Ukulele Hunt

Blog

  • Led Zeppelin – The Rain Song (Tab)

    Led Zeppelin – The Rain Song (Tab)Download

    I just love Zeppelin so this song has been on my to-do pile for a long time. It had stayed there because I was a bit intimidated by how much there is going on. But once I got stuck into it the tune transferred to the ukulele surprisingly smoothly. I didn’t even have to change the key and I think I crammed the most important parts in.

    My version is shortened but most of the important sections are in there once.

    My favourite technique in the tune is the long, drawn out up strums. I’m doing a slow up strum with my index finger there. Definitely worth incorporating into your playing arsenal.

    Trickiest Bit

    I found sliding down the 3323 chord really tricky. You can simplify out without losing anything much by muting the g-string and just sliding down the G7 chord shape i.e. from x323 to x212.

    Links

    Buy it on iTunes
    More rock tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Jackson C Frank – Blues Run the Game (Tab)

    BluesRunTheGameDownload

    Blues Run the Game is the up there with World Turned Upside Down as the best modern folk song. Both those songs are widely covered and not best known for the original versions (a defining characteristic of a great folk song).

    Blues Run the Game was written by Jackson C Frank but has been more heard in its many cover versions by the likes of Simon & Garfunkel, Nick Drake, John Renbourn, Sandy Denny, Eddi Reader John Mayer and Laura Marling.

    But my favourite is Bert Jansch’s version. And that was the strongest influence on my ukulele version of the picking.

    The first thing to say about my take is that it uses the capo on the fifth fret. Usually I wouldn’t capo that high up but it was the only way I could get it onto the ukulele and keep it in the same key as Jansch’s version.

    The second thing is the alternate picking. The thumb alternates between the g and C strings thumb and two finger style.

    Links

    Buy the Jackson C Frank version
    Buy the Bert Jansch version
    More folk tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Mr Moustafa from Grand Budapest Hotel (Tab)

    Alexandre Desplat – Mr Moustafa (Tab)Download

    I got a request from Justin saying that Alexandre Desplat’s music from the new Wes Anderson movie Grand Budapest Hotel would be perfect for ukeing. And he was absolutely right. As soon as I heard this tune I knew it would suit a campanella-style ukulele arrangement.

    And it turned out to be even easier than I expected. Without even changing the key the whole first section of the verses mostly could be played on the open strings.

    Trickiest Bit

    As with most campanella arrangements the trickiest bit is memorising the string plucking order. If there’s a quicker way to learn it than playing through slowly over and over again I don’t know what it is.

    Flicking the Bean

    In the bridge section I’m trying to recreate the mandolin tremolo strumming. Tremolo strumming is a bit more tricky on the uke though. So I used a technique I refer to as “flicking the bean”.

    It involves turning your strumming hand palm upwards and wiggling your middle fingers across the strings like this:

    Links

    Buy it on iTunes
    GrandBudapestHotel.com
    More movie theme tabs

  • Spinal Tab – Stonehenge (Instrumental Tab)

    Spinal Tap – Stonehenge (Mandolin Solo)(Tab)Download

    For this arrangement I’ve taken the intro and outro of the song and made a mandolin solo sandwich. Mandolins are built for speed so I had to slow it down a fair amount to play it. And even still I didn’t play it as smoothly as I’d like.

    The intro and outro is mostly octaves picked with thumb and middle finger. If your uke only has 12 frets you can just play the lower half of the octaves and it should work out okay.

    The picking for mandolin section is a complete mess! Where I can I’m using running man picking (alternately picking the same string with index and middle fingers). But mostly I’m using whatever finger gets there first. Which would explain why I’m not playing it smoothly.

    Links

    Buy it on iTunes
    More movie tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Gustavo Santaolalla – The Last of Us Theme (Tab)

    Gustavo Santaolalla – The Last of Us Theme (Tab)Download

    Gustavo Santaolalla is my absolute favourite film composer. He first came to prominance with Argentine films Amores Perros and The Motorcycle Diaries. Then went on to win Academy Awards for Brokeback Mountain and Babel.

    No doubt part of the reason I love his music is his extensive use of a ronroco (a large version of, the ukulele’s cousin, the charango). It’s that instrument he used for the theme tune to his first game soundtrack The Last of Us. And it’s an incredibly beautiful tune. Here’s a fascinating video of him discussing his work on it with a short clip of him playing it live.

    Because the ronroco uses reentrant tuning, the tune transfers nicely to the ukulele.

    Performance Notes

    All the way through I’m using thumb and two finger picking. The thumb plays the g- and C-strings, the index finger plays the E and the middle finger plays the A.

    When you’re playing this try to always emphasises the melody. In the first section (bars 1 to 11) that’s every note on the g-string. So pluck more forcefully with your thumb.

    Then it switches to the A-string in bars 12 to 24. So in that section pick more strongly with your middle finger.

