'Ukulele for Self-Improvement

As I’m writing this, it is December 17, 2019. 249 years ago today, Beethoven was baptized. Since we don’t know the actual day he was born, December 17 is generally accepted as the day we celebrate his birthday.

I celebrated the day by filming page 10 of the second movement of my “Pastorale” Symphony transcription:

Since I started this project back in February, I’ve been involved with Beethoven’s music nearly every day. I must say, I think that’s a good thing!

This coming year will be full of Beethoven as I continue to put out the “Pastorale” solo ‘Ukulele transcription one page at a time!

Let me know what you would like to see from this project. I love to hear from you, so drop me a line with any questions/suggestions or just to say hi!

And…when you’re ready, you can find out more about lessons with me online via Zoom or Skype (or in person, if you happen to be in Denver!) by visiting my lessons page.

all the best to you!

-James

Another “milestone” reached this week: The first seven pages of “Scene by the Brook”, the second movement of Beethoven’s Pastorale Symphony, arranged for solo ‘Ukulele!

Like the first movement, the second movement of Beethoven’s Sixth is in sonata form. Sonata form has three main sections: the exposition,the development, and the recapitulation. Since page 7 marks the end of the exposition of the second movement, I decided to make a compilation that includes the first seven pages, all edited together:

Here in Denver, it’s a snowy November 26, 2019. I put a little clip of the view of the storm outside my window at the end of the video. It’s Thanksgiving this week. Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, and whether or not you’re reading this in “real time”, I want to express my gratitude for you reading this and joining me on this journey!

Let me know what you would like to see from this project. I love to hear from you, so drop me a line with any questions/suggestions or just to say hi!

And…when you’re ready, you can find out more about lessons with me online via Zoom or Skype (or in person, if you happen to be in Denver!) by visiting my lessons page.

all the best to you!

-James

Here is Beethoven’s “Scene by the Brook”, the second movement of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, in my solo ‘Ukulele arrangement:

I had an attack of the “if onlys” this week, wishing the project would be farther along or done, thinking that if only the transcription was complete, things would be so much “better”, so much “easier”….

• “If only” I had the second movement completed…
• “If only” the whole symphony were completed…
• “If only” I had more performances of the transcription lined up…
• “If only” a full talk about the project was ready…
• etc., etc., etc…..

….THEN I’D BE HAPPY!

Have you experienced that before? Been impatient for something to be completed, thinking things will be so much better on the other side? Have you ever thought to yourself:

• “If only” I was done with high school…
• “If only” my undergraduate degree were finished…
• “If only” I was enrolled in graduate school…
• “If only” I was married…
• “If only” I had my graduate degree…
• “If only” I had a job doing what I love…
• “If only” I had a kid…
• “If only” I could play the ‘Ukulele…
• “If only” my kid was older…
• “If only” I was divorced…
• “If only” I had more money…
• “If only” I had a loving relationship…

….THEN I’D BE HAPPY!

Well, guess what? For me, all of these “if onlys” (and more) have happened. And you know what? EVERY TIME an “if only” came true, I was surprised to find that my life wasn’t better. It was about the same. I was happy some of the time, not happy some of the time. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar in your own life.

Here’s the truth: There is no “there” that is better than “here”. Right now is as good (and as bad) as it’s ever going to get. And you know what? That’s the best news ever! Because you can experience the beauty of the present moment rather than use the time you have now to wish for a better future.

So for me, twenty-five weeks in, I’m going to enjoy the process of putting a solo ‘Ukulele version of Beethoven’s Pastorale Symphony out into the world! Movement 2, page 6, baby. That’s what’s happening now.

THANK YOU for joining me on this journey! Let me know what you would like to see from this project. I love to hear from you, so drop me a line with any questions/suggestions or just to say hi!

And…when you’re ready, you can find out more about lessons with me online via Zoom or Skype (or in person, if you happen to be in Denver!) by visiting my lessons page.

all the best to you!

-James

Here’s the latest installment of “Beethoven of the ‘Ukulele”. I’m not sure whether to continue to call it “Beethoven OF the ‘Ukulele”, or to call it “Beethoven ON the ‘Ukulele”, or something else. Anyway, here is the latest installment: Page 5 of “Scene by the Brook”, the second movement of his “Pastorale” Symphony:

After a performance of page 5, there is a brief tutorial on how to play one of the most memorable melodies in the movement. The chord sequence Beethoven uses is A – Dm – G7 – C, moving ar0und the Circle of Fifths like a boss! (If that doesn’t make any sense to you, let me know and I’ll be happy to do a tutorial to explain.) Anyway, I went back and brushed up on some of my video editing skills in order to highlight the tab as I’m explaining and playing the example:

Hopefully this is useful and will give you reason to try the lick yourself!

