Unusually, it’s a rather unshowy and understated ukulele that’s got me interested. A Ken Timms Martin Style 0 copy. Looks great and sounds lovely too.
On the more showy side is a Black Bear Lyon & Healy 5K Shrine copy.
A couple of bobby-dazzler banjo ukuleles on eBay UK: Crown Ludwig, Gibson UB-2.
So transferring the site turned out to be something of a disaster. If you emailed me on Tuesday/Wednesday (including about the podcast) there’s a good chance I didn’t get your email. So I’m not blanking you, just email again. Some comments are currently missing – I’m trying to recover them. And if you missed it you might want to find out more about the upcoming Uke Hunt podcast. At least the site is up more often than Twitter.
The story to go along with last week’s flapper drawing. Along with the evolution of a ukulele.
Google ‘ukulele’ and you will find a strange red shoe world.
Craig Robertson has the most accurate theory about the ukulele.
Tri-Tabs has a bunch of new tabs for beginners.
Leona Lewis and Matthew Morrison (off of of Glee) do a ukulele duet) and John Hawkes (off of of Lost and Deadwood) records a ukulele song for the soundtrack of his latest film.
The Daily Growl is offering up a couple of mp3s from Meursault.
Pictures: Portland buskers (if anyone knows who those guys are, I’d love to know), Sniffs, Celebrating Spontaneous Creativity
I’ve made a pact with myself that I’m going to buy a tenor KoAloha Sceptre at the next available opportunity. I don’t care how ridiculous they are, or how little I need or deserve another uke. Of course, I make that pact and the next Sceptre seller refuses to ship outside the US.
A big part of the reason I want one is that Alvin Okami is just such a great myth-maker. How could you resist after watching this extra nugget from The KoAloha Story?
He ends the section with a lovely version of This Is My Song by Charlie Chaplin (it starts at about 12:30) and it’s that version that I’ve written up. There are a bunch of useful chord variations and inversions in the arrangement that are well worth making note of.
If you want to be part of the follow-up to The KoAloha Story, you can have your own KoAloha story told in Gary San Angel’s next project.
In a further attempt to spread my tentacles over the internet (I said tentacles) and rake in the payola, next month is going to see the launch of the Uke Hunt podcast.
Obviously no one wants to hear my surly grunting, so at the helm will be Bossarocker.
It’d be great to have loads of people who read the blog on the podcast. So if you want to get your music heard you can submit your tracks for consideration by uploading them to SoundCloud (no covers songs please – unless they are public domain). Be sure to include a bit of information about yourself when you do.
You can also get in touch and share your music, ideas or opinions by emailing podcast@ukulelehunt.com.
I’m not sure if I should admit I’ve never seen an episode of The Sweeney. I know the show invented the ‘I don’t play by the rules’ cop show but it’s such a cliche now it’s hard to watch. Unless they just go hilariously over the top as Luther did.
Anyway, on to the theme tune. The original version is in the uke-friendly key of Em so I’ve been able to keep the same key for this version. The main feature of the tune is the chromatically descending notes on the C-string. You have to keep this sounding strong while you play the melody notes against it.
For most of the tune I’m using my fingernail as a pick (holding it between my thumb and middle finger more firmly than I do for strumming). I chose to do this so I could get plenty of attack but also have more control over the single notes than you get with straight forward strumming. I only bust out the fingerpicking for the melancholic ending.
Requested by Bosssarocker
While I’m spending the weekend rocking out at Download (METAAAAAAALLLLL!!!!!!), you pansies can enjoy some la-di-da ukulele music including Bess Rogers, another ukulele playing ninja and a song about rain from, official International City of Rain 1987-2008, Manchester..
Mid-East‘s range of folk-instrument inspired ukuleles have shown up on eBay. Currently there are the Baroq-ulele, Balalaika ukulele and lute ukulele. No sign yet of the sitar-kulele which is slated for later this year.
A couple of Sam Chang ukuleles up right now. Don’t see them very often.
I’m all for using videos and soundfiles in listings, but if you’re going to start bids at $7,000 it’s probably worth finding someone who can show it off.
You can now pay for the How to Play Ukulele ebooks by credit card without all the PayPal hassles. Due to very, very popular demand (which I have a great deal of sympathy with). I’ve tested it and it should be fine, but if you encounter any problems just let me know.
