Mar/18/20
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Songs with Chords You Know (2020 Update)

MostUkeHunt

I like to keep a list of songs that use just the most common ukulele chords. Arranged by the order people usually learn them in. And with people panic buying ukuleles, I thought it was about time for an update.

C, F and G (or G7)

If you prefer, you can use G7 in the place of G or vice versa for any of these songs.

Happy Birthday to You
The Bobby McGee’s – A Dog At All Things
Folk Uke – Motherfucker Got Fucked Up
Mungo Jerry – In the Summertime
The Lancashire Hotpots – He’s Turned Emo
NeverShoutNever! – Your Biggest Fan/Did It Hurt?
Noah and the Whale – Five Years Time
Paolo Nutini – High Hopes
OK Go – This Too Shall Pass
SoKo – I Will Never Love You More
The Tiger Lillies – Start A Fire
Tom Waits – I Hope that I Don’t Fall in Love with You
Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra/Kings of Leon – The Bucket

Plus Am, Dm and Em

Addams Family Theme Tune
Alton Ellis – Rock Steady
Black Kids – I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend to Dance With You
Blondie/Imelda May – Dreaming
Billy Bragg – Between the Wars
Darlene Love – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Darren Hanlon – All These Things
Electrelane – Cut and Run
Florence and the Machine – Dog Days Are Over
Foals – Spanish Sahara
Luis Fonsi – Despacito
Garfunkel and Oates – Me, You and Steve
GUGUG – California Sun
INXS – Never Tear Us Apart
Israel Kamakawiwoíole/Jason Castro – Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Julien Dore – Cet Air-La
Kate Nash – Foundations
Kate Micucci/The Gooch – Mr Moon
Kelli Rae Powell
Last Shadow Puppets – Standing Next to Me
Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved
LP – Into the Wild
The Lumineers – Ho Hey
Phosphorescent – Wolves
She & Him – Sentimental Heart

Plus D

Allo Darlin’ – Tallulah
Allo Darlin’ – Space Christmas
Amanda Palmer – In My Mind
Antsy Pants/Bear Creek – Vampire
Belle and Sebastian – The Boy with the Arab Strap
Elvis Costello – Good Year for the Roses
Daniel Johnston – Living Life
Damon Albarn – Mr Tembo
The Dubliners and The Pogues – The Irish Rover
Garfunkel and Oates – The Fade Away (you can use D instead of D7)
Gothic Archies – Shipwrecked
GUGUG/The Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop
Woody Guthrie – All You Fascists Bound to Lose
Keston Cobblers’ Club – You-Go
The Libertines – Don’t Look Back into the Sun
The Little Ones – Tangerine Visions
The Monkees – I’m a Believer (Use D where it says D7).
Old Crow Medicine Show – Wagon Wheel
Phredd – Elmer’s Electric Tricycle
The Pogues – Fiesta
The Pogues – Waxies Dargle
The Pretenders – 2000 Miles
Skinny Lister – Colours
Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma
Velvet Underground and Nico – I’ll be Your Mirror
Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London

Plus A and E7

Camera Obscura – Cock Up Your Beaver
Eagles of Death Metal – I Want You So Hard
The Clash – Should I Stay or Should I Go
Florence & the Machine – Kiss With A Fist (don’t panic, you can use E7 instead of E in this song)
The Pogues – Sally McLennane
Joan Jett – Bad Reputation
Junior Brown – Better Call Saul
Kate Micucci & Ted (Scrubs) – Screw You
Paolo Nutini – Pencil Full of Lead
The Pogues – Streams of Whiskey
Twenty One Pilots – Cut My Lip
The Weavers – Pay Me My Money Down
The White Stripes – Little Ghost

Plus Bb

James Bay – Hold Back the River
Beirut – A Candle’s Fire
Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know (You can use C instead of C5)
Ingrid Michaelson – Be OK
Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love
Lorde/Walk off the Earth – Royals
Lorde/WIOU – Team
Mumford and Sons – The Cave
Nevershoutnever – First Dance
Neutral Milk Hotel – King of Carrot Flowers
Noah and the Whale – Jealous Kind of Love
Sufjan Stevens – Lumberjack Christmas
The Tokens – The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Plus Bm

Everly Brothers – Bowling Green
Etta James – I’d Rather Go Blind
The Pogues – When the Ship Comes In

More…

Mastered all those? Tackle more:

Easy ukulele songs
Beginner ukulele lessons

Mar/17/20
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The Parting Glass (Tab)

The Parting Glass (Tab)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! The Parting Glass isn’t Irish at all but a traditional Scottish tune. However, it’s become a firm part of the Irish traditional scene since The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem made it their own. More recently, it’s been covered by Ed Sheeran and cropped up in Assassin’s Creed and The Walking Dead.

