Tides and Scales (but not in the ocean): Learning Project Week 3

We're already nearly at the midway point of this Learning Project! I can't believe it, though I do know a lot more about the ukulele than I did a few weeks ago. Here is a quick update on my progress:

This week, my goals were to use TikTok as an online learning source and to try some scales. One disclaimer: I downloaded TikTok for the first time a couple months ago and use it maybe once every couple weeks to look up specific accounts or posts, and therefore am not an expert on TikTok at all! However, I did find that there are some pros and cons about learning from TikTok, especially compared to YouTube. 

I started with a general search of "ukulele tutorial" on TikTok, and found some beginner songs. My favourite was a 15 second tutorial for how to play Riptide by Vance Joy, posted by Gabrielle Johnson Music. What I really liked about this tutorial was that she got straight to the point, without some of the preamble that is often present in YouTube video tutorials. She also clearly laid out the strumming pattern and demonstrated the rhythm, which helped me learn the song by playing it along with her. Luckily, this song used three chords that I had learned previously. One downside about this kind of quick TikTok tutorial is that it is difficult to learn the chords, and I don't think I would have liked this quick teaching style if I were learning new chords.

After a few more searches, I found it a bit more difficult to find specific tutorials on TikTok compared to YouTube, though maybe I did not search specifically enough. I therefore moved over to YouTube to work on the second half of this week's goals: scales!

I watched the video below by Marco Cirillo Ukulele, and was surprised to see him plucking the strings. I expected ukulele scales to use chords, but I decided that it would be cool to learn the scale with plucking anyway and that I can focus more on chords in future weeks instead.

I chose to learn the first scale demonstrated in the video, which was C major. This video exemplifies the type of preamble that I did not miss when learning from TikTok. However, I do like that it is easy to skip over small sections of the video or to scroll ahead to the relevant parts of the video on YouTube. One other part of this video that I did not like as much was how quickly Marco Cirillo went when teaching the scale itself. Again, YouTube luckily has a great function where you can watch the video at slower or faster speeds, and I was eventually able to pick up the pattern for the scale at 0.25% speed. 

I was away during the long weekend, so I did not have as much time to work on these scales as I would have liked. I learned the notes, but my plucking technique is not where it should be yet to play this scale. At least I now have a head start on plucking practice when I learn more about it in future weeks.

Ultimately, I am happy that I learned a bit about plucking, a new strumming pattern, a new song, and the notes to pluck out a C major scale, and I look forward to focusing a bit more on some of these skills in future weeks!

Summary of what I learned this week

- TikTok tutorials are quick and to the point, but YouTube is user-friendly and allows me to easily skip ahead a few seconds and watch at different speeds. So far, I prefer YouTube as a digital learning platform.

- A new strumming pattern (down, down, up, down, up)

- A new song (Riptide)

- C major scale, with beginning string plucking technique

Goals for next week

- Try a new online learning source, like Pinterest, or a personal blog

- Practice plucking and work on different songs

- Learn more chords (I currently know C, F, G7, Am)

- Tighten my string that refuses to hold its tune!

Thanks for following along on my learning journey! I'd love to hear any tips or feedback you have in the comments! 

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