In another bit of housekeeping, I’ll be switching the site to a new host next week. So if the site goes down, that’ll be why. On to business.
Everyone seems to be using the ukulele in their drama-dies these days. Modern Family had a ukulele rendition of Eye of the Tiger. Parenthood finished with I’m Into Something Good. And, showing a mind-numbing paucity of ambition, Glee‘s season climaxed with an yet another IZ inspired ukulele rendition of Over the Rainbow.
Brazilian ball-kicker, Julio Baptista has taken his ukulele to the World Cup. The English is under the Italian and worth reading for the phrase, “a passion that grows the Beast for years.” (Thanks to Ukulollo). And the terminally deluded of you who think England have a chance might enjoy this video.
Jim D’Ville is about to set off on a workshop tour of North California.
The more innocent days before UFC.
MP3s: Jacob Borshard got married and celebrated with 3D photos and MP3s (click the first and last photos for the tracks). Both Sides of the Mouth has 6 Day Riot’s Go! Canada. Amanda Palmer has released the first track from her Radiohead ukulele EP, Idioteque. You can listen and buy it on Bandcamp.
Why did no one tell me Blur had a ukulele song?
If you answered, “Because no one listened to Think Tank,” correct answer. Take ten internet points.
I think it’s obvious from this track that Damon Albarn was happier making Gorillaz records than Blur records.
The track has a strong ‘on finding the studio ukulele’ vibe to it and they’re playing up the primitive side. It even sounds like it’s been recorded on a 1980s dictaphone.
I avoided watching Ralph Shaw’s Essential Strums for Ukulele for a very long time. I knew I was going to be writing my own guide to strumming and I didn’t want to be unduly influenced by it. The problem was I had nothing to tell the people who asked me if it was any good. So now I’ve finally got round to watching it I can let you in on my opinions.
A 1 hour, 33 minute DVD covering basic strumming technique and strumming patterns in the following styles:
Strums: Common, March, Waltz, Blues, Triplets, Bossa Nova, Reggae, Swing, Samba, Bo Diddley, Frailing (Clawhammer), Syncopated (Split Stroke).
Songs: Take Me Home Country Roads, Mister Sun, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Kiss Me Once, Rolling Down the Hill, The Girl from Ipanema, Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World, The Darktown Strutters Ball, A Song to Bring Back Something Which is Lost. I’m Happy, Let Me Sing You a Country Song.
You also get two booklets: a chord chart and one with notation for the strums and song sheets.
Very Clearly Explained: The big question you ask yourself before you buy a uke DVDs is, “Is there’s anything here I couldn’t pick up on YouTube?” On this DVD, there isn’t. The big difference is that it’s much more clearly explained here. There are plenty of video tutorials on clawhammer and the split stroke. But this is more clear than any I’ve seen. And he’s also demonstrating good technique which isn’t always the case with YT tutorials.
Ralph is adorable: The DVD is very easy to watch and Ralph is a friendly and charming teacher. It’s enough to forgive him for the shirt and the strange chalk picture in the background.
Good range of difficulty: Takes from the absolute basics up to complex stuff like clawhammer and split-strokes. Although it’s heavily slanted towards beginners, most people will pick up something from it. He’s convinced me to have a proper go at getting the clawhammer technique down (which I hadn’t had much interest in previously).
He doesn’t teach you how to fish: If you’re looking for a deeper understanding of rhythm and strums, this isn’t for you. The DVD doesn’t equip you with the skills to adapt the patterns he gives you, to understand how strumming patterns fit within songs or to decide which strumming patterns to use yourself.
Booklet: The booklet could be a bit more helpful. It uses guitar picking notation for the strums which isn’t very intuitive or easy to read and is inadequate for more complex stuff like triplets, clawhammer and split stroke. The song sheets in the booklet don’t have chord diagrams with them.
It’s a DVD: I’ve moaned about this before. DVDs make it hard to go over the bits you’re interested in and skip past the stuff you know already. It leads to a lot of shuttling back and forth trying to find things. For example, he carefully explains all the chords he uses – even the most basic. Which drags a bit and is probably familiar to most people using the DVD.
I’d say it was a worthwhile purchase for beginners and anyone concerned about their strumming technique. It’s clearly taught and will give you a solid technique. But there’s not enough here to justify the price tag for more advanced players.
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