Category Archives: How to practice
UD#125 What’s Below the Musical Iceberg?
When we try to learn to play a piece of music, it’s tempting to go straight to the final act without attending to the steps that will lead us to a successful performance. Why is this? One reason may be that taking the preliminary steps seems like a waste of time. For example, it can be very tempting to push through a passage with whatever fingering comes most habitually to us. This can seem to be more efficient in the short term but, in the long term, maybe not.
UD#122 Let The Pinky Play Too!
When unfamiliar fingerings are called for, it often elicits a conundrum. So, I’ve started using a simple exercise which I developed for myself and my students. It’s a great warm up or break in a practice session…
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 #116 The Meridians of the Uke
UD#116 The Meridians of the Ukefrom Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek A quick question: On a ukulele with GCEA tuning, what note ison the 5th fret of the G string? Sometimes, students feel like they need to memorize the fretboard before they can play anything. I don’t think this is true. However, some knowledge of the notes on the fretboard …Continue Reading
Protected: UD#4 Passing Through Neutral: Changing Chords
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