Are there any ukers out there with Raynauds syndrome? Long-time friend of the blog, Gazmatt has been diagnosed with it and is hoping to chat with a fellow uker about coping with the condition. If you want to chat you can send Gary an email here.
I say ‘forerunner’ but reading Manuel Morais‘s Colecção de Peças para Machete, the rajão seems like the much more likely candidate. The soprano uke is more like a machete in size and number of strings, but not at all like it in terms of tuning. And I’d say the uke’s re-entrant tuning was its defining characteristic. In that, it’s much more like the 5-string, tenor-ukulele sized rajão which is tuned dgCEA (with re-entrant d- and g-strings).
The difference in tuning between the machete and the uke does cause a few problems. Unlike yesterday’s tunes, today’s don’t transfer directly to a re-entrant uke as pleasingly. They would, however, work well on a low-G uke (with the A-string tuned down to G) or on a baritone (with the E-string tuned down to D). I might well re-arrange them for standard uke sometime.
Again these tabs (worked out from the original manuscript which is public domain) and MP3s are released under a Creative Commons license meaning you can freely play them, record them, adapt them, pass them round or even sell them. I had assumed everyone was familiar with Creative Commons but a comment from plink freud set me straight. I’m more than happy to write a post about my take on Creative Commons – and I might well do that – but you can read the official version here and watch this video.
Masaniello
Masaniello (Tab)
There’s a bit of an anomaly in the original score for this one. Bar 15 is clearly only has enough notes in it for a bar of 3/4. But there’s no indication of a time signature change and you’d expect it to be (indeed it’s very similar to) a repeat of bar 3. I’ve retained it as written in the tab above but here’s a tab with bar 15 repeating bar 3.
After I did my post about Madeiran music (the ancestral home of the ukulele), Jay left a comment about music for the uke-like machete (ma-shet). He was also kind enough to forward me a scan of Estudos para Machete Arranjados by Manoel Joaquim Monteiro Cabral which is a machete method book from the mid-19th century. You can see some pictures of it on Nalu Music.
The pieces in the Cabral manuscript are written in standard notation only, so I’ve been writing them up in tab form. And most of them work very well transferred directly to a standard ukulele. The only thing you need to do is tune the A-string down a tone (so it’s the same pitch as the g-string). That’ll give you an open C chord; making it the same relative tuning as a machete which is tuned to an open G chord (DGBD – higher than the ukulele). The one issue is that the machete isn’t re-entrant. So if you’re playing a low-G (or a baritone), it’ll work perfectly. If not, it’ll sound different but – for today’s two pieces at least – it’ll still sound good.
If you’re interested in this topic, I can highly recommend you pick up a copy of Manuel Morais‘s Colecção de Peças para Machete. The written section is in Portuguese and English and the second half is made up of standard notation of music for machete and guitar. The website is in Portuguese but I didn’t have any problems ordering it and it was delivered very quickly.
I’m putting up all these tabs (and MP3s for that matter) with a creative commons license. That means you’re free to use them in whatever way you see fit. Record them, rearrange them, pass them around, sell them if you like.
Waltz
Waltz (Tab)
The first full piece in the Cabral manuscript is this Waltz. Do note that I’ve never even touched a machete so it’s not to be entirely trusted. The original document does have fingering numbers written in pencil. I’m assuming that’s done by someone who knows more about playing the machete than I do so I’ve tried to tab it out to match those fingerings.
Here’s a version of me playing this tab – without any changes – on a re-entrant ukulele tuned gCEG.
Again, I’ve used the fingerings written in pencil as a guide for this tab. But they didn’t really suit my style so I rearranged it slightly for my version to this:
This strum will see you through the intro, the verses and the loud choruses:
A lot of the time – particularly the verses – he’s playing this with palm muting on the down strums. That means you rest the bottom edge of your palm on the string just in front of the bridge as you strum. It’s a bit like a chnk but you keep your hand on the string as much as possible.
Here’s a video (playing it slow then up to speed) which may or may not make things clearer.
For the middle section, do all down strums. Four times for C and F and eight times for Bb. You can fancy it up a little – like he does – by doing a quick up-strum before each chord change. As it gets louder he goes back to the main strumming pattern.
Twiddly Bits
In the intro (picked up again later in the song) there’s a switch between F6 – F – Fadd9 – F during the first bar of the F chord:
In the intro (and verse 2) the banjo adds a couple of B flats to the chords like this:
The little banjo solo after the first chorus is tricky to transfer to uke. I’ve included a version of it in the chord sheet (make sure you fret the C-string with your ring finger if you’re attempting it). It sounds like this:
A slight stretching of the rules this week to include Melodica Melody and Me’s charango. Well worth it I think. People actually playing ukuleles this week include The Original Rude Boys, Diane Rubio, Chester Gaylord and plenty more.
Anyone who has been following the Hawaiian Grammy/Daniel Ho saga should read this comment from slack key master Cyril Pahinui (son of the legendary Gabby Pahinui). It shows just how deeply feeling goes on this subject.
The Kala’s Ukedalic range has hit Amazon with the Plaid, Tiki and Paisley models.
Equally (*tries to think of a nice way of saying garish*) eye-catching new designs for the Flea and Fluke: Island Fluke, Atomic Fluke, Aloha Plum Flea. Plus the Firefly banjo ukulele.
Come Together sounds awful and day tripper is wrong. this site is total bullcrap. I could find better material underneath my shoe. Poophead: Hammer-ons means you slide from 5-7.
