You might know this song in its versions by Eartha Kitt, Kylie, Madonna or Marilyn Monroe (who never sang it), but my favourite is by Winger (no, not the hair metal band Winger). Not only is it played on ukulele, it has uke-adapted lyrics – so this is the version I’ve written up.
Deciding which ukulele to buy is tricky even for seasoned uke players. If you play uke for long enough you’ll discover the right answer to the question ‘which ukulele should I buy?’ is ‘all of them’. If you’re buying your first ukulele or you’re buying someone else’s first uke it can be difficult to know where to start. So I’ve put to together a little first time ukulele buyers guide (particularly for people buying online). If you’ve got any advice to add, let everyone know in the comments.
Ukuleles make great gifts for kids to get them into making music – they fit into child sized hands and let them jump around pretending to be rock stars. They’re also great presents for musicians – particularly guitarists – as they are very portable and easy to learn.
Unless you live in Hawaii, dedicated ukulele shops are hard to come by. Local music/guitar shops will probably sell a couple of very basic models. If you want some real choice, the internet is probably your best bet.
There are a number of dedicated ukulele sites in the US, The Ukulele Shop in the UK and RISA/Uke Surfer in Germany. But the biggest choice is to be found on eBay. Buying on eBay can be a bit risky sometimes, but there are some ukulele sellers with good reputations. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything buy glowing praise for musicguymic from anyone. All the instruments he sells, even the cheapest, are expertly set up. ukulele4u is another popular seller and usually has a wider selection of lower priced ukes.
Which Size Ukulele Should I Buy?
There are four main sizes of ukulele: soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. The smallest of these, soprano, is the classic ukulele and the one that most people start on – particularly children. If someone has asked you to buy them a ukulele, this is probably what they mean.
How Much Should I Spend?
There are a lot of cheap ukuleles for under $20. These are usually playable – many people start out on these – and would make a good present / stocking filler for a guitar player. However, they’re often not set up ideally which isn’t handy for a beginner. Spending a little more will give you a much better instrument and will be more playable straight out of the box.
Ukuleles for Under $50
Makala ukuleles are your best bet if you’re on a tight budget. As I mentioned before, if you musicguymic it will be properly set up (which makes it worth the small premium). It’s also worth getting a decent set of strings to put on it (such as Aquila).
Another popular budget option is Mahalo ukuleles. Their popularity stems mainly from looks, particularly the Mahalo Flying-V ukuleles and – insanely popular with girls of all ages – pink Mahalos.
Ukuleles for under $100
Kala ukuleles mostly inhabit the $200 – $300 price range but also make some lower price models. The Kala Soprano ukulele with set up and strings for $60 looks like a good deal to me. Oscar Schmidt are another popular company that sell ukulele in this price range.
In a similar price range in Europe, is the Ashbury Concert for £50. I have the Koa version and wouldn’t be without it.
Terry Kinakin – My Little Gold Digger (mp3)
Terry Kinakin -Pineapple Sunday (mp3)
That there is the first KoAloha Sceptre of the first batch of KoAloha Sceptres.
Terry Kinakin plays just about every fretted instrument going (banjo, guitar, mandolin) with a wide variety of groups in many different styles. But, obviously, it’s his uke playing that gets me all hot and bothered. As well as playing with the Nashville Ukulele Society, he also writes and performs solo material and he was kind enough to send me some mp3s. One of which was an ode to the KoAloha Sceptre itself.
Terry Kinakin – Sceptre-ific (mp3)
You can read the story of how he came by the first Sceptre off the production line and his meeting with Mr KoAloha himself, Alvin Okami, here. He’s certainly done the instrument justice with the tune Sceptre-ific. It’s a fantastic little fingerpicking piece that takes advantage of the tone, volume and range of the Sceptre. I couldn’t resist grabbing my (lower quality) uke and playing the tune myself. Here’s the tab for the first section.
You can find out more about Terry, download more mp3s and friend him up on his MySpace.
A quick guide to what little gift to get your uke obsessed love one for Christmas. (Or what you might like to get for yourself because everyone else is getting you socks).
A good set of strings is the fastest and cheapest way to improve the sound of any ukulele. But if you’re buying them for someone else, be careful. Type in ‘ukulele strings’ on eBay and you’ll get a dizzying variety.
One particular problem is buying the right size. If the person you’re buying them for has a number of ukuleles, you don’t need to worry – they’ll probably have one of each size. If they’re a relatively new player, your best bet is to buy strings for a soprano ukulele.
The most popular brands of uke strings are Worth and Aquila. If you’re lucky enough to come across some KoAloha pink strings, get them and send them to me.
Ukulele Tuner: Intelli IMT-500 Tuner
“Ever tried tuning in a room with lots of noise or in the dark?” asks musicguymic.
