Beirut - Hallelujah

Beirut - Hallelujah (Chords)

Zach Condon quite often finishes off Beirut gigs with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Although his version is closer to Jeff Buckley’s (one of the best cover versions ever recorded).

The chords are fairly simple. One thing he does a few times in the song (and loads of times in his own songs) is play the F chord with the G string open, then hammer on at the second fret. He does a similar thing with the G chord. This time the A string is left open then hammered on.

I’ve included two versions of Am in the song (one with the A string open and one with it at the third fret). He always uses the third fret version on the C - Am change that you hear at the beginning. He throws in the easier version on a few occasions towards the end.

Kudos to Leonard Cohen for making my job easier by describing the chords in the lyrics. Why can’t all songwriters be so helpful?

More Beirut Tab and Chords

Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945

Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945 (Chords)

This song is the latest colloboration between Uke Hunt and Ukulala. So here’s Laz’s video tutorial:

Cansei De Ser Sexy - Off The Hook

Cansei De Ser Sexy - Off The Hook (Chords)

Well done to The Klaxons and their Mercury Prize. I was cheering for Bat For Lashes but they were so happy/high when they win. Bless ‘em.

I’m apparently trying to start a Uke Rave movement, so here’s a song by Brazilian New Ravers CSS for you.

The opening riff fits nicely on the uke:

The chords are fairly simple (all open chords apart from a B). The only thing to watch out for is the Am in the middle 8. You can replicate the little guitar riff in this part by switching between the two inversions of Am in the chord sheet. Or you could just chose one version and stick with it - it sounds fine.

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Bat For Lashes - What’s A Girl To Do

Bat For Lashes - What’s A Girl To Do (mp3 sample) via batforlashes.co.uk

The nominees for the Mercury Music Prize were announced yesterday and, despite the lack of ukuleles, it’s a strong line-up. It’s the only event in the year I gamble (and lose) on and this year my money is on Bat For Lashes.

Playing the harpsichord riff on the uke demonstrates just how useful the re-entrant tuning can be sometimes.

By giving each note it’s own string you can let the notes ring into each other recreating the sound of the original much more effectively.

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Jack Penate - Spit At Stars

Jack Penate - Spit At Stars (Chords)

There seem to be a great deal of frightfully posh indie boys and girls emerging from London/Brighton at the moment. When the tunes are as catch as Jack Penate’s Spit At Stars there’s little wonder why.

I’ll forgo any in-depth analysis of the ukulele techniques needed for this one. It’s much more important that you perfect the Penate bandy-legged dance. My advice is to cultivate the look of a long lost Gallagher brother and study the Breakfast Club dance scene non-stop for a month.

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Joanna Newsom - Peach, Plum, Pear

Joanna Newsom - Peach, Plum, Pear (Chords)

All this talk of freak folk has put me in the mood for some Joanna Newsom. The harp is my second favourite instrument. In fact, if my parents had been immensely rich you’d be reading a harp blog right now. Come to think about it, if my parents were that rich you’d be looking at a blank page while I drove around Monaco wearing a money suit and munching on golden eagle eggs.

This tune is in the uke unfriendly key of C#m so I had a hard time working out the best way to play it. It is (just about) possible to play in standard uke C-tuning using these chords:

You can tune down half a step (to F#BD#G#) and use the following chords (I’ve left the names as they are in standard tuning to try and cut down confusion to a minimum). You could, of course, just play these shapes in standard tuning if you aren’t playing along with the record.

But my favourite, and the only in the pdf, is to use the D-tuning (aDF#B) and these chord shapes:

These shapes allow the top string to ring open through the chords creating a pivot note. It’s also these reason I chose this shape for C#m rather than just barring across the second fret.

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Klaxons - Golden Skans

Klaxons - Golden Skans (Chords)

New rave and ukulele: go together like a horse and marriage. I’m a firm believer that if a song has chords and a strong melody it’ll work on the ukulele. Golden Skans is a case in point.

You can even play the ‘ooo eee ooo eee ooo eee ooo ee ooooh ahhhh’ part:

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