After a couple of his cover medleys it’s about time I did one of Mr B’s own tunes. And, I have to say, it makes a pleasant change to write out the lyrics of someone with good diction.

I did the chord sheet based on the version on O.G. Original Gentleman. Which has a few differences from the video version. It’s much longer. The banjolele is in D-tuning for the video and slightly sharp of that on the record. Here’s the version of the chords if you’re playing in standard tuning with a capo at the second (and a half) fret.

Suggested Strumming

For the opening part, it’s just down strums.

When it picks up you can use this as the main pattern:

d – d – d u d u

For the quick chord changes at the end of the line you can do:

d – d –

For each. There are some really quick chord changes in the last verse that just need one down strum.

Buy the MP3

I included Emily Scott in my post about ukuleles at the Edinburgh Fringe mostly because I was intrigued by the idea of combining ukulele with a string quartet. After that, she got in touch and was kind enough to send a copy of her album, i write letters i never send, and I was blown away by it. The strings aren’t just ballooning away in the background, they’re beautifully arranged. I highly recommend getting your hands on it.

Here’s my favourite track from the album.

And here’s an interview I did with her.

How was your Edinburgh Fringe? What did you get up to?

It was great! Unusually busy for us; often I panic at the amount of stuff on then miss it all. We put in a couple of appearances at Lach’s Antihoot, did an in-store at Avalanche Records, and sold out our full band show, which is cool to be able to say. They give you a wee logo and everything, but we kind of owe our friends and family now.

How did you first pick up the ukulele? And what keeps you playing it?

My brother was learning, and got one for me as a surprise gift from my local music shop, called me and told me to go pick it up. It came at the perfect time, as I had reached a slight stumbling block playing double bass, which is my first instrument, in terms of hoofing it around and the sheer physicality of playing it. What keeps me playing the uke is the desire to really explore it; I like the upside-down feeling of my quite low voice and a relatively high instrument, and a band who believe in me, who do silly things like come on tour when there’s little prospect of fame and fortune, and I need not go on about how great it is to skip to gigs with the smallest instrument in the band for a change.

How do you go about combining ukulele with a string quartet?

It’s amazing. I finally feel like I’m doing something that I can do like no-one else can, that’s really and truly me. I’m using what I learned at college, which I never thought I would; it’s like when you actually use the maths you hated at school in real life, and have a total a-ha moment. The band is great, I feel lucky to have found them; they play through stuff like a marvellous string machine, and it’s easy for me to hear how to progress. It’s been a major learning curve but I want to just keep doing it. I tell them I want them to live in my living room and they think I’m joking.

You’ve obviously got big ambitions for your sound. Where do you see your music going in the future?

Hmm, so hard to say. I can’t believe that the kind of job that I want, where I gig all the time, and record forever, really exists any more, we’re just going to see how it goes. Booking this tour has been an eye-opener for me, but luckily we’ve managed to find a handful of intimate and unusual venues that really suit our music, and the kind of DIY promoters that are into it for the music not the money. You can’t ask for more than that.

Where can people pick up your music?

From my blog, at EmilyScottMusic.com.

Listen to and buy the album on BandCamp And she’s currently touring the UK.

Videos this week include: a duet between Cliff ‘Ukulele Ike’ Edwards and Buster Keaton (which I think I’ve posted before but is well worth another spin), two from Liverpudlian swingers The Flamin’ Mamies, Mr B and plenty more.

If you’ve got the patience for it and tolerance for lofi recording there’s a new, 8 minute Tune-Yards song here.

And, remember, if you can’t wait two weeks between UkeTubes you can follow my video findings on UkeToob.

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Germans in Grass Skirts?: A history of Martin ukuleles (Via @UkeTeeCee).

David’s official uke rules. Including:

– Don’t say you play the ukulele if you just own one and don’t touch it.
– Don’t be an overly happy asshole
– Don’t constantly flit around reminding everyone you play the ukulele…
– …Unless you’re James Hill. Then you fucking rock.

I was interviewed by Ukulele and Languages.

Jake interviewed by Fretboard Journal. One revelation:

FJ: Do you prefer slotted headstocks?

JS: You know, it really doesn’t matter to me. However Kamaka prefers to build them, that’s how I take ‘em.

Frank Skinner Plays the banjolele on QI.

Buy the Bigfoot and Tiki collection.

Kickstarting: The Love Leighs.

MP3s: Bosco and Honey on ABC Sydney, Songs Illinois has Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapels, Fluxblog has Tune-Yards.

