Ukulele Hunt

Tag: Tricky

  • Frank and Nancy Sinatra – Something Stupid (Tabs)

    Frank and Nancy Sinatra – Something Stupid (Tab)Download

    Something Stupid was made famous by Frank and Nancy Sinatra and written by C Carson Parks (who I just learned is brother of Van Dyke Parks). More recently, Lola Marsh recorded a ukulele version for Better Call Saul.

    There’s plenty of scope for your own noodles if you want to take them. I stuck close to the original in the intro but you can let loose as much as you like here. After that, I’ve thrown in a lot of my own twiddles. Keeping them nice and cheesy to match the rest of the song. I using the C major scale and throw in a few chromatic notes.

    Links

    More jazz tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • David Bowie – Space Oddity (Tabs)

    David Bowie – Space Oddity (Tab)Download

    I’ve used some artificial harmonics in the intro because they’re the spaciest sound you can get on a ukulele. But you can play this section without them and it won’t be a problem. Or you could come up with your own intro.

    The first verse is the simplest part of the song. Then comes the “Lift Off” section. Pretty much any rising figure will work here. You can go as simple as grabbing a note and sliding up the neck. I took the opportunity to have a bit of fun with effects.

    The second verse is more much of a challenge. There are a lot of moves up and down the neck and a few finger-twisting bits. On the upside, it has the strange change from F major to F minor that mirrors the shift in the song from triumph to tragedy.

    After some quick chord changes, the solo starts up. I’ve stayed fairly close to the original here. Just adapting bits for uke. But I couldn’t resist throwing in a Day Tripper reference on the A chord (bar 44) as the original comes so close to it.

    Links

    More 70s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Roy Orbison – Crying (Tabs)

    Roy Orbison – Crying (Tab)Download

    Here’s a version of Roy Orbison’s Crying. Which Rolling Stone declared the 69th greatest song of all time. Nice.

    Roy Orbison’s unmistakeable falsetto is in full effect in this song. So the big challenge here is jumping up and now the neck accurately.

    In the second chorus, the melody goes all the way up to the 15th fret. If you can’t access that fret on your uke, you can just play it the same as the first chorus. Or, if you really want to go for it, you could use artificial harmonics.

    Links

    More 60s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Portishead – Glory Box (Tabs)

    Portishead – Glory Box (Tab)Download

    The song is built around a sample of Ike’s Rap by Isaac Hayes (the same sample used in Tricky’s Hell is Round the Corner). So the whole song is on an Em chord (Ebm in the original) with descending bass notes on the C-string of E, D, C#, C.

    By far the hardest part of the arrangement is the artificial harmonics in bars 21-22 (“A thousand flowers could bloom”) played at the same time as the bass notes. If, like me, you struggle with that bit, you can ignore the harmonics all together and just play it as written.

    The solo starts off like the original but I go off on my own from there. I suggest you do the same. I’m using notes from the melody plus a Bb (A-string, 1st fret) that lends some gritty dissonance to the solo.

    Links

    More 90s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • The Beatles – Till There Was You (Tabs)

    The Beatles – Till There Was You (Tab)Download

    Till There Was You was originally recorded by Meredith Wilson. But, of course, is much better known by The Beatles’ cover.

    This arrangement is heavily based on The Beatles’ version but is closer to the tempo of the original. I’ve taken a few liberties including adding my own intro and solo. Feel free to do the same for your version.

    I recommend one finger per string picking for everything but the solo. I just used whatever falls under my fingers in that section.

    There are a few fancy chords in the arrangement. Including my favourite chord: C7(#5). C7 is already an unsettled chord and adding that #5 creates even more tension that is released when you move back to the F chord.

    Links

    More Beatles tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Sufjan Stevens – Casimir Pulaski Day (Tabs)

    Sufjan Stevens – Casimir Pulaski Day (Tab)Download

    Here’s my take on, part-time uker and full time Belieber, Sufjan Stevens’s heartbreaking Casimir Pulaski Day. I also love Mikaela Davis’s harp cover, so a bit of that has snuck into the arrangement too.

    The song gets much of its power from being blunt and straightforward. So I’ve kept the arrangement stark and tried to play it directly without too much emotion.

    The picking is mostly thumb on the g- and C-strings and the index and middle on E and A respectively. The big exception is the rapid notes on the C-string at the end of each stanza e.g. bars 9 and 17. For those, I recommend using alternate picking as it’s too quick to comfortably play with your thumb.

    The other big exception is the trumpet solo, where I switch to strumming to give things a lift.

    Links

    Tab for Sufjan’s Death with Dignity

    More 2000s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • R.E.M. – Losing My Religion (Tabs)

    R.E.M. – Losing My Religion (Tab)Download

    The opening riff for REM’s Losing My Religion is a blast to play and fits nicely on the uke. I particularly like the riff on the G chord leading into the verse which I play campanella style.

    At first, I was playing the chords with strums. But I switched to fingerpicking for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it makes the chords sharper and more mandolin-like. Secondly, it means you can keep the chords very short (by immediately stopping the strings ringing with your picking fingers) making the sound punchier. Even so, strumming is a perfectly legitimate way to go and lends the tune a different feel.

    Things get a lot more miserable once Stipe turns up. I mostly play the verses and choruses with one finger per string picking. You can be fairly loose with these sections and don’t need to play everything note for note.

    My second favourite part is the riff right at the end. It’s ultra simple but very effective. Well worth learning even if you don’t bother with the rest of the song as it’ll fit in many situations.

    Links

    More R.E.M. tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Ryan Adams – Stars Go Blue and Semisonic – Closing Time (Tabs)

    Ryan Adams – Stars Go Blue/Semisonic – Closing Time (Tab)Download

    Following up Bob Dylan with another “Blue” song: When the Stars Go Blue by Ryan Adams (one of the many sensitive singer-songwriters I listened to who turned out to be a full-time shithead). Although it was a bigger hit when Bono and The Corrs covered it.

    I’ve paired that with Semisonic’s only hit Closing Time as they have almost identical choruses.

    Links

    More 2000s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Bob Dylan – Tangled Up in Blue (Tabs)

    Bob Dylan – Tangled Up in Blue (Tab)Download

    There are at least five options when it comes to the best Bob Dylan album. And I’ve cycled through all of them. But currently it’s Blood on the Tracks. So here’s an arrangement of the opening track.

    This tab is very straightforward. It’s mostly strummed with a few notes picked out here and there. The only big challenge is the stretch up to the 7th fret in bars 11 and 13. If you’re struggling with that, you can just play the note at the 5th fret and no one will notice.

    The arrangement plays through the verse twice and ends with a solo. The solo is very loosely based on the harmonic part at the end of the original but is mostly just me bashing out whatever I feel like.

    Links

    More folk tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • The Kinks – Sunny Afternoon (Tabs)

    The Kinks – Sunny Afternoon (Tab)Download

    I had always assumed the first verse was mocking George Harrison’s Taxman. But it appears Sunny Afternoon was released a couple of months before Taxman. So phenomenally rich people moaning about taxes must have been the rage at the time. Thank god that’s over.

    The tune starts off with a bit of a stretch but an otherwise simple descending riff. Be sure to release the pressure with your fretting hand shortly after playing to keep the notes short. The melody is reasonably straightforward as well.

    The problems only start when you have to combine the descending run with the melody notes in bars 35 to 40.

    Links

    More 60s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon