Ukulele Hunt

Tag: 80s

  • In Heaven (from Eraserhead) (Tabs)

    Peter Ivers & David Lynch – In Heaven (Tab)Download

    If you’re ever in the mood for a strange but hilarious movie, I highly recommend Eraserhead. One of the film’s many joys is the Lady in the Radiator song. The song has had a life outside the movie as In Heaven becoming a Pixies live favourite and a jazz odyssey by Julian Lage.

    I’ve arranged the tune in D minor for ease of playing. And with it being so slow and sparse, it’s a pretty simple one to play. The only oddity is Ab chord in bar 8. Ab isn’t a chord you expect to find in a song in D minor. So it adds a dissonant and unsettling edge to the song (to match the rest of the movie). I bend the notes on the E-string, 4th fret in that bar to accentuate the dissonant sound.

    Links

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  • Guns N’ Roses – Patience (Tabs)

    Guns N’ Roses – Patience (Tab)Download

    Guns N’ Roses – Patience (Tab)

    While not quite in the league of November Rain, Guns N’ Roses’ acoustic lighter-swayer Patience is still a bit of an epic. So for this arrangement I’ve trimmed down the intro and outro and skipped the repeat of the verse and chorus.

    The intro follows Axl’s whistling for the first four bars before playing the first solo section. Just a bit of bending to deal with here.

    The main solo section starts in bar 28 with some sliding around. My favourite part is the lick in bar 32-33. I wasn’t sure if this bit was going to work on uke, but it ends up fitting neatly.

    Things switch up in bar 39 for the outro with some loose strumming and a fun sliding solo section.

    I found the melody in the outro (from bar 47 on) tricky to arrange. Usually, you’d have a G note over the G chord somewhere. But the melody sticks with the F# (E-string second fret) and A notes from the D chord. That makes it hard to pull out the chord changes in this section clearly. But if you keep the chord changes clear in your head you should navigate it okay.

    Links

    More rock tabs
    My tabs of Sweet Child O Mine and November Rain are both on the Uke Hunt Patreon for concert level backers and up.

  • Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight (Tabs)

    Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight (Tab)Download

    I’ve cut the intro way down from the original version. You’re welcome to use any picking pattern and any inversion of the chords here.

    The chorus is brilliant. It manages to pull of the trick of being both bleak and catchy.

    The verses are angry and even more sparse than the chorus. In a case of do as I say not do as I do, let the verse breath and try not to rush the melody.

    Finally, the legendary drum Phil (bar 60). I’ve gone with a descending run based on the D blues scale with the last four notes played chromatically.

    Links

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  • Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up (Tab)

    Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up (Tab)Download

    This video has been knocking around for a while but I thought I’d put up the tab to give you enough time to get it under your belt before April Fools Day. The viral nature of this song has ensured it’s become Stock Aitkin Waterman’s most enduring hit, you can’t throw a dart at their catalogue without hitting something equally cheesy, catchy and memorable.

    I’ve had a few stabs at arranging this tune over the years and I’ve tackled the chorus slightly differently each time. But the run on “Never gonna” (end of bar 16) has never changed. Playing across all four strings makes it easier to play at full speed, lets the notes bleed into each other and leaves you in the right position for the following bar.

    Links

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  • Inspector Gadget Theme (Tabs)

    Inspector Gadget Theme (Tab)Download

    This one is a lot of fun but a real finger-twister. I slowed it down a fair amount from the original and it’s still a challenge with quick runs, big leaps up the fretboard and a couple of triplet strums.

    There are also some very strange musical choices in it. Most notable is the key change from E minor to F major (in my version) in bar 13. Up to that point, the only two notes that haven’t appeared are F and C (both of which show up in the F chord).

    Links

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  • XTC – Love on a Farmboy’s Wages (Duet Tab)

    XTC – Love on a Farmboy’s Wages (Lead Tab)Download

    I wasn’t familiar with XTC’s Love on a Farmboy’s Wages until it requested on Patreon. I immediately loved the acoustic riffs. They are challenging to play on uke, though. So I’ve split it into a duet with one uke covering the melody (tab above) and one covering the backing (below). The melody part is much easier to play.

    Both parts are played with a capo on the 4th fret. Which puts them in the same key as the XTC version. But there’s nothing stopping you playing capo-less if you’re not playing along with the original.

    Even by itself, I was having a hard time playing the riff consistently. So I have simplified it slightly. In each bar of the original there are two lots of three open E-string notes. But I’ve chopped the second lot and replaced them with a single note.

    Backing Tab

    XTC – Love on a Farmboy’s Wages (Backing Tab)

    Here’s an MP3 backing track you can play the lead part along with.

    Links

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  • Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (Tabs)

    Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (Tab)Download

    Considering what a massive hit this was, it’s not structured at all like a pop song. The verses are a jumble of words and the chorus doesn’t hit until two minutes into the song. But the guitar riff and the “You’ve got a fast car” refrain are both great hooks that sustain the song until the chorus.

    The wordiness of the verses presents a bit of a problem for a ukulele version. There are long sections where it’s just the same note repeated. To make that manageable, I’ve done three things. First, I slowed it down. Second, I haven’t played every syllable she sings. Third, I’ve split the notes between the strings e.g. in bars 10 and 12 the A note alternates between the g-string 2nd fret and the open A-string. Even with all that, I found it a challenge to play.

    Links

    Buy the song
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  • The Proclaimers – Sunshine on Leith (Tab)

    The Proclaimers – Sunshine on Leith (Tab)Download

    I posted this video last December and in all the excitement of 2020 completely forgot to post it until a YouTube commenter reminded me.

    It’s a very simple song. Just beginner-level chords and a contained melody. There’s only one jog up the fretboard in bar 31.

    The restraint of the music certainly doesn’t stop it being emotionally impactful. The simplicity and openness of the song makes it the perfect choice for the Hibernian Football Club song. So good it was voted best football anthem. Although I’d put it second behind You’ll Never Walk Alone.

    Links

    Buy the song
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  • Gary Jules – Mad World (Tab)

    Gary Jules – Mad World (Tab)Download

    This month’s most popular request on Patreon was Joern’s suggestion of Gary Jules’ cover of Mad World by Tears for Fears. Which is understandable in the current situation. But, boy, is it gloomy. I like some dour music but this one is a little too bleak for me.

    On the upside, the melody is very easy to play. Other than the little trill at the end of the verse, every note is part of the chord it’s played over. So your fretting hand just has to play the chords. In the verses and the first part of the chorus I’m picking with the thumb on C, index on E and middle on A.

    The tricky part is the riff in the intro and at the end of the chorus. Those parts use one finger per string picking and took me a bit of practice to get reliably down. And be sure to play the “maaaaad world” notes with a little extra force to make them stand out.

    Links

    Buy the Gary Jules version
    More movie theme tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon