My first draft of "The Hanging Tree" from Mockingjay with ukulele. My voice is dying and the playing isn't up to par because of my spinny head, but first draft. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate a pennywhistle somehow.... I think it would suit the song. Hmm. :)
Showing posts with label ukulele. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ukulele. Show all posts
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Learning Ukulele: Mary Had a Little Lamb
I grew really inspired to learn how to play ukulele when watching Lauren Fairweather on Youtube. It looked really cute and made a great sound, so I thought, why not, especially since beginner ukuleles are so cheap?
I have a Lanikai LU-21, made by Hohner. It's widely acknowledged to be the best beginner ukulele. I actually chose and intended to eventually purchase the ukulele that's a step down from the LU-21, the LU-11. Very few know what the difference is between these two, besides white trim on the LU-21. I, personally, don't have the slightest idea, but I suspect that the LU-21 has higher quality strings than the LU-11: the LU-21 comes with Aquila nylagut strings, and I'm not sure what the LU-11 comes with.
Technical talk aside, I love this thing. I'm using the Play Ukulele Today! This is a really good book. It's easy to understand, with a gradual progression and build up of skills. I usually go over everything I've learned previously once I begin a practice session, and then move on to the new things. It seems to be working fairly well, but I'm already half-way through the book and there isn't a Level 2 version yet! It's only been five days! Of course, I'm finding it hard to put the ukulele down, even when I should have been studying, but that should be a nod to the accessibility of the book and the awesomeness of the ukulele. I've done a small video to show what I'm doing at the moment, courtesy of the new webcam I bought for about 10 dollars. Not terribly good quality video, which is partly due to my bad lighting, but the audio is awesome and it gets the job done. Half-way through the book has finally yielded the first recognizable song: Mary Had a Little Lamb. Next I work on accidentals and a new set of notes on the third string. The book is set up so you begin with chords, go to single notes, and then move back to chords.
Technical talk aside, I love this thing. I'm using the Play Ukulele Today! This is a really good book. It's easy to understand, with a gradual progression and build up of skills. I usually go over everything I've learned previously once I begin a practice session, and then move on to the new things. It seems to be working fairly well, but I'm already half-way through the book and there isn't a Level 2 version yet! It's only been five days! Of course, I'm finding it hard to put the ukulele down, even when I should have been studying, but that should be a nod to the accessibility of the book and the awesomeness of the ukulele. I've done a small video to show what I'm doing at the moment, courtesy of the new webcam I bought for about 10 dollars. Not terribly good quality video, which is partly due to my bad lighting, but the audio is awesome and it gets the job done. Half-way through the book has finally yielded the first recognizable song: Mary Had a Little Lamb. Next I work on accidentals and a new set of notes on the third string. The book is set up so you begin with chords, go to single notes, and then move back to chords.
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