Ukulele Bluegrass

It seems that every discussion I read on learning to play ukulele lists pop and modern tunes more than any other style. Now there's nothing wrong with that, but it's not my cup of tea. I like classical, jazz and, yes, bluegrass. Most of the jam sessions I can get to are bluegrass and old timey. So that's what I've been learning. 
So now I've got a new goal for my Song List section. Since there are so few examples of bluegrass played on ukulele online, I'm going to start posting songs as I learn them along with some of my other favorites.

Progress Comes Slowly

Photo not in the camper but at a friend's bunkhouse

I've been doing better with practicing. Not as much as I'd like, but some is better than nothing. And it means I'm keeping my motivation up.
There's really so much I could be doing, but with training and walking dogs, fixing meals and cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping, there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day. OK I confess. I do spend way too much time checking email and FB. I tend to leave them open so I can see if there's something new so I don't have to actually open and read them.
I'm also uncomfortable practicing, especially singing, when the door to the camper is open. My neighbor only about 8 feet away and I don't know if he's a music lover or not. Most people around here spend their days watching TV. I leave the door open sometimes to get some fresh air and to keep an eye on the dogs when they're out on their lines.
I do want to do more video recording. I've found that even old videos can come in handy. Like today I was working on D notes in the third position on bass. I had several videos of me on dulcimer which were mostly all in the key of D. I had a great little practice session with myself.

Dry Spell

I just went through a dry spell as far as practicing goes. I just couldn't get motivated to get in gear and pick up an instrument. I've read lots of good advice online on how to practice, but nothing on how to discipline myself to actually DO it.
I found some inspiration on some forums. I signed up for a forum for each of my instruments. I check in every morning and have found all sorts of encouragement and good advice.
For one thing, I've tried to set up a schedule for practicing, but my days are not all the same. If I miss my practice time, it throws me into a quandary and I end up doing nothing. So, now I'm going to try to set up my schedule each morning as I have my coffee.
It's interesting to see what other players are working on. I've gotten some great tips and ideas that I want to work on. Nothing is more deadening than to play the same scales day after day. Not that I mind scales, but I need a focus. One person said he only practices the scales that are used in a song he's working on.
I've found some backing tracks for bass scales to help me with intonation. My sister sent me a web site that has backing tracks for bluegrass music. There's so much out there , I should never run out of new things to try.

I forgot to mention that I got the golf caddy for free by joining Free Cycle. People give stuff away or ask for stuff for free on the web site. I just happened to have my request read by someone giving up golf. This was a brand new, expensive titanium caddy. I never could have afforded to buy one even half as nice.

Bass Caddy

I promised you a picture of the bass loaded onto the caddy so here it is.

Most times people put the bass back against the caddy frame but that requires more modifications. I discovered that by turning it sideways, it fit right into the support for the golf bag. In fact, all the weight is on the bag support. The end peg support is not supporting any weight. It just keeps the bass in place.
The rig is really well-balanced and very light. I've had no problems going up and down stairs. The wheel base is pretty wide and sometimes I have to make room for it to get through a narrow space, but if that's the worst of my problems, I can live with it. Love the way it folds up and slips in beside the bass in the van and keeps it from rolling over.

See post below.

Another Bass Gig

I got a phone call last night and it looks like I'll be playing bass another week with the Happy Strings Band. I'm delighted. I even cleaned out the van so the bass would fit.

First Bass Gig and the New Caddy

Yesterday I played my first gig on the string bass. It was a fill-in for the regular bass player who couldn't be there. The band was the Ukulele Band that plays at local nursing homes and retirement centers.
It was really good to be back on the bass. The band did have some problems with rhythm - mostly singers coming in too soon. I'm not sure if they couldn't hear the bass or piano, or just ignored it.
The audience didn't seem to notice, or care.