In other news, last week I presented a revised version of a presentation about the project I’ve been working on to my Toastmasters club. Here it is if you’d like to watch it. I’m thinking that I will be doing a lot of presentations, expanded versions of something like this as the project evolves:

Let me know what you would like to see from this project. I love to hear from you, so drop me a line with any questions/suggestions or just to say hi!

And…when you’re ready, you can find out more about lessons with me online via Zoom or Skype (or in person, if you happen to be in Denver!) by visiting my lessons page.

all the best to you!

-James

The second movement of the “Pastorale” symphony is flowing right along. (Ha ha :)) Here is page 4 of the ‘Ukulele transcription:

In the video, I also share how to play the phrase at the end of page 4 using harmonics. Harmonics are the bell-like sounds that are produced by lightly touching a node, or point of division, on a string, isolating an overtone.

The most commonly used harmonic on string instruments is the one that results from touching the node that divides the length of the string in half. In my handwritten tablature, harmonics are indicated by a diamond shape surrounding the fret number:

I’ve received several messages from folks who have decided they would like to learn the “Pastorale” transcription. I can’t tell how how happy that makes me! If you would like me to talk about more playing techniques that would help you learn the music, please get in touch and let me know.

In the meantime, something that will help you learn the transcription of the first movement a little more easily is the “compilation” video I put together. This video includes page numbers so it’s easier to keep track of where you are if you’re following the transcription. Speaking of transcription, you can get a COMPLETE transcription of the first movement by signing up for my email list!

You might also just put the video on and enjoy the music!

Let me know what you would like to see from this project. I love to hear from you, so drop me a line with any questions/suggestions or just to say hi!

And…when you’re ready, you can find out more about lessons with me online via Zoom or Skype (or in person, if you happen to be in Denver!) by visiting my lessons page.

all the best to you!

-James

Yesterday it started snowing here in Denver. It’s not that unusual to have heavy snow here at the end of October, but it still feels strange every time it happens. This morning my commute that normally takes thirty minutes turned into a treacherous hour-long trek across snow-covered freeways. My kid’s school and the colleges where I teach closed early. I came home and, rather than getting to right away on this blog, I immediately crashed on my couch for a good part of the early afternoon.

Call it “seasonal affective disorder” if you want, but my “Pastorale” ‘Ukulele project has felt as frozen as the Colorado highways. Yesterday I put a border around the tablature I’m sending out this week for page three of the “Pastorale” second movement:

Buoyed by my success, I then spent nearly an hour and a half unsuccessfully trying to put a pretty border around all the .pdf pages of the complete first movement tablature. In conjunction with the “compilation” video of the complete first movement, I was planning to send it out to email subscribers and make a pretty version of the first movement available as an “epic freebie” to new folks who sign up.

Why the border? Well, I wanted to give it a more “professional” look. At least that’s what I told myself. I told myself that without that border, without the “professional” look, it wouldn’t be appealing. (By the way, in case you’re wondering, the single-page handout I send out every week is created in Microsoft Word, where it’s quite easy to create a page border, and then later converted into a .pdf. The complete first movement tablature was printed directly to a .pdf from Sibelius notation software. It’s much harder to add a border directly to a .pdf, at least as far as I can tell.)

I’ve finally come to the decision that the border doesn’t matter. Surely ‘Ukulele tablature of a transcription of the complete first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 is just as valuable to the right people with or without a border, yes?

I think what was really happening was I was looking for an excuse to not move forward. This is a BIG project, and I temporarily got overwhelmed. What keeps me going this week is the COMMITMENT I’ve made to myself and to everyone reading this that I’m going to keep going no matter what. One page at a time.

Speaking of which, here’s page 3 of “Scene by the Brook”, the second movement of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, transcribed for solo ‘Ukulele:

You can get the tablature for this page, with a pretty border included, by signing up for my email list. Signing up for the list will also ensure that you know when the complete first movement, without borders, is ready to send out!

I love to hear from you, so drop me a line with any questions or just to say hi!

And…when you’re ready, you can find out more about lessons with me online via Zoom or Skype (or in person, if you happen to be in Denver!) by visiting my lessons page.

all the best to you!

-James

On October 8, my video series of the first movement of Beethoven’s Pastorale Symphony for solo ‘Ukulele concluded and I took the entire movement out for its first official performance on October 9.

Due to my traveling to a conference last week, I skipped creating a blog post, but faithfully pressed on with the project and started creating video performances for the next part of the symphony. Here’s page 1 of the second movement, from October 15…

…and here’s this week’s installment:

Water Features and a Green Screen on my Wishlist

Beethoven gave the second movement of the Pastorale symphony the descriptive subtitle “Scene by the Brook”. Earlier this month my girlfriend and I hiked to Hanging Lake. This is an absolutely spectacular spot just outside of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. I took some video footage of the water running out of the lake into a stream that eventually feeds into the Colorado River, as well as the spectacular waterfalls that feed into Hanging Lake itself. My thought was that I could have the running water as a background to my performance of this movement. Pretty clever, eh?

