I don’t often do instrumental versions of songs. I think they can turn out cheesey and boring (particularly if the person listing isn’t familiar with the original). But I had to do this one because it’s an incredible song and all the cool kids are doing it (if you’re a Domino fan, don’t miss Rocco La Bete).
I wasn’t originally going to tab this one so it’s played quite loosely in the video. The tab is more of a basis than an exact transcription of the video. In the chorus in particular, try to make the melody notes stand out against the supporting notes (the ones in brackets).
There have been quite a few ukulele apps released since my last app review. So time for a new round-up comparing the various ukulele chord apps that are out there (plus a quick review of one non-chord app).
– Dead simple. There’s no faffing about with pictures of the fretboard. You just get chord diagrams. Easy to use – no unnecessary options.
– A range of inversions at various points on the neck.
– It actually has Em as 0432 as the default (most of the other apps here go for 4432). Which suggests the chord diagrams were looked over by a human who knows how to play ukulele.
What’s wrong with it?
– No sound.
– Not visually stunning.
– gCEA tuning only.
– No fingering suggestions.
Worth it?
I’d say definitely worth a download. This app should be all that most people will need.
Chord diagrams for major, 7, minor, m7, dim, aug, 9. gCEA tuning only. With fingering suggestions. There are also tuning notes (gCEA only).
What’s good about it?
– Pleasent, simple layout.
– Nothing to confuse beginners. So no inversions, different tunings.
– It has an option for left-handers. The only app I’ve found that option on.
What’s wrong with it?
– No sound.
– Some of the chord names aren’t fully displayed: e.g. Ebm is shown as E…
– No suspended chords (which crop up more often than augmented or 9 chords).
– All listed as flats (so no indication that C# is the same as Db).
– Some questionable fingering. It seems to be particularly fond of barring. As you saw in the Ebm example, it used the 3rd finger for g and C strings rather than including the pinkie.
– There’s a link labeled ‘History of the Ukulele’ which just goes to the Wikipedia page for ukulele. Thanks, but I think I can find Wikipedia when I need it.
Worth it?
Not so obviously better than Ukuchords that it’s worth paying for. Might be worth the extra for left-handers.
Price: $2.99 (full disclosure: Chris, the app’s developer, sent me a copy for free)
What is it?
Chord diagrams with fingerings for major, minor, 7, m7 , maj7 6, 9, diminished and sus4 in gCEA, aDF#B and DGBE. With fingering suggestions. Sound of both chords and individual notes. Translation of various phrases into Hawaiian.
What’s good about it?
– Very beginner friendly and easy to use.
– Sound. Full chords or individual notes (but not the constant strumming you hear in the video).
– Multiple tunings but…
What’s wrong with it?
– The chords for both ADF#B and DGBE tuning are wrong. The ADF#B chords are written as if the tuning was FBbDG (i.e. a step down from standard rather than a step up) so a C chord is displayed like this. DGBE tuning is a step too low so a C chord looks like this. To confuse matters further, the sound for ADF#B matches neither the correct pitch or the chord shape.
– It doesn’t always show the easiest chord shape. So D is 2225 rather than 2220 and Em is 4432 rather than 0432.
– There are also some smaller niggles: I don’t know what the Hawaiian language bits are on there for. It would be better to get rid of that and replace it with a nut so you can see you’re at the bottom of the fretboard and so that open strings can be displayed.
Is it worth getting?
Not at the moment. The main advantage it has over ChordKuma is the multiple tunings so it needs fixing (Chris is working on it).
Chord diagrams for major, 6, 7, M7, m, m6, m7, mM7, aug, dim, dim7, sus2. In high-G, low-G, D, G (baritone), Eb, A and Bb tunings. Made by the sheep entertainment people.
What’s good about it?
– Lots of chord options and inversions.
– Plenty of different tunings (although some weird options).
– Reverse looked up: you can punch in the chord you’re playing and it will tell you the name.
What’s wrong with it?
– The layout isn’t so easy to use (and it looks a bit ugly). And having the
– The chord options aren’t laid out in the order they’re most used. So the minor button is the 5th on the list.
– Lots of chords options but no sus4?
– Another app that doesn’t like open strings. So again Em is 4432 rather than 0432
Worth it?
It’s a bit pricey but might be worth a look if you’re expecting to be assaulted with some jazzy chords (or if you decide to play in a bizarre tuning).
Chord and scale diagrams. Chords: major, minor and 7. Scales: major and natural minor.
What’s good about it?
– You can see more than one chord at once. The app is in landscape mode and easily accommodates three chord diagrams side by side.
– Option to have note name, relative note (R, 3, 5 etc.) or just a blank circle for the dots.
– Chords and scales on the same fretboard. It’s an interesting idea.
What’s wrong with it?
