Mini UkeTube

You take one week off and a whole bunch of much anticipated videos show up.

So this isn’t a proper UkeTube, just a few videos from old favourites tackling various social issues including the long-awaited Rocky and Balls reunion, the long-awaited reunion of Agathe and Fine and the long-awaited union of Jen Kwok and every single Asian man in a new video directed by fellow uker Ballard C Boyd (she’s set up a new site just for the video: Date An Asian). Jen and Garfunkel and Oates both use language unbecoming of a lady in their songs. But what did you expect?

Right, now to tackle my inbox. Yikes! [Read more]

Ukulelinks: Ukulele MP3s

Lots of ukulele MP3s: Pitchfork has a track from the tUnE-YaRdS (you can pick up the album on a ‘pay what you like’ basis here – it’s very good) and Dent May’s new video. A new instrumental from Bosco and Honey with Gensblue. New EP from Existential Hero (aka Steven Ray Morris of Foggy Ruins of Time). The Obama ukulele songs keep coming, this time from Jon Braman. Masters of Song Fu #3 features uke songs from Molly ’sweetafton23′ Lewis, Mike Bordet and Jutze Schult (and a non-uke track from Garfunkel and Oates). If the thought of four years worth of Beatles covers on the ukulele doesn’t make you want to punch your ears into your brain, check out this blog.

Bette Midler strums out on Loose Women (Warning: may contain traces of Leslie Garrett). And, no, I wasn’t watching this live. And anyone who tells you that I was because Loose Women is my favourite show and I’ve been in the audience three times is lying.

Send your valentine a ukulele ecard and subtly hint they should be more loose with their wallet and less loose with their tongue.

Lily Allen’s The Fear on Uker Tabs.

Top notch ukulele poster.

Jake does an informercial for Analysis Plus cables (and he isn’t kidding about them being “pretty pricey”: Holy crap!).

Tripping Lily’s Monica Rizzio officially uke crush #1

The DEA try to prosecute ukuleles on trumped up charges. “INTELLIGENCE ALERT – COCAINE IN A UKELELE” (about halfway down the page). May I refer the court to Photos 15 and 16 which clearly show a charango. Case dismissed.

Dr J does some interesting audio-nerd analysis on the Grammys. Apparently, Taylor Swift wins at microphones. She obviously knows a thing or two about sound quality; she’s a uker.

The always fiercely contested ukuleles and homemade flower-trousers round of Mr Tahiti.

Saturday UkeTube Part 1

With all the videos built up over my break, I couldn’t put them all in one post without breaking the internet. So this first part includes hilarity courtesy of Taylor Mac, Paulina Sinaga and Jen Kwok’s parody of Britney Spears’s Circus; along with top notch songs from tUnE-YaRdS and Emily Wells (why have I not heard of her before?). And the second part will be along shortly. [Read more]

James Hill, Ukulele Masters, Emilyn Brodsky on Video

In this week’s videos: James Hill breaks out some hip hop beats and a pair a chopsticks, Byron Yasui, Lyle Ritz, Ledward Kaapana, Bob Brozman, Joel Eckhaus and Jim Beloff play together, while Craig Robertson and Phredd participate in Take Your Daughter to YouTube Day. [Read more]

Jen Kwok, Uke Hunt Happenings and Other Ukulelinks

Gosh, it’s been quite a week for Uke Hunt. Probably one of my favourite blogging weeks ever. To stop this post being too self obsessed, I’ll keep it brief. This week I’ve: been mentioned in the New York Times, been asked if I want to work on a real life ukulele book by a real life publisher, been banned from ezFolk, and found out I had a world exclusive on the review of Clone Wars which had unwittingly meant the BBC was breaking the Clone Wars review embargo (a guy from the BBC emailed me telling me they’ve temporarily taken the video down and wanted to know how I found the Kermode uke post two weeks before they published it). I haven’t stopped laughing all week.

You might not have realised it from my previous references to it, but the NY Times article wasn’t entirely about me. It was mostly about Jen Kwok. Congrats, Jen. Now she’s a big star, we can say we knew her back when she was making uke playing, pipe cleaner dolls fellate Rabbi Bob L. Mensch.

I have to take umbrage at Jim Beloff’s quote in the article: “If you were a poor guitar player, you suddenly become a pretty good uke player.” If you’re a lousy musician, you’re a lousy musician on any instrument. Perhaps the ukulele will suit you more, but the idea that you automatically become better when you play the ukulele is bullshit.

