One of my favourite techniques for rut-busting and expanding my playing is to listen to other instruments and brazenly steal everything. It’s instructive to learn from other weirdly-tuned, four-stringed instruments like the cuatro. But there’s also plenty to be learned from instruments that are completely different. And it doesn’t get much more different than church […]

The movie theme tune quiz was popular so here’s a TV theme tune version. One problem: TV shows aren’t quite as international as films. So I’ve split them up into UK and US TV shows (sorry other 95% of the earth’s population). Tackle one, the other or both. If you’re reading via email or RSS […]

Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra – Africa (Chords) It really shouldn’t have taken a request I couldn’t turn down (they bribed me with a pizza) before I wrote this one up. It’s one of my favourite WIUO covers and definitely one of the funnest to play. I’ve written up the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra’s version. It’s […]

Lots of good stuff to choose from for this one. I had to be quite ruthless with my choices to keep the list to a reasonable length. If you want to influence what gets included on here do rate the videos I post on UkeToob. I always check the ratings before I put together the […]

There are some fun ear training games here to help with tuning practice and chord progression recognition. The first few levels are free but you have to pay after that. Jontom has an ebook-type series of 3 Months of Ukulele Licks On Video: Day eight in the Big Brother house and the housemeeyates are hoeing […]

Kermit the Frog – Rainbow Connection (Tab) I’ve been meaning to do an instrumental version of this Muppet song (written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher) for ages. It’s a lovely little tune and I’ve kept things as simple as I could. After the intro, there’s no fancy picking at all. It’s all done with […]

I decided to nick IanReentrant’s idea of a ukulele film theme quiz. Listen to each of the clips below (you might need to head over to the blog if you’re reading via email or RSS) and name the film it’s from (each is either the theme of a film or a tune from a film). […]

Mike Love – No Regrets (Chords) The Beach Boys may have released a ukulele song but it’s another Mike Love that has prompted a batch of tab requests. And I didn’t have any hesitation in fulfilling them. It’s an instantly likeable song and there are plenty of interesting uke tricks going on. It uses a […]

As well as the usual bedroom strumming, this week’s post includes LP at the Grammy museum, Mike Love in Ko’olau’s shop and Ryegrass stood in their bathtub. Full Playlist

It’s quite common to see ukes like this vintage Hawaiian ukulele being referred to as, “TABU ukuleles.” Which is understandable given that it’s often the only mark on the ukulele. But it’s actually a trade-mark for ukuleles made for ukuleles in Hawaii. It was instituted (according to The ‘Ukulele: A History) in 1916 after the […]