I’ve spent the entire course of this week squinting through a haze of tears thanks to the new Bon Iver album. So I was either going to love or hate the first ukulele cover of it I heard. As luck would have it, Kina Grannis was up to the job. Also this week is Lisa Hannigan duetting with a uke, the first Gaga ukulele cover I’ve liked and Givers rocking it out the ass.
The Jake-style slotted headstock is continuing it’s move from high-end instruments to the more affordable end. Oscar Schmidt have been experimenting with them and you can buy a Oscar Schmidt OU6SL prototype on eBay if you have to have one.
I’m not entirely sure what happened to Mid-East‘s sitar-kulele. I haven’t seen them for sale anywhere and their website has shown none in stock every time I’ve checked. Still, there doesn’t seem to be any difficulty picking up a Lute-kulele.
Photos: Hawaiian Sharps, Paul Anka
My Ukulele for Dummies book is now available in the UK (Amazon sold out their first batch straight away but they’re back in stock now). People have already been getting their copies (including my mum who was practically bashing on the doors of Amazon on the day of release). If you’re one of those, it would be great if you could leave a review on Amazon. Good, bad or indifferent. It would be great to have reviews on the UK site when it’s released in the US in August. And I’m, of course, very interested to see what people make of it.
Taimane Gardner was charged with driving under the influence after she drove into a police car according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser. There’s nothing funny about DUI, except maybe the mug-shot.
Lots of new classical and folk tabs for standard tuning on PDF Minstrel.
Kate Micucci chats to CNN and sings.
Ledward Kaapana has been named an NEA National Heritage Fellow
James Hill discusses the ukulele rising.
There’s a limit to what Julia Nunes will do for $1,000 :
Pledge $1,000 or more
YOUTUBE VIDEO COVER OF YOUR CHOICE we’ll have to talk about this and come to a compromise cause I aint doin no “I’m yours”
(Thanks to Rob)
Randy Newman – You’ve Got A Friend In Me (Chords)
There was a big reaction to Blue Dean Carcione’s magnificent performance of this song when I posted it and Dean was kind enough to pass along his version of the chords/tab for me to write up.
Dean based his version on the Alligator Boogaloo chords but added a few variations and also used a capo at the second fret (making the song in the key of D).
Twiddly Bits
Dean’s intro is spot on and is played like this:
There’s a little bit of filigree on the C chord in the bridge.
You can play that or just stick with a straight C chord.
Subscribe to Blue Dean on YouTube
UPDATE
+Robert May asked for a slowed down version of the intro so here it is:
The most awkward question I get asked is, “What’s the strumming pattern for this?” Because there’s no real answer to it. It’s not like a chord progression where there’s a right chord and a wrong chord. You can use different strumming patterns and it will still work. It’s an important skill to be able to pick your own strumming patterns.
So in this post I’ve listed some of the most common strumming patterns around. Ones you can try out and see if they fit the song.
For more info on strumming, read the posts on strumming notation and strumming for dummies; and the ebook I wrote How to Play Ukulele Strums.
Some Basics
Before you start strumming, go through these steps:
Step 1: Clap along with the song: If the singer was to shout, “Hey everybody, clap along,” what would you do? (Assuming you’re less surly than me and would just fold your arms and look moody.)
Step 2: Pretend you’re in The Ramones: If you were going to start the song by shouting one, two, three, four what would you do? Try counting through the song repeating that all the way (if counting to four doesn’t fit, try counting to three).
Step 3: Try a few strumming patterns: Try fitting a strumming pattern to the song. Fit them so the down strums in the pattern match with the numbers you count. So a dead simple pattern would be all down strums: strum down when you count one, when you count two, when you count three and when you count four.
4/4 Strumming Patterns
By far the most common time signature around is 4/4 (“four four”). If you can count along to a song, “one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four,” and it fits, try out these strumming patterns.
Strumming Pattern 1: d – d u – u d –
This one crops up in so many ukulele songs. It’s simple to play. But – because it misses the third down strum – it has a slightly syncopated feel to it which makes it more interesting.
