Roy Sakuma has been inducted into the Ukulele Hall of Fame. The first person to be inducted since Sam and Fred Kamaka in 2012. In celebration, the Governor of Hawaii declared 27th July Roy Sakuma Day.

Two members of Ukrainian band Alcohol Ukulele have been killed during Russia’s invasion: Anton Derbilov and Dimon Yegorenkov. The remaining members of the band played at the newly renamed Anton Derbilov Street in Kharkiv.

On Video
– Dua Lipa did not care for a ukulele cover of her song.
– Dave Grohl inspired ukulele from Circuits and Strings.
– Inside Out 2 originally started with Riley playing the ukulele.
– Skateboarder Bryce Wettstein explains why she took a ukulele to the Olympics
– Trying to build a ukulele from scratch in 24 hours.

New Releases
– Jake Shimabukuro has been busy. He has an album of collaborations with Mick Fleetwood on the way: Blues Experience. And he appeared on the Mana Music String Quartet’s album Journey Through Hawai’i. You can watch him perform with them here.
– Uke Hunt pal, Phredd has a new kids album out Phredd – Live at the Library. Which you can hear on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or anywhere you usually get your music.
– Parlour Music have released an EP from the vaults: Lost & Found: the UofM studio session.

Thanks to Patreons

A massive thanks again to the massive generosity of Uke Hunt’s Patreon backers for keeping the site up and running this month. And double thanks go to these legendary patrons of the arts:

And extra thanks to August’s Tenor level backers:

– Arthur Foley
– BigHempin
– Colleen Petticrew
– Dennis Boutsikaris
– Elizabeth Beardsley
– Ely Fletcher
– Ivo
– Jeff K
– Jon Kenniston
– Kelby Green
– Leia-lee Doran
– Mary
– Moses Kamai
– Noah
– Pat Weikle
– Pauline LeBlanc
– Robert
– WIlliam Soriano, D.C.

If you join Patreon at the Concert level or higher, you’ll get access to all previous exclusive tabs including August’s: The Beatles’ Maxwell’s Silver Hammer

Nelly Furtado – I’m Like A Bird (Tab)

For my arrangement of Nelly Furtado’s I’m Like a Bird, I’ve slowed things down a little. Which emphasises the song’s melancholy feel. And makes it easier to play. Which is helpful, as this one is challenging.

Intro: The start is nice and easy. Just fingerpicked chords with a slow melody on top.

Verse: The verse sticks with fingerpicking. There are a couple of quick hammer-ons to deal with. Then some alternate picked notes leading into the pre-chorus.

Pre-Chorus: The pre-chorus builds up with some strumming. And my favourite version of the Fmaj7 chord: 5500.

Chorus: Another step up in difficulty here. There’s a long series of hammer-ons and pull-offs in bar 24. You can make these really sound out by pulling downwards with your finger slightly for the pull-off. Almost as if you’re plucking the string with your fretting finger.

Bridge: I had a really hard time getting the phrasing right in bars 29-30. And I didn’t really manage it in the video. Listen to the original rather than mine to get it right. The odd phrasing continues through this section and into the modified pre-chorus that follows.

Links

Buy the original
More 90s tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon

Sleater Kinney – Modern Girl (Tabs)

Sleater Kinney’s Modern Girl has a straightforwardness and sarcastic cheeriness that makes this one their most uke-able song.

Intro: The intro is a very simple bit of fingerpicking. It’s a good piece to try if you’re new to fingericking. The thumb picks everything on the C- and E-strings. And the middle finger picks the A-string. Then the index finger picks the E-string in bar 5 and from bar 10 onwards.

Verse: The picking gets trickier in this section. I’m mostly using one finger per string picking. But I play the rapid notes in bar 22 with alternate picking.

Chorus: A lot more strums in this section. But some more quick alternate picking in bar 26.

Solo: The harmonic solo is my favourite part of the song. And it’s pretty simple to play. The tricky part is the quick transition into the next verse.

Links

Buy the original
More rock tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon

Watch on YouTube

Note: The Jake video is unavailable in some countries (including the UK).

