Archive for July, 2017

Summer Break

Time for my summer blog break. I’m going to make like an African lungfish and aestervate until the heat dies down. If you’re looking for some summer reading let me suggest Jonathan Lewis’s Classic Folk Songs for Fingerstyle Ukulele and Joshua Waldman’s How to Start and Grow a Ukulele Group (available in digital and paper […]

Wheeler Brothers, daddystovepipe – UkeTube

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Bill Collings 1948 – 2017: Friday Links

Austin, Texas guitar and ukulele maker Bill Collings died this week. Collings began making guitars in the 1970s and launched a line of beautifully made ukuleles in 2009. Window Shopping – This September Fender are releasing a whole batch of cheaper ukuleles: the Seaside, Rincon, Zuma and Montecito. You can see some here and here. […]

Jonathan Lewis – Raggle Taggle Gypsies (Tab)

Raggle Taggle Gypsies (Tab) Jonathan Lewis’s campanella ebook is right up there with John King’s as one of my favourite tab books. And he’s just relased a new one Classic Folk Songs for Fingerstyle Ukulele (affiliate link). Which also has traditional tunes but this time arranged in a simpler, more approachable form. Jon was kind […]

Muted Strums Tutorial

Muted strums are a useful tool to have in your repertoire. They can add percussion and syncopation to an otherwise boring strum. You perform them by resting a finger or fingers from your fretting hand on the strings. You need to hold them down enough so the strings don’t ring open but not strong enough […]

Loudon Wainwright III – Swimming Song and Martha Wainwright – BMFA (Chords)

Loudon Wainwright – Swimming Song (Chords) I did Loudon’s ukulele song way back and it’s high time I did one of his classic songs. I’ve written the chords up with a capo on the second fret. That’s the easiest way to play it and without the capo it’s the same key he plays it in […]

UkeTube: Shine, Ben Taiki

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Friday Links: Folk Tabs, Miniature Vintage Ukes

You might have seen me raving about Jonathan Lewis’s campanella tabs in the past. He’s back with a new tab ebook Classic Folk Songs for Fingerstyle Ukulele. This one has much simpler arrangements but still up to his high standard. I was very kindly gifted this two vintage tiny ukuleles made by Cy Tuff. He […]

Beethoven – Ode to Joy (Tab)

Ode to Joy (Tab) I’ve already tabbed Ode to Joy twice: a dead easy strumming version and the UOGB’s group version. This third and final tab is a fuller solo version. For this piece Beethoven nicked Nirvana’s loud-quiet-loud-quiet… trick. So I use strumming for the loud bits and picking for the quiet bits. In the […]

The Big Ukulele Chord Quiz 3

Time for the Uke Hunt Annual Chord Quiz. Test your chord knowledge, theory knowledge and musical ear. The method is as low-tech as ever. – Grab a pen and paper. – Answer the questions (using a ukulele to help you is entirely allowed and encouraged). – There might be spoilers in the comments. – Check […]

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