Zach Condon of Beirut’s Ukuleles
June 18, 2008
The second in the ‘What ukulele do they play?’ series. The good news: if you want to play the same ukuleles as Zach Condon, you won’t have to spend anywhere near as much as if you wanted Jake Shimabukuro’s ukulele. They’re actually fairly bog-standard ukuleles, not that expensive and would be a good choice for beginners.
He seems to have two main stage ukuleles:
Irrefutable evidence. Looks to me like a BU7TV.
Irrefutable evidence. Looks to me like an LU-21T.
Other ukuleles he’s been spotted with:
Fluke: On the set of the video for Elephant Gun he Postcards from Italy on the Fluke that’s featured in the video.
Samick: In this photoshoot. It’s the only time I’ve seen him with a Samick, so I don’t think it’s a regular player of his. It looks like a UK70.
If this is your first visit here, you can find the chords/tab in those posts by clicking on the song title in red.
Tonight You Belong to Me (The Jerk Version)
June 15, 2008
Lyle Ritz, Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters - Tonight You Belong to Me (Tab/Chords)
This is one of the definitive ukulele songs, yet it no two tab/chords seem to agree how to play it. There are at least two videos (1, 2) declaring that everyone else’s version are wrong and theirs is right. Well, everyone else is wrong and I’m right.
Seriously, though, I don’t think I’m dead on. The turnaround sections are packed with jazzy chords and tricky to get right.
First off, you’ll have to tune every string down half a step (I suppose you’d call it B tuning). But, to keep things simple, I’ve named the chords after their C tuning shapes.
The intro goes like this:
With the G string carrying the little melody.
The chords for the verse are based on a G chord with a descending note and a little filigree on the top string. At the end of the first verse, there’s little little lick (or something like it):
Similarly, there’s this at the end of the second verse:
After that is the, “Way down…” section and you get a break from the jazz chords. It’s mostly Cm with occasional slides up from Bm.
The chords for the trumpet solo are exactly the same as those in the verse.
You can get a solo version by Lyle Ritz (who played the Jerk version) in his Jumpin’ Jim’s Ukulele Masters book (he also has a new book out Lyle Lite. And don’t miss out on the Guthrie girls’ version of Tonight, You Belong to Me.
Julia Nunes/The Foundations - Build Me Up, Buttercup
May 29, 2008
Julia Nunes/The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup (Chords)
I have to admit that, since I featured her first uke video way back when, I’ve neglected Julia Nunes. Truth be told, I’m still a little on the fence about her. Nevertheless, there’s no denying the charm of this version of Build Me Up, Buttercup.
These chords are the Nunes version, but they’re very similar to the original version by The Foundations (they’re both in the key of C).
Wednesday Exposure: Mad Tea Party
May 28, 2008
Mad Tea Party - Found A Reason (mp3)
Mad Tea Party - Bunny Moves On (mp3) via Nine Mile Records
Mad Tea Party are a very fun band with catchy songs and the sound of a ukulele crashing up against rollocking guitar riffs and rockabilly licks. Judging by the preview tracks put out by Nine Mile Records, their forthcoming album, Found A Reason, looks set to be their best yet.
The core of the band is ukulelist and vocalist Ami Worthen and guitarist Jason Krekel. They got together in 2004 and have put out three albums to date. Nick Beery made a documentary about them and you can watch the whole film on his blog. They (along with, bassist at the time, Lora Pendelton) make quite an eccentric bunch. If you haven’t got an hour to spare, the choice quote from Ami is, “I’m not going for the record deal, the MTV. I want to play the ukulele, and I think if I had a manager and I was on that path, one of the first things they’d tell us is to ditch the ukulele.”
Found A Reason will be released in June. Visit their website.
George Formby - Why Don’t Women Like Me?
May 26, 2008
George Formby - Why Don\’t Women Like Me? (Chords)
There must be something about the 26th May. Today is the birthday of Mike Dickison, Gary from Ukulelia and Mark Occhionero. Happy Birthday, guys!
It also happens to be the birthday of George Formby. For those of an American persuasion, George Formby is the UK’s version of Tiny Tim: gormless, surprisingly popular and synonymous with the ukulele. Like with Tiny Tim in the US, UK ukulelists get sick of George Formby references whenever the subject of the uke comes up. But looking on the bright side, unlike Tiny Tim, George Formby had some serious uke skills. Most of his songs have a serious solo and it’s well worth any uke player picking up some of his techniques. I quick often skip ahead to the solo when one of his tracks is on; they’re full of interesting syncopations. Matthew Richards has a very well explained tutorial on how to play George Formby’s split stroke here.
George Formby is almost exclusively associated with the banjo ukulele, but he was no stranger to the wooden ukulele. As proved by the clip of Why Don’t Women Like Me?.
Why Don’t Women Like Me? is one of my favourite Formby songs; mostly because it namechecks Lady William Hamilton. You don’t get that with Natasha Beddingfield.
It’s the version in the video, shorter than the recorded version, that I’ve written up in the chords. The first thing to notice is that he’s in D-tuning (which he used pretty much exclusively). If you prefer, you can stay in C-tuning and use the chord shapes that you’re familiar with. Other than that, the chords are pretty straight forward.
The most important thing to remember when playing Formby: don’t come in too early with your grin.
Jake Shimabukuro’s Ukulele
May 11, 2008
Here’s a random selection of emails I wake up to in the morning:
- What type of ukulele does Jake Shimabukuro play?
- What sort of uke is that Jake uses in While My Guitar Gently Weeps?
- Where can I buy a ukulele like Jake Shimabukuro plays?
OK, I’m exaggerating. But I get enough enquiries to make it easier just to write a post.
Shimabukuro plays a custom Kamaka tenor ukulele by Casey Kamaka. His first ukulele, at the age of 4, was a Kamaka and he’s been using them ever since.
If you want to buy one, you’re pretty much out of luck. In 2006, Kamaka made 100 Jake Shimabukuro Signature Model ukuleles. These ukes were made to Jake’s specifications and individually inspected and signed by him.
Despite a hefty price tag of $5,500, demand for them was over whelming. So much so they decided to have a raffle to determine who could buy the ukuleles. By January 2007 they were all gone. If you manage to find one for sale, expect to pay much more than the original price (at least double would be my guess).
The Nerdy Stuff
Body: Curly Koa
Fingerboard: Ebony
Bridge Ebony: Ebony
Binding: Rosewood
Inlays: Mother of pearl and abalone
Tuners: Gold Schaller tuning keys
Pickup: Fishman Acoustic Matrix
Photo: BotheredByBees
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