Unfortunately, the first try didn’t turn out as well as I expected. Here’s a screenshot from my failed first attempt:

Fact-checking my first speech about this project: “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”

On October 17, I presented a speech to my Toastmasters group, telling the story of how this project came into being. I uploaded the video footage to YouTube. Here is the short presentation (approx. 7 minutes) if you’d like to watch. If you do watch, I would love some comments so I can refine and improve the speech for the next time I present it:

Several minutes in, when talking about the history of the ‘Ukulele, I mis-spoke, which led a viewer to comment:

The person who left the comment is absolutely right: Tiny Tim didn’t “create” his most famous song, released in 1968. It is actually a cover of a song originally published in 1929! So there you have it!

A Big “Thank You”

I love to hear from you, so drop me a line with any questions or just to say hi!

And…when you’re ready, you can find out more about lessons with me online via Zoom or Skype (or in person, if you happen to be in Denver!) by visiting my lessons page.

all the best to you!

-James

Yesterday (Monday, October 7, 2019), the final video for the first movement of the Beethoven Pastorale ‘Ukulele solo transcription was filmed. You can see a performance of the final two pages of Movement 1 in the latest episode of Beethoven of the ‘Ukulele. In the video you can also see some rehearsal footage from last Saturday:

Tomorrow (Wednesday, October 9) marks another milestone-the first time I perform the first movement live.

The idea for this project came into my head on February 7, 2019. At that point there was nothing. As of today (10/8/19) here are some results–Some things that didn’t exist in the world before:

1. Three Transcriptions, and another possibly on the Way

I started transcribing the Pastorale on February 13 and finished on May 3. Since I was accustomed to transcribing a page of Beethoven a day, I immediately started on an ‘Ukulele version of the FIFTH symphony. That transcription was finished on July 31. During that time I also transcribed the second movement from the Pathetique sonata. The second movement of the Pathetique will be recorded and perhaps performed before the year is out. I don’t know about the Fifth.

I did have a “wild hair” thought today: If I start tomorrow, I can finish the SEVENTH symphony in 84 days, on December 31, 2019. Three Beethoven symphonies in one year? Sounds intriguing, but we’ll see.

2. An email list!

This project marks the first time I have attempted to create an email distribution list. I started the list in June of 2019 to send out one page of the “Pastorale” ‘Ukulele transcription each week to anyone interested in learning how to play the piece. As of today (10/8/19), 116 folks subscribe to this list. That means that there are at least 116 people in the world as crazy as me. If you are subscribed already, thank you! If not, what are you waiting for? Sign up here.

3. A video series on YouTube!

In June I also started putting out videos with a performance of a new page of the Pastorale score every week. This has helped the Ukulele for Self-Improvement channel grow from 26 subscribers to 103 as of October 8. Since then nineteen videos related to this project have been released and these videos have a cumulative total of almost 3,000 views. If you haven’t yet, visit the Ukulele for Self-Improvement YouTube channel and hit the “subscribe” button.

4. Four Live Performances of the First Movement Lined Up So Far

I’ve already performed the first movement once, for my Music Appreciation class at Front Range Community College. In addition to the performance happening tomorrow at Regis University, I will be performing it at least twice more, as part of concerts I am presenting on November 16 and December 14. Maybe more opportunities will pop up before the year is out, who knows?

It’s been nice to sit back and reflect on what’s been created so far, but no rest for me: A performance tomorrow and then it’s time to get started on the first video for the SECOND movement! Are you interested to see what happens next? Me too!

I love to hear from you, so drop me a line with any questions or just to say hi!

And…when you’re ready, you can find out more about lessons with me online via Zoom or Skype (or in person, if you happen to be in Denver!) by visiting my lessons page.

Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure!

all the best to you!

-James

The first movement is almost done! In this episode of “Beethoven of the ‘Ukulele” you can see and hear pages 17 and 18 of the transcription performed:

Last week I discussed some of the ways this project has made me a better ‘Uke player. A big project like this is not just good for sharpening one’s musical abilities. It also can carry over into other areas of life. Maybe the most important “life lesson” I’ve learned so far is this:

A decision sets the wheels in motion, but you have to re-decide every day.

When I embarked on this project in February, I thought that making a firm decision was enough. I thought that once I had decided, all I had to do was show up for the work every day.

I didn’t count on the days when I didn’t feel up to it because I was tired or wanted to do something else I thought might be more fun.