I got a good test drive of the new bass caddy It feels too light but I have to remember that a full golf bag weighs more than my string bass. It doesn't steer too well since it was meant to be pulled rather than pushed, but until I really trust that the bass stays on, I'm pushing so I can keep an eye on it. And I love the fact that it still folds up.
Next time I have it loaded up, I'll take a picture with the bass strapped in.

The Bass Mute has Arrived

This mute is a really solid piece of rubber. It cut the volume about in half and, it might be my imagination, but I swear it makes the bass sound better! Hmmmmm, now I'm mulling over the possibility of leaving the mute on and amplifying the bass --- It will be amplified with the Happy Strings group anyway...but not at the jam sessions. Well, just something to experiment with.

Dulcimer Mute

I found the hair scrunchies and tried them out as a mute for the dulcimer. It worked great. It stopped a lot of the ringing and, unlike the cardboard, had a clear tone. The closer I slid it up toward the frets, the more it muted but didn't changed the tuning.
Now I have a pickup to make it louder and and mute to make it softer, for practice.
Still waiting for the bass mute.

Cardboard Dulcimer Mute

I discovered today that the cardboard mute, mentioned below, also works on dulcimer. I had to fiddle with it a bit to keep it from migrating to the middle of the strum area and damping everything down. I actually turned in upside down and slid it tight against the bridge. It worked great, especially on loud and fast pieces.
For slower pieces, I found I didn't like to use it so much. I can play softer and like to hear the strings ring on a song like Ashokan Farewell.

My brother mentioned that the hair ties, or scrunchies work on the nut end of a guitar. I have some scrunchies somewhere - just couldn't find them. (the story of my life.) I'm not sure how one would get them over the scroll and tuning pegs and still be tight enough to mute. I'll try it sometime when I find them...
Can't wait to get the bass mute.I won't have any excuse now not to practice!

Bass and Ukulele Mutes

After my very kind neighbors commented on how much they enjoyed listening to me practice, I thought I'd better get a bass mute. I do make some horrible noises trying to play with a bow. I ordered one from Amazon. Waiting for that one to arrive.

I thought I'd like one for the ukulele too. I couldn't find one online but I did find directions for making one out of some kind of clay. Then it hit me that plain ole cardboard might work! I pressed a strip of cardboard on the strings just enough to make an indentation. Then I cut a little way up on each mark. I cut one too close to the edge so I just made a single string mute for that string.

I slid the cardboard up against the bridge and it works fine. It sounds kinda plunky, but it does cut the volume and that's what counts.

Getting Acquainted with my New Best Friend

I can't believe I did this. But when someone offers a great deal on a bass, to a bassless bass player, well, things just happened.
I managed to squeeze it in but still have to figure out how I'm going to sleep in my bed tonight....

Jammin' on Skype

I got to jam with my sister today via Skype. It's not the best venue for duets but it's better than nothing.

The first issue we discovered is the time lapse. We can't really sing or play together since one of us is a couple of beats behind.
That doesn't bother us much though since we discovered that we can't hear both parts at the same time anyway. I mean, who ever is loudest gets the bandwidth. If I want to hear her play and sing, it works better if I just turn off my microphone. Otherwise, she'll be cutting in and out. Just have to remember to turn it back on.
We also get dropped calls. I thought it would be better since my WiFi was upgraded. We lost connections about 4-5 times today. It kept telling me I wasn't connected, but my computer told me I was. I hope the new version of Skype fixed that problem. That one is really annoying.
In spite of everything, we keep trying to play together. I can see what she is doing and I can try out my new songs. Maybe when she returns to the mainland things will go better. She's in Hawaii right now and the distance is a definite factor.
Still, with all the issues, it's great to see and talk to my sister. She's really getting pretty good on the banjo and her singing has really improved. I wish we lived closer so we could see each other from time to time, but in the meantime, we'll just jam on Skype.

St. Anne's Reel

A snippet of St Anne's Reel using my new little amplifier. (My dulcimer tends to get drowned out when we jam with 8 guitars, handful of banjos and a couple of fiddles.)

