Verse: The verses, being in C major, are fairly straightforward to play.
The third verse starts off mimicking the recorder solo. So there are more strums and the melody is stiffer. And there are a few variations in the second half of the verse to watch for.
Chorus: The song switches to C minor for the chorus. Which makes things more of a challenge. But if you’ve got your barre chords down, it’s not going to be much of a problem.
Jump in the Line was originally by Lord Kitchener but most famous for the Harry Belafonte version in Beetlejuice.
Intro: Like the rest of the song, the intro is challenging but fun to play. The biggest challenge is playing it at tempo. So I recommend getting it under your fingers at a low tempo before you try to speed it up.
The first four bars of the intro are picked with thumb and two fingers. Then it switches to one-finger-per-string for the final four bars.
Chorus: The picking here is more chaotic. It’s mostly strummed with the single notes played by whatever finger comes to hand.
Verse: Back to thumb and two finger picking for the first four bars. After that, there’s some very rapid notes. So you’ll need to alternate between thumb and middle finger to pick those.
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Since it’s almost Halloween, here’s the Addams Family Theme.
Intro: I played this section across the strings rather than up and down them. Here’s a more straightforward version:
I also went with the traditional finger clicks. But playing muted strums works too and is easier.
Chorus: The chorus is more bouncy and playful than it is mysterious and spooky. Lots of slides and pull-offs to navigate. It’s a little tricky but lots of fun once it’s under your fingers.
Steppenwolf’s Born to be Wild is a real basher. It’s one of the rare occasions where the video is my first take. It’s not the cleanest, but it had the most energy. And that’s the most important thing to get in this song.
Intro: This is all strumming away on a C5 chord until the last bar where I throw in a little lick inspired by the bass part.
Verse: Still hammering away on that C5 chord.
Chorus: We finally get a couple more chords. So there’s a slight increase in difficulty. There’s a stretch for the fifth fret in bar 13. Otherwise, it’s clear sailing.
Bridge: The bridge section gets sparse. So I was tempted to throw in some muted strums in bar 28 and build up into the “Borrrrrrn to be wiiiiiiieiiiild” section. So give that a try and see how it feels.
Solo: This solo doesn’t match the original in anything more than vibe. So feel free to change it however you like. Any sort of widdling on the C minor pentatonic scale will work.
Verses: You Really Got Me is a straightforward basher. The biggest challenge is stamina. You’re doing heavy strumming through almost the whole thing. The only respite you get is the G chord at the end of the verses.
The other challenge is making sure only the notes you want ring out when you’re strumming. That means muting the g-string with your thumb and the other strings with any fingers you have free.
Solo: The solo is played by fingerpicking. It’s massively cut down from the original. You could expand it back into a full solo. But you’d need to find a way to beef it up.
This one is very simple. It’s all beginner chords and nothing higher than the first position.
Intro: This uses palm muting on the strings. Just rest the underside of your picking hand on the bridge just enough to mute the strings. Then strum right at the bridge while the strings are muted by the fretting hand.
If you don’t fancy this bit, you can go straight into the verse. You can also skip the same section in bars 27 and 28.
Verse: This is almost all played with one-finger-per-string picking. There are just a few strums thrown in. Which is the case for the rest of the song.
Pre-Chorus: This introduces some melody notes on the g-string in bars 11, 12 and 13.
Chorus: A little trickier than the other sections, as it has overlapping vocals. Rather than do anything fancy, the arrangement just switches to the new vocal line when it comes in.
Intro: This is the trickiest part of the song. You’ve got the thumb providing a descending bass line on the C-string. Meanwhile, the E and A-strings play the melody (plus one note on the g-string in bar 3).
The guitar line that finishes the intro (bars 7-8) doesn’t fit well on the ukulele. So this arrangement is more in keeping with the vibe rather than the actual notes. Even so, it’s a bit of a stretch to play.
Verse: Things ease off in the verse. Just use some alternating picking with your index and middle fingers on the A-string to get the notes up to speed.
Chorus: This returns to the descending bass line idea from the intro. For the second chorus, I threw in a bit of the vocal harmony at the end of bar 41.
Outro: A big jump up the neck to mimic the high harmonies.
Intro: Kicking off with a dissonant augmented E chord before diving straight into the verse.
Verses: The verses have a call-and-response structure. The vocals are the major scale call, and the guitar licks respond with some minor notes. In this arrangement, I’m playing the vocal part with picking and the guitar part with strums. This helps to make them distinct.
Solo: The solo is a workout for the strumming arm. It’s almost all triplets. But I’m playing them all with downstrums to keep a consistent attack.
This is mostly based on the first solo, with a few ideas from the second one thrown in. Feel free to include your own ideas too. But I’d recommend not straying too far from the Chuck Berry style.
Outro: A fun, if slightly cheesy, descending chord move at the end.
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Something has become particularly associated with the ukulele since Paul has been regularly playing it on uke in tribute to George Harrison. And it transfers over to one very nicely.
Intro: A brief, one-bar intro. Make sure you bend the note at the 7th fret before you pick it.
Verse: The verses are built on two chromatically descending lines. Firstly, descending notes on the A-string set against a C chord. Secondly, descending notes on the g-string set against an Am chord.
With the steady pace of the song, there’s nothing too challenging here.
Bridge: Things get a bit more challenging in the bridge. The action shifts up the fretboard and there are a couple of stretches to deal with.
Solo: The trickiest section. And it’s such a great solo, I’d advise against changing it too much.
Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together is a buttery-smooth track, a laid-back feel, and has an earworm melody and tasty chords. All of which mean it suits the ukulele well.
Intro: The intro nicely sets up the harmony for the piece. And prepares you for plenty of movement up and down the neck. Keep the notes (except the C-string bass notes) staccato to mimic the horns.
Verse: The first verse has a more minimal arrangement. The second and third verses are heavier and have a bit of filigree. You can mix and match these elements as you like. Or include some of your own ideas.
Pre-Chorus: A tasty Am9 in this section. Which is fretted like an Em chord but with the g-string played at the second fret.
Chorus: A lot of moving up and down here. But if you plan ahead, you can use the passing notes to get into position for the next chord. For example, if you play the A-string, 3rd fret in bar 40 with your pinkie, you’ll be set up for the Dm7 chord in bar 41.
Solo: The string solo is the hardest part of the song. I’ve kept this arrangement as close to the original as possible. But I think there’s room for a more uke-friendly version if you want to try. Or, I don’t think anyone would notice if you just skipped this section.