Time to break out the Christmas songs. In case you’ve joined us in the last year, the Christmas tabbing policy is tabs for well known songs and chords for completely obscure songs. Thus neatly dividing themselves between songs you can’t play and songs you don’t want to play. Weezer’s Christmas Song qualifies by virtue of it being, I’ve read, a Japanese B-side.
Suggested Strumming
It’s in 3/ 4 so you can go with:
d – d u d –
Once for each chord in what I’m calling the verse (except the final F – do it twice). Then four times each in the bridge section
You can vary it up with all down strums for the intro and the, “Since I found…” section.
Twiddly Bits
Some D minor pentatonic for the intro:
Christmas Song Intro (Tab)
And F major scale for the solo (reprised over the last verse):
Videos in today’s round-up include Patrick Wolf covering Joni Mitchell, Max De Bernardi laying out with the Red Wine Serenaders, Goodriddler taking his time before breaking out the uke, a banjo-uke cover of Danzig and another prodigy to make us ashamed of our meagre abilities.
I used to be pretty easy to buy for. A CD or anything ukulele related would serve. Spotify has completely killed off the first and I have more ukulele stuff than anyone of limited abilities can make use of. So here’s a list for those of you dying to send me over-priced junk for Christmas (or my birthday – 9th Decemeber, make a note – for that matter). Feel free to add yours to the comments – Santa reads the blog.
1) RISA LP: This year’s wishlist contains just one uke. And a decidedly non-standard uke at that. I have no intention of laying down the uke, but I am starting to feel a bit restricted and I’m eager to try out some new sounds – perhaps why so much of the stuff I want is a bit gimmicky.
2) Effects Pedals: I do like my nasty, lo-fi sounds. I’ve ordered myself a WMD Geiger Counter and I like sound of many of Subdecay’s pedals – not least the Prometheus. All of which I intend to use to play songs like this.
3) Zoom Q3HD: Most of the handheld cameras out there are a good picture rather than decent audio. But Zoom come at it from the other direction. They’ve long been churning out very handy portable audio recorders and the new video camera is very impressive. Here’s a useful sound comparison video.
Time for a bit of a blog break. I need a couple of weeks to focus on the book I’m writing that I’m still not allowed to talk about. I’ll be back in time for some Christmas goodies.
One of those weeks where there were more videos I wanted to include than I could squeeze in. Luckily, Donnie’s covered a few of them. Another I like is this cover of When I’m Cleaning Windows – I think she does a wonderful job of making the song fresh (and a bit Kate Nash-y).
Making the cut this week are: James Hill’s chop stick routine is coming along nicely and now has added comb. It’s still a gimmick, but what a gimmick, Lamos (who mentions Ukulele Hunt before the songs starts), Manitoba Hal (whose new album is essential listening) and Ryan Spendlove.
As the ukulele market has exploded, competition for sales has got fiercer. It’s interesting to see how various companies have attempted to spread the word. There has been quite a variety of tactics.
Disclaimer: These are my idle musings. Any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental.
Product Lines – Kala
Kala have really pumped out new models. But it’s impressive how they’ve managed to keep an overall identity and, even more importantly, have each new model distinctive and targeted on a specific type of player.
They’re very much lead by what is being demanded. For example, the Acacia tenors are perfect for those who want to be Jake but don’t have the wallet.
They also did a great job of spotting the potential of the Road Toad bass and turning it into a more affordable U-Bass.
It makes life really easy for me because when people ask for a recommendation it’s easy to match their requirements to a specific Kala.
Upside: It’s easy to sell people something they already want. Downside: You have to keep up with the scene and keep innovating.
Community Building – Mainland
Mainland have done a great job building up passionate followers via their participation in Ukulele Underground and UWC. Those of us outside the gang might be left scratching our heads but why worry about that when there are a bunch of people singing your praises at every opportunity?
Upside: Fiercely loyal customers. Downside: Takes a long of time and commitment.
