I ventured into TikTok the other day to find out what the kids are into. Turns out they love hyper-literal dance moves, handing over their data to the CCP, syncopation and jazz chords. I’m entirely on board with those last two. So here’s a selection of songs that became popular on TikTok.

Doja Cat – Say So

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Doja Cat – Say So: 7 second #ukulele lesson. . . #ukuleletabs #ukulelecover #DojaCat #SaySo

A post shared by @ ukulelehunt on Jun 17, 2020 at 11:01am PDT

The chord progression of this one is tasty. It’s Em7 – A7sus4 – Dmaj7 then adds B7sus4 – B7 the last time around. The strumming pattern is also interesting. The odd bars are strummed directly on the beat and the even bars have a syncopated strum.

Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now

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Dua Lipa – Don't Start Now: 7 second #ukulele lesson. (Full tab coming up on UkeHunt . . #ukuleletabs #ukulelecover #DuaLipa

A post shared by @ ukulelehunt on Jun 19, 2020 at 10:54am PDT

I’ve got a full version of this coming up tomorrow.

Megan thee Stallion – Savage

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Megan Thee Stallion – Savage: 7 second #ukulele lesson. . . #ukuleletabs #ukulelecover #MeganTheeStallion

A post shared by @ ukulelehunt on Jun 18, 2020 at 10:37am PDT

Similar to Say So in that it shares the minor 7 chords and has the same syncopated rhythm (albeit shifted in the bar). But uses them in a more punchy way to produce a more aggressive sound.

Doja Cat – Freak

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Doja Cat – Freak: 7 second #ukulele lesson. . . #ukuleletabs #ukulelecover #DojaCat

A post shared by @ ukulelehunt on Jun 21, 2020 at 10:33am PDT

A very old-school chord progression thanks to a sample of Paul Anka’s Put Your Head on My Shoulder.

Jason Derulo – Savage Love

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Jason Derulo & Jawsh 685 – Savage Love: 7 second #ukulele lesson. . . #ukuleletabs #ukulelecover #JasonDerulo

A post shared by @ ukulelehunt on Jun 24, 2020 at 8:13am PDT

Proud Mary/Midnight Hour (Tab)

One of the joys of lockdown has been watching rockers replace their bands with their kids. Best of all has been John Fogerty blasting out the hits with his family. So here’s a uke version of one of those hits paired with another sixties banger from Wilson Pickett (who covered Proud Mary).

As well as sharing the same level of verve, both these tunes use an F to D move (in this key) in their turnarounds. A move that John Fogerty was inspired to make by the opening of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.

The arrangement is mostly strumming basic chords with melody notes thrown in. So it’s a good one to bash out without worrying too much about exactly what you’re playing.

Links

Midnight Hour on Amazon
Proud Mary on Amazon
More 60s tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon

Watch on YouTube

Tracklist
Sarah Marie Young – Have You Ever Seen the Rain
Ukulele Death Squad – Drunken Lullabies
Swingy – I Will Wait For You
Zoë Bestel – Don’t Know Why
Kenta Ebara – Heavenly Island via @ukeist
Vanessa Ding – Might as well
blackstem – Hard Times
Polo G x Einer Bankz – 33
Arko Mukhaerjee – Nepali Folk Jam
The Oh Yeahs – Rainbow Connection

Martha and the Vandellas – Dancing in the Street (Tab)

A particularly relevant Motown classic today to express my solidarity with my American friends fighting for justice.

The arrangement is based primarily on the Martha Reeves version. But I do slip in the bass riff from the Bowie/Jagger version which first pops up in bar 4. It helps to break up the long G chord that last the entire verse.

Don’t worry about hitting every note in the tab perfectly. So long as you’re holding the right chord and hitting the melody notes it should work.

Links

Buy the song
BlackLivesMatter.com

Time for the Uke Hunt Annual Chord Quiz. Test your chord knowledge, theory knowledge and musical ear. The method is as low-tech as ever.

– Grab a pen and paper.
– Answer the questions (using a ukulele to help you is entirely allowed and encouraged).
– Check the answers here (no peeking).

If you’re reading by email or feed reader you may need to click through to the post to see everything.

Chord Diagrams

Name the minor chord from the chord diagram.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Chord Flavour: Diagrams

All these are F chords but are they D, Dm, D7, Dm7, or Dmaj7?

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Chord Flavour: Listening

All these are A chords but are they E, Em, E7, Em7 or Emaj7?

11.

11

12.

12

13.

13

14.

14

15.

15

Chord Makeup

Each of these triads of notes makes up a major chord (e.g. the notes of an A minor chord are A, C and E). Which one? (The notes are listed in alphabetical order starting at C to make it harder.)

