Participate in the September 2026 Challenge

[Brian]

Hi Active Melody family!

It’s time for the September 2026 Site Member Challenge! This month’s challenge is to Play a Feeling.

Pick one emotion or mood and play something that makes the listener feel it. It could be nostalgic, restless, joyful, lonely, hopeful, or even that first cool evening of fall. You can use a past ActiveMelody lesson, a song you love, or an original idea.

The notes matter, but so do the choices around them: your tempo, how hard or soft you play, major or minor sounds, open ringing chords versus tight muted ones, bends and vibrato, and the space you leave between phrases. Before you decide what to play, think about how you want it to feel.

Here’s the fun part. Tell us the mood you chose in your post description so everyone can listen and see if it came through. Feel free to share the choices you made to get there. It will be interesting to hear how differently each of us plays an emotion.

The submission date for this challenge will be Sunday, October 18. You can start submitting Friday, October 16.

If you need assistance with how to record yourself and post to the forum see this post

GROUND RULES FOR PARTICIPATION:

1. Post your YouTube, Vimeo, or SoundCloud link anytime between Friday, October 16, through Sunday, October 18, 10:00 pm CST. Please do not submit earlier. I think it is fun to see everyone’s posts at once.
2. Submit individually in the “Active Melody Member Challenge Response Submissions” forum. Title your posts “September 2026 Challenge Response: [Your AM Screen Name]“
3. Name the feeling or mood you are going for in your post description.
4. Please submit only a single video or audio file for this challenge.
5. Have fun and don’t be intimidated! It is better to show progress versus perfection. A simple chord progression played with the right feel can say more than a fast solo, so beginners are just as welcome as advanced players. Remember we are all here to support you no matter what your current playing level is.

I look forward to seeing everyone’s posts! 🙂

[Author]

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