It’s nearly the half way point of the year. Already. So here’s a quick round-up of my favourite videos so far (in the order they showed up on the blog).
One thing I’ve noticed putting this together: the number of pro musicians using the ukulele has crowded out the bedroom players. Whether that’s established musicians picking up the uke (Amanda Palmer and Eddie Vedder), new acts with the uke up front (Misty Miller) or bands with the uke as part of the texture (Seryn and Keston Cobblers’ Club).
Leave your favourite(s) of the year in the comments.
Saying, “I love you,” might be hard but saying, “I love this song certainly isn’t.” Makes for a pretty easy transfer from piano to ukulele as well – which isn’t always the case.
Suggested Strumming
A good main strumming pattern would be:
d – d u
In the verses and choruses use that twice for D, once for G, four times for D. That sounds like this:
You can do just a down strum for the Bm and A at the end of the verse before heading back to the main pattern for G. Watch out for the end of verse 4. There you add a down strum for G and back to the main strum on D.
In the bridge section, do the main strum once for each chord.
Then the tricky bit. Play just single notes for the ones in brackets (so that’s E-string open then E-string at the second fret) then you’re back to G for a down strum. It’s a bit tricky to play the usual G chord. I prefer to use a barre across the second fret (which you can put in place to play the F#). Or you could just play a single G note. After that, two down strums on A.
If I ever launch a range of ukuleles, I’m going to get Kimo Hussey to demonstrate them. That guy has incredible touch. As well as Kimo showing off his DeVine, this week has videos from The Vespers, The Jive Aces, Peter Brooke Turner of the UOGB under his Tony Penultimate pseudonym and plenty more besides.
I couldn’t find much information on KoAloha’s Gumbalele other than this video (thanks to Mark). Looks like it’s part of KoAloha’s efforts towards helping the Japanese Red Cross. On the subject of which, KoAloha are giving away an MP3 including Alvin Okami and Herb Ohta Jr to help raise money.
Eddie Vedder’s ukulele sold for over $17,000 last week, and now Jack Johnson is getting in on the act with a signed KoAloha.
I can’t imagine wanting something this big and gaudy myself but these Fusion ukulele back packs are an interesting development. I’m not sure if I like or hate the idea of strapping multiple gig bags together and lugging them on your back.
The ukulele show Bossarocker did for Chorlton Arts Radio is now available to listen online. You can hear two hours of ukulele goodness including sessions from Pyjama Party and David Leech on her new website.
Last week‘s video of Peter ‘UK Uke Orch’ Moss had me doing a bit of research on Eric Clapton’s uke playing. I was familiar with Intro and Outro but – given the song also claims to feature, “Princess Anne on sousaphone,” – had assumed the phrase, “Eric Clapton on ukulele,” was also a gag. Turns out it really was him. And the line-up of the song performed by the cast of a kids’ TV show is even more impressive.
Three very pleasant mp3s from Aussie uke-led collective Inland Sea on Triple J.
In the comments: In the barre chord post I noted that it was easier to play barre chords if you bring your elbow into your side – but couldn’t explain why. SamD knew:
In answer to your above question, bringing the elbow in to your side means that the vector in which the finger muscles are pulling is perpendicular to the fretboard, allowing greater pressure with less effort. Just a little biomechanics for you there…
Parish notice: I’m off to the Lake District next week. I’ve got posts lined up, but it might take me longer than usual to reply to emails/comments/tweets/court summonses.
I’ve had quite a few people contact me recently with barre chord problems. My main advice is: practice and lots of it. But here are a few more pointers to help you on the way.
What’s a Barre Chord?
A barre chord is any chord that involves playing more than one string with the same finger. For example, the chord on the left shows the index finger barring across all of the strings.
– The strings on the barre will always be played at the same fret.
– You’ll always play a barre with your index finger.
– Barre chords have no open strings (meaning you can move them up and down the neck).
So why bother? The uke has four strings, we have four finger, right? Not quite. Anyone who has tried playing an E chord will know the frustration of cramming multiple fingers on the same fret. Barre chords make playing chords easier (once you get the hang of them) and allow for stretches you couldn’t perform otherwise.
