Ukulele Hunt

Blog

  • The Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA (Tabs)

    The Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA (Tab)Download

    Keeping up the summer vibes (and the Brian Wilson tributes) with The Beach Boys’ Surfin’ USA. Musically, the song is based on Chuck Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen. But Wilson took the wise decision to change the lyrics.

    The key technique throughout is strum blocking i.e. muting the strings you don’t want to sound. For example, in the opening three notes, I’m muting the g-string with my thumb and the E- and A-strings with my index finger.

    Intro: A very Chuck Berry-style lick. Played with all down-strums. And I’m holding my thumb against my index finger for some extra force (almost holding it like a pick).

    Verse: The verse starts out alternating bars between melody notes (played on the g-string) and a standard blues shuffle. Then switches to more straightforward chords in bar 10.

    For the strum blocking in the melody bars (e.g. bar 4) I’m muting the C-string with the underside of the finger I’m fretting the g-string with. And I’m muting the A-string with my middle finger (which is fretting the E-string).

    Chorus: Starts almost identical to the verse except for having a more basic shuffle and not muting the C-string for the melody parts. Then it ventures up the neck for the falsetto “Everybody’s gone…” in bar 30.

    Solo: I’ve stuck fairly close to the original here. But so long as you stay in the Chuck Berry area, there’s plenty of room to make changes.

    Outro: Just the “Everybody’s gone…” bit repeated, then I threw in a little lick at the end.

    Links

    Links

    More 60s tabs and chords
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Bananarama – Cruel Summer (Tabs)

    Bananarama – Cruel Summer (Tab)Download

    Here’s one to learn while sweating your bollocks (or lady bollocks) off: Bananarama’s Cruel Summer.

    The intro is by far the hardest part of this one. It gets fiddly at the top of the fretboard. Apart from that, it’s pretty straightforward. There’s only three chords in the whole song (Em, D and C). And those are all in the open position until the break section where I use different inversions and things get sweaty on the strumming front.

    Links

    More 80s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Billy Joel – Piano Man (Tabs)

    Billy Joel – Piano Man (Tab)Download

    Intro: The song kicks off with a couple of jazz licks that are completely unrelated to the rest of the song. But do sound cool. It’s fine to drop those if you’re not into it. Or adjust it to your taste.

    That leads into the intro proper. I’ve changed this up a bit from the original. And I’ve shortened it since the original is 30 seconds in before the verse starts.

    Verse: The verse is nice and straightforward. It’s all contained in the first few frets and uses familiar chord shapes. Be aware that the open g-string at the start åof bar 19 is a melody note, so make sure it stands out.

    Pre-Chorus: Switching to strums for the build up to the chorus. I didn’t find a nice way to play the melody and the descending notes at the same time. So I sacrificed the melody and just hinted at it with the hammer-ons on the E-string.

    Chorus: Almost identical to the melody in the verse. But it’s beefed up with a bunch of strumming.

    Solo: The trickiest part of the song. There are some quick runs that use campanella picking and a bit of quick movement up the neck. There’s room for changing things here. But I wouldn’t move away from the original too much as it has a strong melodic sense to it.

    Links

    More 70s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Charles Mingus – Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (Tabs)

    Charles Mingus – Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (Tab)Download

    I hope you’re not coming here for a detailed harmonic breakdown of Charles Mingus’s Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, because I have no idea what he’s doing most of the time. Which made it a tough song for me to memorise. With all the unfamiliar chords and movements, I found myself constantly having to think ahead, since there weren’t many familiar shapes to fall back on.

    Verse: I found the easiest way to play the opening bars is to barre across the first fret from the last note of bar 1 to the Gm in bar 4. Not all the chords need the barre, but it’s a lot easier to keep it there than to take it on and off.

    As well as the harmony, there’s plenty of rhythmic jiggery-pokery going on. Most notably, the entire tune is in swing time except for bar 10. Which is played straight.

    Solo: In the original, the solo uses a new (slightly simpler) chord progression. For my version, I’ve gone with a simplified take on the original chords. And I’ve leaned into the songs bluesiness with a bunch of bends and slides.

    There’s loads of room here to bring in your own ideas. My take draws heavily on the melody. But you can go way off piste if you’re feeling brave.

    Links

    More jazz tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • The Beach Boys – Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Tabs)

    The Beach Boys – Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Tab)Download

    How else could I pay tribute to Brian Wilson than with one of the greatest songs of all time: Wouldn’t It Be Nice. The song weaves through multiple keys and spans a wide vocal range, so I’ve done some shifting to bring it all within the range of the uke.