– Difficult to use. Took me a bit of playing around before I figured out how to do things.
– Very limited chord options (more on the paid version).
– Very confusing for newbies. It tries to show all the possible inversions over five frets or so at once. They’re colour-coded but not in a way that I intuitively grasped. Unless you’ve got a good idea what you’re doing, you’ll be lost.
Worth it?
If you’re a beginner, stay away. But there are a number of ideas in this app that are worth exploring. It’s not a ‘me too’ chord app, so it’s very different to the other apps (for better and worse). But it wasn’t enough for me to shell out for the full version.
Not a chord app! A sort of Rock Band type game. You play along to a song as the notes scroll down the screen. Songs include Sakura, Aloha Oe, Canon in D and Fur Elise. There’s also a mode where you can widdle away playing whatever you like. They’re partnered with KoAloha.
What’s good about it?
– Fun little game.
– Nicely laid out.
What’s wrong with it?
– It’s not going to improve your playing anywhere near as much as actually playing a ukulele would.
– It’s quite fiddly to use.
– It’s not a game I’ve kept going back to.
– The ‘About KoAloha Ukuleles’ link takes you to a 404 page.
Is it worth getting? Not really. Get Rock Band instead.
I’m thinking about doing a few reviews of more general musical education apps (ear training, rhythm training etc). If you think it’d be worth it, let me know in the comments.
Sophie Madeleine – The Rhythm You Started (Chords)
I need your opinion. In the chord chart I’ve put the chord names in red so it’s easier to spot them amongst the lyrics. Is it worth doing it in future? Or does a more calming blue look better(display purposes only – it’s not quite right)? Let me know in the comments: black, red or blue. (Anyone who says, “Do all three,” gets a purple-nurple). UPDATE: Here’s the old B&W version for the traditionalists.
I was going to wait until Sophie Madeleine’s new album came out before I did this one (its title track) but I got over excited and prematurely tabulated.
Suggested Strumming
This one’s in 3/4. Here’s a strumming pattern to get you through:
d – d u d –
Just once for each chord until you reach the end of the Bridge section. On that D chord, play it four times. In the Middle, play it twice for each chord except the G on ‘keep us dry’ (where you play it four times). Then it’s back to once per chord for
You can add a bit of variation by just doing three down strums for the occasional chord (works best on the Bm or A).
Some videos I watch and my critical faculties are screaming out that I shouldn’t feature a video but they make me giggle so hard I can’t resist (henceforth to be known as ‘oh, I wanna suck ’em and put ’em in my mouth’ songs). Two such videos this week.
At the more acceptable end this week are 6 Day Riot (I am expertly informed those aren’t vampires in the video, just goths – it’s so hard to tell these days), Howlin’ Hobbit (pick up the chords to his song on his blog), an excellent uke group arrangement of 7 Nation Army and a kid even I think is frickin’ adorable.
One of the many joys of YouTube is being able to find demonstrations and reviews of some of the more recent or more obscure ukes. Here are a few I found to be of interest:
– Solid-body electric ukes are a difficult thing to get right. I haven’t tried one that’s really nailed it. I like my RISA but I have reservations. And I hate my EleUke and I don’t care for the sound in most of the videos I’ve seen. So I’m always interested in new ones and Airline is a recent addition to the scene. Here’s a video of one in action (an nice little song as well).
– Another guitar maker turned uke maker I’ve been a little suspicious of is Ibanez with their Iceman ukulele. Here’s a review of it from a guy who doesn’t like Guitar Center or commenters.
– SpruceHouse is a name I’ve seen cropping up on eBay for years. They’ve always caught my eye but I hadn’t heard one until this video of Slim Symes
Radio Ukulele.fr has a lovely selection of tunes (in the right-hand column). Highlights include Ohta San, Jesse Kalima and The Old Blind Mole Orkestra.
I confess, I’m completely addicted to the ShayTards. And now they have a ukulele theme tune.
I went to see the Black Keys last week and they were incredible. They’re at the perfect place in their career. They’ve got an extensive enough back catalogue to provide a set with no flat moments but they haven’t got to the stage where they’re just plodding through the songs until it’s blue M&M time.
So in homage to them for the best gig I’ve been to this year (sorry UOGB) here are my five favourite Black Keys riffs arranged for uke – in order of decreasing uke-suitability.
10 A.M. Automatic
10 A.M. Automatic (Riff)
Being mostly chord-based, this one works pretty well on the uke. I beefed up the chorus a bit.
A few variations in this riff through the song – some of which stray too far out of uke range – this one is based on the one that starts at 1:08 (1:32 in the hilarious video).
The intro part of this one sounds a bit wimpy on the uke, but the chord part works well. The chorus riff is the same as the verse riff with a few additions.
