Boodle Am Shake
July 24, 2008
Boodle Am Shake was written by Jack Palmer and Spencer Williams in 1926 and has been covered by a number of people since including John Fahey and The Grateful Dead. Lil Rev recently put up a ukulele version that works really well for ukulelists looking to get more familiar with chords further up the neck.
It’s well worth taking a note of the different chord inversions that crop up in the tune: the C7 played at the fifth fret (at the beginning) and the 1st position (at the end of the verse); and the G7 played open and at the 7th fret. When you’re chord soloing, you can create something much more interesting with these variations to hand.
In the instrumental section, he substitutes this descending part for the chords:
Visit Lil Rev’s Internet Junction and don’t miss his article on the ukulele and old time country music.
Reading Sheet Music for the Ukulele
July 23, 2008
Compared to tabs, reading standard notation is a complete pain in the arse. For some reason, there are a few ukulele books that use only standard notation (such as the Jumpin’ Jim books and some of the Ukulele Masters series). I thought I’d knock together a short post in the hope of making all those squiggles and splatters a little more decipherable.
There are certain similarities with tab such as rhythms and repeats (there’s a full guide to reading ukulele tab here). So I’m just going over how musical notation indicates pitch.
Like tab, there are a bunch of horizontal lines (known as a stave), but that’s where the similarity ends. Notes are indicated by the position of the dots: the higher up the stave a dot is, the higher the note. The dots can appear on the lines or between them. Each time you shift up a position, you go up to the next white key on the piano (C,D,E,F,G,A,B etc.)
Here are the notes as they compare to the tab
Whether the stems of the notes go up or down doesn’t make any difference at all.
The notes that fall in between the lines spell “FACE” from bottom to top.
The notes on the lines spell “EGBDF”. If you’re not familiar with the word ‘egbdf’, there are plenty of mnemonics to remember it such as Every Good Boy Deserves Football (or any other f-word you think a boy might enjoy).
On the uke, there are two notes that fall below this: C and D. The D hangs underneath the stave, and the C is on a line drawn underneath it.
Like tab, you read music left to right with notes that are vertical are played at the same time e.g.
You might have noticed that none of the notes we’ve discussed are sharp or flat. Sharps and flats are indicated with a sharp (#) or flat (b) before the note like this:
When it comes to the ukulele, standard notation has some serious shortcomings. For one, it can’t tell you which string you’re supposed to be playing a note on (a big drawback since the uke has so many options for playing the same notes). For instance, Example 1 could equally be played like this:
Or any of a whole array of other ways.
Beirut - Hallelujah
July 22, 2008
Zach Condon quite often finishes off Beirut gigs with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Although his version is closer to Jeff Buckley’s (one of the best cover versions ever recorded).
The chords are fairly simple. One thing he does a few times in the song (and loads of times in his own songs) is play the F chord with the G string open, then hammer on at the second fret. He does a similar thing with the G chord. This time the A string is left open then hammered on.
I’ve included two versions of Am in the song (one with the A string open and one with it at the third fret). He always uses the third fret version on the C - Am change that you hear at the beginning. He throws in the easier version on a few occasions towards the end.
Kudos to Leonard Cohen for making my job easier by describing the chords in the lyrics. Why can’t all songwriters be so helpful?
Review: Aldrine Guerrero - Suite 409
July 21, 2008
Bandito Tyler Unplugged (Sample MP3)
Uke on Stick (Sample MP3)
Red and Silky (Sample MP3)
You probably already familiar with Aldrine Guerrero from his YouTube videos and his lessons on Ukulele Underground (the web’s second best ukulele site). Aldrine has just released his debut CD, Suite 409, and Ryan from UU (the album’s Executive Producer) was brave enough to send me a copy for review.
The Good Stuff
Bandito Tyler (Unplugged): A phenomenal tune. A stone-cold ukulele classic. It’s played with real force and energy. It fizzes out of the speakers.
The album contains two versions of Bandito Tyler: a solo version and a band version. The solo version is by far the most exciting. The tune is so strong and forceful that the band dilute it rather than add to it.
The Instrumental Tracks: As well as having impeccable technique, Aldrine has a way with a tune. The instrumental tracks are instantly catchy.
They’re also nicely varied. Schizophrenic Snowflakes is light and atmospheric. Uke on a Stick is great fun. It starts out as a 21st Century Greensleeves, kicks into some Dick Dale tremelo, launches into Santana-style soloing and recalls the solo from Hotel California before it’s done. Cecilia is steady and meditative. Each of them a huge success on their own terms.
The Not So Good Stuff
The Vocal Tracks: In contrast to the variety of the instrumental tracks, all the songs are mid-tempo, easy listening RnB. Whether he’s lonely (Buttercup), in seduction mode (Red and Silky with Danyo Cummings and Ariki Foster), or resigned (Ducky Adores Me), it never really shows in the songs. Lyrically, the songs don’t ring true. It feels like he’s holding back most of the time.
Listening to the songs made me feel like the girl who feel for the cock-strutting MoFo of Bandito Tyler and ended up with the limp lothario of Red and Silky. I wanted the same passion and honesty of the instrumental tracks in the songs.
Overall
Suite 409 announces Aldrine Guerrero as a serious contender in the ukulele world - up there with the very best. If he can get the same passion that he has in his playing into his songs, he’ll be unstoppable.
Buy Suite 409
Aldrine and Ryan are currently touring California. You can find the remaining dates here.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
July 20, 2008
Take Me Out to the Ball Game (Chords)
Boo to you, Major League Baseball. BOOOO!!!
Baby Ruth held a contest to celebrate the 100th birthday of Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Entrants sent in their rendition of the song and the winner was decided by public vote. Obviously, the winner was a ukulelist, Adam Wilber. The prize was to sing at the MLB All Star Game. But, as Gary pointed out, the ukulele was banned and he had to sing along with a belching organ. Shame on you MLB. Give the public what it wants: ukes by the barrel-load.
I suggest your protest by grabbing these chords and playing it outside the offices of the MLB in protest. If it helps you to get as drunk as Eddie Vedder when you do it, I have no objections.
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