Tracklist
Taimane – Cello Suite No. 1
Tyler Donkoh-Halm and Sho Humphries – IRL
Jake Shimabukuro and Mick Fleetwood – Rollin’ N Tumblin’
Ukulele Solos – Both Sides Now
Andrew Hoyt – Moody
EmiSunshine – Ninety Miles
The Bygones – Everything’s Made for Love
Skylar Blatt x Einer Bankz – Wake Up
RIO – Bluesette

Bob Dylan – Buckets of Rain (Tab)

Here’s my take on Buckets of Rain from Bob Dylan’s incredible album Blood on the Tracks.

This one gets a little fiddly in places. But there are only really two sections. So it’s not a lot to get down.

I’m using one finger per string picking all the way through. But there are a couple of places with quick repetition of notes on the same string where you might want to do a bit of alternate picking e.g. bar 8.

There’s a slight variation in the intro/solo section. In bar 20 and 21, you have to head up the neck for a slide.

Links

Buy it on Amazon
More 70s tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon

Weezer – Island in the Sun (Tab)

In a shocking turn of events, it’s raining in England. So here’s Weezer’s Island in the Sun for some sunny vibes.

Intro: Just strumming out the chords. Be sure to make the “hip hip” bits stand out.

Verse and Chorus: Other than a slide up to the fifth fret in bars 5 and 9, this is all stays in the first position. It does get a little fiddly in places.

Bridge: Very straightforward. You can just bash this section out.

Solo: The solo in the original just follows the verse melody. For my version, I’ve beefed up the melody with a few harmonies. You could just play this section like the verses. Or you could go your own way entirely.

Links

Buy it on Amazon
More rock tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon

Metro Boomin – BBL Drizzy

The Beaches – Blame Brett

Fontaines D.C. – Favourite

Bowling for Soup – Girl All the Bad Guys Want

Beastie Boys – Remote Control

Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars

Francois Hardy – Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles

English Teacher – The World’s Biggest Paving Slab

A massive thanks again to the massive generosity of Uke Hunt’s Patreon backers for keeping the site up and running this month. And double thanks go to these legendary patrons of the arts:

And extra thanks to July’s Tenor level backers:

– Arthur Foley
– BigHempin
– Colleen Petticrew
– Dennis Boutsikaris
– Elizabeth Beardsley
– Ely Fletcher
– Ivo
– Jeff K
– Jon Kenniston
– Kelby Green
– Leia-lee Doran
– Mary
– Moses Kamai
– Noah
– Pat Weikle
– Pauline LeBlanc
– Robert
– Ryan Grubbs
– Tina Knight

If you join Patreon at the Concert level or higher, you’ll get access to all previous exclusive tabs including July’s: The Chain by Fleetwood Mac.

Howlin’ Wolf – Smokestack Lightning (Tab)

Howlin’ Wolf’s Smokestack Lightning is inspired by a train. So, the number one priority is keeping a propulsive rhythm up.

Intro: Starting off with the riff, which is fun to play. Well worth learning, even if you’re not bothered about the rest.

The intro is a bit off-kilter. You’d expect the riff to repeat twice or four times. Instead, it repeats three times.

Verse: The verses combine the melody with little bits of the riff. I’ve tried to distinguish them by having the riff played in the open position (e.g. bar 9) and the melody played up the neck.

Solo: I’ve kept this simple to match the vibe of the original harmonica solo. But you can always fancy it up if you feel like it.

Links

Buy the original
More blues tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon

Lead Belly/Nirvana – In the Pines (Tabs)

In the Pines is a traditional song but the most famous versions are by Lead Belly and Nirvana. I mostly worked from the Nirvana version for this arrangement and I’ve kept it very simple.

The arrangement kicks off with a short intro. There’s lots more you can do here if you’re in the mood.

The first verse is very simple fingerpicking. The melody is all played on the C-string with just the open E and A-strings for backing. There are a couple of exceptions. In bars 7 and 15, I add a bit of dissonance with the E-string, 6th fret. And in bar 17 the open A-string is part of the melody.

The second verse stays with the fingerpicking but adds chords. The the third verse switches to strums. After that, it’s a re-run of the first verse.

Links

More folk tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon