Today at Arise two of my ukulele students blew me away! They started by telling me they had been practicing on their own (my jaw nearly dropped). This group hadn't spent any time solo with their instruments up until now. I asked them to play for me what they were working on. They knocked it out of the park! Their strumming was rhythmic and on the beat, and their chord changes were smooth. (I almost cried.) I was so filled with joy at what these two had accomplished on their own. I will never say "practice makes perfect" because perfection is impossible, but you can quote me when I say "practice leads to pride in yourself," which is exactly how my two young musicians were feeling. I promised them I would learn the words to their tune and sing along with them next week.