That’s it from me this year (except the usual one for the Christmas uke-getters). I’ll be back late-January.
Until then, happy holidays (if you’re into that kind of thing) however you choose to spend it. I’ll be eating, drinking, gambling and letting my servants wear my clothes in celebration of Saturnalia.
If you can’t bear to be without a steady stream of uke, I’ll be posting bits and pieces on my Tumblr and UkeToob. And on Twitter if I get really bored.
See you in 2013 (the year of the F chord) or – if we get apocalypsed – in hell.
– Grab a piece of paper
– Display your uke knowledge
– Check the answers here (no peeking)
– Leave your score in the comments along with your dangs/woohoos.
Name That Chord
What chords are these on a standard C-tuned (gCEA) ukulele?
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5.
Name That Celeb
Which famous person is ukuleling in these pictures?
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Name That Lyric
In which popular ukulele song do these lyrics appear?
11. Oh, tiptoe from the garden / By the garden of the willow tree
12. Where troubles melt like lemon drops / High above the chimney top / That’s where you’ll find me
13. Lips that once were mine / Tender eyes that shine
14. Turned up nose / Turned down hose / Flapper, yes sir, one of those
15. Lets get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of France / Lets get rich and give everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance
Name That Ukulele
What brand are these ukuleles? (You don’t have to name the model but I’ll be suitably impressed if you do)
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Name That Note
In tab for standard C-tuning (gCEA) what notes are these? (e.g. C, D, Eb)
Jonathan Coulton and John Roderick – Christmas in July (Chords)
John “King God” Roderick and Jonathan “Jonathan Coulton” Coulton got together this year to make a wunnerful Christmas album with this standout ukulele track.
I couldn’t find the album version streaming on the web anywhere. But here it is on Spotify:
The chord shapes in the chart are, as ever, just one option. Feel free to use these inversions.
Twiddly Bits
Christmas in July (Tab)
Here’s a broad idea of the picking part for each section.
The picking is very tricky. Particularly at this speed.
The thumb is picking the g and C strings, the index finger the E and the middle finger the A. But there’s no set pattern to the picking. I’d highly recommend starting off by slowing it right down and using a more fixed picking pattern. Then work up your own version of the picking from there rather than trying to recreate the original exactly.
Lots of old friends this week including Wilfried Welti (tabs for his piece here), Howlin’ Hobbit, WIUO, Peter off of UOGB and krabbers. Plus some new friends and one sworn enemy.
And this is one of my favourites in the book. I love a good morose Christmas song like Christmas for Cowboys and Blue Christmas (I haven’t written that one up yet?). That’s why I played the minor verse of the song twice before the major chorus.
Like all the book, you can use just your thumb on your picking hand to play all this arrangement.
Christmas is the one time of year when anyone who plays an instrument is expected to entertain friends and family at some point. Which can be quite daunting if you don’t have something easy and recognisable to play. Particularly if you’re full of the Christmas pudding. But it’s nice to be able to entertain the people who have helped you along the way with encouragement, uke gifts and patience during twanging practice.
With that in mind, I’ve kept the arrangements in this second Christmas ebook as easy and playable as I can. To make sure flubs and fumbles are kept to a minimum while you’re centre of attention.
After you buy you’ll be taken to a page where you can download:
– Tabs of full arrangements for these traditional Christmas favourites:
Go Tell It On the Mountain
I Saw Three Ships
Il est ne, le divin Enfant
In Dulci Jubilo
Joy to the World
O Come All Ye Faithful
Once in Royal David’s City
The First Noel
We Three Kings
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
While Shepherds Watch their Flocks
They’re all arranged without any fancy finger work. The picking hand can all be done with the thumb. And the fretting doesn’t go higher than the sixth fret. Written for high-g tuning.
– Super-simple melody arrangements of all those tunes. Only one note at a time. For high and low G.
– A PDF with a bit of history of the songs (sometimes more accurate than others) and tips on playing the tunes.
– Additional downloads of: standard notation of the tabs, mobile-friendly downloadable videos, MP3s of the full versions and the melody-only versions.
Quick warning: if you’re using iPad/iPhone/Android you can’t download directly to your gadget read this for more info.
What People Are Saying
Here’s what people who have bought the ebook are saying:
Al did a great job making many Christmas carols accessible for every ukulele player. Nobody will be afraid to take on his arrangements, and this is quite an achievement!
Buying this was the easiest decision I’ve made all day. Thanks for helping to make the ukulele so accessible
What They Sound Like
Full Arrangement Videos
Melody Versions
Here’s what the melody-only versions sound like. The melody tab also has chord names so you can be accompanied by a friend. Or if, like me, you’re a badass loner you can play along with these mp3s. They’re split so the left hand side has the chords and the right has the melody.
I know a lot of you will relate to this song more than most of the Christmas songs I’ve posted. And I think a lot of people will feel like this at some point. But if you’re still in the Christmas spirit it’s your last chance to pick up the new Christmas Ukulele 2 ebook at the pre-release price before the it goes up when Wednesday’s post is published.
While we’re fucking things, fuck tinkling pianos. It makes it a pain to work things out for uke. I’ve tried to make the chords a bit jazzy without too much messing around.
