, and I'm already irritated. On page 5 he asserts that there is no such thing as E# or Fb (or B# or Cb). Argh: Tell that to the key of F# major. I know that he's trying to make things simple for the nonmusician, but....

He also could use a good proofreader. That is all.

 

[Down Up Dick]

That reminds me that I should take a look at James Hill -- I've heard really good things about him, plus he's Canadian, isn't he?

I'm probably going to learn on my own, which is why I'm exploring online courses. If I take in-person lessons this fall, they'll be for clarinet or, perhaps, flute. This is all contingent on getting my lungs in good working order!

I just started to play my flutes again too. I’m tired of breaking my head with all those darned chords. I’ve also decided to sing and whistle a lot more with the strings, except for my mandolins.

 

[ploverwing]

I’m tired of breaking my head with all those darned chords

That's why I play classical/early music. Sure, there are chords, but it's not foundational to the piece, necessarily. I'm happy to let someone else do the thinking for now

 

[ploverwing]

Just started looking at the Shipway Music Theory for Ukulele, and I'm already irritated. On page 5 he asserts that there is no such thing as E# or Fb (or B# or Cb). Argh: Tell that to the key of F# major. I know that he's trying to make things simple for the nonmusician, but....

He also could use a good proofreader. That is all.

Yeah I'm not a non musician but my theory is supremely basic, so there are things in this book that have really helped me. Someone who has a much deeper foundation in music theory will likely find annoyances.

 

[ZaBeth]

Yeah I'm not a non musician but my theory is supremely basic, so there are things in this book that have really helped me. Someone who has a much deeper foundation in music theory will likely find annoyances.

My theory is basic-ish, too, but my study of the clarinet for the past few years has opened my eyes up to a lot. I think this book has a lot to teach me, so I'll get over my quibbles. I really want to figure out how to approach the fretboard melodically, and I think this book will really help.

 

[ZaBeth]

I just started to play my flutes again too. I’m tired of breaking my head with all those darned chords. I’ve also decided to sing and whistle a lot more with the strings, except for my mandolins.

I had a dream last night that I was learning how to play Bach on the uke and sing the counterpoint. That's just the sort of weirdo I am!

Incidentally, I practiced flute for a while yesterday and killed my lungs, so perhaps I'm not quite 100% yet.

 

[Down Up Dick]

That's why I play classical/early music. Sure, there are chords, but it's not foundational to the piece, necessarily. I'm happy to let someone else do the thinking for now

Yeah, I agree. That’s why I play it too and, also,a lotta Celtic.

 

[ploverwing]

Yeah, I agree. That’s why I play it too, and a lotta Celtic.

Yeah I'll have to haul out my Celtic fiddle music and see what I can make of it on the ukulele. Hopefully I'll be able to play it without confusion about notes and fingering

 

[Down Up Dick]

Yeah I'll have to haul out my Celtic fiddle music and see what I can make of it on the ukulele. Hopefully I'll be able to play it without confusion about notes and fingering

Celtic music is a lotta fun. I really enjoy It. One can use 2 finger chords too, if there are any at all.

 

[Wiggy]

Yeah I'll have to haul out my Celtic fiddle music and see what I can make of it on the ukulele. Hopefully I'll be able to play it without confusion about notes and fingering

You might like "The Portland Collection: Contra Dance Music" spriral-bound (Blue and Green) books. They are a fiddle (actually, for any instrument) dance music equivalent of The Daily Ukulele (Yellow and Blue) books. Lots of Jigs and Reels (AB format). They have treble staff melody line and chord names only.

 

[ploverwing]

You might like "The Portland Collection: Contra Dance Music" spriral-bound (Blue and Green) books. They are a fiddle (actually, for any instrument) dance music equivalent of The Daily Ukulele (Yellow and Blue) books,. Lots of Jigs and Reels. They have treble staff melody line and chord names only.

Thanks!

 

[ZaBeth]

The summer fun (cue sarcasm!) has continued! Along with enjoying a few short trips, I came down with oral thrush late last week, due to all the steroid inhalers and such I'm taking for my asthma. Turns out, thrush is a Big Pile of No Fun.

I finally signed up for Jeff Peterson's Ukulele Academy earlier today and will be slowly making my way through lessons. I hope it resparks my mojo!

 

[ploverwing]

UUUUUUNNNNNNHHHHH. No that is not awesome at all.

 

[Plonky-tonk]

The summer fun (cue sarcasm!) has continued! Along with enjoying a few short trips, I came down with oral thrush late last week, due to all the steroid inhalers and such I'm taking for my asthma. Turns out, thrush is a Big Pile of No Fun.

I finally signed up for Jeff Peterson's Ukulele Academy earlier today and will be slowly making my way through lessons. I hope it resparks my mojo!

My sympathies! I had a run-in with thrush - yuck! Are you doing the anti fungal lozenges? My doctor also suggested sipping plain yogurt, which I found much more tolerable and soothing. (I didn’t like the lozenges much. Bleh.)

 

[ZaBeth]

My sympathies! I had a run-in with thrush - yuck! Are you doing the anti fungal lozenges? My doctor also suggested sipping plain yogurt, which I found much more tolerable and soothing. (I didn’t like the lozenges much. Bleh.)

I get to take antifungal pills for two weeks -- whee! I'm also having plain yogurt occasionally, which I've read helps balance the yeast going on. The most fun of all has been the increased burping that sets off intense burning in my esophagus. Blergh. That's mostly resolved now.

I can't wait to get off some of these steroids I have to take at the moment.... Time will tell.

 

[ZaBeth]

UUUUUUNNNNNNHHHHH. No that is not awesome at all.

So much not awesome.

 

[ZaBeth]

I've been feeling so demotivated, and the Jeff Peterson course, lovely as it is, isn't helping. I've been grimly trying to get through the lessons in unit 1 so I can start playing the interesting stuff. I know I need to get through these lessons and not slough them off. However, there's nothing interesting in them to keep me motivated.

I know that once I get through this unit things will start picking up, and I'm not (necessarily) complaining about the structure of the course. I just wish there was some fun stuff built in to the unit 1 exercises to keep me excited about doing them.

Gah. "Music Notation and Sight Reading in First Position" coming up today. Don't skip these lessons, Beth!

 

[ZaBeth]

Watching through the "Musical Notation and Sight Reading in First Position" lesson now and noticing that the instructor leaves out important information. Perhaps he should explain what an accidental is -- or just not mention accidentals when discussing playing notes in first position.

Can you tell I'm grumpy today?

Edited to remind myself that this is all good information and that, in general, Jeff does an excellent job of presenting it. Just crabby today.

 

[ailevin]

I'm sorry to hear you are wrestling with so much. I don't know how it may or may not work for you, but something that works for me, is to think about relaxing and reducing tension in my hands, arms, and especially left shoulder. I find that if I am concentrating hard or trying to work through a passage that is difficult, I tend to do all sorts of things that build tension and make it even more difficult. For instance, I will tend to hunch over the ukulele rather than maintaining good posture. It's almost like I'm trying to strangle the passage into submission, which just doesn't work.