The arrangement is in two parts. The first run through the verse is played campanella style (with the notes ringing into each other). Then it’s played in a fuller arrangement with chord backing. Both are one with one finger per string picking.

Links

More Irish tabs and chords
More folk tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon

Mar/7/20
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UkeTube: International Women’s Day Special

Watch on YouTube

Tracklist
Honoka – Green Hornet
Natsuko Kitajima – Out Of Nowhere
The Barberettes – Be My Baby Thanks to @hermanvdc
MARLOWE – Anyone
Natasha Ghosh – (Spirited Away) Reprise
Graciela Cano & Choan Gálvez – Dolphins’ Carnival March
Aline Kelly – Ó Abre Alas!
Genoa Keawe – Alika
Vanessa Ding – Miss You 3000
Marla Goodman & Peanut Envy – Angel of the Ukulele Cabaret

Mar/6/20
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Friday Links: Dominator Tabs

If you’ve been around the ukulele world a while, you’ll be familiar with Dominic ‘Dominator’ Pieranunzio’s ukulele tabs. They were a great resource so it was a bit concerning that he and his site disappeared from the internet. But, fear not, he’s still doing well and his tabs are still available here on this spammy-looking but apparently Dom-approved site (thanks to @UkeGap for the info).

Choan Galvez has a new series of tabs for ukulele duets. You can keep up to date with the videos on his YouTube and tabs on his Patreon.

Turns out ukuleles can prevent your political opponents from censuring you. Which might be why Tulsi Gabbard is getting into it.

Busker has his violin returned after the thief realises it’s not a ukulele.

This guy knows how to party.

Billie Eilish busts out her uke on Carpool Karaoke.

1926 ukulele group.

Stargirl sees the return of the manic pixie ukulele girl.

Patreon

I launched the Uke Hunt Patreon last month and I’ve been knocked out by the number of people that have just straight in on back. A huge thanks to those people. It’s really spurred me on to keep producing this month. Particular thanks go to Tenor backers:

– Douglas.
– Joseph Freeman.
– Nancy.
– Pauline Leblanc.
– Poweredbyjoy.

Patreon posts in the last month include:

– Preview tabs for What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor and Green Day’s Wake Me Up When September Ends.
– Tabs for as many of my Instagram “seven second ukulele lessons” as I could gather.
– Patreon exclusive tab for With a Little Help from My Friends (for Concert level and up backers).
– And the ebooks How to Read Ukulele Tab and Ragtime Ukulele.

Mar/5/20
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Chicken Reel (Tab)

Chicken Reel (Tab)

Following on from yesterday’s Tunes You Know But Can’t Name post, with a tune I only knew as, “that chicken song from the cartoons,” until I found out it had an actual name. Chicken Reel was written in 1910 by Joseph Daly but was adopted and adapted into the bluegrass catalogue.

And I’ve gone with a very bluegrass inspired version played fast and loose. I use thumb and two finger picking all the way through. Plus, I make liberal use of campanella which means I long parts of the A section are played just on open strings. Leaving your fretting-hand to play Candy Crush, fill out your taxes or tear an apple in half.

The C section is based on a part many bluegrass players include that I love. It really doubles down on the chicken theme by including a clucking sound.

Links

More folk tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon

Mar/4/20
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Tunes You Know But Can’t Name (Tabs)

Here’s a selection of short tunes you’ll have heard a load of times in your life but might not know the name of. These pop up everywhere and have become musical shorthand. That makes them ideal tunes to learn and pull out of the bag whenever the situation calls for it and get a cheap laugh.

