Ukulele Hunt

Tag: Tricky

  • Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen in Love (Tabs)

    Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen in Love (Tab)Download

    Intro: Well worth learning the opening even if you don’t bother with the rest of it. It’s the easiest part of the song.

    Verse: Here’s where things get tricky. A lot of quick alternate picking to deal with. Make sure you’re fretting the E-string with you pinky for the G minor chord in bar 11. That’ll mean you’re in position for the quick hammer-on and pull-off between bars 12 and 13.

    Chorus: The trickiest part of the song comes in the transition between the Ab and the Eb. You can make it easier by releasing the Ab chord rather than letting it ring. That’ll give you time to prepare your index finger on the A-string, 1st fret.

    Break: Just the second half of the intro played a few times. Build up the volume here to increase the pull back to the chorus.

    Outro: A key change right at the end. Which does make it trickier to play. The upside is you can just slow it down and call it ritardando and people will think you’re fancy.

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  • Quantum Leap Theme (Tabs)

    Mike Post – Quantum Leap Theme (Tab)Download

    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).

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  • Stereophonics – Handbags and Gladrags (The Office Theme)(Tabs)

    Stereophonics – Handbags and Gladrags (The Office Theme)(Tab)Download

    Handbags and Gladrags was written by, lead singer of Manfred Mann, Mike d’Abo in the sixties. But it wasn’t until the song was used as the theme to The Office (UK) and Stereophonics released a version that it became a hit. And it’s that version I based this arrangement on.

    Intro: The first four bars are the sweet oboe melody. Then the bluesier piano riff comes in bar 5 (which is my favourite part).

    Verse: The verse melody itself is very simple. The tricky part is quickly moving all the way up the neck for the piano riff. If you don’t fancy that, you can always sub in the oboe line for the piano line.

    Chorus: Also needs a few jumps around the neck but they’re not so big and quick. There’s a big stretch at the start of bar 16 to watch out for.

    Solo: The big brass solo is just three notes played over and over again.

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  • Pinky and the Brain Theme (Tabs)

    Pinky and the Brain Theme (Tab)Download

    The Pinky and the Brain theme is a lot of fun to play. I always love a bit of strum blocking on the riff, i.e. strumming all the strings and muting all but one. It gives the tune a forceful, percussive sound that you can’t get from just picking.

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  • The Smiths – There is a Light That Never Goes Out (Tabs)

    The Smiths – There is a Light That Never Goes Out (Tab)Download

    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.

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  • Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart (Tabs)

    Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart (Tab)Download

    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.

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  • Ray Charles – Hit the Road Jack (Tabs)

    Ray Charles – Hit the Road Jack (Tab)Download

    Ray Charles’s Hit the Road Jack is tricky to play. Mostly because it’s so quick. I’ve slowed it slightly from the original. But it’s still a challenge.

    Intro: This sets up two aspects that run through the whole song. First, the descending pattern of Dm-C-Bb-A7. And second, the liberal use of chnks.

    Chorus: This continues the pattern from intro and adds the melody on top. There’s a trip up the neck for the “no more…” part that requires some quick and accurate jumps.

    Verse: The melody here is quick and relentless. I’ve included a few bits of campanella playing to fit them all in. This is the section I had the most trouble with.

    Solo: I went with a very ukulele-style solo. So it’s almost all chord strumming with a lot of movement all over the neck. Then finishing off with a quick run.

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  • Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting) (Tabs)

    Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting) (Tab)Download

    Just sneaking this one in before the deadline. The song was originally written by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé and first recorded by Nat King Cole. It’s one of the chillest songs in existence to listen to. But not so chill to play. There are many big moves up and down the fretboard to deal with. And plenty of unfamiliar chord shapes.

    The intro and solo are of my own devising. So feel free to mess around with those as much as you like.

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  • Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For? (Tabs)

    Billie Eilish – What Was I Made For? (Tab)Download

    Here’s my take on Billie Eilish’s contribution to the Barbie soundtrack: What Was I Made For?

    Intro: I went with a few spicy chords for the intro to emphasise the melancholy mood of the song. If you prefer, you can just pick through the standard C – Em – F chord pattern.

    Verse: I’ve kept the arrangement for this simple and sparse. It’s a great melody, so doing that gives it plenty of room to breathe.

    Chorus: Things get a bit more involved in the chorus with pull-offs, slides and a few trips up the neck to deal with.

    Break: This section is only loosely based on the original. So there’s plenty of room to play about here.

    Outro: The song is in C but it ends on a G chord (i.e. the V chord). That leaves the song hanging on a tense, uncertain note.

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  • The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (Tabs)

    The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (Tab)Download

    House of the Rising Sun has been performed by every folkie including Bob Dylan, Leadbelly and Mumford & Sons. But the most famous is by The Animals. And it’s that version I’ve based the arrangement on.

    Intro: You could pluck this section out of the song and it makes a nice little fingerpicking exercise (played with one finger per string picking). Worth learning even if you’re not tackling the whole song.

    Verse: Sticking with the one finger per string picking. The priority here is making sure the melody notes stand out. It helps that the tune is so well known that people will hear it more easily.

    Solo: This solo is built around the chords with notes from the D blues scale (i.e. the D minor pentatonic with an Ab). I also throw in a few chromatic notes right at the end. Plenty of scope here for including your own ideas.

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