Author: ukulelehunt

  • David Bowie – Space Oddity (Tabs)

    I’ve used some artificial harmonics in the intro because they’re the spaciest sound you can get on a ukulele. But you can play this section without them and it won’t be a problem. Or you could come up with your own intro.

    The first verse is the simplest part of the song. Then comes the “Lift Off” section. Pretty much any rising figure will work here. You can go as simple as grabbing a note and sliding up the neck. I took the opportunity to have a bit of fun with effects.

    The second verse is more much of a challenge. There are a lot of moves up and down the neck and a few finger-twisting bits. On the upside, it has the strange change from F major to F minor that mirrors the shift in the song from triumph to tragedy.

    After some quick chord changes, the solo starts up. I’ve stayed fairly close to the original here. Just adapting bits for uke. But I couldn’t resist throwing in a Day Tripper reference on the A chord (bar 44) as the original comes so close to it.

    Links

    More 70s tabs
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  • Roy Orbison – Crying (Tabs)

    Here’s a version of Roy Orbison’s Crying. Which Rolling Stone declared the 69th greatest song of all time. Nice.

    Roy Orbison’s unmistakeable falsetto is in full effect in this song. So the big challenge here is jumping up and now the neck accurately.

    In the second chorus, the melody goes all the way up to the 15th fret. If you can’t access that fret on your uke, you can just play it the same as the first chorus. Or, if you really want to go for it, you could use artificial harmonics.

    Links

    More 60s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon