Lots of old friends this week including Wilfried Welti (tabs for his piece here), Howlin’ Hobbit, WIUO, Peter off of UOGB and krabbers. Plus some new friends and one sworn enemy.
And this is one of my favourites in the book. I love a good morose Christmas song like Christmas for Cowboys and Blue Christmas (I haven’t written that one up yet?). That’s why I played the minor verse of the song twice before the major chorus.
Like all the book, you can use just your thumb on your picking hand to play all this arrangement.
Christmas is the one time of year when anyone who plays an instrument is expected to entertain friends and family at some point. Which can be quite daunting if you don’t have something easy and recognisable to play. Particularly if you’re full of the Christmas pudding. But it’s nice to be able to entertain the people who have helped you along the way with encouragement, uke gifts and patience during twanging practice.
With that in mind, I’ve kept the arrangements in this second Christmas ebook as easy and playable as I can. To make sure flubs and fumbles are kept to a minimum while you’re centre of attention.
After you buy you’ll be taken to a page where you can download:
– Tabs of full arrangements for these traditional Christmas favourites:
Go Tell It On the Mountain
I Saw Three Ships
Il est ne, le divin Enfant
In Dulci Jubilo
Joy to the World
O Come All Ye Faithful
Once in Royal David’s City
The First Noel
We Three Kings
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
While Shepherds Watch their Flocks
They’re all arranged without any fancy finger work. The picking hand can all be done with the thumb. And the fretting doesn’t go higher than the sixth fret. Written for high-g tuning.
– Super-simple melody arrangements of all those tunes. Only one note at a time. For high and low G.
– A PDF with a bit of history of the songs (sometimes more accurate than others) and tips on playing the tunes.
– Additional downloads of: standard notation of the tabs, mobile-friendly downloadable videos, MP3s of the full versions and the melody-only versions.
Quick warning: if you’re using iPad/iPhone/Android you can’t download directly to your gadget read this for more info.
What People Are Saying
Here’s what people who have bought the ebook are saying:
Al did a great job making many Christmas carols accessible for every ukulele player. Nobody will be afraid to take on his arrangements, and this is quite an achievement!
Buying this was the easiest decision I’ve made all day. Thanks for helping to make the ukulele so accessible
What They Sound Like
Full Arrangement Videos
Melody Versions
Here’s what the melody-only versions sound like. The melody tab also has chord names so you can be accompanied by a friend. Or if, like me, you’re a badass loner you can play along with these mp3s. They’re split so the left hand side has the chords and the right has the melody.
I know a lot of you will relate to this song more than most of the Christmas songs I’ve posted. And I think a lot of people will feel like this at some point. But if you’re still in the Christmas spirit it’s your last chance to pick up the new Christmas Ukulele 2 ebook at the pre-release price before the it goes up when Wednesday’s post is published.
While we’re fucking things, fuck tinkling pianos. It makes it a pain to work things out for uke. I’ve tried to make the chords a bit jazzy without too much messing around.
You might already know I’ve been working on a new Christmas ebook. The proper release will be on Wednesday. But it’s December already and I’ve had a fair few people wanting to buy it. So I’m doing a bit of a pre-release for the people who want it right now and don’t need to know all the details. I recommend buying this now only if you’ve bought one of my ebooks before and know what you’re getting.
The full price is going $9 (like the first Christmas ebook). That price is only going to last until the proper release post goes up on Wednesday. So don’t shilly-shally.
In the ebook there’s tab for eleven simply-arranged Christmas carols. There are two versions of each: a full version (which you can hear in the videos) and a melody-only version (for easy playing).
Full Arrangement Videos
Don’t buy it now if you haven’t bought one of my ebooks before! I’ll be explaining the whole deal much more thoroughly on Wednesday.
Videos this week include Ukulollo hooking up with Craig Chee and his cello, a live song from Bosko and Honey, the Dreamland Faces and plenty more besides.
Videos:
– Johnny Ukulele (via UkulelePorn).
– Rudy off of E4’s Misfits shared some life experience: “When you’re locked in a prison cell 23 hours a day there’s not much else to do than masturbate and play ukulele.” Watch it here if you’re in a suitable geographic area.
This tab was originally part of the How to Play Christmas Ukulele ebook (use the code “hamhand” – without quotes – before December and get $2 off) But it turned it out was a nightmare to play and didn’t fit with the easier tabs in the ebook. So here it is for anyone brave enough to attempt it.
But if you find this version far too easy for your vast talents, have a go at the John King version.
Time to start practicing a Christmas song or three for any occasion you might be called upon to bust one out. Here’s a selection of the Christmas tabs and chords on the site.
There’s also my How to Play Christmas Ukulele ebook with easy arrangements of eleven carols. If you use the discount code “hamhand” (without the quotes) before December and you’ll get $2 off.
And there’s a brand new Christmas ebook on the way.