Middle lead of The Beatles’ Something on Uker Tabs.

Pictures: The situation was deteriorating rapidly, The Magic Ukulele, vintage ukers, O.M.G. A U.K.E. : Ukuleles in Pop Culture.

If I give my ukulele a girl’s name will people think I’m a lesbian?

Is this the first time I’ve done a Burt Bacharach song? I think so. And it’s a huge omission. One that Shireen of Mighty Ukulele suggested I fix.

I’m playing this mostly fingerstyle. The only strumming is done where you see the arrows in the tab. Most of these are finger-strums. But there are thumbs in the, “In silence…” section and the final chord.

I got asked why I use my thumb to strum when I’m so against it usually. There is a difference between general strumming and strumming in a tune. In solo playing using your thumb will give you a softer sound. It’s also more practical sometimes. When you need to strum up to a specific string it’s a whole lot easier to do with your thumb.

Buy MP3

When I announced I was switching to posting one-week-on, one-week-off the main reaction was, “yeah, but you’re still going to do the UkeTube every week, right?” No, I’m not.

But I am going to do something better.

When Donnie announced that he was going to bring UkeToob.com to an end I immediately begged him to let me take it on. And he was kind enough to let me.

So from now on I’ll be posting videos I like on there. There’s a rating underneath each video so if you see one you like rate it and that’ll improve its chances of making the Uke Hunt round-up.

I’ve also got a few ideas for other types of posts. So far there’s a videography of James Hill and a top 5 ukulele videos uploaded to YouTube this month.

It’s going to be a while before it settles in so let me know what you like, what you dislike, and what you’d like to see.

You can subscribe by RSS or by email using the links at the top of the page on UkeToob.

I’m working my way through this album from the outside in. I did the opening track here and here’s the album’s closer.

This song has many of the features you’d expect of a Beirut ukulele song: it’s in waltz time, there’s a hammer-on from a second to a major third (although it’s on a D chord rather than the usual F) and there’s plenty of incomprehensible mumbling.

Suggested Strumming

For a dead simple strum you could use this:

d – d u – u

Which – slowed down – sounds like this:

Strum 1

Use that twice for Em, once for each of the Cs. Then (if you’re not doing the twiddly Dsus2 passing chord) it’s twice for D.

For the G-Gsus4 bit, do the main strum for the G. Then one down strum each for Gsus4 – G – Gsus4.

For the rest, it’s four times each.

You can fancy it up a bit by using this two bar pattern:

d – d u – u d u d u – u

Which sounds like this:

Strum2

Twiddly Bits

The little Dsus2 – D hammer-on is played like this:

Twiddle

So you play the Dsus2 chord and hammer-on the E-string at the second fret.

In the chord chart I’ve written it up in the intro only, but it’s played all the way through the song.

Buy MP3

More Beirut tabs and chords

Videos this week include lightening picking from sanford ‘automatic inclusion’ andsong, zombie rocking from the Darling Sweets and this week’s non-uke video from Seth Lakeman and his tenor guitar.
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A bumper crop of Martins this week:

– Martin 5K
– 30’s 2M
– Martin Style 3 (I think this is the one I’d go for)
– 1932 Martin 2K

And this one covered in beads. I’m not sure how it could play, “like a million dollars,” and sound, “fantastic,” with all that stuff on it. But the artist has been on Oprah so it must be good.

Decorated resonator baritone (via Phredd).

Kapono 8-string baritone.

Miniature ukuleles.

100 ukulele players help to open the Rugby World Cup.

Charlie McDonnell has become the first UK vlogger to cross the million subscribers mark and the press coverage has really focussed on his uke playing. Including on ITV’s Daybreak (another video here if you’re outside the UK).

Ukulele for Dummies has picked up its first bad review. Which I was expecting to happen. But it’s annoying that the review seems to be based on solely on the video clip on the page. So if you’ve got a copy, now would be the perfect time to leave a review. Good, bad or indifferent. So long as it’s based on the actual book. I’d really appreciate it. And a huge thanks to everyone who has left review.

Fozzie Bear is confirmed as my favourite Muppet. He’s hot shit on the ukulele and shreds Kermit to pieces (thanks to Carrie).

10 Warren Buffett quotes for guitar players – obviously meant for ukulele players.

Eardumspop is giving away three songs from Laura K.

I’ve been turned into a work of art.

Youngsters are bored by ukulele festivals.