Day Tripper goes:
– 3-1
– 3
-0-3-5
–
Besides, what kind of a rule is a no-beatles rule? If this site had beatles, then I would come here 24/7. This is an embarrassment to all ukulele players
A while back I tabbed out the first half of this legendary performance from John King – Larry O’Gaff – but I sucked much too hard to take on the second half. Luckily, Ukulele Tim was up to the task and posted Swallowtail on his blog. After a certain amount of begging and pleading, he was kind enough to let me post the tab up here so the two could be united.
I’d love to give you some guidance on how to play it but I still suck too hard to get to grips with it. The best advice I can offer is to subscribe to Tim’s blog Ukulele Secrets.
There’s more than one way to play any chord. You can find different versions of every chord up and down the neck (known as ‘chord inversions’). And it’s well worth using them. Playing different inversions makes any song more interesting. Particularly if you’re playing with other ukuleles. Having different people play different inversions will open up the sound.
The other day I posted this video of Bosko talking about the CAGFD system with Jim D’Ville – which is the way he thinks about chord inversions. It’s a tricky concept to get across in a short video so it did cause a bit of confusion. He has a full explanation here, but I think it’s a really useful way of thinking about inversions so here’s my shot at explaining it.
For the sake of this post, I’ve simplified the CAGFD system down to FAC. Partly because those are the most useful chord shapes but mostly because it sounds a bit like a rude word. I’ve focused on the major chords here. If you think this post is useful and you want me to tackle the minor and 7 chords in the same way, leave a comment. I had a hard time working out how to explain things clearly in this post so if there’s anything you don’t get, ask in the comments and I’ll try my best to straighten it out.
Making Moveable Chord Shapes
Any of the simple chord shapes you know can be changed into a moveable chord shape (any chord where there are no open strings). All you have to do is replace the nut with your index finger.
Once you have a moveable shape you can move it up and down the fretboard and it will always retain its flavour (major, minor, 7, whatever).
F Shape
Take the F chord. First off you need to free up your index/pointer finger. To do that use your ringer finger to fret the g-string at the second fret and your middle finger to fret the E-string, 1st fret. So you have this:
Move both those fingers up a fret (so your ring finger is at the third fret and middle finger is at the second). Then barre across the first fret with your index finger so you get this:
If you imagine the index finger as the nut, you can see you’re using the same shape as the F chord.
You can move this shape up the neck and it will always be a major chord.
A Shape
You can do the same thing with the A chord shape. Start by freeing up your index finger by using your middle (C string, first fret) and ring finger.
Then move everything up one fret and barre across the first fret with your index finger so you end up with this:
So it’s like an A chord shape with your index finger taking the place of the nut.
This time your barre finger is only holding down the A and E strings so you can do a half bar like this if it’s more comfortable for you:
C Shape
The same thing goes for the C chord shape. Fret the A-string, third fret with your pinkie. Move it up a fret. Barre across with your index finger and you get this:
Note: You don’t have to hold your middle and ring fingers like a total wazzock as I do in the picture.
Major Chords – FAC
Once you’ve got the chord shapes, next you need to know where on the neck to play them.
Each of the shapes has the root note (the one the chord is named after e.g. the root of the F chord is F, the root of Cm7 is C) in a particular place. It’s in the same place no matter where you use the shape.
All you have to do is match that note in the chord chord with the position of the note you want on the fretboard.
F Shape
The root note in the F shape is on the E-string.
A Shape
The root note of the A shape is on the g and A-strings. (Both the notes are exactly the same – play them together and you won’t able to tell the difference).
C Shape
In the C shape the root notes are on the C and A strings.
Fretboard Knowledge
Learning all the notes on the fretboard is a daunting task. 12 frets and 4 stings gives you 48 notes to memorize.
But you can use the FAC shapes just by knowing the notes on the A and E strings. And to start with just learn the notes that crop up most often in ukulele playing. That cuts your learning down to a more manageable 10 notes.
A-String
E-String
If you need a chord that isn’t one of those most common notes it’s pretty easy to work out from what you do know. E.g. E is one fret below F, Bb is one fret above A etc.
Putting It Together
Here’s an example using the C chord.
Start out with the C chord that we all know.
The C shape has the root note on the A-string. And, checking against the diagram, the A-string, 3rd fret is a C note.
Moving on to the A shape. The A shape also has the root note on the A-string. So you make the A shape making sure you’re playing the A string at the third fret.
The F shape has the root note on the E-string. And the C is at the 8th fret on the E-string. So make the F shape so that your middle finger is fretting the E-string at the eighth fret.
Note that your index-finger barre is at the 7th fret here.
All those C chords are completely interchangeable. Wherever you see a C on a chord chart you can use any of those that take your fancy.
And that’s what you do to find inversions of any chord:
– Pick one of the chord shapes.
– Find the location of the root note of the chord.
– Match it to the note on the fretboard.
If you found this lesson useful, please do consider getting a copy of Bosko and Honey’s Ukulele Safari CD – currently all the money from the CDs is going towards the Japan & Pacific Disaster 2011 Appeal. Alternatively you can donate directly to the Red Cross:
Never Shout Never – First Dance (Lovin’ On You)(Chords)
Kids today still use the word ‘rad’?
He does make me feel incredibly old but I like Chistofer Drew and indie-urchin schtick. Plus all the chords I’ve seen for this online seem to be way out (and it’s only a 3 chord song). All of which is my justification for posting this without paying a Fall-feit.
Even though there are only three chords in the song, it does use some inversions you might not be familiar with. If you prefer, you can use the simpler versions of the chords. But it’s worth trying the new inversions as it adds to the sound. Watch out for the difference between the Bb and Bb’. The Bb’ is played at the 13th fret on the A-string. If you don’t have that many you could play the chord 10-10-10-8 or just keep the usual Bb shape instead.
Suggested Strumming
This strum will get you through most of the song:
Use that once for every chord. The only exception is the last line of the chorus where you do it twice for the Bb.
