I’ve hardly listened to anything else since I picked up the new Bon Iver album. It’s incredible. I think I’ve started hallucinating ukuleles in a couple of songs (not beyond the realms of possibility).

I’ve written up the chords for Michicant in a few ways. Combining the original and Kina Grannis’s ukulele cover.

Kina Grannis Version

Tuning

Kina is tuned down (roughly) 3 frets to e-A-C#-F#. But I’ve written the chord names up as if it was standard tuning.

Here are the tuning notes to match her version.

Tuning Notes

If you use these chord shapes in standard tuning, you’ll be in the same key as the live version.

Suggested Strumming

Pluck the g-string with your thumb then do two down strums. Do that twice for Faadd9 and once each for Am and Gsus2. Then use it four times for the last two chords in each verse.

Strum

In the Original Key

Try these if you want to play along with the original. It’s in C# so you can make it easier by moving everything down a fret (C – Em – D).

For strumming this one, try:

d – d u d u

Kina Grannis Version in Standard Tuning

This one is in the same key as Kina Grannis’s version but stays in standard tuning. I’ve substituted an E for the Esus2 within the verses (I think the Esus2 comes across as a Bsus4 and sounds out of place) but kept it at the end of the verse.

Buy Kina Grannis’s new album

Sophie Madeleine is spending the month leading up to the full release of her album doing a cover a day. You can watch them all here.

Or watch my two favourties so far in this post along with Connie Francis, The Winin’ Boys, Tyrone and plenty more.

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UkeToob is shutting up shop.

youkulele.com (the Italian ukulele site headed up by Jontom) has been putting up tabs – a mix of free and paid for.

I was interviewed by Got A Ukulele…

Peter Luongo discuss 30 years of heading up the Langley Ukulele Ensemble.

Trying to convince Ben Lerman to sell DIY ukuleles.

Kickstarters: Manitoba Hal is raising for his album. Amanda Palmer and Kim Boekbinder are raising for their joint single (Thanks to @im_a_mia).

The Duke of Uke are holding a 5th Anniversary Extravaganza in London next weekend. The first two nights are headed up by The Wave Pictures and Darren Hayman. And Saturday is a ukulele packed bill including Uke Hunt favourites like The Bobby McGee’s, Nigel Burch and Salwa Azar.

The Pixies on Uker Tabs.

I’ve been terribly remiss in not featuring The Who in my Riffs for Ukulele series (although I did write up their ukulele song Blue, Red and Grey). So to make up for it here are four Who chord riffs.

Can’t Explain

Riff

Be careful with this riff. There’s a slight variation on it at the end of the first verse (after ‘down in my soul’). They play a B chord instead of an A chord on that one occasion.

The strumming pattern for this one is the old down, down, up, down, down, up, windmill, windmill, windmill.

Substitute

Riff

The chord inversions are really important in this one. I moved the inversions higher up than the original so the relationship between them is similar.

Pinball Wizard

A lot of moving from sus4 to major chords. I changed my mind about the fingering for Asus4 and A. I wrote it up with the standard fingering, but decided that using ring and pinkie for Asus4 and middle and ring for A made for a much easier transition after the B.

Riff

The Seeker

Seeker

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The June 2011 edition of the Uke Hunt podcast features Armelle interviewing Craig Robertson along with tracks from Rose Turtle Ertler, Manitoba Hal, Helen Arney, Krabbers and plenty more besides.

No podcast next month. But Bossa will be back with a bumper summer edition of the podcast in August. If you want to submit a track for consideration, head to this page for submission guidelines and ways to get in touch.

Tracklist:

1. Damon Hill – Maybe I

2. Rose Turtle Ertler featuring Yan Yalego – Fair Weather

3. Manitoba Hal – Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women

4. Tyrone – Bottoms

5. Alfred Williams – Bears

6. Krabbers – Angry Bees

7. Helen Arney – Erwin’s Other Animals

8. Armelle Europe interviews Craig Robertson Part 1

9. Craig Robertson – Conjure Box

10. Armelle Europe interviews Craig Robertson Part 2

11. Craig Robertson – I Can Make Elephants Disappear

12. Nicholas Abersold – All Summer Long

13. Beth Bird – The Living Road

14. Amitron 7 – Everything Is Orange Now

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I’m not sure why this song didn’t crop up on Kate Micucci’s last EP. It’s one of my favourites. But I may be biased due to my exceptional love of naps. Even better with a nap-buddy.

Suggested Strumming

Start off with one down strum. Then go to:

– u d – d – d –

Then back to the single down strum for the next chord.

When she starts full on strumming you can use:

d – d – d u d u

Buy Kate Micucci stuff on CD Baby

I’ve spent the entire course of this week squinting through a haze of tears thanks to the new Bon Iver album. So I was either going to love or hate the first ukulele cover of it I heard. As luck would have it, Kina Grannis was up to the job. Also this week is Lisa Hannigan duetting with a uke, the first Gaga ukulele cover I’ve liked and Givers rocking it out the ass.

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The Jake-style slotted headstock is continuing it’s move from high-end instruments to the more affordable end. Oscar Schmidt have been experimenting with them and you can buy a Oscar Schmidt OU6SL prototype on eBay if you have to have one.

I’m not entirely sure what happened to Mid-East‘s sitar-kulele. I haven’t seen them for sale anywhere and their website has shown none in stock every time I’ve checked. Still, there doesn’t seem to be any difficulty picking up a Lute-kulele.

1926 Martin 5K.

Photos: Hawaiian Sharps, Paul Anka

My Ukulele for Dummies book is now available in the UK (Amazon sold out their first batch straight away but they’re back in stock now). People have already been getting their copies (including my mum who was practically bashing on the doors of Amazon on the day of release). If you’re one of those, it would be great if you could leave a review on Amazon. Good, bad or indifferent. It would be great to have reviews on the UK site when it’s released in the US in August. And I’m, of course, very interested to see what people make of it.

Taimane Gardner was charged with driving under the influence after she drove into a police car according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser. There’s nothing funny about DUI, except maybe the mug-shot.

Lots of new classical and folk tabs for standard tuning on PDF Minstrel.

Kate Micucci chats to CNN and sings.

Ledward Kaapana has been named an NEA National Heritage Fellow

James Hill discusses the ukulele rising.

There’s a limit to what Julia Nunes will do for $1,000 :

Pledge $1,000 or more

YOUTUBE VIDEO COVER OF YOUR CHOICE we’ll have to talk about this and come to a compromise cause I aint doin no “I’m yours”

(Thanks to Rob)

There was a big reaction to Blue Dean Carcione’s magnificent performance of this song when I posted it and Dean was kind enough to pass along his version of the chords/tab for me to write up.

Dean based his version on the Alligator Boogaloo chords but added a few variations and also used a capo at the second fret (making the song in the key of D).

Twiddly Bits

Dean’s intro is spot on and is played like this:

There’s a little bit of filigree on the C chord in the bridge.

You can play that or just stick with a straight C chord.

Subscribe to Blue Dean on YouTube

UPDATE

+Robert May asked for a slowed down version of the intro so here it is:

Intro Slow