16. C, E, G

17. C, F, A

18. D, F, Bb

19. C#, E, A

20. D, F#, A

Chord Progression

Match the MP3 to the chord sequence:

a) A – E7 – A – E7 – A
b) A – E7 – D – E7 – A
c) A – D – A – E7 – A
d) A – F#m – Bm – D – A
e) A – Em – Bm – G – A

21.

21

22.

22

23.

23

24.

24

25.

25

Go here to check your answers

Links

Big Chord Quiz 1
Big Chord Quiz 2
Big Chord Quiz 3
Big Chord Quiz 4
Big Chord Quiz 5
More ukulele quizzes

Tiny Tim – Tiptoe Through the Tulips (Tab)

I was very snooty about Tiny Tim back in the day. But, now my brain has gone soft in old age, I’ve developed a fondness for him. The more the ukulele world has become populated with people with good hair and nice teeth the more I appreciate him making the ukulele an instrument for weirdos and outcasts.

So the latest stop in my Jazz Odyssey is the song famous by Tiny Tim with his deeply unsettling ukulele version.

And there’s lots to love about this song. I particularly enjoy the chromatic rise of the chords in the chorus. I’ve tried to emphasise that in the arrangement. The intro and the solo are almost all notes in the chords plus chromatic notes leading into or out of a chord. I’d encourage to have a play around and insert some of your own ideas in those.

Links

Buy the song
More jazz tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon

Blind Willie Johnson – The Soul of a Man (Tab)

Today’s post was prompted by Douglas and Stephen who requested a bit of slide ukulele. I was trying to think of which song to do when I watched the new Assassin’s Creed trailer that features a cover of Blind Willie Johnson’s Soul of a Man and immediately got to work on it.

Slide playing is noisy at the best of times. I wrote a whole ebook about playing slide, but the number one tip for slide playing is to mute everything you’re not playing. Mute everything behind the slide with your index or middle finger (or, even better, both). And mute any string you don’t want to hear with your picking hand.

It’s mostly standard slide playing. But there is a little trick in bar 4. There, you need to angle the slide so you’re playing the A-string at the 10th fret and the C-string at the 11th. Mercifully, the vibrato there means you’ve got a bit of leeway in hitting the notes.

Links

Buy the song
How to Play Blues Ukulele
More blues tabs and chords
Uke Hunt Patreon

Alan Parsons Project – Sirius (Tab)

The third and final tab for Game Day. The Last Dance, the documentary on the Jordan-era Chicago Bulls, had some great 90s music in it. The closing sequence with Pearl Jam’s Present Tense absolutely floored me. But instead of covering any of that, I dusted off my cricket bat RISA ukulele and have a go at this delicious slice of 80s cheese.

The grunt work of the chords is done on guitar (since my IQ drops 30 points every time I play one). That starts with C5 (x355xx) – Abmaj7 (4x55xx) – F5 (x335xx) – C5 with the first chord switching to Cm7 (x3534x) half way through.

I’ve tabbed up the two ukulele riffs and the solo. The first riff is a dead simple one bar riff repeated through the whole thing. The second is a more challenging set of arpeggios. The solo is a blast to play. I kept the half step bend in (A-string 5th fret) but I’ve replaced all the whole step bends with slides.

Links

Buy the song
More Game Theme tabs
Uke Hunt Patreon

Darren Korb – Vagrant Song (Tab)

Part two of Game Day and this time it’s a song from the video game Pyre suggested by patron Xavier. I’m using a capo on the 4th fret to keep it in the same key as the original. But there’s no reason you can’t play it without one if you prefer.

The arrangement has three main sections. It starts with just the melody. I’m using one finger per string picking here but you can pick it in whatever way suits you. The second section adds chord backing to the melody. I would recommend using one finger per string picking here but you could use thumb strumming. The final section has the C-string plucked and a strum with a few little twiddles. I’m using whatever finger comes to hand here so go hog wild.

Links

Buy the song
Buy the game
More Game Theme tabs
Uke Hunt Patreon

One Night Ultimate Werewolf – Fantasy Theme (Tab)

It’s game day on Uke Hunt. I’m covered music connected to three types of games. Starting with the tabletop hidden-role game One Night Ultimate Werewolf. A game I haven’t played but have spent a lot of time watching charming nerds play while practicing. So inevitably I worked up a version of the song from the game.

As I understand it, the tune uses tracks form the Logic Pro library. So you might recognise elements from elsewhere.

Links

One Night Ultimate Werewolf
More Game Theme tabs
Uke Hunt Patreon