Storytelling – KoAloha
How could you not love Alvin Okami? He’s a rippinggoodstoryteller. These stories give the instruments an extra dimension. They give you a much better idea of what the instruments are about and what the makers value. Without the story it would still be the same instrument but it wouldn’t feel so special.
Upside: Cheap and effective way to spread your message. Attracts people that are going to like what you do. Downside: You have to be an Alvin and really believe in what you’re doing.
Brand Recognition – Fender
With a number of guitarists picking up ukes, Fender have taken advantage of their exceptional good standing in the guitar world to sell some rather less exceptional ukuleles. It’s no coincidence that guitarists like Rivers Cuomo and Baldie off of Train play/smash Fenders.
Upside: Instant trust. Downside: Takes about 50 years to build up.
Competitions – Bushman and EleUke
Bushman’s ukulele contest has become such an institution that it’s easy to forget they actually make ukuleles. And it certainly helped that they through quality considerationns to the curb and picked Julia Nunes as a winner. She seems to have moved onto Kala but they got plenty of mileage of her.
And having two contests in a row has certainly brought EleUke to the fore. And they need to do some damage control because their ukes certainly used to be crappy (I don’t like mine at all) and ugly (a problem they haven’t entirely overcome: the a 90s throwback and the semi-acoustics are nasty). And I do think the winner of the last contest had a nice performance marred by the sound of the EleUke.
Upside: Cheap and quick. Downside: Little last effect. The rules you’re supposed to abide by for international competitions are massively complex and regularly broken.
Endorsements – Mya-Moe and aNueNue
Both Mya-Moe and aNueNue have spread their names by getting their instruments in the hands of players. Mya-Moe with the likes of Mumford and Sons and Victoria Vox and aNueNue with The Re-entrants and U900. Both have used this tactic to quickly establish themselves and it’s worked pretty well for them.
A smart move by Moe-Moe is having headstocks that are instantly recognisable a mile off. Even in a video like this you can tell he’s playing a Mya-Moe.
Upside: Quick way to get your name out there. Downside: Cost and possibly not that effective.
I don’t often do instrumental versions of songs. I think they can turn out cheesey and boring (particularly if the person listing isn’t familiar with the original). But I had to do this one because it’s an incredible song and all the cool kids are doing it (if you’re a Domino fan, don’t miss Rocco La Bete).
I wasn’t originally going to tab this one so it’s played quite loosely in the video. The tab is more of a basis than an exact transcription of the video. In the chorus in particular, try to make the melody notes stand out against the supporting notes (the ones in brackets).
There have been quite a few ukulele apps released since my last app review. So time for a new round-up comparing the various ukulele chord apps that are out there (plus a quick review of one non-chord app).
– Dead simple. There’s no faffing about with pictures of the fretboard. You just get chord diagrams. Easy to use – no unnecessary options.
– A range of inversions at various points on the neck.
– It actually has Em as 0432 as the default (most of the other apps here go for 4432). Which suggests the chord diagrams were looked over by a human who knows how to play ukulele.
What’s wrong with it?
– No sound.
– Not visually stunning.
– gCEA tuning only.
– No fingering suggestions.
Worth it?
I’d say definitely worth a download. This app should be all that most people will need.
Chord diagrams for major, 7, minor, m7, dim, aug, 9. gCEA tuning only. With fingering suggestions. There are also tuning notes (gCEA only).
What’s good about it?
– Pleasent, simple layout.
– Nothing to confuse beginners. So no inversions, different tunings.
– It has an option for left-handers. The only app I’ve found that option on.
What’s wrong with it?
– No sound.
– Some of the chord names aren’t fully displayed: e.g. Ebm is shown as E…
– No suspended chords (which crop up more often than augmented or 9 chords).
– All listed as flats (so no indication that C# is the same as Db).
– Some questionable fingering. It seems to be particularly fond of barring. As you saw in the Ebm example, it used the 3rd finger for g and C strings rather than including the pinkie.
– There’s a link labeled ‘History of the Ukulele’ which just goes to the Wikipedia page for ukulele. Thanks, but I think I can find Wikipedia when I need it.
Worth it?