Mysterioso Pizzicato (aka the evil guy tune)

Vaudville Fanfare (aka the bad joke tune)

Minsky Pickup (aka the start of every old-timey tune)

Dragnet Theme (aka the danger tune)

Twilight Zone (aka the spooky tune)

This is the one tune I did know the name of. For extra spookiness, pick the strings close to the bridge or use a capo as high up the fretboard as you like.

Grand Opening Theme

I still have no idea what this one is called or where it’s originally from. It sounds like something you’d hear at the start of a movie to me.

Westminister Chimes (aka the clock/doorbell song)

This tune is over 200 years old and was most famous as the tune played by big ben at the top of the hour. Since then it’s become the tune played by a million clocks and doorbells.

I’m playing harmonics with my right-hand here to give it an extra bell-like quality. But the tune will sounds just fine played without them.

I did a whole post on bell ringing if you’re interested in more.

Shave and a Haircut (aka the old time-y ending)

Mar/3/20
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The Strokes – Hard to Explain (Tabs and Chords)

The Strokes – Hard to Explain (Chords)

The new song from The Strokes has got me very excited for the new album. So much so I decided to tackle a song from their debut and got carried away. As well as the chords, I’ve written up a bit of group arrangement of the song as well.

Suggested Strumming Pattern

I play down-up strums the whole way through the song. But if you want to be more authentic you can use double-time down-strums.

Group Arrangement

Hard to Explain (Lead Tab)

The group arrangement is made up of four parts. Firstly, the chords are exactly the same as above. Next is the lead part. This is closely based on the lead guitar song but with a few octave changes so it all fits on uke. This is the part to give to the Flash Harrys in your group.

Hard to Explain (Melody Baritone Tab)

Next is the melody part which I’m playing on baritone ukulele. Because the melody line and the lead guitar part match each other so much, I wanted to create separation between them. Using the baritone means that they’re an octave apart and create a fuller sound. Which I think works particularly well in the chorus.

Finally, there’s the bass part. Which I play, inexpertly, on guitar. It’s all played on the bottom four strings so you can transfer it directly to bass ukulele (or bass guitar if that’s your kink). Here’s the tab for that.

Links

Buy it on Amazon
The Strokes – Someday (Chords)
Strokes Medley tab
Uke Hunt Patreon

Bonus: The Strokes – Bad Decisions

Feb/22/20
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UkeTube: Daniel Ho, Kuburan

Watch on YouTube

Tracklist
Dani Joy & Daniel Ho – Strange World
UKEBA SQUAD – JAMBRET
Laura Currie – Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
Rod Wave x Einer Bankz – Heartbreak Hotel
Noah Wisch – Against the Sky
Winchester 7 & the Runners – When the World Stops Spinning
Blue Dean Carcione – Blues Run The Game
Mestre Robson Miguel – Viagem
KUBURAN – SAREDONA
Yohanna Liang – Soulmate

Feb/20/20
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BoJack Horseman Medley (Tab)

BoJack Horseman Medley (Tab)

After bouncing off BoJack a couple of times, I finally started watching it in earnest after I was told to watch this fantastic bit with K Flay’s Blood in the Cut riff. After that it rapidly became one of my favourite shows of all time.

As well as being hilarious and insightful, it also uses some great music. Both in terms of licensed music and original music from Jesse Novak (who I’ve covered before with his People Person’s Paper People jingle from The Office). So I had to put together a medley of my favourite songs from the show (that RBW pretended to like proving himself to be a Hollywoob phoney).

For most of the medley I’m either using strums (with a few picked notes mingled in) or thumb and two finger picking.

The song that works best on ukulele is the outstanding I Will Always Think of You. Which is such a dead-on pastiche I had to double check it wasn’t a long lost Cole Porter song.

The trickiest to pull off is Back in the 90s. That includes some quick Cotton picking i.e. the thumb alternates between the g- and C-strings with the index and middle fingers playing the melody on the E- and A-strings respectively.

