Tag: strumming

Free Inquiry 8: Reading Break!

This week, I decided to just play a bit, and take a step back from always trying to find new technology to use and explore and go back to just playing to enjoy it. This has always been important to me when I have been forced to learn something or practice something specific (either of my own choices, such as this project, or because I am having to play and learn specific pieces for my undergrad studies) It is not a negative thing, but if you do something only because you have to, and not because you want to you will eventually resent it and burn out. The whole point of this inquiry is to learn something new and enjoy doing something within the hectic world of the program, and so I chose to just play to enjoy it.

Through this entire semester I have been using websites to provide chords to songs I want to play. The websites I have used most frequently are https://www.ukulele-tabs.com/ and https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ The ladder is great because it has guitar and ukulele, so it offers more advantages to learners if they want to learn both instruments!

Playing-wise, I just played some songs through, practiced some strumming patterns and practiced really slow chord changes, aiming for precision. Taking a step back sometimes is really what is best for us in the long run, and I am glad reading break gave me that time.

Free Inquiry Week 2: Ukulele

This week I changed the tuning of my ukulele. In my (very) limited experience before this project I had it tuned in D, so I decided to now play in C. Though for younger students, tuning in the key of D is better, as it is higher and their voices haven’t changed, I chose to use C because it opens up choices for future students (and myself now!) to have more opportunities and choices in what they may want to learn as part of their education. More choices for them to discover gives them more ownership of their education and keeps them engaged because they can choose to learn songs they enjoy already.

As for me, I am learning new chords and trying to find some songs to play! I have been using mainly C, A, A minor, G and G7, and just working through transitioning between those chords, focusing on fluency and accuracy. I find the strumming in pattern and changing chords at the right time awkward, but it’s early still!