Course work piled up; deadlines quickly approached, and my ukulele found itself sitting on my self. I couldn’t even bring myself to practice for a few moments because I had deemed this portion of learning as somehow “less important” than the others – which I want to reiterate, is not. When I was faced readings and reflections, practicing my ukulele appeared as lesser in my mind because it was fun. However, as time passed, and my ukulele collected dust the stress over how long I had left it became my new reason for letting it be – my procrastination got the best of me.
Day 11.
Today I picked up my instrument for the first time in over a week. It was not the looming thought of not being ready for the midterm that drove me to it, but the excitement of using music as a way to destress. As a dancer, music (and movement) have always been huge stress relievers for me and it was this evening that I realized that since I have been unable to dance since returning to university, maybe I could use this project as a way to also release some stress. After over a week of not touching my ukulele, it was no surprise that I was rusty. I spent most of tonight reminding my hands of what they had learned previously.
Day 13.
I know the chords, I know the strumming pattern, and I feel good about my current ability to put the two together, however, I cannot seem to add singing to that equation. I try and I try and I try and any time I try to sing the lyrics my hand malfunctions and stops dead in its tracks. Singing was not included in my musical growth outline, yet, I think it is vital to my success overall. The song I am learning is comprised of four chords played repeatedly; without singing the lyrics I easily lose track of where I am in the song. I have tried having others sing the lyrics while I play to get a sense of how the lyrics match to music – unsuccessful. I have tried breaking the strumming pattern down alongside the lyrics to determine what my strumming hand should do on what lyrics – unsuccessful.
Day 17.
I continue to try and sing while playing the ukulele and still cannot play the strumming pattern while thinking, let alone singing the song lyrics.
