Coldplay – Clocks (Riff Tab)
October 20, 2009
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I was intending this to be part of the Piano Riffs for Ukulele series, but somehow it got missed.
This one is pretty straight forward. Picking: middle finger A-string, index finger E-string, thumb C-string.
Part of the Guitar Riffs for Ukulele series.
Chic – Good Times/Rapper’s Delight (Riff Tab)
October 18, 2009
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“Hey, they took my riff, made it a whole lot better and introduced it to a new generation. Sue them!”
The picking on this one is quite tricky. I’m playing the first half of it bass-style – alternate picking with index and middle fingers. But switching to using thumb and middle finger for the second half. Also, keep the notes in bars one and three short by muting the strings with your fretting hand shortly after you’ve played them.
Part of the Guitar Riffs for Ukulele series.
Jay-Z – Death of Auto-Tune (Riff Tab)
October 15, 2009
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When Ben Lee’s in trouble he asks himself, “What Would Jay-Z Do?” After seeing how he handled Glastonbury, it’s certainly sage advice. But I prefer Jomes’s suggestion that we ask ‘What would Ken Middleton do?
D.O.A. samples Janko Nilovic & Dave Sucky’s In the Space but this riff isn’t so much a sample as a complete reconstruction. A quick noodle at the beginning of the song is cut up and stapled together to create one of the best riffs around.
When Jay-Z wrote this song he obviously hadn’t heard Carl Sagan’s A Glorious Dawn.
Part of the Guitar Riffs for Ukulele series.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Suck My Kiss (Riff Tab)
October 13, 2009
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Time for another series of Guitar Riffs for Ukulele. Or riffs for ukulele at least – I’m planning to include a bit of bass and piano. The idea with these isn’t to recreate the entire song but to throw in an unexpected snippet for the sake of entertainment (and to get a, “are you playing AC/DC on the ukulele? type reaction). They’re not complete songs and they’re not necessarily in the same key as the original (so hold the, “wrong key dude EPIC FAIL lolz” comments please).
First off is the Red Hot Chili Peppers; who I really should have featured a long time ago. With its syncopated rhythm and the sliding around, this riff is a whole lot trickier than it looks. If you’re dealing with a paucity of frets, you could play it this way and get away with it.
Part of the Guitar Riffs for Ukulele series.
James Bond Theme (Simplified Tab)
October 4, 2009
James Bond Theme (Simplified Tab)
Last in the series of Easy Themes is a reworking of the James Bond Theme. And it’s still not all that easy. I’ve tried to reduce that amount of switching between picking and strumming, but there’s still a lot of it.
The first two bars is done with the thumb on the G string, index on the E strings and middle on the A string. The next section has the thumb on the G and strumming the other strings. The main theme is all strums. The most difficult section is the one that begins with bar 19. This part combines a bit of all those mixed up.
The coda strays a bit far up the neck. If you haven’t got access up to the 14th fret, you could try it this way:
It doesn’t sound quite right but you might just get away with it.
Hawaii Five-0 (Simplified Tab)
October 1, 2009
Hawaii Five-0 (Simplified Tab)
Blog Status Update: It looks like the blog problems are under control (for the moment at least). The old theme which you know and tolerate is back but in a reduced state. Some of the missing features (like the related posts) might reappear once I get braver. A huge thanks goes to J-Hob for helping out. Would anyone miss the ‘Latest Comments’ bit in the sidebar?
Today’s easy tab is a version of Hawaii Five-0 which is simplified, shortened and moved down the neck for soprano players.
One part to take care with is the end of bar 7. Use your middle finger to fret that so it’s in place for the Bb chord in the next bar.
Indiana Jones Theme (Simplified Tab)
September 29, 2009
Indiana Jones Theme (Simplified Tab)
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Blog Problems: You might have noticed that they blog looks bloody awful. I’ve been having major problems with it and have spent all day desperately trying to fix it whilst holding back the tears. So things might look and act a little strange (or not work at all) for a while. In fact, posting this might break all the internets. But let’s give it a go. If anyone is giving out hugs, I could really use one. Or, failing that, a bucket full of diazepam might do the trick.
I always like the challenge of trying to get everything that’s going on in a piece into a uke arrangement. Which means most of my arrangements end up being trickier than they need to be. So this week I’ll be taking some of the theme tunes I’ve tabbed before and simplifying them down to make them more accessible. Starting off with the Indiana Jones Theme.
David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust (Intro Tab)
September 20, 2009
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This one brings back memories. My first band consisted mainly of me (a sullen Yorkshire boy who just wanted to play guitar) and the singer (a great big show-off, drama queen). So we did a lot of Mick Ronson era David Bowie covers. This one being a particular favourite.
Anyhoo, compare to that last two, this one is dead simple.
Nick Drake – Cello Song (Intro Tab)
September 17, 2009
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I’m currently down with a bit of a cold. So please forgive any disgusting sniffs and snuffs that might be audible on that MP3. And you don’t want to be tackling this one in a weakened state because it is seriously tricky.
The first section is trickiest. There’s a quick succession of notes on the same string so you’ll have to use your index and middle fingers for the picking. For bars 3 – 8 it’s one finger per string. And for the main body of the song it’s a Travis-picking pattern with the thumb covering the G and C strings, the index on the E string and the middle on the A string.
I’m off back to bed *sniffle snuffle*
The Smiths – This Charming Man (Intro Tab)
September 15, 2009
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This week I thought I’d tab up a few of my favourite intros, starting out with easily the best.
It’s interesting listening to this early version of This Charming Man recorded a Peel Session. The riff is intact in the verse but the intro sounds very weak compared to the final version.
The version I’ve tabbed above is in the key of the original. But it’s easier to play it two frets down as Perrecy does in his German ukulele version of the song. Here it is in that key.