Speaking of which, Gawker calls bullshit on the ukulele trend.

James Hill graphs out a new track.

Aldrine Guerrero ditches his talking cock in favour of Jake Shimabukuro.

Ian Chadwick has in depth reviews of a whole bunch of ukuleles.

Ukulele Tonya visits the Windy City Uke Fest.

Ladybugs Picnic on Uker Tabs.

Photos from the first Irish Ukahuli.

Stop Okay Go has an mp3 of Robin Gray’s These Days and an interview with the man.

Buy your own bobble headed Bob L Mensch. “Watch Him Bob at the Waist as he Davens.”

Joe Brown, Howlin Hobbit, Jen Kwok, Taimane Gardner

Watch my favourite ukulele videos of the week after the ‘more’ tag including Joe Brown’s appearance on Jools Holland. [Read more]

The Saturday UkeTube

Click here to watch the best of the week’s ukulele YouTube videos. [Read more]

Ode To Joy: Easy Classical Strumming

Ode To Joy (Tab)

On Jen Kwok’s appearance on Midnight Ukulele Disco, she and Jason Tagg were discussing playing classical music on the ukulele. There has been quite a bit of classical music arranged for the uke. John King’s The Classical Ukulele and Wilfried Welti’s arrangements (you can download his tab here) leap immediately to mind. But they were talking about playing classical music by strumming rather than fingerpicking and I couldn’t think of any. So I decided to take up the challenge myself.

My aim with this was to make the easiest strumming classical piece it’s possible to play on the ukulele. I’ve chosen a very simply tune: Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. There are only two basic chords in the it C and G and the strumming is just a steady up and down. The melody notes are put inside these chords.

You don’t have to do anything to make these notes stand out. Because these are the only notes that are moving the ear picks them out as a melody (particularly with a well known piece like this).

The first part of the tune is very simple. Here it is played slowly:

When the tune moves to G it is a little more difficult to play and requires a bit of fancy little-finger work. Good luck with it.

Apologies for all the hacking and wheezing in the background of these mp3s. I’ve been laid up in bed with a cold all weekend. And apologies to everyone I owe an email or a message to.

Friday Links

It’s been a great couple of weeks for those of us who can’t get enough of the latest comedy ukulele sensation Jen Kwok and her sidekick Uke-icorn. She recorded a show on Midnight Ukulele Disco (check out the full show for the song Desert to the Sea, it’s incredible) and there’s a new edition of the Super Cute Sex Show (vaginas: “not just for tampons.”).

Duane Heilman’s latest Black Bear creation is this stunning soprano harp ukulele. There’s a great article about harp ukes that Ukulelia pointed up and you have to check out the Knutsens and their harp instruments. If you missed out on the harp uke, you could console yourself with a Martin 0 style uke he rebuilt which looks decidedly tasty.

Hot on the heels of the success of Night of 100 Ukes, comes the Sunset of 1000 Ukes: a flash mob singing of Waterloo Sunset in London. Check out their MySpace for more details.

Dirty Bronson have an mp3 of Bishop Allen’s Click Click Click.

In depth ukulele string analysis.

A recent thread on The Parlor Room has uncovered a few people who love the uke so much they feel the need to have one indelibly drawn on their flesh.

I don’t have any clue what’s going on with this page but it has some entertaining ukulele flashes.

Friday Links

The blog of Durham Ukulele Club has chords and mp3s for some classic tunes.

A Noob and his Uke: The ukulele world seen through the eyes of a newbie.

Lars Larsson’s themed guide to the best uke videos on YouTube. (The forum was having some decidedly NSFW spam problems earlier in the week so tread carefully).

Vote for the Giant Uke of Liverpool (not that Liverpool) as one of the 7 Wonders of Nova Scotia.

The Night of 100 Ukes performance of Ring of Fire at Bestival is available on Rob Da Bank’s album of the event.

The mp3 blogs are awash with tracks from the new Beirut album, The Flying Club Cup.

Transpose a chord progression a chord progression into the most suitable key for the ukulele using the Uke-ifier.

Listen to tunes from Bob Brozman’s lastest album on NPR. Each song was built up from an initial improvisation on a small instrument such as the ukulele or the charango.

Follow the Adventures of Bad Jenny the uke-playing pipe-cleaner doll as she drinks, poops and plays uke in the fridge. Update: Learn Bad Jenny’s fellatio tips.

What he has to put up with at the office.

Kick out the jams Mother Hubbard: The class of Room 4 have some sound advice on dealing with teachers.