This week has been my best week of practice yet! I have progressed so much, and I am happy to say my cords are finally staring to piece together and sound like a song!!! I have been practicing my strumming techniques this week, which has made a huge difference in my playing and the the timing of the songs.

One of my friends who plays ukulele has been practicing with me and was able to show me the necessary cords for “Sweet Home Alabama”! The Cords you need are D, C, and G. I already knew C from my previous songs, so I just had to learn the other two. At first I found G really difficult but as I kept practicing it became easier and easier.

I am just now starting to piece together the cords trying to speed them up so they match the tune of the song. I am getting much better at changing between cords without having to pause for too long and think about where I need to place my fingers. I have also been working on my strumming patterns, as my friend Jessica has been showing me the difference it makes when you change it up in your song. Prior to I had just been down strumming, but not that I am using a strumming patter it is making such a difference! The song flows so much better and it is a easy way to keep me on beat and staying at a consistent timing which is awesome!

The strumming pattern I am using is DDU, UDU

I am also super excited because not only have I learned my final song, but today when we were practicing, I taught myself how to play “Riptide”. I was so excited because this is one of my favourite songs and I think it just has such a beautiful flow to it.

My new goal, since things seem to be going so well and that my practice has been so positive, I want to challenge myself to not only work on and perfect “Sweet Home Alabama” but I now want to also continue to work on “Riptide” and see if I am able to get that song as well 🙂