I want to clear something up before we get started: I do not use manga trivia to chat up hookers.
Back to business, watch the best of the week’s uke videos over the fold Read the rest of this entry »
Dominator tabs Going To California (not the Jake Shimabukuro version).
KDUS pointed in the direction of this video of Calexico on the ukulele. Also there is a video of Jeremy Warmsley crooning his way around Brussels.
PJ Harvey pictured with cigar-box ukulele in The Guardian.
If you couldn’t make it to SF for the Evolution of the Ukulele Exhibition, check out this extensive photo tour.
Cyberinsekt has an mp3 of Uncle Bob’s Ukulele Singers covering The Pixies Monkey Gone To Heaven and Foggy Ruins of Time has a ramshackle baritone uke track from Tinyfolk.
The eBay ukuleles I’m trying desperately hard not to buy.
I do like a good f-hole (and not just because I’m immaturely obsessed with double entendres). They’re also exceptionally sexy and look like they should be played by one of the characters in Heroes. So, I’m very impressed with Kala’s new electric archtop ukuleles available in black and sunburst and a dangerously affordable $225 price tag.
Martin stopped producing the 3K model in 1938. Is this a Martin 3k from the 1960’s? Apparently so.
For those of you that yearn for the heady days of 80’s hair metal, here’s a Les Reitfor double-neck ukulele.
The design on this 1920’s Lyon and Healy concert uke isn’t to my taste but it looks nicely done.
Finally, here’s the winner of the most endearingly ugly ukulele award.
This tune looks like it’s becoming the Smoke On The Water of the 21st Century. It’s already become the bane of the life of everyone who works in a guitar shop.
I’ve beefed the riff up a little for the ukulele by adding a C-string drone i.e. keeping it ringing through the whole thing.
Suggested by uncle budd
This is the first riff every guitarist learns to play. It’s the embodiment of the ‘less is more’ philosophy.
Deep Purple guitarist and writer of this riff, Ritchie Blackmore is currently writing madrigals and appearing at a renaissance fair near you.
Suggested by Stewart and weelie
Cream only lasted two years but they kicked out their fair share of great riffs in this time. The Sunshine of Your Love was written by bassist Jack Bruce after seeing Jimi Hendrix (who would later cover the song).
The first part of the riff is single notes and the second introduces 7th chords for some of the notes. You could just continue to use single notes as before if you prefer.
A few of the notes call for vibrato. You can create these in a couple of ways. You can bend the string (pull it down or push it up) and release the string a few times. Alternatively, you can wiggle your fretting finger along the neck (but staying within the fret). This is the method I prefer for the uke – it’s more subtle and easy to control.
Suggested by weelie
The big, exciting eMusic news is that Beirut’s new album The Flying Club Cup is available on eMusic ahead of its release on those funny round things people used to listen to. The downside is it’s not available to Brits (yet). You can read my review of The Flying Club Cup here. My must downloads are The Penalty, Cliquot and Forks and Knives.
Back to the task in hand. I’ve come up with a list of ukulele tracks on eMusic and have selected 25 for you to grab for free before they start charging you. Read more about it in part one.
George Formby
15. Why Don’t Women Like Me?
16. Ain’t Nobody’s Biz’ness…/Goody Goody/I Like Bananas
I don’t mention George Formby very often on this blog. Not because I’m snooty about him or don’t like but because he’s well covered by many people who know his techniques much better than I do (I recommend all uke players check out Matt Richards’ split stroke lesson).
I have a high regard for Formby and his popularizing of the uke and there are many songs that still sound good today (and quite a few that haven’t). There are a number of compilations of Formby’s songs on eMusic, it’s worth picking and choosing carefully.
“If women like them like men like those, why don’t women like me?” A question I’ve asked myself many times.
Roy Smeck
17. Ukulele Bounce
The Wizard of the Strings. My ukulele hero.
Bob Brozman
18. Ukulele Spaghetti
Another musical hero of mine. His latest album Lumiare is a virtuoso tour de force. Each track started life on a ukulele or a similarly diminutive instrument (the charango seems to be his current favourite) and was built up with layers of other stringed instruments.
Ukulele Spaghetti is his real ukulele tour de force which he regularly breaks out at gigs.
Ho’opi’i Brothers
19. Hawaiian Cowboy
There are plenty of Hawaiian ukulele albums on eMusic. Unfortunately, most of them are of the reggae-lite variety that drives me up the wall. There are some honourable exceptions: IZ, the legendary King Bennie Nawahi and the Ho’opi’i Brothers.
The Ho’opi’i Brothers are no relation of Sol Ho’opi’i as far as I can tell but they certainly embody his spirit. There’s plenty of the laid back Hawaiian sound on the album but I’ve chosen the speedy Hawaiian Cowboy for its unmissable Hawaiian yodeling.
Kimya Dawson
20. Blue Like Nevermind
Kimya Dawson’s gravelly voice and ‘Tina Turner first thing in the morning’ hair style take a little getting used to but it’s well worth it. Her songs are absolutely fantastic. Particularly when she’s backed up by David-Ivar Herman Dune on ukulele as she is in this case. You can see the two of them together in this clip.
To check out clips of all these songs and more ukulele treats click here.
Moussu T Lei Jovents – A Que Calor (Chords)
A few weeks ago I got an email from Ritchie of the Ukulele Allstars. It was his birthday and one of his gifts was the url to this blog. If I’d got a url for my birthday I’d be doling out a beating, but he seemed pleased with it – it’s not the thought that counts, it’s the money. As my belated birthday present to him, I thought I’d fulfill his request for a tune from Moussu T Lei Jovents.
This song is in the uke-unfriendly key of Ab. But putting a capo on the first fret or tuning up to C# makes the chords a doddle, leaving plenty of practice to time focus on other sections.
The intro slide-guitar lick, which crops up throughout the song, is played loosely and is slightly different each time. This is the basic gist.
Here’s the simple phrase played in the chorus.
My favourite guitar line in the song is this one from the section after the second chorus (repeated towards the end). This is a nifty little blues lick that you could adapt to pretty much any blues song.
The phrase contains a bend – far more common in guitar playing than ukulele playing. You create these by fretting the note then pushing the string upwards (i.e. towards your head) until the note sounds on fret higher. So if you’re playing at the second fret the bend should reach the pitch of the third fret.
The song closes with a jam section. You can improvise along with this using the G minor pentatonic scale. For the uke, it’s worth beefing things up by playing more than one note at a time.
Buy Forever Polida US
Curiosities of the week are Italy’s answer to GUGUG and Kazootv‘s NSFW songs. Head over the fold for more of the week’s uke action.
In case you missed the link earlier in the week, Buke is a new website dedicated to the baritone ukulele with many tabs divided into elementary, intermediate and advanced.
Stefans Ukulele is a Swedish uke site (written in Swedish and English) has some handy hints and tips, chordcharts and a very interesting article about taking care of your ukulele.
New York Uke Fest 2008 announced April 3rd – 6th.
Louis A Gaspar ukulele dissected and remade.
Wigan’s Formby statue erected.
Tiki carvings and Tahitian ukuleles on Tiki Central forums. And some very detailed plans for creating a Tahitian ukulele (in French).
The banjo-lele blog I mentioned before is in Czech.