I didn’t count on the days when something unexpected (and maybe “important”) happened and my brain served up a very rational argument for why it would be okay to not do the work.

I didn’t count on the days when I would doubt whether the project was worth anything and wonder whether anyone would miss it if I went ahead and pulled the plug.

A large project like this is a test of commitment. And you can’t commit just once and be done with it. You have to commit over and over. Even now, after so many weeks of being “in the groove” and consistently putting out a video and a blog post every Tuesday, after sending out a weekly message to my wonderful email subscribers…

Even now, when a new week comes around and it’s time to do the work, I’m sometimes tempted to blow it off. To give myself a “free pass”. To allow myself to believe it doesn’t matter…

…But it does matter. Because I’ve decided it does. Again and again and again.

I love to hear from you, so drop me a line with any questions or just to say hi!

And…when you’re ready, you can find out more about lessons with me online via Zoom or Skype (or in person, if you happen to be in Denver!) by visiting my lessons page.

Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure!

all the best to you!

-James

We’re into the home stretch of the ‘Ukulele transcription of the first movement of Beethoven’s Pastorale Symphony! Here’s a video of pages 16 and 17 of the symphony:

Being so close to a big milestone like this gives me a chance to pause and reflect on how taking on this project has made me a better player. Here are five things that come to mind:

1. A stronger awareness that the ‘Ukulele is up to almost any musical task!

This is not exactly a revelation for those of us who love this tiny instrument, but perhaps comes as a surprise to folks who consider the ‘Uke a toy only suitable for strumming accompaniments to Hawaiian songs, novelty tunes or pop covers by the latest YouTube teen sensation. (Speaking of which, here’s a blast from the past.)

‘Ukuleles are indeed capable of “holding their own” in any style of music, including a solo transcription of an entire Beethoven symphony!

2. Note reading on the ‘Ukulele has become MUCH easier.

To be fair, my background as a classical guitarist means that I am very familiar with reading notes. However, when I first started playing the ‘Ukulele, I found myself “translating” the ‘Ukulele’s notes from what I knew about guitar. In other words, I was treating the ‘Ukulele as a small transposing guitar rather than an instrument in its own right with its own unique tuning.

After spending several months mapping Beethoven’s notes onto the ‘Ukulele fingerboard, I have crossed over into thinking in “native ‘Ukulele” rather than converting from guitar. There is a level of familiarity with the entire ‘Ukulele fingerboard (all 19 frets of it on my concert ‘Uke) which simply didn’t exist for me eight months ago.

3. A new, more comprehensive understanding of chord shapes and chord forms.

Closely related to a better understanding of note reading is a much better grasp of the chord shapes, or chord voicings, for major, minor, 7th and diminished chords and where they are found on the ‘Uke. I am much more comfortable with the inversions of these chords up and down the fingerboard. For a little more detailed discussion about how you might apply this, see my post about movable triads.

This skill has spilled over into other arrangements I create. Being familiar with the chord shapes has allowed me to create chord-melody arrangements much faster, sometimes instantly!

4. Scales, scales and more scales

The Pastorale symphony is full of scale passages, so there is the opportunity to practice playing melodies in several different ways:

• As traditional “linear” scale and arpeggio forms.
• With the notes arranged “Campanella” style. (Here’s a discussion of campanella tetrachords).
• With the melody harmonized in thirds. (You can read more about thirds here.)

I’m much more comfortable with these three approaches, and can switch between them without a lot of effort, thanks to the work I did with the Beethoven!

5. A Free, Agile, Coordinated Thumb

I made the decision to use my thumb exclusively to play the Pastorale.

Could I have used my fingers as well? Of course. If you decide to play the transcription you might consider employing the fingers along with the thumb. Heck, it might even be easier.

Even though it was a challenge, I think there are several benefits to a “thumb-only” approach, including:

• Greater control over the volume of my thumb. It is much easier now to use the thumb to play at ANY volume level.
• More agility when crossing strings.
• A warmer tone (because I use the pad of my thumb) with the option to change to a “nail” sound with a sharper attack.
• No complications or indecision arising from the many possible options available when playing with the thumb and the fingers.
• No need to use a strap. On my concert Uke it is easy to support the instrument with the right-hand fingers while the thumb plays. You can see this in any of the videos where I am standing while I play.

In addition to becoming a better ‘Ukulele player, there are a lot of LIFE benefits I’ve gained so far from this project. I will talk about them a little more in the next installment of this blog.

In the meantime, I love to hear from you, so drop me a line with any questions or just to say hi!

And…If you would like to work with me and take your playing to the next level, you can find out more about lessons online via Zoom or Skype (or in person, if you happen to be in Denver) by visiting my lessons page.

Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure!

all the best to you!

-James