Sounds like:
Use it in:
Charlieissocoollike – A Song About Acne
She and Him – Gonna Get Along Without You Now
WIUO/Outkast – Hey Ya!
Kate Micucci & William H Macy – It’s Time to Get Laid
Noah and the Whale – Jealous Kind of Love
Zee Avi – Kantoi
Zee Avi – Just You and Me
In double time: Cosmo Jarvis – She’s Got You
Nevershoutnever – Cheatercheaterbestfriendeater
Andrews Sisters/Sophie Madeleine – Bei Mir Bist du Schon
Strumming Pattern 2: d – d u – u d u
Very similar to strumming pattern 1, but with another up strum at the end.
Sounds like:
Use it in:
Ingrid Michaelson – You and I
Paolo Nutini – High Hopes
I Wanna Be Like You
Misty Miller – Remember
Paramore – Interlude: Moving On
Brendan Maclean – Stupid
Keston Cobblers’ Club – Pett Level
Amanda Palmer – Ukulele Anthem
Beirut – A Candle’s Fire
Strumming Pattern 3: d – d – d u d u
Sounds like:
Use it in:
WIUO – I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
OK Go – This Too Shall Pass
Keston Cobblers Club – You Go
The Pogues – Fiesta
Neutral Uke Hotel – King of Carrot Flowers
Ewan Wardrop/50 Cent – In Da Club
Daniel Johnston – Living Life
Strumming Pattern 4: d – d u d u d u
A really straight-forward strum useful for punky stuff.
Sounds like:
Use it in:
UOGB – Teenage Kicks
Ryan Gosling – You Always Hurt the Ones You Love
The Beach Boys – Wouldn’t It Be Nice
Sufjan Stevens – Christmases Past
The Smiths – The Queen is Dead
Train – Sing Together
The Vaccines – Wrecking Bar
Half-Bar Patterns
If you’re looking for a strumming pattern for a song where the chords change regularly (twice a bar) try out these.
Strumming Pattern 5: d – d u
Sounds like:
Use it in:
Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Follow You Into the Dark
WIUO – Short People
Sesame Street
McFly – Love is Easy
Zooey Deschanel – You Forgot about Valentine’s Day
Zooey Deschanel – What are You Doing New Year’s Eve
GOTYE – Somebody That I Used to Know
Strumming Pattern 6: d u x u
Sounds like:
Use it in:
Hellogoodbye – Betrayed by Bones
Allo Darlin – Tallulah
Two Bar Pattern
If the chords change much more slowly, you could just double up on the 4/4 pattern. Or you could make it more interesting by using a two bar pattern.
Strumming Pattern 7:
d – d u – u d u
– u d u – u d –
Henceforth to be known as the ‘Sophie Madeleine strum’.
Sounds like:
Use it in:
Sophie Madeleine – The Knitting Song
Sophie Madeleine – You Are My Favourite
Sophie Madeleine – I Just Can’t Stop Myself
Rocky and Balls – Love Cake
Bella Hemming – Play Guitar
Peggy Sue – February Snow
Antarctica Takes It – C&F
Emphasis
Strumming Pattern 8: d u D U d u D U
Sounds like:
Use it in:
Florence and the Machine – Kiss With a Fist
Rocky Horror Picture Show – Time Warp
Sophie Madeleine – Take Your Love With Me
Sufjan Stevens – Lumberjack Christmas
Chuck Berry – Run Run Rudolph
Strumming Pattern 9: d u x u d u x u
Sounds like:
Use it in:
Nevershoutnever – Biggest Fan
Noah and the Whale – Five Years Time
Reggae Strums
With a reggae strum you’re always going to be accenting the off beats. In the other strums here you’re always playing a strong beat on the ‘one’ of the count. Here you’re accenting other beats. It’s not always obvious what’s going on so I’ve included a click track with these.
Strumming Pattern 10: – d – d – d – d
Here you’re accenting the beats between the count.