The Number One Tip
As ukulele players, we are a bit spoilt with a small neck and gentle strings. That means we can play with your fretting hand wrapped around the neck (like the picture on the right). Players of most stringed instruments can’t get away with that and have to play with the thumb on the back of the neck. Take a look at Jacqueline du Pre and Bola Sete for two random examples.
Most of the time, you can get away with wrapping your hand around the neck. But not when you’re playing barre chords. Then it’s really important to bring your hand round so your thumb is on the back of the neck (like the picture on the left).
That does two things:
1) It gives you more squeezing power.
2) It makes your other fretting fingers arch higher over the strings. This makes them less likely to accidentally catch on the other strings and mute them. This can be a big problem with the Bb shape.
Other Tips
If you’re still struggling, try these tips. They don’t work for everyone but they can help:
Bring Your Elbow into Your Side: I can’t figure out why this works, but it does. Most people play with their fretting elbow out from their body. Bring it into your side and you should find it easier.
Rotate Your Index Finger a Little: Some people find that the ridge on their finger at the knuckle means it’s hard to play a good barre chord. If that’s true for you, try rotating your finger anti-clockwise a little so that you’re fretting more with the side of your finger.
A Bit of Re-enforcement: If you need a little extra strength in your barre, you can bring another finger in to help. This is particularly helpful with the C# chord shape (on the right).
Checking Your Barre Chord
Once you’ve got your barre chord in place it’s important to check that every string rings clearly. Play one string at a time. If one of them doesn’t sound right check to see if any other finger is touching it slightly. If not, try adjusting the pressure and position of your fingers until everything sounds right.
Breaking the Rules
As with all rules, the ones I set out before are made to be broken.
You can use a barre to good effect in playing the D chord (with an open string). I almost always play D by fretting the g and C strings with my index finger like this.
And you can play a barre with you middle finger. For example, you can play an Am7 chord 2433, like this.
A Demonstration
Here’s Diane Rubio’s masterful chord solo on Under Paris Skies. She uses many barre chords. Watch closely and you’ll see the thumb at the back of the neck, the re-enforcer and her using the middle finger as a barre.
More on Barre Chords
Once you’re a dab-hand at barre chords you might want to learn what barre chords go where with the CAGFD system.
UPDATE: Richards Tips
Richard left these tips in the comments:
May I suggest two further tips, noticed from my own teaching, that might help.
The first is shown very clearly in your first photograph: the index finger needs to be quite straight to barre effectively. That way you can get a firm pincer grip with the thumb. A number of my students start out with the finger bending at the second knuckle, so that the finger wraps around the corner of the fingerboard. This has the effect of pulling the top two joints away from the strings and also weakens the finger’s ability to push hard against the strings.
The second tip might help with getting a good ringing sound from each string, especially where the crease of the knuckles means that it is hard to press the middle two strings effectively: Feel that the finger is pushing down all along its length; especially imagine that there is a weight on top of the first joint (the one nearest the tip), so that it really flattens out against the strings.
Posting So Long and Thanks for All the Fish put my chords-per-song average way out of whack. So time for something nice and simple. Three chords. 80 seconds. Bosh!
The original is in Eb, if you want to make it even simpler you can move it down a fret so it’s in D. Like this:
Wreckin’ Bar in D
Suggested Strumming
You can use this as the main strum:
d – d u d u d u
Play that twice for the Eb (or D); then two downstrums each for Ab and Bb; then back to the main strum once for the Eb. So it sounds like this:
After a week looking at cheap ukuleles, back to the ukes only those of you with vast resources who lounge in their ukulele-shaped pool wearing diamond ukulele necklaces.
Starting off with a Kamaka signed by Eddie Vedder and used on his album. It’s being auctioned off for charity (read the details here) and has already attracted some furious bidding. Not something you could say about this Lanikai autographed by Aunty Genoa Keawe with an optimistic starting price of $10,000.
Two fine custom shop Martin sopranos: an expensive oneand and a (relatively) cheap one (thanks to Phredd).
Pictures: 1800s ukulele banjolele boy, Dick Powell.