St. Anne's Reel

My New Honeytone Amp

My little HoneyTone amp arrived along with my $7 pickup. I think they sound great - especially for the price. I tried it on the uke and and ubass. They worked fine on both, but picked up all the noise from touching the instrument too. I will need a smaller, non-clip-on pickup for those two so I can mount it inside the body. The concert uke sounded great with the pickup up under the neck.

But my dulcimer needed the amplification the most. It couldn't be heard at the jam sessions with six guitars, two or three banjos, mandolins and what have you. Now I'm thinking I need a pedal switch to have volume for lead and less volume for backup. Even an on-off switch would work. I'd just be playing acoustically when playing backup.

Timers and Practicing

I've been trying out some timers to keep track of how long I'm practicing. I've tried several free downloadable programs and have to say they all work. I've also used a basic kitchen timer.

At first, I didn't like the programs because most of them don't let you stop the timer and continue it when you're ready. If you stop it, it resets. I sometimes have to interrupt a session if someone calls, or there's a dog "emergency" or something boils over on the stove. My kitchen timer worked great for that issue.

But now I'm back to using the first timer I tried, the Focus Booster. I've found that sometimes if I don't have an hour free, I won't practice at all. Focus Booster was recommended for working in smaller chunks. I read that working for 25 minutes and then taking a 5 minute break, called the Pomodoro Technique,  is actually more productive than trying to crank out work for an hour. Focus Booster can be set up for a work session and a break too.

I do seem to get more focused practice in when I only do 25 minutes at a time. When I tried to practice in hour chunks, I spent more time in mindless noodling instead of focused practice. I quit beating myself up if I don't get in all the practicing that I think I should. If I learn one thing a day, I'm making progress.

Soloing

I'm finally figuring things out. All those years of practicing scales, I never connected how to use them. Now I'm determined to learn to solo, even if it's just a few simple bars of  bluegrass. I've made myself some backing tracks and now I see the reason for all those scales.
I have a free program called Audacity. I just love it. It makes it really easy to record myself playing chords and I can then save it as a MP3.

More Music

After a couple of days under the weather, I'm back on track. I've been paying more attention to my low blood sugar times and having a snack. I've been really enjoying having more energy to practice and play music. I'm even enjoying playing scales.
Today I figured out a way to do a chunk rhythm on the dulcimer. I've always wanted to do that since I would like to be able to sit back and listen to someone else solo. Now I just have to practice changing gears.

Bass Cosy

I really needed a gig bag for my ubass. I thought I probably could make one and pad it with carded wool since I have so many fleeces in storage. It's not quite finished but it is really fluffy. I expect the fleece to felt down a bit with time so I put quite a few batts of wool in there. It reminds me of a teapot cosy. I have more details on my craft blog CHEAP TWILLS.

Super Jam

I went to a great jam Saturday. There weren't too many of us so everyone got a lot of turns starting tunes. I think I went through just about everything I knew.
The bass player came late so I started with my little bass. He also likes to take breaks and sit for a few minutes so he has taken to handing me his upright bass. It's a great chance for me to practice. He even complimented my ubass.
My instrument stand worked out great. Nothing fell over and didn't have to search for a place to put stuff. It was all right there next to me.

I've been reading Effortless Mastery and find it very interesting. It's mostly aimed at jazz soloists, but there is some good reading for any musician. It has inspired me to practice more, since that is still necessary.
But he's so right about the ego getting in the way and blocking true freedom in music.

Home Made Instrument Stand

I've had a heck of a time trying to find a safe place to put my extra instruments when I go to jam sessions. I had a stand for the little uke but the others were leaning against a wall or a chair. I wanted to buy a nice 3 instrument hanging stand but never seemed to have the money. I saw a version of this stand online and it clicked with me that I had an old suitcase. There's no way these babies can slip and fall. It's one of my usual "use what cha got laying around" creations but it would be easy enough to improve over time.
I carded some wool batts and covered it with polar fleece for the padding in the bottom. The upper flap is actually cardboard. If it starts to come apart, I can always replace it with a wooden flap. It's also covered with polar fleece. I used some wooden slats for side arms. I glued velco to the top of the arms to keep them from falling down when I take one instrument out or put it back in.
Most of the fancy ones have a deeper suitcase so guitars and such fit neatly sideways. Mine was a little shallow but I got around that by angling the two ukes in and eliminating any dividers.