    The section in bars 27 to 34 is a little different. There isn’t a strong melody here. But do give a little more emphasis to the notes on the A-string on the third and fourth beats of each bar.

    Also, try to vary the dynamics as you play. Having louder and softer sections through the piece.

    Links

    Buy the original on iTunes
    TheLastOfUs.playstation.com
    More game theme tabs

  • Pete Seeger – We Shall Overcome (Instrumental Tab)

    We Shall Overcome (Tab)Download

    I couldn’t let Pete Seeger week pass without writing up this song in some form. In the spirit of the song I’ve kept the arrangement super simple. I go through the verse three times. Getting more strident each time.

    First Time Through

    I’m just playing the melody. Picking it out with my thumb.

    Second Time Through

    Harmonising the melody. I’m picking this with my thumb on the lower string and index finger on the higher string.

    Third Time Through

    Playing the melody back with the chords. I’m just using my thumb here. Strumming up to the melody note.

    Links

    The Pete Seeger version on iTunes
    More folk tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Karen O – The Moon Song (from Her) (Chords and Tab)

    The Moon Song (Chords)Download

    By my reckoning the last ukulele song to win the Best Song Oscar was Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head in 1969.

    But that could change this year with the nomination of Karen O’s The Moon Song this year. The song was written for the Spike Jonze film Her where it’s performed by Joaquin Phoenix playing ukulele and Scarlett Johansson playing a Siri. Here’s a ukulele-based précis if you need to catch up.

    I’ve written up two versions of the song. Above is the plain chords based on the Karen O guitar version. And below the ukulele picking version from the movie.

    Suggested Strumming

    For the main pattern you can use:

    d – d u – u d u

    Do that once each for Dm and G. You can do it twice for the C chord. Or you can do this:

    d – d u – u d u
    – u d u d u d –

    Just do one down strum each for the F and Fm.

    Picking Version

    The Moon Song TabDownload

    The ukulele version has the same basic chords but a few different inversions. That means you can switch chord inversions as you see fit.

    The arrangement, though, is slightly different. The intro is longer and there’s a verse missing.

    I’ve suggested a thumb and two fingers picking pattern (shown in the first bar and repeated all the way through). It doesn’t seem to be what he’s using but it’s what I’d recommend.

    Links

    Karen O on iTunes
    Visit HerTheMovie.com
    More movie tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • 80′s Medley (Tab)

    80′s Medley (Tab)Download

    I was inspired by Action Bronson’s Contemporary Man from his latest mixtape to create a 80s medley of my own. And it’s a good opportunity to show how I intended the riffs posts to be used. And it means there’s plenty of scope to add your favourites to the medley.

    The first four songs are the same as Contemporary Man: Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, Phil Collins’ Sussudio, John Mellencamp’s Jack and Diane, Phil again with Another Day in Paradise. Then a couple of my favourites I’ve done before in the riffs series: Harold Faltermeyer’s Axel F and Jump by Van Halen.

    More 80′s tabs.

    Buy the Originals

    Sledgehammer
    Sussudio
    Jack and Diane
    Another Day In Paradise
    Axel F
    Jump

  • I Am The Doctor (Doctor Who) (Tab)

    Murray Gold – I Am The Doctor (Tab)Download

    Here’s my take on Murray Gold’s I Am The Doctor. The theme for Matt Smith’s Doctor.

    I also jammed a reference to the main Doctor Who Theme in at the end.

    7/8 Time

    The main theme is in rather tricky 7/8 time. When counting it I went with “1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4″. But once I’d got the hang of playing it I dropped the count and just went with the swing of it.

    Trickiest Bit

    The high, screechy violin bit in bars 5-8. You can simplify this a couple of ways. You can drop the note on the A-string 8th fret at the end of the bar and just stick with the 10th fret. Or you could play a simpler version without the screeches. Either repeat the first four bars or play bars 17-20.

    Links

    Buy the original on iTunes
    More TV theme tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Sigur Ros – Hoppipolla (Tab)

    Sigur Ros – Hoppipolla (Tab)Download

    I think this tune has to be the most overused piece of music on television: reality shows, sporting montages, documentaries. And now it’s been covered by the guy off of G4. That would usually be enough to kill off any song. But this song is so magnificent it gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.

    For the uke arrangement I’ve moved everything up a fret from the original to the more uke-friendly key of C. The first half of tune is all played campanella style (i.e. one note per string letting them ring into each other). I know a lot of people don’t like this way of playing but, screw it, it’s easily the best way of arranging a tune like this.

    The most important thing to get right is the dynamics (quiet and louds bits). The original gets this one spot on. Obviously you’re not going to have the same dynamic range as a full band and a string section. But try to let the music swell in the first half and blossom in the second half. The dynamics are what gives emotion to the tune.

    Another important thing to get right – which I completely failed to do in the video – is to keep an even tempo. I speed up much too fast towards the end. So do as I say not as I do.

    Links

    More 2000s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon