Mandolin DVD, Uke Skills, Bluegrass Ensemble

First off, I got the mandolin DVD I ordered. I've watched about two-thirds of it. Every time I go to practice the mandolin, I end up putting it down after ten minutes, picking up the ukulele and playing it instead for a few hours. However, the DVD is great. It has alot of really good tips. Basically, it will save me from having to unlearn bad habits later. However, like I said, I still have a hard time practicing for more than a short while since I still cannot play an entire song.

The DVD also includes some sweet tabs to some sweet songs. I am really excited about that.

As for the ukulele, I am improving every day. My practicing revolves almost entirely around mastering While My Guitar Gently Weeps. I have the intro down. I actually discovered a few flaws in my tab and tutorial video. My version just did not sound quite the same as Jake's, but I have fixed it. It sounds pretty close now. Maybe I will update them sometime. I have also been learning all kinds of techniques that Jake uses that I have never used before. That song is rich in technique. It is not just a pick and strum song.

He has three different ways to strum a chord:

1) The usual finger strum, which was the only strum I used to do. This is used during all parts of the song, though more so later on in the louder, faster strumming portions.

2) The slower, warmer thumb-strum, which differs from your common every day thumb strum, and is used throughout the song, especially the softer parts. His thumb is extended, the joint straight, and only the very tip of the thumb touches the strings. In order for it to work right, the thumb cannot be angled to the left or right. It has to be aimed perpendicular to the strings. That is why Jake seems to have his hand at an uncomfortable angle at times.

3) The finger-pick pseudo-strum. While this is not technically a strum, it serves the same purpose. Basically, each string is plucked in quick succession by separate fingers. Jake uses this only in the intro and the first half of the first verse. The effect is very nice.

Then, of course, he has his two different methods of tremolo. The first is at the end of the bridge, where he starts picking really fast, and the second is at the very end of the song just before the final strum.

The order of the string plucks for the first are: C-E-A-C-E-A-G-E-A and repeat. These are not the actual notes, just the strings. The technique is to hit the C's and G's with your thumb, the E's with your index finger, and the A's with your middle finger. Also, the timing of the C and G plucks is a bit offset. It takes some listening to the video to get it right. You have to make your index and middle fingers work independent of the thumb.

The order of the string plucks for the second are: C-A-A-G-A-A-E-A-A and repeat. The technique is to use your thumb for the C's, G's, and E's, and both your index and middle fingers for the A's. You use both fingers for speed's sake. Jake's tremolo is really fast.

The other technique is in his strumming. I have not yet mastered it. You will notice that in the middle of his strumming, he will occasionally do a quick burst of strums. This is showcased pretty well in the bridge. I cannot really tell you how he does it. I have a general idea, but I cannot quite seem to get it right. However, I will soon. I felt the same way about the first tremolo. I thought it was much faster than I would ever be able to pick, but I can do it now.

These techniques will not be found in any ukulele book at the music store. Why? Because music stores assume (correctly in most cases) that customers are only playing the ukulele as a beginner's guitar, and thus only stock books catered for such. The sheet music I used to learn Gently Weeps did not share any of this either even though it was the most complex ukulele music I have tried to learn. Thus, I learned it all by watching Jake's video over and over. The ukulele is a tough instrument to learn for those not interested in Hawaiian music because the resources are limited. That is why I am eternally grateful to Jake Shimabukuro for creating some serious uke music where such was scarce.

The uke, however, was never my dream instrument. It just happened to be the one I picked up and learned. I love it, do not get me wrong, but the limited resources are getting to me. That is why I bought the mandolin. It has plenty of music to learn from many different countries.

I am trying to motivate myself to learn it, and I think I found the solution. I just signed up to be in the bluegrass ensemble next semester at my university. It is more of a class than anything. They take people from no musical experience to advanced proficiency and divide them by skill level. If I could use the ukulele, I may be in a higher skill group, but alas, I will be playing the mandolin as a beginner. I am stoked.

clevceo

Gently Weeps Intro Tutorial Video

Here it is. The tutorial video for the intro to Gently Weeps:



In case this is your first time reading my blog, the tabs are in the post just before this one.

