Ukulele Hunt

Tag: Japan

  • Zelda Main Theme (Tabs)

    Koji Kondo – Zelda Main Theme (Tab)Download

    This one is short but very tricky. Even after slowing the tempo way down.

    A Section: This section has a big stretch in bar 2 and some quick alternate picking. But the biggest challenge is at the start of bar 3. You need a very quick change from your pinkie on the A-string in bar 2 to your middle finger at the start of bar 3.

    B Section: This starts with a fast run in bar 13, which is repeated in bar 14. The second time around, it’s played more quietly. I think of it as an echo. The next three bars are fiddly as they’re played high up the neck. This section ends with a chromatic descending line set against a D note.

    C Section: After the first two bars, this section is mercifully easy. There’s a lot of hopping up and down the neck. But there’s plenty of time to make those transitions.

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  • Wii Shop Theme (Tabs)

    Wii Shop Theme (Tab)Download

    With Nirvanna the Band the Show back in action, I was inspired to put together a version of the Wii Shop theme It works well on uke. But there are a lot of unusual chord shapes that might take a while to get under your fingers.

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  • Koji Kondo – Zelda Medley (Tabs)

    Koji Kondo – Zelda Medley (Tab)Download

    Shamefully, I haven’t played a Zelda game since A Link to the Past. So these arrangements are heavily influenced by that era.

    Zelda’s Lullaby: A chill start to the medley with gentle picking and a soft Cmaj7 chord. There is a big leap up the neck in bar 6. But this part is slow enough that it’s not a big challenge.

    Main Theme: Ramping up the pomposity and changing the key to F. There’s another big jump in 16. This one is at a quicker tempo so it’s more of a challenge. From there, you get the descending note until you hit the C.

    Ilia’s Theme: Back to a more relaxed feel. This time, the challenge is a big stretch between the 4th and 10th fret in bar 23. If you’re struggling there, you can change the A-string, 10th fret to A-string, 7th fret in bars 22 and 23. It changes the feel a little but it still sounds nice.

    Kakariko Village: The challenge here is to emphasise the melody notes so it doesn’t just sound like a melody-less picking pattern. Otherwise, nothing too difficult.

    Hyrule Castle: Switching to C minor and more pomposity. Where the Main Theme is grand, this one has some menace with the chromatic notes on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th frets. 8-Bit Music Theory did an excellent video on this tune.

    Song of Storms: A final key change to E minor and the trickiest section of the piece.

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  • Kung Fu Master (Arcade Game Theme) (Tabs)

    Kung Fu Master (Arcade Game Theme) (Tab)Download

    A recent nostalgia trip compelled me to knock up a version of Masato Ishizaki’s music from the 80s arcade game Kung-Fu Master.

    The tune is very quick. Even slowed down, it’s still a challenge. In order to cut the finger movement to a minimum, it’s arranged campanella style so the work is done with the picking hand and fretting hand doesn’t have to move much.

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  • Joe Hisaishi – Summer (from Kikujiro) (Tabs)

    Joe Hisaishi – Summer (from Kikujiro) (Tab)Download

    Joe Hisaishi is a prolific film composer (I only realised while researching this post that he scored a movie I watched while working on this piece). But he’s best known for his scores for the Studio Ghibli films and for Takeshi Kitano. Summer comes from one of Kitano’s gentler movies: Kikujiro.

    This arrangement starts with some palm muted arpeggios before moving into the main melody. In this section, I’ve used the open g-string as a melody note in a number of places. You can replace any of these with E-string, 3rd fret if you prefer.

    The arrangement goes full campanella mode in bar 18. Playing one note on each string means you don’t have to move your left hand at all for this quick section. Once you’ve got the picking pattern under your fingers it’s very easy.

    Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the rising bass line here to fit with the higher pattern. So I’ve divided them up. So you play the pattern in G, then the lower bass part in bars 20-21, the high pattern in C in bars 22-23 and the bass pattern in C in bars 24-25.

    After a reprise of the A section, the outro closes out with some notes up the neck. Which I manage to flub in bar 39. So play what’s written rather than my screw-up. I manage it second time around in bar 41 if you want to hear how it’s supposed to sound.

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  • Neko Atsume Theme (Tab)

    A primer for the uninitiated: Neko Atsume it a mobile game where you lure increasingly fancy cartoon cats to your yard. Until recently it was only in Japanese and inscrutable to non-Japanese speakers.

    In short, it has all the ingredients to make it an inevitable massive hit. Including the most important: a smooth, lounge-jazz soundtrack (the favourite music of all cats). And Neko Atsume delivers with chilled major 7 and 9 chords just crying out for a ukulele cover.

    Melody Part

    NekoAtsumeMelodyDownload

    I play this part on a standard C-tuned uke with a capo on the second fret (so it’s the same as D-tuning).

    There are a few big jumps up and down the fretboard. It took me a good amount of practice to get them smooth. Also, when you’re leaping up the fretboard remember that the capo means that you actually play two frets higher than indicated (not a problem if you’re using D-tuning, of course).

    If you just want to play the melody part, here’s a backing track for you:


    Backing Part

    NekoAtsumeChordsDownload

    If, on the other hand, you want to play the backing part (or you have a friend who does) you’re going to need a baritone ukulele and a mellow, cat-like outlook on life. I highly recommend stealing a few of these chord moves next time you’re looking for a laid-back jazz sound.

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  • Final Fantasy – Lute of Noah (Tab)

    Nobuo Uematsu – Lute of NoahDownload