The top folds down and the arms fit inside, along with my music books for travel. WoooHooo!

Practicing

I've been struggling the past few days, today especially, with motivation to practice. Sometimes I get revved up and can practice for hours. When I learn something new, I do feel inspired to practice it a lot, but after a week or two, it turns into a chore. Days, like today, I can barely get through a one hour practice session. I try to take it as it comes but the fear is always that I will stop playing.
I also have symptoms of a condition called piriformis, or also known as a "pain in the butt." From what I understand, it's caused by the sciatia nerve and can be very uncomfortable, especially when sitting for a long time. I could try standing up with the ukulele and the bass uke, but not with the dulcimer. Standing and walking do not seem to help much anyway.
Another frustration is that I play three different instruments. I could easily practice one instrument several hours a day, but to practice each of them several hours a day would  be pretty difficult. I still have to take care of my dogs, clean my living space (at least a little), do laundry, grocery shop, cook and do some work. I really felt I was goofing off until I took a good, hard look at my daily chore list. I need to learn some time management skills.

Things that motivate me

• One of my best motivators is playing with other people. I do like to show off a new tune or riff. I've mentioned that I've been going to jam sessions recently.  I always feel like putting in the time in the "shed" after a jam session. I've missed a few sessions but plan to get back on track this coming weekend.
  I've also been playing with my sister long-distance by way of Skype. There are problems with using Skype. We can't hear both of us at the same time but it's better than nothing.
• I love to listen to really good players. That works really well for dulcimer, but I haven't seen a single bluegrass ukulele player. There are tons of good bass players out there but they generally play upright bass in bluegrass. Most electric bass players play other styles. I have only seen one person playing a bass uke with bluegrass players. So I have no one to emulate in my chosen style of music. I guess that makes me a trend-setter.
• Keeping notes and planning my practice sessions. I know this is a great way to make the best use of my practice time. It helps to keep track of what I'm working on. I can get lazy with this too.
• Reading blogs and articles on how other people motivate themselves to practice. Sometimes I read something that just triggers an "Oh, Wow" moment and that can motivate me for days.  Sometimes I spend too much time on the Internet and not enough actually practicing.

Well, tomorrow is another day.

Ashoken Farewell

I've been working on this beautiful tune by Jay Unger. I've been playing it on the dulcimer and it has taken me weeks just to get through the melody. It seems every other note is a chord which can be hard for me to learn.  I'm able to get through it now but not without mistakes. There are many samples of this tune on YouTube.

Song Lists

I know it has been a while since I've posted on here but I have a new purpose in mind. I'd like to share the music I'm learning in the off-chance a jam session starts up locally. I'd love to start one but don't know of a location yet. Maybe soon. Meanwhile, I'll keep driving to the ones not so local

To start, I have a short list of songs I can actually sing. I generally play chords on ukulele since it's easier for people to follow chord changes (even if they don't know the chords). I'm even learning to play some melodies on the uke. I'm adding a source for the song when I can find it. Most of it is bluegrass with a smattering of other songs that we play at the jam sessions. I'll be adding a page for my dulcimer tunes soon.

This is a work in progress so things will be updated and some things may change.

My Ubass

I love playing bass and miss my basses terribly. I stumbled across directions for making a ubass from a cheap 3/4 size guitar. I made the conversion and now actually have a bass to play. It's not amplified yet, but I"m looking at a tiny amp just to give it a boost. It seems to be fine the way it is.
It has a small scale for a bass, more like a ukulele although it's a modern creation. There never was an instrument known as a bass ukulele until Kala started making them based on a baritone uke body. I liked the idea of using a guitar body since I thought it might have more sound.