Enjoy,
clevceo

Intro to Gently Weeps by Jake Shimabukuro

If you haven't seen Jake Shimabukuro's cover of the Beatles' song While My Guitar Gently Weeps, the you should watch it now. It's the coolest ukulele song I've ever heard.

I've been working on mastering it for over a year, but the sheet music I've found never includes the intro, and all the youtube tutorials of the intro are incorrect, so I watched the video myself (over and over for two hours) and figured it out. I've almost mastered it. I just need to work on the timing a little bit on the really fast part. I will probably post a tutorial on youtube sometime soon. In the meantime, here's the tab:

* Slight pause after every line break.
* -- (two dashes between notes) - pause
* h - hammer on
* p - pull off
* s - slide

To get the timing right, you have to watch the video.
However, get to know the tab first because he's super
fast and it's so much easier to see what he's doing when
you already know the notes.

------------hp--hh--s-----------s---
---------1-121-123-36-6--6-5-6-68-8-
---0--23----------------------------
-0-----h----------------------------

s
-------56-----8---6---
---8--------8-------8-
-7---7----7-----7-----
----------------------

s
-----35---5-----6-----5-
---6--------6-----6-----
-5------5-----5-----5---
------------------------


---1-----3-----5-----------
-----4-----4-----4-----4---
-3-----3-----3-------3-----
-------------------0-----0-

h s
-02---------510-10-
-3----3---3-----7--
-2------2-------7--
-0--0-----------7--

I hope this helps.

clevceo

Mandolin DVD and Book

Stumptown is still the only song I'm working on, and I'm only really working on the very beginning of it. I've mostly overcome the hiccup I kept hitting, though I'm still slow and I'm still not entirely coordinated with the picking. I am improving quite a bit, however.

I ordered a dvd and a book. The dvd is "Essential Techniques for Mandolin" with Chris Thile and the book is "The Fiddler's Fakebook." Chris Thile is one of the best mandolin players around and I am excited to see what he has to say. As for The Fiddler's Fakebook, I searched "mandolin" in the books on Amazon and sorted by rating, and it was near the top, I think the second on the list. I read the description and it is basically a ton of folk music from different countries that applies to all kinds of folk instruments, even though it's primary focus is on the fiddle. Since it's not built specifically for the mandolin, it means that I will have to learn the fretboard to play the songs, which is really good because I would probably only use tabs otherwise.

I'm stoked.

clevceo

Mandolin and Ukulele

Lately, all I've been practicing are the ukulele and mandolin. I'm trying to learn Stumptown by Nickel Creek for the mandolin. I know the first bit of the song, but for some reason, I keep messing up on the same part. I think it's because I'm trying to focus not only on hitting the right frets, but also on trying to pick the right string. I'm not used to a pick. I'm used to finger-picking. You don't have to jump around so much with finger-picking. Anyway, it's coming along. My fingers are sore right now, which I'm telling myself is a good thing. It means I'm hardcore.

I'm excited about the mandolin. I think it's making me a better ukulele player. With the ukulele, you don't have to be so precise with your left hand because the strings are farther apart, but the mandolin demands precision if you don't want to mute or buzz other strings.

Thanks for reading,

clevceo

Mandolin

I am a big fan of mandolin music, and I have wanted one for a while now. My proficiency currently lies with the ukulele, but the ukulele was never my dream instrument. At first, I learned it as a segue to the guitar. However, I tried guitar and I got frustrated and fell back on the ukulele, which became, not my segue, but my primary instrument. However, while the guitar was no longer my goal, I began to develop a strong interest in the mandolin. I have always loved fast picking in music, which isn't too common with the guitar or the ukulele. My favorite songs to play on the uke are finger-pick heavy, but those are really hard to find. However, fast picking is very common with the mandolin. Hence my fascination with it.