Sounds like:
Use it in:
April Smith – Colors
Weezer/Sarah Blackwood – Say It Ain’t So
Strumming Pattern 11: – – d u – – d –
Here the accent is on the ‘two’ and ‘four’ beats.
Sounds like:
Use it in:
3/4 Time
If counting, “one, two, three, four,” doesn’t fit with the song you’re playing, try counting in threes instead. If that works, try these patterns.
Strumming Pattern 12: d – d u d –
Sounds like:
Use it in:
Amanda Palmer – In My Mind
John Denver/Ballard C Boyd – Christmas for Cowboys
Weezer – Christmas Song
OK Go – Needing/Getting
Strumming Pattern 13: d – d u d u
Sounds like:
Use it in:
WIUO – Blue Smoke
Kelli Rae Powell – Some Bridges are Good to Burn
Walk off the Earth – Little Boxes
Bon Iver/Kina Grannis – Michicant
Changing the Patterns
There are tweaks you can make to all these strumming patterns.
Swing Them
When you swing a strumming pattern you make the down strum last slightly longer than the up strum. That gives the strum an off-kilter feel to it.
You can do this with any of the strums. For example, strum pattern 4 would sound like this when swung.
Change the Tempo
You make any of these strums faster or slower than I’ve played them. In general, the more complicated the strum, the better it’ll sound slowed down. The more straight forward it is, the better it works at high speed.
For More on Strumming…
Pick up a copy of my ebook How to Play Ukulele Strums
Misty Miller – Remember (Chords)
If I turn into a crazy cat-lady, I think my millions will probably go to trees. Which is why I’m entirely won over to Misty Miller after she did a song for the Woodland Trust.
For this song, I’ve written up the album version. Although I prefer solo version (much less Mrazy).
Suggested Strumming
This strumming pattern will do you well:
Use that twice for each chord in the verses and once for each chord in the chorus.
Like this:
Twiddly Bits
If you want to do the little twiddly bit at the beginning it’s:
G – Gsus4 – D – D7 – Em – Em7 – C – Cadd9
Use this strumming pattern:
With the main chord (G, D, Em, C) in the first bar; and the fancy chord (Gsus4, D7 etc) in the second bar. So it sounds like this:
She also throws in a Cmaj7 after the C at the end of the chorus.
Still no decent Internet here, so a rather shortened post this week. So go ahead and leave your favourite of the week in the comments to give people something to listen to.
Jim D’Ville looks at the science of learning to play by ear.
The Rights of Man on Uker Tabs.
MP3s: Big favourite of mine, Lila Burns has an album of demos up on Bandcamp. Helen Arney was on the Infinite Monkey radio show/podcast and you can download the track she played free on Bandcamp. Diane Extein is doing a ukulele songwriting challenge and putting up a free song a week on Bandcamp.
I’ve been away from decent Internet all week, so please do enlighten me and everyone else with any (non-Vedder) links you’ve seen this week.
Waltzing Matilda (Tab)
Another example of a national anthem that isn’t. This one is a bit more murdery, but still preferable to a song expressing pride at being girt by sea.
This arrangement is pretty easy. There’s no fancy picking, it’s all done with the thumb. The only thing to watch out for is a bit of a journey up the neck.
In other news, I’m on holiday at the moment and having some Internet connection problems. I’m relying on the hideous, caveman-like experience of 3G. So if there are no Friday and Saturday posts that’ll be why.
Requested by Art Crocker.
This work by Ukulele Hunt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
It’s nearly the half way point of the year. Already. So here’s a quick round-up of my favourite videos so far (in the order they showed up on the blog).
One thing I’ve noticed putting this together: the number of pro musicians using the ukulele has crowded out the bedroom players. Whether that’s established musicians picking up the uke (Amanda Palmer and Eddie Vedder), new acts with the uke up front (Misty Miller) or bands with the uke as part of the texture (Seryn and Keston Cobblers’ Club).
Leave your favourite(s) of the year in the comments.
