I haven’t played any of the Witcher games myself (not my sort of thing) but I checked out the soundtrack after getting a tab and it’s very much my sort of thing. I immediately picked up on Gwent Flute Song as being a good candidate for a ukuleling. It’s a fun pastiche of traditional Irish music which always sounds great played campanella style.
Unlike traditional tunes, which usually have two or three distinct sections that you switch between, Gwent Flute Song has a number of variations around a central theme. That means you’re using the same shapes throughout the tune but with subtle variations. That was a killer for me to memorize. If you want to cut down on the variation for your own version then go for it. I did that a bit myself. In my version bars 36 and 37 are the same as bars 40 and 41. Which isn’t the case in the original.
For most of picking in the piece I use thumb and two finger picking. But using my index on the C-string when it’s played next to the g-string e.g. bars 31 and 33.
Time to test your chord knowledge and musical ear. It’s pretty low tech:
– 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 the answers here (no peeking).
– Return in triumph or despair and share you score in the comments(some of these questions are pretty tricky, so not too much despair). And I’d be interested to know which rounds you found easy and which were hard.
Each of these triads of notes makes up a major chord (e.g. the notes of a G chord are G, B and D). Which one? (They’re listed in alphabetical order starting at C to make it harder.)
16. C, E and G.
17. C, F and A
18. C#, E and A.
19. D# F# and B.
20. Eb, G and Bb.
Chord Progression
Match the MP3 to the chord sequence:
a) C – G7 – C – F
b) C – F – G7 – C
c) C – Em – F – C
d) C – Am – Em – F
e) C – A7 – D7 – G7
Who did Lana Del Rey piss off to lose out on the Bond theme? She’s been auditioning for it constantly for years and the theme to Spectre (the first Bond film named after a ukulele since Diamonds are Favilla) goes to a guy who sounds like an X Factor semifinalist.
She might not have a Bond theme, but the pre-release tracks suggests she’s recorded another top-notch album.
Suggested Strumming
The song’s backing is very minimal. I’d recommend keeping that for the ukulele and use just down strums (for extra moodiness strum down with your thumb).
Verse: One down strum per chord for the first line of the verses. Then four down strums per chord.
Chorus: Three down strums per chord. (Technical bit: on the first, second and third beats for the first chord in each line and the second, third and fourth beats for the second chord).
Middle: Four downstrums per chord for the first two lines. Then in the Major Tom bit do three for the Bm and G with just one short downstrum for the A chord.
Lil’ Rev’s wife Carol has been diagnosed with lung cancer. They’ve started a GoFundMe campaign to help with the costs of treatment. You can donate to them here.
David Beckingham – Tiptoe Through the Tulips (Tab)
Another tab by the always excellent David Beckingham. This time he’s rescuing Al Dubin and Joe Burke’s Tiptoe Through the Tulips from Tiny Timothy and restoring it to its former glory.
If you’re not an Instagrandma you can keep track of them via Twitter and via Tumblr. If you’re a Facebooker you can sod off back to your minions. Or I’ll probably be posting roundups on the blog at some point.
Ukulele Ratings
Over on the Ukulele Review section I’ve added a new star rating system (the old one exploded a while ago and temporarily took the whole site with it – that was fun!).
It’s a new system so ratings are a little thin on the ground at the moment. So if you’ve got a minute to spare I’d really appreciate if you could rate your own uke. There are links to ukulele makers here and luthiers here.
Tab Requests
I’ve set up a new page for collecting tab requests (using Google Forms). The info from that goes into a spreadsheet which is – I’m hoping – going to be easier to scan and pick out favourites than trying to keep track via emails.
I did not have high expectations when I heard The Libertines were getting back together. But after a storming set at Glastonbury and Gunga Din (quick tab of the riff here) I’m officially very excited.
Suggested Strumming
You can use this as the main strum for the intro, solos and verses:
d – d u – u d –
Play that once for each except on the last D in each section play this:
