T-shirt update: You only have a few days left if you want to buy a Uke Hunt t-shirt. The standard black t-shirt has sold over 100 so that will definitely be made. As will the women’s black t-shirt which has just past its goal. Unfortunately the white t-shirts weren’t popular enough so those won’t be made.
New Releases
– Ohana have released a new ukulele based on the original look of the ukulele as made by the Madieran bunch. It’s called the Ohana SK-28. aNueNue had the same idea with their 1879 series. The aNueNue version looks more faithful to the original. But it’s also around double the price.
– The Ukes in America DVD.
– Post Mortem of a Monster by Zahra.
Pictures
– Ukulele Skull.
– The Hat Boys (c.1920).
– Spanko strummin’…
– Using the uke to pick up chicks.
– A postcard from the Netherlands UPDATE: Thanks to karl for pointing out it’s the Ukulogisch Museum in Belgium. You can watch Bosco and Honey visiting in here.
NPR listen to the sounds of New York in 1930 with a fascinating recording of a strummer in Coney Island at the bottom.
The daughter of Mario Maccaferri discusses why he moved from making reeds to making plastic ukuleles.
Tune-Yards – FIYA (Tab)
I started a new hobby blog today about African guitar music. There’s not a whole lot of crossover between ukuleles and African music but the one obvious link is Tune-Yards. Merrill Garbus cropped up on a couple of tracks on the recent Red Hot + Fela album including the standout track Lady with ?uestlove, Angelique Kidjo and others.
So today I’ve written up one of her African-influenced tracks FIYA.
The tab shows the riffs used in each section of the song (not the whole tabs).
The Tuning
The tuning on this one is weird. I think it’s baritone tuning (on a tenor ukulele) with a high-d string. But that high-d is tuned half a step to Db. So it’s dbGBE.
Standard Tuning Version
In case you don’t fancy making the effort for that tuning here’s a version in standard tuning that more or less works out:
Tune-Yards – FIYA (Standard Tuning)
Here’s how that intro sounds:
The bridge:
And the chorus:
Links
Buy it on iTunes
tune-yards.com
Tune-Yards: Africa in Your Earbuds
Hatari tab
Powa tab
In the comments of the fingerpicking patterns post post Gretchen requested picking patterns for 3/4. Which was an excellent idea.
If you’re not familiar with it, there’s a guide to fingerpicking notation here. And there’s a beginner’s guide to fingerpicking here.
What is 3/4 Time?
Most pop songs are in 4/4 time. So you’d count along with them “1, 2, 3, 4” Joey Ramone style. But there are many songs in 3/4 time i.e. you count “1, 2, 3” along with the song.
Some well known songs in 3/4 time: Happy Birthday, Hallelujah, The Times they are a-Changing.
Thumb and Two Finger Patterns
Three patterns using the thumb and two finger method of picking.
PIMP Pattern
A very straight forward pattern with the thumb on the C-string.
PIMIPI Pattern
Similar to the last pattern but now you’re going up and down the strings (and up a bit again).
Unison Pattern
Here you’re playing the E and A-strings at the same time. There’s a bass note then the rest of chord. It’s something you hear a lot in 3/4 time.
One Finger Per String Method
Now for three patterns using the One Finger Per String Picking Method.
PIMA Pattern
Going straight up the strings. But the first two notes are eighth notes and the second two quarter notes.
Unison Pattern
Similar to the third pattern except this time playing the g-string alone. This example is a bit Beirut-y.
IMP Pattern
Another example with strings being played in unison. But this time the g and E-strings being played at the same time.
Velvet Underground and Nico – I’ll Be Your Mirror (Chords)
I had to do a Lou Reed tribute post. And I decided on this less-famous song because it suits the ukulele well. The original was played with a capo on the fifth fret. Which means the chord shapes are the same for both versions.
Suggested Strumming
For the main strum you can use:
d – d u d u d –
In the intro and outro: Once for each chord.
In the verse: Main strum once for each chord except the first D. Play two down strums for that.
In the chorus: Two down-strums each on the C and D. One main strum each on the Gs. Then two main strums on the Am, one on the C and end on the D.
Twiddly Bits
The little picking bit in the intro and the middle works well on the uke too. Here’s a simplified uked version:
When you play it in the middle of the song just play the repeat once.
The little bit at the end of the chorus doesn’t work quite as well but you can do this:
Links
Sad news this week that Michael Aratani has died. Better know as MusicGuyMic, he was the internet’s most loved ukulele seller. His eBay store always had the newest and most interesting ukuleles. After illness and eBay fees forced him to shut that down he returned and had recently been working with Hawaii Music Supply. He’s a big loss to the ukulele world.
