This video is referenced to EVERYBODY'S UKULELE METHOD 1 by Ukulele Mike Lynch & Philip Groeber for the FJH MUSIC COMPANY . . . Available at local music retail stores or online
Mike doesn't really explain how the swing version is played to make it sound different. I'd like to know that I have to do to give it that different sound as the strumming pattern is exactly the same. Can any body answer, if not Mike?
Bern From Wales Let's see whether I can explain it to you. The strumming pattern is 'Down Down Up Up Down Up', but try to think of it as a continuous movement where the hands moves all the time downwards and upwards with a steady rhythm, but where only some of the movements cause a sound (because in the rest you don't touch the strings with your fingers). It would be 'DOWN Up DOWN UP Down UP DOWN UP', where the lower case letter movements don't produce a sound (and the capital letter movements are those used in the actual strumming). If you do it very slowly you'll see what I mean. It may seem a bit confusing at the beginning, but it's easy (in some way, it's obvious, since to play two 'ups' in a row there must be a 'down' in between!). Well, in the 'normal' version of the strumming, each of the movements, no matter whether they sound or not, has the same length. So the movements of your hand upwards and downwards are regular, keeping a steady beat (bear in mind that this is the way to explain it; once you've got used to playing the rhythm there's no need to keep it exactly so - and, in fact, it's not usually so -, as long as the movements that do sound are in the right place as if all movements were regular). In the 'swing' version these movements are not regular any more. In each of the down-up pairs, the 'down' takes longer than the 'up'. So it would be: 'DOWN-- Up DOWN-- UP Down-- UP DOWN-- UP', with the same distinction between capital and lower-case letters. The swing effect (that is, the difference between the time alloted to the 'long' and to the 'short' beats) can be more or less pronounced. Think of what happens when you tilt a pendulum clock of the kind that is hung on the wall. The pendulum rhythm is not regular any more; it starts oscillating with a swing rhythm. You may need to play it really slowly at the beginning, and it may be difficult to do so. Perhaps it will be easier if you try to get the idea, now that you know what you must listen for, and try to play the swing rhythm at a not-too-slow speed from the beginning. I hope this helps.
El Gos Coix Thank you for that explanation of the DDU-UDU strumming pattern, but you're missing the point of my question. I understand the mechanics of the DDU-UDU pattern but what I don't understand, and I feel that Mike does not detail the difference between the 'straight 'DDU UDU' calypso pattern and the 'swing' DDU_UDU pattern. The difference in the two is difficult for the untrained ear to hear the difference, so I would like to know what one actually does to create the difference..
Bern From Wales No, I haven't missed your point. The explanation is in what I've written, and there is no other (although, of course, I'm likely not to have explained it as clearly as I should). It's a matter of not giving all the movements the same length of time. If you read it again and still you cannot understand it, let's hope some one comes who can tell you more clearly. Meanwhile, try to find a pendulum clock and tilt it, and you'll clearly hear the difference.
El Gos Coix I owe you an apology. When I first read your reply on my smart phone (not so smart!), I failed to see 'read more' note which expands the text. Hence I only read your first paragraph and I didn't follow up on my PC where it would have been more obvious. Now that I have read your full comment, I can understand your reasoning. I'm sorry I got you wrong and for the inconvenience caused.
Bern From Wales Don't mention it, it's been a pleasure if I've been able to help you. You know, English is not my mother tongue, so I'm not as fluent as I'd like, and sometimes I find it difficult to say what I want to explain, so it wouldn't have been strange if you hadn't understood me (I didn't want to go into dotted quavers and all that music terminology, which is very clear, but only if you know it). But, as I told you, the Taaa-ta Taaa-ta Taaa-ta of a tilted clock is the best self-explanatory example I can think of.
Really enjoy these videos and truly appreciate you putting then out there. That said, there's something really odd and distracting happening in the background on this one.
this is not an authentic calypso strum, it more of Hawaiian. no 2 strums in the first movement it only 1 the 2 is on the first up movement, its a sticato movement with 16th
