I’ve been putting up little tab videos on Instagram and Twitter for a while now. Here’s a collection of the rap & hip hop tunes I’ve done since I started.
I became completely obsessed with hiking simulator Firewatch recently. And the game’s soundtrack is perfect. I already made a guitar tab of the main theme. And I had to write up the chords for I’d Rather Go Blind which features on the closing credits.
Chris Stapleton must have taken a chunk of inspiration from I’d Rather Go Blind for Tennessee Whiskey. It’s the same two chords, same time signature, similar tempo and uses similar guitar lines.
For the strumming I like to use:
d – d u d –
Do that four times for each chord written (the chord chart shows Bm then Bm again and A then A again so really you’re doing the pattern eight times).
Here’s how that sounds:
Here’s a ukulele version of the guitar part in the intro:
Which sounds like this:
Helen Arney will be doing some science explaining on her ukulele along with her nerd friends Matt ‘Standup Maths’ Parker and Steve ‘Steve Mould’ Mould on their new BBC Radio 4 show Domestic Science from the 20th July. You’ll be able to listen on demand on iPlayer (wherever you are, I believe).
Last chance to get in on the Brexit sale. You can get 15% off any of my ebooks by using this code: brexit. If you prefer, you can also buy them on Payhip using PayPal in GBP (while it still has some value). No code on there. The price should be the equivalent of the USD price after the code.
New Releases
– Excellent debut album from Liam Capper-Starr: Needs More Cello.
– Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain’s new World War I album Lousy War.
– Grand Old Uke of York’s cover EP Head out on the Highway.
– The Burning Hell cover Men Without Hats to great effect.
– Kristen Wiig is working on a ukulele album.
An update on my capo post from a few weeks back. My clamp capo (the one I recommended) snapped in two this week. I still recommend that style of capo but perhaps go with a less junky brand.
This is a follow on from the Hanging Tree tab in a few ways. As well as the Hunger Games connection, I’ve tried to keep the arrangement as minimal and easy to play as possible.
The arrangement draws heavily on Lorde’s sparse, minor key version. But it also includes elements of the Tears for Fears original since I couldn’t get that version out of my head.
I use thumb and two finger picking for my version but it’s arranged so you can play it all just using your thumb.
Buy the Lorde version
Buy the Tears for Fears version
More movie theme tabs
Time to test your chord knowledge and musical ear. It’s pretty low tech:
– Grab a pen and paper.
– Answer the questions (using a ukulele to help you is entirely allowed and encouraged).
– There might be spoilers in the comments.
– Check the answers here (no peeking).
– Return in triumph or despair and share you score in the comments(some of these questions are pretty tricky, so not too much despair). And I’d be interested to know which rounds you found easy and which were hard.
If you’re reading by email or feed reader you may need to click through to the post to see everything.
Name the minor chord from the chord diagram.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
All these are C chords but are they C, Cm, C7, Cm7, or C9?
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
All these are A chords but are they A, Am, A7, A6, or Amaj7?
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Each of these triads of notes makes up a major chord (e.g. the notes of a G chord are G, B and D). Which one? (The notes are listed in alphabetical order starting at C to make it harder.)
16. C, E and G.
17. C#, E and A
18. E, G# and B
19. C, F and A
20. D, F and Bb
Match the MP3 to the chord sequence:
a) A – C – D – A
b) A – E7 – D – E7
c) A – D – E7 – A
d) A – Bm – D – E7
e) A – G – D – A
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Johnny Cash is a big favourite for ukulele groups and jams. And The Poor Boys of Worcester’s version of I Got Stripes has me convinced that song should be added to Ring of Fire and Folsom Prison Blues in the repertoire.
There are a couple of weirdnesses that make the original a bit less appealing on ukulele. Firstly, it’s in C# so a capo on the first fret is needed to make things straightforward. And there’s a strange Bb chord at the start of the song which makes it feel like the song is in F.
The original version also has a key change to contend with.
To make it really beginner friendly, here’s a two chord, no capo version based on The Poor Boys of Worcester’s version and the version from Walk the Line.
This pattern should get you through the whole song:
d – d – d u d u
The British people, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to tank the value of the pound. If I understand economics (protip: I don’t) that means a dollar gets me more of my low-energy currency. So I’ve set up a discount. You can get 15% off any of my How to Play Ukulele ebooks until 10th July using the code: brexit.
Also, I made a preview of the first few pages of Ukulele Strums.
Learning
Two new tab books:
– Jake Shimabukuro – Live in Japan: Tab of Jake’s live album including his arrangements of Bohemian Rhapsody and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
– Fred Sokolow’s Slide & Slack Key Ukulele.
New Releases
– Speaking of Jake Shimabukuro he has a new album: The Nashville Sessions.
– Spacey new single from Kara Square Ukuambient.
Ukuleles
– The Rebel NEO ukulele.
– Meridian Uke.
Like most Brits my age, Radiohead’s Burn the Witch gave me warm nostalgia for Trumpton and Camberwick Green. Although the Trumpton people are pissed off that it, “tarnished the brand”.
The Trumpton theme is ripe for a ukeing. The tune has an acoustic guitar backing with a high melody. I’ve mushed those two elements together but if, unlike me, you have a friend you can tease them apart and play them on separate instruments.
Here’s the tab for just the melody:
And the back I’ve tabbed for low-G ukulele. But it will also work for high-g without any changes.
This is how they sound together:
And here’s a backing track if you’d like to play along with it:
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