The Learning Process - The Mind, Hands and Ears
Learning the Ukulele — Invest 80% of your learning time in the fundamentals of music, the basics, the principles of music - the chords, the scales, rhythm, etc... Leave 20% for the songs.
2025 Workshop Schedule Is Live
The first four months of workshops have been scheduled. Starting with a FREE Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard Workshops.
If you're a LearningUkulele.com Premium GOLD or FOREVER Member these workshops are FREE.
ALL Workshops are FREE for Premium GOLD Site Members. BRONZE member pricing is $19 to $79 depending on the number of sessions.
January 2, 2025 & 8PM EST (2000 -5UTC) - Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard [FREE) for all site members. Register for workshop
Bass for Ukulele Players - Thursday, January 9 & 16 @ 8PM EST (2000 -5UTC) - Register for workshop
Triads - You Already Know More Than You Think - Thursday, February 6, 13, 20, 27 @ 8PM EST (2000 -5UTC) - Register for workshop
Alternating Thumb Style for Ukulele - Thursday, February 10, 17, 24 @ 8PM EST (2000 -5UTC) - Register for workshop
Rhythm, Avoid at Your Own Peril - Tuesday, March 6, 13, 20 @ 8PM EST (2000 -5UTC) - Register for workshop
Essential Strums for Ukulele - A Guide to Ukulele Strums - Tuesday, March 11, 18, 25 @ 8PM DST (2000 -4UTC) - Register for workshop
Exploring Jazz Chords on Ukulele - Wednesday, April 2, 9, 16, 23 @ 8PM DST (2000 -4UTC) - Register for workshop
The Learning Process - The Mind, Hands and Ears
The importance of repetition until automatically cannot be overstated. Repetition is the key to learning. John Wooden
For music and learning an instrument like the ukulele or guitar, it's all about the making the connection between your Mind, your Hands, and your Ear.
When listening to music, we enjoy it at the tempo the composer or artist intended, in real time. Listening and enjoying a song only requires the ear and mind. This is passive listening, and you're simply enjoying the music. This is what we do every day, and it's what draws us to want to learn a musical instrument.
Performing — When trying to reproduce music on any musical instrument, you're now an active participant in the making and reproducing music. The mind and ear are in control, telling the hands what to do. When performing, it's mainly the ear and the mind on a subconscious level that is driving the show and telling the hands what to do. And this is all in real time and at the intended performance tempo.
Learning — Learning an instrument is all about making and reinforcing the connection between the mind, hands, and ears. This typically can't be done in real time.
Of the three, the mind, the hands, and the ear — the ear can grasp simple melodies, basic chords and simple songs without much effort. Your mind and ear have been processing sounds and music from the day you were born. How easy is it to hear when Auntie Marie sings Happy Birthday out of tune. We don't even need to know what the right notes are or the key. We can just hear that it's wrong or right – we've heard it before.
The Hands
Of the three elements involved, it's the hands that need the most work and the most repetition. Just as the skills required in sports — it's the technique where all the work is. Take golf, looks pretty simple on the surface. Hit the little white ball in the hole – or, shooting a foul shoot in basketball — put the basketball in the basket.
The concepts are pretty simple — it's the implementation that's all the work.
The hands take up most of the training time. It's the hands that provide the technique to actively reproduce music. This training of the hands needs to be done accurately and efficiency. This training CAN NOT be accomplished, initially, at performance tempo. Training needs to be deliberate and SLOW. Building the tempo as facility is gained.
I tell all my students that: Fast is nothing more than slow, quicker.
Technique cannot be taken for granted. You have to work on it.
More of this lesson at: https://learningukulele.com/lessons/code/UL450
For someone new to ukulele, start with this Series of Weekly Lessons ⇒ that will help you create a core foundation for future development. And, fill in some gaps in your existing knowledge and skills.
The Best LearningUkulele.com Site Membership Deal
Keeping the Forever Special of $199 and never pay again for the remainder of 2024. Many members and fellow musicians believe the current pricing is undervalued considering the depth of content offered. Therefore, starting in 2025, the price will increase to $399.
Site GOLD, Monthly Membership
Starting 2025 price will increase to $14 a month.
A Monthly subscription is a great way to support the effort that goes into adding great content and keeping the light on at LearningUkulele.com and Learning Ukulele with Curt.
LearningUkulele.com • Learning Ukulele with Curt. You can subscribe or unsubscribe.
This email brought to you by Buttondown ⇒, the easiest way to start and grow your newsletter.