My ukulele diary – part 2

This post is long overdue. I started writing it several times but I have never been focused enough to do it. As with writing on my blog, also my exercising has slowed down.

The previous diary entry ended with strumming rhythms and changing between the C, F and G chords. I was struggling with both. Not anymore. Despite the fact I learned just one new chord (G7), I feel much more confident playing.

Songs I learned

• Swing Low, When The Saints Go Marching In, I’m Gonna Sing. I learned to switch between the C,F and G chords. (29/02)
• Blue Moon. One of my favourite songs, it’s a fairly simple part (in hindsight) where I learned to switch between the C, Am, F and G chords. Going from F to G has been tricky. In fact, the book I‘m studying suggested to initially switch to G7, which is more comfortable. (01/03, 27/05)
• Banana Boat Song. Faster and funny to play, and using the same four chords, it took me a while to nail. (03/05, 29/05)

What’s next

Waltz time. I casually played How much is that Doggie in the Window? without a strumming pattern, which makes it quite boring. I joked that, being Italian, Waltz is in my blood. It might be different now but when I was younger it was impossible not to come across this genre, especially during the summer. I find it easy to follow the rhythm, but successfully adding a strumming pattern will take some time.

Creativity and emotions

In May I lost someone important, and I thought playing music would help me overcome my grief. I was wrong. It was too early, as I noticed my mind and hands being utterly out of sync. This has shown me that there are optimal conditions in which I operate well, and that creativity cannot be summoned at will in every situation.

Read further

• My ukulele diary – Part 1
• My ukulele diary – Part 2