Top 10 Free Ukulele Software Downloads
May 30, 2007
Tell your enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our free stuff.
10. Ukulele Icons - A batch of cute little ukulele icons in .ico and .gif formats.
9. Uke-4-U - it’s exceptionally ugly, but it teaches beginners their first few chords and lets you strum along with a few simple songs. [Read more]
Gothic Archies - Scream and Run Away
May 28, 2007
The Gothic Archies - Scream and Run Away (Chords)
“People say, ‘Do these books have any messages for young people?’ And I say, ‘Of course, it’s one of the most important lessons in all literature. The lesson is: if you see Count Olaf, scream and run away. You don’t get that from CS Lewis’.”
After I posted Smile, I was overwhelmed by a flood of/floored by a barrage of/inundated with two requests for more. In the face of such an outpouring, who am I to deny it? Particularly when I can’t get enough of these songs myself.
Although there is no uke on Scream and Run Away the chords fit very nicely. But, if you’re desperate for a little ukulele oompah action, you could try playing this:
I plan on transcribing more of the songs from this album in the near future. So, if you don’t want to miss them, make sure you subscribe.
Shigeto Takahashi
May 27, 2007
Shigeto Takahashi - Goofus (Links fixed)
Shigeto Takahahi - Peanut Vendor
Shigeto Takahashi went down a storm when he played the New York Uke Fest this year. Michael DaSilva was so impressed that he has decided to sponser him with a DaSilva soprano.
After I mentioned him in an earlier post, Shigeto got in touch with me and was kind enough to point me towards his mp3s and to answer a few questions.
What made you want to play the ukulele?
The famous Japanese comedian Takagi Boo played ukulele. The pure sound moved me and I started playing ukulele to share the sound many people.
Who are your musical inspirations? Which ukulele players do you admire?
My ukulele and life mentor is Takuji Mori. His teacher is Haruhiko Haida from Hawaii. My favorite musician is Japanese pianist Fujiko Hemming and my ukulele hero has been Herb Ohta for 15 years.
Haruhiko Haida, it should be pointed out, almost singlehandedly introduced the ukulele to Japan and was the first person to record Herb Ohta.
Did you enjoy playing at the New York Uke Fest?
I enjoyed playing at NYUF very much. I also performed in a cafe and in the NY street too. Some people just passed without me, some people smiled and said, “Thank you,” to me, some gave me tip. When I played the old American song Goofus, an old couple stopped and gave me a tip. I saw the tears in the lady’s eyes. She said they ware musicians too. I was so impressed. I’ll never forget them: her tears.
You can hear more of Shigeto’s music, as well as see pictures and videos, here
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
May 27, 2007
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Tab)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (midi)
As well as inspiring a gaggle of ukulele orchestras, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain also have a habit of inspiring reviewers. The Independent called them the, “anarcho-syndicalists of the ukelele world,” and John L Walters referred to them as a, “band that appeals to the dispossessed, alienated audience stranded between the Scylla of crass commerciality and the Charybdis of half-baked obscurantism.” No wonder the audience are stranded; neither ‘the Scylla of crass commerciality’ nor ‘Charybdis of half-baked obscurantism’ could be found by my SatNav.
The UOGB’s performance of Ennio Morricone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly appears on their live DVD Anarchy in the Ukulele. I haven’t tabbed out the tune exactly as they play it - I felt you might not have half a dozen uke players and a bassist to hand. This version is arranged for solo ukulele.
The most challenging part of the piece is bars 19 and 20. The version I’ve gone with in the tab is the one I like. It sounds great (I like close harmony notes ringing into each other) and is the smoothest transition down the neck. But it isn’t easy. The fingering suggestions under the tab should help you out a little.
A (slightly) easier way to play it is this:
It’s still tricky.
UkeTube
May 25, 2007
My favourite ukulele videos uploaded to YouTube in the past week.
