Charlie McDonnell/Chameleon Circuit – Big Bang 2 (Chords)

It’s the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who next week so this week a couple of Who tunes to get you ready. First up is Charlie McDonnell’s solo uke version of Big Bang 2 by his trock band Chameleon Circuit. The song is based on Murray Gold’s I Am The Doctor from the show. More about that song on Thursday.

Suggested Strumming

Intro: Do this once for each chord:

d – d – d – x u
– u – u d u d –

Here’s how that sounds slowed way down:

IntroStrum

Verse: One down strum for each chord in the first half (the single strum bits vary between the verses). Then this twice for each chord:

d – d u – u d –

Chorus: Here’s where it gets tricky. Each line is this:

Here’s how that sounds slowed down:

Chorus Strum

Middle: You can use the verse strum again: d – d u – u d –

Twiddly Bits

Here’s the little riff at the beginning. Best not to let it worry you that it’s in 7/8 time.

Links

Buy the Chameleon Circuit version on iTunes
CharlieMcDonnell.com
DoctorWho.tv
More Charlie McDonnell chords

Full Playlist

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T-shirt update: You only have a few days left if you want to buy a Uke Hunt t-shirt. The standard black t-shirt has sold over 100 so that will definitely be made. As will the women’s black t-shirt which has just past its goal. Unfortunately the white t-shirts weren’t popular enough so those won’t be made.

New Releases

– Ohana have released a new ukulele based on the original look of the ukulele as made by the Madieran bunch. It’s called the Ohana SK-28. aNueNue had the same idea with their 1879 series. The aNueNue version looks more faithful to the original. But it’s also around double the price.
– The Ukes in America DVD.
– Post Mortem of a Monster by Zahra.

Pictures

– Ukulele Skull.
– The Hat Boys (c.1920).
– Spanko strummin’…
– Using the uke to pick up chicks.
– A postcard from the Netherlands UPDATE: Thanks to karl for pointing out it’s the Ukulogisch Museum in Belgium. You can watch Bosco and Honey visiting in here.

NPR listen to the sounds of New York in 1930 with a fascinating recording of a strummer in Coney Island at the bottom.

The daughter of Mario Maccaferri discusses why he moved from making reeds to making plastic ukuleles.

Tune-Yards – FIYA (Tab)

I started a new hobby blog today about African guitar music. There’s not a whole lot of crossover between ukuleles and African music but the one obvious link is Tune-Yards. Merrill Garbus cropped up on a couple of tracks on the recent Red Hot + Fela album including the standout track Lady with ?uestlove, Angelique Kidjo and others.

So today I’ve written up one of her African-influenced tracks FIYA.

The tab shows the riffs used in each section of the song (not the whole tabs).

The Tuning

The tuning on this one is weird. I think it’s baritone tuning (on a tenor ukulele) with a high-d string. But that high-d is tuned half a step to Db. So it’s dbGBE.

Standard Tuning Version

In case you don’t fancy making the effort for that tuning here’s a version in standard tuning that more or less works out:

Tune-Yards – FIYA (Standard Tuning)

Here’s how that intro sounds:

Intro Riff

The bridge:

Bridge Riff

And the chorus:

Chorus Riff

Links

Buy it on iTunes
tune-yards.com
Tune-Yards: Africa in Your Earbuds
Hatari tab
Powa tab

In the comments of the fingerpicking patterns post post Gretchen requested picking patterns for 3/4. Which was an excellent idea.

If you’re not familiar with it, there’s a guide to fingerpicking notation here. And there’s a beginner’s guide to fingerpicking here.

What is 3/4 Time?

Most pop songs are in 4/4 time. So you’d count along with them “1, 2, 3, 4” Joey Ramone style. But there are many songs in 3/4 time i.e. you count “1, 2, 3” along with the song.

Some well known songs in 3/4 time: Happy Birthday, Hallelujah, The Times they are a-Changing.

Thumb and Two Finger Patterns

Three patterns using the thumb and two finger method of picking.

PIMP Pattern

A very straight forward pattern with the thumb on the C-string.

PIMIPI Pattern

Similar to the last pattern but now you’re going up and down the strings (and up a bit again).

Unison Pattern

Here you’re playing the E and A-strings at the same time. There’s a bass note then the rest of chord. It’s something you hear a lot in 3/4 time.

One Finger Per String Method

Now for three patterns using the One Finger Per String Picking Method.

PIMA Pattern

Going straight up the strings. But the first two notes are eighth notes and the second two quarter notes.

Unison Pattern

Similar to the third pattern except this time playing the g-string alone. This example is a bit Beirut-y.

IMP Pattern

Another example with strings being played in unison. But this time the g and E-strings being played at the same time.

Velvet Underground and Nico – I’ll Be Your Mirror (Chords)

I had to do a Lou Reed tribute post. And I decided on this less-famous song because it suits the ukulele well. The original was played with a capo on the fifth fret. Which means the chord shapes are the same for both versions.

Suggested Strumming

For the main strum you can use:

d – d u d u d –

In the intro and outro: Once for each chord.

In the verse: Main strum once for each chord except the first D. Play two down strums for that.

In the chorus: Two down-strums each on the C and D. One main strum each on the Gs. Then two main strums on the Am, one on the C and end on the D.

Twiddly Bits

The little picking bit in the intro and the middle works well on the uke too. Here’s a simplified uked version:

When you play it in the middle of the song just play the repeat once.

Intro

The little bit at the end of the chorus doesn’t work quite as well but you can do this:

Lick

Links

Buy it on iTunes
Lou Reed obituary

Full Playlist

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Sad news this week that Michael Aratani has died. Better know as MusicGuyMic, he was the internet’s most loved ukulele seller. His eBay store always had the newest and most interesting ukuleles. After illness and eBay fees forced him to shut that down he returned and had recently been working with Hawaii Music Supply. He’s a big loss to the ukulele world.

T-shirt update: The standard black Uke Hunt t-shirt has reached its goal and will be made. So if you’ve ordered one of those you’ll definitely be getting one. And if you order one between now and 13th November you’ll definitely get it. Find out more about the t-shirts here.

New Releases
– A new book from The Idler’s Tom Hodginson and Gavin Pretor-Pinney The Ukulele Handbook covering uke history and starter advice.
– Free ebook from Uke of Carl: Hanon for Ukulele.
– Get Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk’s Over Land and Sea for free.
– Pre-order Sweet Soubrette’s Burning City.
– An album of ukulele covers of Smiths songs in German from Perrecy: Du bist das Opfer.

Pictures
– Amy Crehore’s Tickler Twitch Uke is close to finished.
– Mighty Boosh ukulele.
– Ukulele urn (Thanks to Shireen).

Videos
– West Midlands police fighting crime with Formby parodies.
– Can’t decide which size to get? Get all of them in one uke (Thanks to Ron Hale).

Exciting but expensive ukulele jaunt in Mexico with James Hill: The Ukulele Carnival.