Not so obviously better than Ukuchords that it’s worth paying for. Might be worth the extra for left-handers.
Price: $2.99 (full disclosure: Chris, the app’s developer, sent me a copy for free)
What is it?
Chord diagrams with fingerings for major, minor, 7, m7 , maj7 6, 9, diminished and sus4 in gCEA, aDF#B and DGBE. With fingering suggestions. Sound of both chords and individual notes. Translation of various phrases into Hawaiian.
What’s good about it?
– Very beginner friendly and easy to use.
– Sound. Full chords or individual notes (but not the constant strumming you hear in the video).
– Multiple tunings but…
What’s wrong with it?
– The chords for both ADF#B and DGBE tuning are wrong. The ADF#B chords are written as if the tuning was FBbDG (i.e. a step down from standard rather than a step up) so a C chord is displayed like this. DGBE tuning is a step too low so a C chord looks like this. To confuse matters further, the sound for ADF#B matches neither the correct pitch or the chord shape.
– It doesn’t always show the easiest chord shape. So D is 2225 rather than 2220 and Em is 4432 rather than 0432.
– There are also some smaller niggles: I don’t know what the Hawaiian language bits are on there for. It would be better to get rid of that and replace it with a nut so you can see you’re at the bottom of the fretboard and so that open strings can be displayed.
Is it worth getting?
Not at the moment. The main advantage it has over ChordKuma is the multiple tunings so it needs fixing (Chris is working on it).
Chord diagrams for major, 6, 7, M7, m, m6, m7, mM7, aug, dim, dim7, sus2. In high-G, low-G, D, G (baritone), Eb, A and Bb tunings. Made by the sheep entertainment people.
What’s good about it?
– Lots of chord options and inversions.
– Plenty of different tunings (although some weird options).
– Reverse looked up: you can punch in the chord you’re playing and it will tell you the name.
What’s wrong with it?
– The layout isn’t so easy to use (and it looks a bit ugly). And having the
– The chord options aren’t laid out in the order they’re most used. So the minor button is the 5th on the list.
– Lots of chords options but no sus4?
– Another app that doesn’t like open strings. So again Em is 4432 rather than 0432
Worth it?
It’s a bit pricey but might be worth a look if you’re expecting to be assaulted with some jazzy chords (or if you decide to play in a bizarre tuning).
Chord and scale diagrams. Chords: major, minor and 7. Scales: major and natural minor.
What’s good about it?
– You can see more than one chord at once. The app is in landscape mode and easily accommodates three chord diagrams side by side.
– Option to have note name, relative note (R, 3, 5 etc.) or just a blank circle for the dots.
– Chords and scales on the same fretboard. It’s an interesting idea.
What’s wrong with it?
– Difficult to use. Took me a bit of playing around before I figured out how to do things.
– Very limited chord options (more on the paid version).
– Very confusing for newbies. It tries to show all the possible inversions over five frets or so at once. They’re colour-coded but not in a way that I intuitively grasped. Unless you’ve got a good idea what you’re doing, you’ll be lost.
Worth it?
If you’re a beginner, stay away. But there are a number of ideas in this app that are worth exploring. It’s not a ‘me too’ chord app, so it’s very different to the other apps (for better and worse). But it wasn’t enough for me to shell out for the full version.
Not a chord app! A sort of Rock Band type game. You play along to a song as the notes scroll down the screen. Songs include Sakura, Aloha Oe, Canon in D and Fur Elise. There’s also a mode where you can widdle away playing whatever you like. They’re partnered with KoAloha.
What’s good about it?
– Fun little game.
– Nicely laid out.
What’s wrong with it?
– It’s not going to improve your playing anywhere near as much as actually playing a ukulele would.
– It’s quite fiddly to use.
– It’s not a game I’ve kept going back to.
– The ‘About KoAloha Ukuleles’ link takes you to a 404 page.
Is it worth getting? Not really. Get Rock Band instead.
I’m thinking about doing a few reviews of more general musical education apps (ear training, rhythm training etc). If you think it’d be worth it, let me know in the comments.
