When I got my first ukulele, I was completely clueless. This was in those dark, long forgotten days before the internet had been discovered. I didn’t even realise that the strings weren’t supposed to go thickest to thinnest and restrung it. So, to save you from the social disgrace I experienced, I’ve put together a […]

That’s it from me this year (except the usual one for the Christmas uke-getters). I’ll be back late-January. Until then, happy holidays (if you’re into that kind of thing) however you choose to spend it. I’ll be eating, drinking, gambling and letting my servants wear my clothes in celebration of Saturnalia. If you can’t bear […]

The traditional Christmas line-up with a few additions. Including the UOGB and Mariah Carey. If you’re not sick of Christmas music after this there’s a Ukulele Christmas Spotify playlist here. And some excellent free/pay-what-you-like stuff from Fox and the Hound and Ballard C Boyd. If you are sick of Christmas music I don’t blame you […]

S P A C E Christmas by Allo Darlin’ Allo Darlin’ – Space Christmas (Chords) There’s an awful lot to recommend this song. It’s a very sweet Christmas song. It references Stephin Merritt (I think). It was on the same Cherryade Christmas album as that Christmas song I sort of wrote the music for that […]

Instructions: – Grab a piece of paper – Display your uke knowledge – Check the answers here (no peeking) – Leave your score in the comments along with your dangs/woohoos. Name That Chord What chords are these on a standard C-tuned (gCEA) ukulele? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Name That Celeb Which famous person is […]

Jonathan Coulton and John Roderick – Christmas in July (Chords) John “King God” Roderick and Jonathan “Jonathan Coulton” Coulton got together this year to make a wunnerful Christmas album with this standout ukulele track. I couldn’t find the album version streaming on the web anywhere. But here it is on Spotify: The chord shapes in […]

The first video this week is Elizabeth Mitchell from the must-subscribe Smithsonian Folkways channel. It’s full to bursting with great performances and mini-documentaries like Wu Man investigating music from China’s borderlands, the African diaspora in the US, Grupo Cimarrón from Columbia and Ella Jenkins playing bari for the class. Lots of old friends this week […]

Ukulelist and uke historian, Ian Whitcomb has been hospitalised after having a stroke. He’s recovering well and Ukulelia has details of how you can send your well-wishes. Gibson Woodworking ukuleles look very nice. I hope the name doesn’t cause them any trouble. (Thanks to Phredd) New Releases – UOGB Live at the Sydney Opera House […]

We Three Kings (Tab) If you’re on the fence about whether to buy the Christmas Ukulele 2 ebook, here’s one of the tabs. And this is one of my favourites in the book. I love a good morose Christmas song like Christmas for Cowboys and Blue Christmas (I haven’t written that one up yet?). That’s […]

Christmas is the one time of year when anyone who plays an instrument is expected to entertain friends and family at some point. Which can be quite daunting if you don’t have something easy and recognisable to play. Particularly if you’re full of the Christmas pudding. But it’s nice to be able to entertain the […]