The full tracklist:

A Horse with No Name (America)/Special Feeling/Avant Gardener (Courtney Barnett)/I Just Met My Perfect Match/Generic 90s Grunge Song/Mr Peanutbutter’s House/Blood in the Cut (K.Flay)/I Will Always Think of You/Back in the 90s/Stars (Nina Simone)/Boxer vs. Raptor

Links

Buy the BoJack Horseman soundtrack
More TV theme tabs and chords
Uke Hunt on Patreon

Feb/19/20
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The 1234 Rule: Left Hand Technique

Today is a guest post from Brad of Live ‘Ukulele and is a modified excerpt from his new ebook, Left Hand Technique For ‘Ukulele. If you enjoy the post, I highly recommend checking it out. It’s packed with useful tips.

When you’re jamming on your ‘ukulele, there are certain conventions you can follow to make playing easier on your left hand. The most universal of these is probably the 1234 rule.

Following this guideline (though all rules are meant to be broken) helps keep your fingers lined up efficiently and out of each other’s way.

This is useful when playing chords, but is often more overlooked during single-note melody playing. So we’ll hone in on that side of things in this lesson.

1234: a First Look

The rule is simple:

If you are playing inside the first four frets, you can often use corresponding fingers to play each fret:

  • 1st finger on 1st fret
  • 2nd finger on 2nd fret
  • 3rd finger on 3rd fret
  • 4th finger on 4th fret

A great way to practice this fingering convention is with a (cleverly-named) 1234 exercise. It’s as simple as it sounds.

On the G-string, play the 1st fret with your first finger. Then play the 2nd fret with your second finger. Then play the 3rd fret with your third finger. Lastly, play the 4th fret with your fourth finger.

Once 1234 is complete on one string, do it again on each of the next three strings so that you end on the 4th fret, A-string.

Practice slowly until you can play it perfectly. (There’s no point, in my opinion, in muddling your way through this at a faster tempo. You want to teach your fingers exactly where home is so that when it’s time to think about other things, your fingers can slip into autopilot mode.)

Here’s the whole thing in TAB:

Play the pattern in reverse once it’s easy to do normally. (Don’t rush; make it perfect!)

The 1234 Mindset – Why It Works

Oftentimes I teach students an open position C major scale and they play it using only one finger, like this (note the fingering numbers above the notation):

I understand why this happens: it’s easier!

At least at first, eliminating all other muscle movements allows them to focus completely on pressing the right frets.

This is usually fine at first as they get the pattern under their fingers. But, while it’s an initial struggle, adding additional fingers for each fret allows you to play much more efficiently down the road.

Here’s what the same scale looks like played following a 1234 convention (all that changes is the fingering):

Try playing it both ways and notice how your whole hand moves to facilitate each. In the first example using a single finger, your hand moves as if you’re playing through three different positions!

This extra movement will really slow you down when playing at a quick tempo. The goal of playing ‘ukulele should be to make it EASY! This means making zero unnecessary movements.

Many times we get caught up in just getting the job done, but taking a moment to assess your technique as you go will pay off many times over as you improve.

Using the Rule

To implement the 1234 fingering convention in your own musical piece, you just have to force yourself to do it. Take any single-note melody that lives within the first four fretsof your ‘ukulele and play it with the rule – no exceptions.

You might find that after spending some time with it, some notes would benefit from breaking out of the 1234 fingering. That’s fine in certain situations, but I think you’ll find that more often than not that the 1234 convention will treat you right.

Because we can, let’s look at how this works with the famous melody of Santana’s “Europa.”

It’s simple, but the kind of thing a lot of people would jump into incorrectly without knowing better.

One person might finger it like this (again, fingerings above the notation):

Others might do it like this:

In both cases, you’re getting hosed on the last note. You have to shift your whole hand down to play the first fret – wasted movement.

This is what it would look like in a perfect world:

By following the 1234 rule, the last note is given its respective space in the future of the phrase and your fingers can do all the work instead of needing to move your hand.

Fingering is all about looking ahead and knowing where you’re going to end up. For instance, if the last note was on the 5th fret, you would could start with your first finger on the 2nd fret and it would line you up to reach that note (2345).

So next time you catch yourself stuck in the first four frets by a poorly executed fingering order, apply the 1234 convention and start fresh.

Learn tons more about left hand fretting technique (and how to expand upon the 1234 rule) in my detailed guide, Left Hand Technique For ‘Ukulele.

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