Taimane recently turned in a suitably barnstorming performance at the memorial concert for Don Ho; with whom she had been playing since the age of 14.
Here, at a family reunion, she is markedly more restrained and relaxed than she is in most of her performances.
Albert Hammond, Jr - In Transit
With The Strokes taking a year off, guitarist Albert Hammond is focusing on his solo career. In it’s original version, this song featured I’ll forgive the use of a plectrum in this case.
Ukulele-Coolia - Tequila
Gus and Fin - California Sun
Ukulele + wooble board = fun.
Arctic Monkeys - Despair In The Departure Lounge
May 24, 2007
Arctic Monkeys - Despair In The Departure Lounge (Chords)
John Culshaw thinks Yorkshire and Lancastrian accents sound the same? Poncy Southern get. But full marks to him for noticing that Arctic Monkeys are the true heirs to the Formby throne and seeing that their songs are perfect for the uke.
The intro to Despair In The Departure Lounge is easier to play on the uke than on the guitar. Not only that, but the short, out-of-tune piano solo in the middle of the song fits perfectly too.
Turned out nice again.
On The Blog
May 24, 2007
Thessaly ‘UkuLady’ Lerner has been banned from her regular gig at Canter’s Deli for being loud and annoying. As much as I love her, it’s not the most surprising news I’ve ever read.
ChiyoDad discusses the impact of the new Koalana Concert Uke.
How do you tell someone you love them? Say it with flowers? Over a candle lit dinner? Hire a mariachi band and serenade them? Or take out an eBay ad for a non-existent vintage ukulele and refer to you loved one as ‘Captain Sunshine’ in front of the entire ukulele playing population of the planet?
There are a surprisingly high percentage of people from Iceland doing Google searches for ‘ukulele’.
Me, Me, Me
May 23, 2007
The gentleman to your left with the scary eyebrows is indeed me. I’ve finally got round to doing an About Me and I’ve upload some of my uke tunes. But be warned, the quality is highly dubious.
If you have any suggestions for the site, requests, complaints or suchlike; I’d love to hear from you. You can leave a comment or send me an email. I promise I’ll reply no matter how sick and deviant your suggestions. In fact, the sicker the better.
Is It Art Or Is It Ukulele?
May 22, 2007
Only a precious few hours left to bid on this beautiful uke from Duane Heilman of Black Bear Ukuleles. As well as luthiering, Heilman also makes quirky, ukulele based art. Sometimes it’s hard to work out where the ukuleles end and the art begins.
Stephin Merritt - Smile
May 22, 2007
Stephin Merritt - Smile! No One Cares How You Feel (Chords)
The collision of rictus-grinned morning TV host and the morose wit of Stephin Merritt was always going to produce hilarity. The look on Merritt’s face seems to shoot the words, “I’m going to set fire to your house and watch the smoldering remains through a huge spyglass.” I can only pray that the song’s final line of, “Everyone you despise will die so smile,” was followed by the words, “Here’s Tom with the weather.”
Merritt and Daniel ‘Lemony Snicket’ Handler have worked on a number of projects together and have, apparently at least, been friends since childhood. Handler is a fine accordion player and appeared on The Magnetic Fields’ (Merritt’s main band) album 69 Love Songs. Merritt returned the favour by forming The Gothic Archies with Handler and recording songs to accompany the Series of Unfortunate Events books. The two are a partnership made in heaven (and also a fine comedy duo).
Smile! No One Cares How You Feel has a simple repeating uke figure throughout - making it ideal for anyone learning to fingerpick on the ukulele.
The best approach to picking this is to assign a finger (or thumb) of the right hand to each string. The thumb on the g string, the index finger on the C string, the middle finger on the E string and the ring finger on the A string. The picking pattern is:
Thumb, index, middle, ring, middle, index, thumb, index (then repeat… a lot)
Once you can pick that pattern without thinking, you shouldn’t have any problem playing the song and scaring TV hosts.
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