I recommend being relaxed and loose with the phrasing in this one. Being on the beat is not sexy! My phrasing is slightly different to Marvin’s and you should play it the way you feel it.
The trickiest parts of this arrangement are where you’re holding a Bb chord and also bending the E-string at the third fret (e.g. at the end of bar 1). You have to make sure you’re only bending the E-string and not the g- or C-strings. The good news is you only have to bend it slightly sharp. This mimics the original giving it a yearning feeling.
Intro: Mostly picking out the chords with the thumb on the C-string and the middle and index on the E and A, respectively.
On the Eb chord there’s a nice addition of an F note making it an Ebsus2. To prepare for the change to that, fret the E-string, third fret in the first half of the bar with your little finger.
Verse: Sticking with the same picking for the verse. The only slightly tricky part here is the run down from the fifth fret in bar 12.
Bridge: I’m mostly using one-finger-per-string picking in this section until the last two bars. There’s a lot more moving around the neck in this section, with the transition between bars 17 and 18 being tricky (I flubbed that bit in the video). Which is the most Radioheady part of the song.
Chorus: Even more moving around here, but it’s less intense.
Solo: The solo takes its inspiration from the bass line. There’s lots of scope for your own ideas here.
Following on from These Days with another Cotten-picking arrangement: a rare White Stripes acoustic song We’re Going to Be Friends. But this is easier than These Days as the thumb alternating between the g- and C-strings through the whole song.
The melody is very simple and repetitive almost like a nursery rhyme. But there are slight variations between the verses that you need to include to create at least a little variety.
The only big variation comes in the bridge section where they go far out and include a fourth chord. But you’re still picking the same basic patterns.
A bunch of ukulele groups have been doing great work raising money to aid Ukraine. If you want to give some direct help, give some support to Kharkiv-based ukers Alcohol Ukulele.
Inevitably, NFTs have hit the ukulele world in form of UkeHeads. Like most NFTs, they’re hideous, procedurally generated monstrosities. But they do give you a chance to play on James Hill’s next album.
A massive thanks to all Uke Hunt’s Patreon backers for keeping the site up and running this month. And double thanks go to these legendary patrons of the arts:
– Arthur Foley
– Colleen Petticrew
– Dan
– Elizabeth Beardsley
– Fi Keane
– Jameson Gagnepain
– Jeff K
– Jon Kenniston
– Kelby Green
– Kie77
– Leia-lee Doran
– Lisa Johnson
– Monika Kolodziejczyk
– Moses Kamai
– Nick Parsons
– Pat Weikle
– Pauline LeBlanc
– Robert
– T S
– Thorsten Neff
The intro is by far the trickiest part of the song. There are a bunch of chord stabs and some tasty licks.
The melody line is exceptionally straight-forward and easy to play. The only interesting part is the bluesy “Listen to me” at the end of the verse (bar 28). And I’ve thrown in a couple of licks inspired by the bass in bar 20 and at the end of the choruses.
Lead singer of The Darkness, Justin Hawkins’s YouTube channel is well worth a follow. Loads of insider insights into the music industry, touring and the rock and roll lifestyle.
One Love first came out in a ska version in 1965. But my arrangement is based on the later, more laid-back and more famous reggae version. You might have noticed that good-time island vibes and togetherness are not my métier. So I’m sure you can improve on my version.
I love the mix of textures on this track. Particularly the sharp guitar stabs, the rinky-dink piano and Marley’s smooth vocals. I’ve tried to include those in this arrangement as much as I can.
But the song was written by Jackson Browne and first released by Nico. This arrangement is based on Nico’s version rather the more laid-back Jackson Browne version version. I couldn’t resist playing the Cotton picking guitar of the Nico version (played by Browne himself) on the ukulele. Which is a pain in the arse.
Intro: Setting up the cotton picking pattern along with the thumb alternating between the g- and C-strings, the index finger picking the E-string and the middle A.
Except in bars 1 and 3 you start on the g-string and in the others you’re starting on the C-string. I’ve done to complete the descending line on the g-string. That run goes C-B-A-G in the first bar and needs the F on the C-string to finish it off.
Verse: Some more switching of the pattern in this section. This time it’s because some of the melody notes go low enough to fall on the C-string e.g. the final C note in bar 6 and the C-string, second fret in bar 8.
There’s a break from the alternating picking when you switch to one-finger-per-string picking in bar 12. That continues until you ease back into the alternating style in bar 16.
Solo: My take on the solo is a bit more in the Jackson Browne style. Particularly with the country bend in bar 26. I’ve also taken a hint from the descending bass-line and used a descending line harmonised with thirds in bars 24 and 34. The rest is plucking the chords with a few references to the melody thrown in.
Of course, you’re allowed and encourage to do whatever you fancy in this section and make it your own.
