Jingle Bells (Tab) Jingle Bells (mp3) A fairly simple tab, this one. In the verse, the melody is fingerpicked and the strummed chords are fitted around it. There are a couple of tricky little bits. The first is ‘on a one…’. Here you have to use your index and middle fingers to play the same […]

Herb Ohta – Sophisticated Ukulele (Book and CD) Herb Ohta (or Ohta-San if you prefer) has been playing the uke professionally for over 60 years and has released over 60 albums – he probably knows what he’s talking about when it comes to the uke. Sophisticated Ukulele is another book in the Jumpin’ Jim’s Ukulele […]

I’ll be taking a look at some of my favourite ukulele books, DVDs and CDs. If you have a favourite ukulele book DVD etc, let us know about it in the comments. John King – Classical Ukulele (Book and CD) There’s little doubt that John King is one of the foremost ukulele technicians (just check […]

Winger – Santa Baby (mp3) Winger – Santa Baby (Chords) You might know this song in its versions by Eartha Kitt, Kylie, Madonna or Marilyn Monroe (who never sang it), but my favourite is by Winger (no, not the hair metal band Winger). Not only is it played on ukulele, it has uke-adapted lyrics – […]

Deciding which ukulele to buy is tricky even for seasoned uke players. If you play uke for long enough you’ll discover the right answer to the question ‘which ukulele should I buy?’ is ‘all of them’. If you’re buying your first ukulele or you’re buying someone else’s first uke it can be difficult to know […]

A quick guide to what little gift to get your uke obsessed love one for Christmas. (Or what you might like to get for yourself because everyone else is getting you socks). Ukulele Strings A good set of strings is the fastest and cheapest way to improve the sound of any ukulele. But if you’re […]

Now that we’ve reached December, it’s time to grab your uke and start practicing a few Christmas tunes. With that in mind, I’ve put together a tab ebook for a dozen Christmas favourites all arranged in a simple fashion. The full list of tabs is: – Twelve Days of Christmas – Auld Lang Syne – […]

As someone who doesn’t dare uncork a wine bottle without an emergency helicopter and a skilled team of physicians on standby, I have great admiration for anyone who can start with a few lumps of wood and end up with ukulele. I’ve found it fascinating to follow luthier Pete Howlett’s blog as he sets about […]