T-shirt update: The standard black Uke Hunt t-shirt has reached its goal and will be made. So if you’ve ordered one of those you’ll definitely be getting one. And if you order one between now and 13th November you’ll definitely get it. Find out more about the t-shirts here.
New Releases
– A new book from The Idler’s Tom Hodginson and Gavin Pretor-Pinney The Ukulele Handbook covering uke history and starter advice.
– Free ebook from Uke of Carl: Hanon for Ukulele.
– Get Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk’s Over Land and Sea for free.
– Pre-order Sweet Soubrette’s Burning City.
– An album of ukulele covers of Smiths songs in German from Perrecy: Du bist das Opfer.
Pictures
– Amy Crehore’s Tickler Twitch Uke is close to finished.
– Mighty Boosh ukulele.
– Ukulele urn (Thanks to Shireen).
Videos
– West Midlands police fighting crime with Formby parodies.
– Can’t decide which size to get? Get all of them in one uke (Thanks to Ron Hale).
Exciting but expensive ukulele jaunt in Mexico with James Hill: The Ukulele Carnival.
Marty Robbins – El Paso (Instrumental Tab)
Following on from Take My True Love… with another tune from the closing stages of Breaking Bad. This time an instrumental version of Marty Robbins’ El Paso from Felina.
This piece – while not really bad – is a challenge. I’ve slowed it down slightly from the original version to make it more playable.
There’s a bit of a mishmash of picking techniques. Mostly it’s one finger per string with some supporting strums. But I switch to thumb and two fingers in the sections where the g-string isn’t played.
The other technique I use is the roll strum. I use that in bar 9.
The Trickiest Bit
The run in the bar three is very difficult. The first part is played campanella style. That gives you two open strings during which you can move from the first position up so your middle finger is playing the note at the sixth fret.
Easy Version
Marty Robbins – El Paso (Easy Tab)
Here’s a much more straight forward version without the intro and just playing the melody.
Links
Buy the original on iTunes
Limeliters – Take My True Love (Chords)
Breaking Bad theme tab
Tired of walking around without a dirty ukulele pun on your chest? The solution has finally arrived.
It’s a little different to the normal way though. I’m using Teespring which is sort of a Kickstart for t-shirts. So you put in an order for your shirt, if there are enough orders by the end of the campaign the shirts are made and sent out. You’re not charged until the end of the campaign. This way of doing it means all the shirts are printed at once and exactly the right shirts and sizes are made.
So if you want one of the shirts they’ll only be available until 13th November. After that you’re all out of luck.
There are four different t-shirts. All of them are $17.50 each. You can pre-order them on Teespring:
Standard Black (American Apparel Crew)
Standard White (American Apparel Crew)
Women’s Black (Bella Ladies Relaxed Fit)
Women’s White (Bella Ladies Relaxed Fit)
Each of the shirts has a goal of 30 shirts. So if there isn’t enough interested in it by the 13th November that particular shirt won’t get printed and you won’t be charged.
You can cancel your shirt order at any time up to the end of the campaign.
Delivery
Teespring is based in the US so shipping outside of that is more expensive and will take longer. But I’ve launched the campaign so that the shirts should arrive before Christmas anywhere in the world.
Domestic (United States) shipping $3.85 + $.25 for each additional t-shirt. Your shirt should arrive within 10-14 days from the end of the campaign.
Domestic (Canada) $7.50 + $1 for each additional t-shirt. Your shirt should arrive within 17-21 days from the end of the campaign.
International shipping is $10.50 + $1 for each additional t-shirt. Your shirt should arrive within 17-21 days from the end of the campaign.
For more information on the shirts and the system take a look at Teespring’s FAQ.
Standard Black
Buy it here
Price: $17.50
Available until: Wednesday 13th November 2013
Standard White
Buy it here
Price: $17.50
Available until: Wednesday 13th November 2013
Women’s Black
Buy it here
Price: $17.50
Available until: Wednesday 13th November 2013
Women’s White
Buy it here
Price: $17.50
Available until: Wednesday 13th November 2013
The Limeliters – Take My True Love by the Hand (Chords)
Two songs from the closing stages of Breaking Bad this week. Starting off with The Limeliters’ Take My True Love by the Hand from the dung beetle scene in Ozymandias.
It’s a simple song. Just four chords repeated. But you do need to capo at the first fret if you want to play along with the original.
Suggested Strumming
For the F and F7 do this once each:
d – d u
And for the rest of the chords do this once each:
d – d u – u d u
Together they sound like this:
Twiddly Bits
The guitar does a lick at the end of each chord progression. Here are a couple of ideas you can use on the uke. Again, use a capo at the first fret when you’re playing along with the original.
Here’s how that sounds along with the chords.