I currently live in a small town, and I just found out that there is a little music store on main st. I was pretty excited because I love browsing music stores, checking out all the instruments, fiddling around with the most expensive ones. While I was browsing, I spotted a line of mandolins. I made a bee-line over to them and admired them for a while, checking the prices. For the most part, they were over two-hundred. One was barely over a hundred, but I figured it was a cheap one.

But then I saw a big 50%! tag on one that was two-hundred, reducing it to one-hundred. It had a crack in it, but it didn't affect the sound. Needless to say, I was excited. One part of me said, "That's still alot of money." But the other part said, "This is your chance. You've wanted this for a long time, and it just fell in your lap. Take it. Besides, you're going to buy one eventually anyway."

So I bought it. I can't tell you how stoked I was about it. I still can't believe that I own a mandolin. I never imagined I'd be playing it one day. Heck, I never imagined I'd play anything musical.

Anyway, my daily routine was just expanded by one instrument. Now it includes:

• Singing
• Piano
• Ukulele
• Mandolin
• Drawing

There you have it. Thanks for reading,

clevceo

Clev Talent

I have decided that I am a talented individual.

For many years, I thought that recognizing my talents was a prideful thing. I was not entirely wrong. You can abuse it. However, I have come to realize that it is okay to appreciate your talents. Thus, I am on a quest to recognize and develop them.

For the longest time, I have been a computer guy. The only talent that I openly recognized was my talent for programming. I felt that such was okay because it was not a talent desired or even admired by very many people, so it was not something to compare. However, in the back of my mind, I have always known that I have a myriad of talents that I have briefly delved into at one time or another. They are:

1. Art
2. Writing
3. Music

My sisters (twins) are incredible artists, but initially, I was the artsy big brother that gave them pointers. I was the artist in my class in elementary school. Everyone assumed that was the direction I was going to take. It was what I did on a daily basis. One day, I stopped and never went back. I wish I had not.

I have always always had a way with words. When I take an essay seriously, it becomes an enjoyable experience, and I usually get an A. I took a creative writing course, and loved it. I was so proud of what I wrote. For some reason, unlike my sisters, I admire my own work and love to read through it again and again. It just feels so good.

Music is one that I discovered only two years ago. When I was in sixth grade, I played the baritone and my mom told me I was musically inclined. I did not believe her for a minute. Moms always think you are great even when you are not, so sometimes you have to take their compliments with a grain of salt. I stopped playing soon thereafter. I never imagined myself as musical. I only wanted to play the baritone because it was big and I thought that was cool. However, two years ago, I bought a ukulele, and I have been in love ever since. I will come right out and say it. I am a decent uke player. I am learning While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which is a Beatles cover by Jake Shimabukuro. If you have not heard it, look it up on youtube. It is amazing.

Yesterday, I started a daily routine. I went to a private room with a piano in it, and practiced my talents. I:

1. sang
2. played ukulele
3. learned part of a song on piano
4. drew some pictures (line drawing is my favorite art form, so that is what I do).

I took a voice class three years ago and I remember a little bit. I am trying to reapply what I learned. I sound pretty bad, but I figure that twenty minutes a day will solve that problem. It did with the ukulele. Well, I actually played for much more than twenty minutes a day.

As for piano, I have never learned piano before. I think people have tried to teach me on occasion, but each time never lasted more than five minutes because I was lost. However, I learned music theory as I learned the ukulele, so I have a headstart. I can read music. and my fingers are coordinated now, which is huge. Plus, I have faith in myself now. I am excited. It is fun.

I still have some drawing skill left over from my artsy past, so I am working off of that. It is satisfying.

So, there you have it. I am going to post my progress and my thoughts as I go. Thanks for reading,

clevceo