The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go like all good punk songs, it’s just four chords. And the melody and chords alternate so you’re only doing one of them at any given time. Just make sure you’re bashing it out.
The only slightly unusual element is the song shifting to double time in the chorus. So you’re strumming twice as fast with this pattern:
d – d – – u d u
d – d – – u d u
d – d – (then a picking section)
Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer is full of hair-rock bravado, so I wasn’t sure if it’d work on uke. But it has a very strong melody, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed playing it.
Intro: I had to change the talk-box riff a fair amount to get it onto uke. This version runs more smoothly than the original. And it doesn’t go on for 45 seconds.
Verse: The verses don’t have anything too challenging. It’s all Am – F – G in open position.
Pre-Chorus: Things build in intensity here but don’t get any more difficult.
The second pre-chorus is cut short. As well as reducing the number of bars, they also cut a beat out of bar 44 (making it a bar of 3/4). This combined with the lack of any preparation in the chords, means the key change really hits you in the face.
Chorus: The first chorus is challenging enough. But changing to C minor for the second chorus makes it even trickier. I originally arranged it to replay the chorus in the original key. And I think that’s a perfectly reasonable way to play it if you want to avoid the added difficulty. Even Jon Bon Jovi seems in two minds about it. But it’s such a moment in the song I decided it’s worth tackling.
Solo: The solo has a few tricky moves too. But, once everything is octave shifted, it plays nicely on the uke. The one thing worth skipping would be the very fast lick in bar 40. It’s very difficult to play (I certainly didn’t get it cleanly in the video) and I think something simpler could be just as effective.
Here’s my take on Phil Collins’ Against All Odds.
Intro: A quick intro with the thumb picking the C-string with index and middle on the higher strings.
Verse: Switching to one finger per string picking from here up to the outro. That allows the g-string to get in on the melody in bars 3 and 4. You can take advantage of the open strings in bar 2 to give yourself time to move up to the fifth fret.
Chorus: This is the trickiest section, with lots of movement up and down the neck, some campanella playing, and a stretch for the Gm chord in bar 11.. To prepare for that stretch, make sure you’re playing the E-string, 6th fret with your index finger. That’ll put your hand in the right place for the chord.
The chorus includes a couple of bars of 2/4. The original only has the second one. But it felt much more natural to me to play it both times. If you don’t want to do that, you can skip the first half of bars 13 and 19.
Outro: A repeat of the intro with another, “Take a look at me now.” Then a series of chords that leave the song on a cliffhanger.
Today’s tab is Nena’s 99 Red Balloons. Originally 99 Luftballons. I worked from the English version for this arrangement, but there’s not a lot of difference between them.
Intro/Outro: The song closes with a slow, fingerpicked version of the melody. Nothing troubling to tackle here. It’s all basic chords in the first position. The g-string does some of the melody work, so make sure those notes are prominent.
Bridge: The song speeds up for the riff section. I’m fingerpicking the notes here with muted strums (plus a muted note on the g-string that’s picked with the thumb). Keep this section staccato to match the original.
Verse: The increased tempo and use of strums makes this section trickier than the first. But, as compensation, it’s more repetitive so it’s simple once you get it under your fingers.
Solo: The keyboard solo doesn’t seem any trickier than the verse, but I found it much more of a challenge.
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.
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.
The Quantum Leap theme was written by Mike Post who also wrote (previously tabbed) themes for Magnum P.I. and The A-Team.
I love the 80s cheese of the theme. And it’s fun to play on uke too. I particularly enjoy the end of the B section (bars 17-22).
Intro: A quick intro previously used by Marvin Gaye, The Rolling Stones and The Velvet Underground. It uses one of Marr’s favourite tricks: letting open strings ring through chord changes.
Verse: The verse is all in the first position. Mostly just switching between Dm and Csus4. There’s a little lick in bars 25-26 which I play first time round but not second time (where I substitute in bars 9-10).
Chorus: The chorus is a step up in difficulty. In bars 39 and 47, there’s a big stretch to the fifth fret while playing Bb. If you want to make it easier, you could just play the A-string, 5th fret by itself. Or play the C-string open if you want a fuller sound.
In bar 43 of the second chorus (“heavenly way to dieeeee”), I accidentally played bar 51 (“Pleasure and the privilege is mine”). So play what’s written rather than my screw up.
Outro: A nice, easy strummed outro.
Don your Joy Division oven gloves for a round of Love Will Tear Us Apart.
Intro/Outro: This section ramps up the tension and anticipation. In the original, the bass plays an A power chord, and the guitar plays an Em chord. Combined, these produce an A9 chord.
This arrangement moves the song down a step. So the G5 and Dm create a G9 chord. The intro chord also includes a 4th (the C note on the A-string) for an extra bit of tension.
Chorus: This section flows so smoothly on ukulele. I love playing it. Which is handy because it makes up most of the song.
Verse: The verse I found less natural to play. The melody here fits more awkwardly against the chords to fit the song’s lyrical theme.
Chan Chan was originally written by Compay Segundo. But it’s the Buena Vista Social Club version that is best known. And it’s that one I worked from.
Intro: The intro sets up the chord progression that’s used (adding a 6 or 7 here and there) all the way through the song: Dm-F-Gm-A. The rest of the song is in 4 bar sections, but the intro has 6 bars. Which makes the start of the verse come in at an odd place.
Verses: For the melody sections, you’re playing the same chords at the fifth fret. And that’s interspersed with two bars from the intro.
Chorus: A very similar melody to the verse, but this time played twice through and with a four bar section of the intro.