My favourite Black Keys riff but there are a few problems ukeing this one. The final A is too low. If you’re on a low-G, that’s not a problem. For the high-G, I’ve added in the C# because the extra harmony confuses the ear a little so it doesn’t stand out as being an octave too high in quite the same way. Also, if you’re using low-G you can knock the chorus riff down an octave.
It used to be that Asian-made ukuleles were all hastily slapped together and shipped out as cheap and quick as possible. But that is changing with the likes of aNueNue in Taiwan putting quality at the top of the priority list. Now Maestro, a guitar maker in Singapore, has moved into ukuleles and is making high-spec ukes.
I threw a few questions at, Maestro main-man, Hozen and he returned some interesting answers.
How long have you been making ukuleles and how did you get started?
We had been making guitars since 2004 and had only caught the ukulele bug 2 years back. We were intrigued by the Ukulele when we first saw it and we just decided why don’t we try to make it for fun! It was never meant to be serious as there was no ukulele community 2 years back and we were the only ones supplying Singapore with it until the Chinese import started to flood the market. We told ourselves that we have to make something to stand out and if we are going to do it, we do it well.
What sort of players are your ukuleles aimed at?
Our ukuleles are aimed at everyone who are keen in picking up the instrument. We have the budget range which we like everyone else on the market outsourced it to China. Those ukuleles which we make in SG are targeted at the more serious ukulele players who desire for something better. With traditions steep in our veins as guitar builders, we prefer to build something more traditional. Our Soprano ukulele is base on the martin ukulele and our concert and tenor ukuleles are base on traditional Hawaiian shape by other traditional builders.
What separates Maestro from other ukuleles?
The main selling point for our ukuleles would be boutique class ukuleles which do not cost a bomb and everyone can afford to own a good old handcrafted traditional quality ukulele. We like to use raw materials which had been proven on guitars to build ukuleles and we focus a great deal of our energy on the timbre quality of our instruments. We also employ good old technology like a tight dove-tail joint for our ukuleles.
One of the world’s famous ukulele builders based in Hawaii once told me when I visit their factory: It doesn’t matter that our dove tail is not tight because the glue will hold it in place as the tension of 4 strings is just too small.
Well, I beg to differ and I would like to say some things are better left unchallenged.
What do you think makes a great ukulele?
A ukulele that plays well and is able to interpret the expressions of the songs you play on it. Something that just makes you want to play it without the urge to put it down.
The image of Asian-made instruments is usually of cheap, mass-produced ukes. How’s the industry there changing?
To be honest, many of the reputable brands we buy out there are of Asian origin but there are very few Asian builders who wish to spend the effort to think about what they are building and do something well instead of doing more and more. The ukulele industry is evolving as more and more people are converted to playing the instrument, as the pyramid gets bigger, there will be increasing demand for both low end ukuleles and also high end ukuleles. While the rest of the Asian builders prefer to go to the bottom of the pyramid, we on the other hand would prefer to do the opposite and challenge the builders on the upper echelons with an equally built or better built instrument at half the price of what individual builders can achieve.
How do you think making ukuleles in Singapore influences the instruments you make?
Singapore has the unique position of being at the cross-road of 2 very distinct cultures and we find our resulting designs being internationalized and easily acceptable by people from most cultures. Singapore has the good reputation of being a reliable and efficient country with a high standard of living but yet doesn’t cost you a bomb and we would like to think that our ukuleles are somewhere along the same line: A high quality ukulele that is not out of reach and most importantly something that inspires you to keep playing.
Perhaps because the ukulele has long been treated as a four-string mini-guitar for amateurs, only a handful of ukulelists have achieved much renown…
But the more I thought about, the more I thought they had a point. OK, there are thousands of examples of the uke not being played like a small guitar. But they are outnumbered by the mini-guitar types. And if you’re not taking advantage of the uke’s idiosyncrasies you may as well be playing guitar.
This tune by Florence and the Machine is a perfect place to start with the uke/harp crossover. In fact, I’m not 100% sure it is a harp and not a ukulele.
Suggested Strumming
You can recreate the echo sound by just doing:
d u d u d u d u
Do that four times for the G, once for the Am and twice for the Em.
Alternative Inversions
I’ve included the open chord shapes in the chart, but if you’re feeling ambitious it’s worth using this A minor to give you the upwards move from the G:
And here are some inversions further up the neck.
Twiddly Bits
In the acoustic version the chord part is played like this on harp:
It might be down to busyness or my clocks-going-back blues, but this week’s selection is shorter than usual. But the videos I did find, I very much enjoyed. Those videos include E 4 Echo making excellent use of a uke/cello combo and doing so while looking dapper, Tokyo Police Club breaking a string, and a new puppet ukulele duo.
If there’s something you think I’ve missed, be sure to let me know in the comments.
