UD#121 The Power of the Pause!
UD#121 The Power of the Pause!
When we play our ukuleles, or any instrument, we often use more force or exertion than we need to. This can show up in excessive gripping, held breath, tightened and narrow shoulders, tightened jaws, narrowed focus, etc. Today I’d like to share with you an Alexander Technique inspired procedure that I use with students to explore how habits are initiated….
UD#120 Relaxing Chord Melody!
Here is a song that I wrote for a student who worked as a massage therapist. I had plenty of chord melody arrangements that he liked the sound of, but he found them too difficult! We needed to find a balance between playability and musical sophistication. So, I composed “Spa Song”…
UD#119 It’s in the Cards!
Last year, I wrote an article called “The Meridians of the Uke.” In it we focused on four areas of the ukulele neck which I called “Meridians:”
-the open notes, GCEA
-the fifth fret notes, CFAD
-the 7th fret notes, DGBE
-the 12th fret notes, GCEA
As a follow up to the newsletter, I created some quiz cards. Check them out in this lesson…
UD#118 Christmas Waltz for One!
UD#118 Christmas Waltz for One!from Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek A quick lesson today! About a year ago, I wrote a little tune called “Christmas Waltz for One.” It’s very simple: just a melody, with an accompanying “bass line.” The melody notes are meant to be plucked with the fingers, and the accompanying notes are meant …Continue Reading
UD#117 Hear the Harmony
UD#117 Hear the Harmony!from Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek I like to find musically compelling ways to practice scales with students. Here is an example using a C major scale. Have a listen! The bottom part starts on C and and top part starts on E, a third above. I usually begin with both the …Continue Reading