    Intro: Kicking off in the key of B with a nifty riff that is a bit of a finger-twister but fun to play. This section ends with a D chord setting things up for the key change to G in the verse. If you’re going to change keys in a song, playing the V chord of the key you’re changing to is the smoothest way to do it.

    Chorus: The happiest section of the song where you’re mostly rocking out open chords. As long as you keep things bright and percussive, you can’t go far wrong here.

    Verse: Moving to the key of E minor (the relative minor of G) for the more melancholy verse. This section contains my favourite chord in the song (the juicy F9 in bar 14) and favourite note (the D on “staaaaaayyyy” at the start of bar 16).

    Bridge: Shifting to the key of E major. This time, it’s more abrupt, without a chord to smooth the transition. This is the trickiest part of the arrangement. Lots of barre chords and use of the g-string in the melody.

    Outro: A nice, simple jam of an ending. No need to even change the chord. It’s just G all the way through.

    Links

    More Beach Boys tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • The Doors – Riders on the Storm (Tabs)

    The Doors – Riders on the Storm (Tab)Download

    Here’s one for everyone who is into The Doors: Riders on the Storm.

    Intro: The intro has hardest part of the whole song: the long legato line in bar 7. I’ve cut it much shorter than the original, but it’s still a challenge. Particularly since it needs to be played smoothly as it’s intended to evoke rain.

    Verse: Nothing much to worry about here. I’ve included the little twangy guitar riff in the first and third verses (e.g. bar 13). You can mix and match that with the straight chords in the second verse however you like.

    Solo: This is loosely based on the original guitar solo. Feel free to come up with your own version. But I recommend using lots of hammer-ons and pull-offs with a few bluesy bends to keep the feel of the original.

    Links

    More 60s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Where Everybody Knows Your Name (Cheers Theme)(Tabs)

    Where Everybody Knows Your Name (Cheers Theme)(Tab)Download

    Here’s my take on Cheers theme in tribute to George Wendt. I thought I’d done this one years ago (with it being one of the best theme tunes of all time) but it seems not.

    The tune starts out simple enough. Next, things get jazzy in bars 7-9. Then it’s right to the top of the neck for the chorus. Things get decidedly fiddly up there. I did try out shifting the whole section down an octave. It works but it didn’t have the same joyful hit it has in the original.

    Links

    More TV theme tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Pearl Jam – Better Man (Tabs)

    Pearl Jam – Better Man (Tab)Download

    I don’t think I’ve ever anticipated an album more than I did Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy. At the time, I was disappointed it wasn’t as exciting as Ten and Vs. But in hindsight, it’s clear they were transitioning into being a band that would be around for decades. And that’s reflected in Better Man, which wasn’t even released as a single but has become one of their most enduring and popular songs.

    This one is pretty straightforward. Even the riff and the verse are almost identical. But I have shifted a couple of notes from the g-string to the A-string to create a bit of contrast.

    The first half of the song is all fingerpicking. After bar 44, there’s a lot more strumming going on. And it’s after that change that the biggest challenge of the song crops up: the transition from C to D at the end of bar 46. I found it tricky to barre across the second fret and hit the E-string, 3rd fret.

    Links

    More 90s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside (Tabs)

    Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside (Tab)Download

    RHCP’s Otherside fits nicely on the uke. Just some fast melody notes to deal with. And the easiest solo in guitar history.

    Intro: A combination of the bass and guitar parts to create a little bit of counterpoint.

    Chorus: A simple melody and familiar chord shapes make this section an easy one.

    Verse: A bit more tricky with a more rapid melody requiring some alternate picking.

    Bridge: I’ve cut this section down to just the melody part in the second half. It’s the toughest section to play. The melody switches between the g-string and the A-string (where you play the A-string, 5th fret).

    Solo: A short and easy solo.

    Links

    More RHCP tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Doris Day – Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Tabs)

    Doris Day – Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Tab)Download

    Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps started life as Quizás, Quizás, Quizás written by Osvaldo Farrés. Since then, it’s been covered by people as varied as Bing Crosby, Cake and Andrea Bocelli. But the most famous is Doris Day’s version. Which I based this arrangement on.

    Intro: Starting off with the cool, staccato riff. First an octave up. Then in first position (where it’s played when it crops up later in the song).

    Verse: I like to be a little late to some notes in the verse. Particularly the Gm chord at the start of bar 9. This matches the lyrics about hesitation and stalling.

    Chorus: The chorus shifts up the fretboard and is much more strident. I’ve thrown in a couple of licks in bars 17 and 21 that you can change to your own tastes.

    Solo: And feel free to come up with your own version of the solo, too. In this solo, I’m using the G natural minor scale. Plus some chromatic notes in bar 28 to lead into the C minor chord.

    Links

    More 40s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon