This arrangement of Hurt is very much based on the Cash version. But I was a massive Nine Inch Nails fan as an angsty teen, so some of that version might have slipped through.
The plodding pace of this song makes it pretty easy to play. Just make sure you give the strings some welly in the chorus to recreate the thundering, steady pianos.
Buy the Johnny Cash version
More country tabs and chords
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Sorry for going AWOL this week. I’ve been under the weather recently and completely out of it most of the week. Hopefully I’ll be back in business before long.
Patreon
A massive thanks to all 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:
– Arthur Foley
– Colleen Petticrew
– Dan
– Elizabeth Beardsley
– Fi Keane
– Jameson Gagnepain
– Jeff K
– Jon Kenniston
– Kelby Green
– Kie77
– Lisa Johnson
– Monika Kolodziejczyk
– Moses Kamai
– Nick Parsons
– Pat Weikle
– Pauline LeBlanc
– Robert
– T S
– Thorsten Neff
If you join Patreon at the Concert level or higher, you’ll get access to all previous exclusive tabs including June’s: Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill:
Here’s my take on Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. Although you could just tell people it’s Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud and no one will notice.
I recommend being relaxed and loose with the phrasing in this one. Being on the beat is not sexy! My phrasing is slightly different to Marvin’s and you should play it the way you feel it.
The trickiest parts of this arrangement are where you’re holding a Bb chord and also bending the E-string at the third fret (e.g. at the end of bar 1). You have to make sure you’re only bending the E-string and not the g- or C-strings. The good news is you only have to bend it slightly sharp. This mimics the original giving it a yearning feeling.
I’ve written up quite a few Radiohead songs in the past. Now it’s time for the OK Computer track Karma Police.
Intro: Mostly picking out the chords with the thumb on the C-string and the middle and index on the E and A, respectively.
On the Eb chord there’s a nice addition of an F note making it an Ebsus2. To prepare for the change to that, fret the E-string, third fret in the first half of the bar with your little finger.
Verse: Sticking with the same picking for the verse. The only slightly tricky part here is the run down from the fifth fret in bar 12.
Bridge: I’m mostly using one-finger-per-string picking in this section until the last two bars. There’s a lot more moving around the neck in this section, with the transition between bars 17 and 18 being tricky (I flubbed that bit in the video). Which is the most Radioheady part of the song.
Chorus: Even more moving around here, but it’s less intense.
Solo: The solo takes its inspiration from the bass line. There’s lots of scope for your own ideas here.
After that, it’s another run through the chorus and a fade out with a little of Freakshow Industries’ Backmask added.
Buy the original
More Radiohead tabs and chords
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Following on from These Days with another Cotten-picking arrangement: a rare White Stripes acoustic song We’re Going to Be Friends. But this is easier than These Days as the thumb alternating between the g- and C-strings through the whole song.
The melody is very simple and repetitive almost like a nursery rhyme. But there are slight variations between the verses that you need to include to create at least a little variety.
The only big variation comes in the bridge section where they go far out and include a fourth chord. But you’re still picking the same basic patterns.
After Scott Morrison’s ill-advised ukuleling, the uke became a bit of a running theme in the Australian election with ukulele leaflets and losing MPs being dispatched by a ukulele robot overlord.
A bunch of ukulele groups have been doing great work raising money to aid Ukraine. If you want to give some direct help, give some support to Kharkiv-based ukers Alcohol Ukulele.
Martin have revealed a new range of tenor ukuleles.
Inevitably, NFTs have hit the ukulele world in form of UkeHeads. Like most NFTs, they’re hideous, procedurally generated monstrosities. But they do give you a chance to play on James Hill’s next album.
On Video
– An imaginative retelling of Jimi Hendrix finding a one-string ukulele and falling from the sky.
– Jimmy Buffett busts out his uke for a version of Margaritaville.
Patreon
A massive thanks to all 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:
– Arthur Foley
– Colleen Petticrew
– Dan
– Elizabeth Beardsley
– Fi Keane
– Jameson Gagnepain
– Jeff K
– Jon Kenniston
– Kelby Green
– Kie77
– Leia-lee Doran
– Lisa Johnson
– Monika Kolodziejczyk
– Moses Kamai
– Nick Parsons
– Pat Weikle
– Pauline LeBlanc
– Robert
– T S
– Thorsten Neff
If you join Patreon at the Concert level or higher, you’ll get access to all previous exclusive tabs including May’s: Elizabeth Cotten’s Freight Train.
Here’s my attempt at TLC’s heartbreaking tale of Jason Waterfalls.
The intro is by far the trickiest part of the song. There are a bunch of chord stabs and some tasty licks.
The melody line is exceptionally straight-forward and easy to play. The only interesting part is the bluesy “Listen to me” at the end of the verse (bar 28). And I’ve thrown in a couple of licks inspired by the bass in bar 20 and at the end of the choruses.
Black Books Theme
Despite sounding a whole lot like Tom Waits, the Black Books theme was written by Jonathan Whitehead who provided outrageous and contagious music for much of Channel 4’s comedy output of that era. You can listen to Chris Morris’s tribute to him here.
Curb Your Enthusiasm Theme
Learn this one for the meme value.
Conan O’Brien – Artie Kendall the Singing Ghost
One for the ladies from Conan’s Hitler-loving, Irish hating ghost crooner.
Justin Hawkins Rides Again
Lead singer of The Darkness, Justin Hawkins’s YouTube channel is well worth a follow. Loads of insider insights into the music industry, touring and the rock and roll lifestyle.
The Earliest Show Social Wall Theme
Funny or Die’s The Earliest Show starring Ben Schwarz and Lauren Lapkus has to be one of the most under-appreciated series on YouTube. And, for realism, it features some music that is both intensely annoying and an earworm.
One Love first came out in a ska version in 1965. But my arrangement is based on the later, more laid-back and more famous reggae version. You might have noticed that good-time island vibes and togetherness are not my métier. So I’m sure you can improve on my version.
I love the mix of textures on this track. Particularly the sharp guitar stabs, the rinky-dink piano and Marley’s smooth vocals. I’ve tried to include those in this arrangement as much as I can.
Buy the original
More reggae tabs and chords
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