I can't help but wonder if one of the things that holds budding uke players back from becoming better players is the memes that are unwittingly passed on to us about learning any instrument.
It starts with adults (who have usually never touched an instrument in their lives) when we're kids. The old "you have to practice really hard for a long time" with the demand "you have to practice every day". In other words,adults try to turn something that's supposed to be joyful into drudgery and a chore.
Then as we go towards adulthood,we adopt different musicians as role models,the ones that we think "If I could play like _____,I'd be really good!" Now there's nothing wrong with having role models or goals to work towards in our playing. However, often times our inner critic gets involved right at this point,and starts messing with our Artistic Self. One big red flag your inner critic is messing with you is when you think you need to be an "expert" in your playing. That you should play perfectly,because your role model,you're told in your head,never screws up. Yeah,right. Our role models,who ever they may be,struggled with learning chords,learning to tune,memorizing songs and playing them well just as every beginning musician does!
The way of learning an instrument should be to simply love what you're playing,get lost in the love of the doing,and let the expertise take care of itself. In this way,an amazing exchange of energies starts to emerge,between musician and instrument. The musician,whether they're aware of it or not,sends energy into their instrument while playing it. The instrument,thru sound vibrations,takes the energy,magnifies it,and sends it back to the musician. However,it doesn't stop there. That energy also sends a powerful ripple into the room the musician is in,thru the house or building they're in,thru the walls,to the outside world,and ultimately,to the Universe itself. So every time we play,we're doing this cosmic dance with all of creation thru making sound! This is a great thing and a gift to be shared. Often,part of my morning self care involves playing one of my instruments for about half an hour. It doesn't replace meditation,but can become a form of meditation in itself.
It's wonderful to start the day having already played some instead of what I used to do. I carried a meme from childhood for decades....remember the "no playing until the chores & homework are done" routine? I had continued this outdated programming into my adult life for years. House work replaced homework,I put other things needlessly in front of my playing music....things that could've waited for an hour with no problem. Like doing dishes,for example. Or tidying up a room.
If you wish,as an experiment try starting off your day playing music while having your morning smoothie or coffee. Even if you play for 15 min,you're starting your day in a wonderful way!
It starts with adults (who have usually never touched an instrument in their lives) when we're kids. The old "you have to practice really hard for a long time" with the demand "you have to practice every day". In other words,adults try to turn something that's supposed to be joyful into drudgery and a chore.
Then as we go towards adulthood,we adopt different musicians as role models,the ones that we think "If I could play like _____,I'd be really good!" Now there's nothing wrong with having role models or goals to work towards in our playing. However, often times our inner critic gets involved right at this point,and starts messing with our Artistic Self. One big red flag your inner critic is messing with you is when you think you need to be an "expert" in your playing. That you should play perfectly,because your role model,you're told in your head,never screws up. Yeah,right. Our role models,who ever they may be,struggled with learning chords,learning to tune,memorizing songs and playing them well just as every beginning musician does!
The way of learning an instrument should be to simply love what you're playing,get lost in the love of the doing,and let the expertise take care of itself. In this way,an amazing exchange of energies starts to emerge,between musician and instrument. The musician,whether they're aware of it or not,sends energy into their instrument while playing it. The instrument,thru sound vibrations,takes the energy,magnifies it,and sends it back to the musician. However,it doesn't stop there. That energy also sends a powerful ripple into the room the musician is in,thru the house or building they're in,thru the walls,to the outside world,and ultimately,to the Universe itself. So every time we play,we're doing this cosmic dance with all of creation thru making sound! This is a great thing and a gift to be shared. Often,part of my morning self care involves playing one of my instruments for about half an hour. It doesn't replace meditation,but can become a form of meditation in itself.
It's wonderful to start the day having already played some instead of what I used to do. I carried a meme from childhood for decades....remember the "no playing until the chores & homework are done" routine? I had continued this outdated programming into my adult life for years. House work replaced homework,I put other things needlessly in front of my playing music....things that could've waited for an hour with no problem. Like doing dishes,for example. Or tidying up a room.
If you wish,as an experiment try starting off your day playing music while having your morning smoothie or coffee. Even if you play for 15 min,you're starting your day in a wonderful way!