I can’t say that tuning my ukulele in the dark is a big problem for me. Tuning in a noisy environment, however, is. The Intelli tuner clips on to the end of the uke and picks up the pitch by vibration of the uke itself – avoiding any confusion with ambient sound.
It’s a chromatic tuner i.e. you can tune to any pitch you want. This means that, as well as ukes, it can be used to tune guitars, mandolins, banjos etc.
The cheapest I’ve seen these advertised is musicguymic on eBay.
The perfect present for: those who torture you with out of tune playing, ukulele group members, regular live players, buskers, multi-instrumentalists, those with noisy kids/housemates, those who play the uke while potholing.
One for the serious uke player, this. Because they’re made of wood, ukuleles can warp and crack over time as they dry out. Humidifiers stop this happening.
Someone who’s getting their first, cheap ukulele doesn’t need a humidifier. But if you know someone lucky enough to be getting a good quality uke (particularly a vintage one), I’m sure they’d be very pleased to get a wax and humidifer set to go along with it.
The perfect present for: a uke collector, someone’s who’s getting an expensive uke for xmas.
Metronome
I’m very guilty of speeding up as I play (and generally wandering out of time) and so are many players. I know I should use a metronome but I don’t. It’s probably because I’ve only got a nasty little, electronic metronome that emits a sharp ‘bip’. If I had a nice vintage metronome, I might use it as often as I should.
The sexiest metronomes on eBay at the moment:
Cadenzia Palmer Pocket Metronome
Baldwin Tempo-Matic Metronome (yes, it’s electronic – but it’s gorgeous).
Guitar picks are death to ukuleles. They sound too harsh. Felt picks are made for the uke’s more delicate disposition. Besides, they’re a cheap stocking filler.
Perfect for: recovering guitarists.
Now that we’ve reached December, it’s time to grab your uke and start practicing a few Christmas tunes.
With that in mind, I’ve put together a tab ebook for a dozen Christmas favourites all arranged in a simple fashion. The full list of tabs is:
– Twelve Days of Christmas – Auld Lang Syne
– Carol of the Bells – The Holly and the Ivy
– Deck the Halls- Good King Wenceslas
– Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – Silent Night
– In the Bleak Midwinter – Sussex Carol
– Here We Come A Wassailing – God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Being Christmas, I’m selling this book cheaply: $7.
You can read more about it and listen to mp3s of the tunes here:
I’m selling this ebook using a slightly different method which has a couple of advantages: as well as being taken to the download page after you pay, you should get an email with a link to the download page as well; and, unlike my other books, those in the EU do not have to pay VAT. It’s a new system, so if you experience any problems let me know and I’ll do my best to sort it out.
Back to AC/DC to end up the list of riffs – they are THE riff band.
UPDATE: Aw crap, it seems to have disappeared. If anyone has a copy, let me know.
DOUBLE UPDATE: Big thanks to Kempo who had a copy: John King – Carol of the Bells (Tab)
I was going to start December with a quick selection of Christmas uke videos, then I discovered that a video of ukulele master John King playing Carol of the Bells has just been uploaded to YouTube. It pretty much trumps any other video.
You can download the fiendishly difficult tab on Nalu Music. Or, if you’re a mere mortal, you’ll be able to get your hands on my more simple arrangement in this post.
More (re)entrants into world of ukulele blogging:
– Ukulele Review does what it says on the tin with instruments, accessories, CDs, DVDs and books.
– Ukulele Ghetto is the diary of a UAS ‘sufferer’.
Probably the best uke article I’ve ever seen in the press in the San Francisco Chronicle. It even introduced me to High Hopes who I wasn’t familiar with and am very glad to find out about.
The 4th Peg opens a ukulele tab section with some Xmas treats.
Posters for uke gigs are always that little bit more stylish.
The Super Awesome Squad interview Jens Lekman who seems to be giving up the uke.
Sigourney Weaver watches her hubby jamming with the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra.
The first ukulele in a hip hop video? Dizzee Rascal’s new video for Flex.
The UkuLady doesn’t have Thanksgiving with Hugo Chavez’s great grandson.
Nick Zinner of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs is one of my favourite guitarists around at the moment. All his parts are simple but interesting and very individual. It almost makes it worth putting up with that screaming harridan of a singer.
This riff is very staccato. You can produce this by releasing the pressure with your fretting hand shortly after you’ve played the note and, particularly on the open notes, muting the strings with your picking hand.
I’m very taken with this song and Gogol Bordello in general. The riff was originally an Italian folk tune called Tromba degli Zingari.
I play this riff with the A string ringing throughout to give it a bit more weight on the uke. I use my thumb to play the melody notes and my ring finger to play the continuous A note.
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