Ukulele Hunt

Tag: Moderate

  • The Clash – I Fought the Law (Tabs)

    The Clash – I Fought the Law (Tab)Download

    I Fought the Law was originally recorded by The Crickets after the death of Buddy Holly. The Bobby Fuller Four had a big hit with it later in the 60s. Then The Clash recorded the definitive version. And it’s The Clash version I based this arrangement on.

    Most of this arrangement is very easy. It’s just strumming out basic chords. For the single open-C strings notes the first crop up in bar 11 (where they lyrics say “and the”), I’m strumming all the strings while muting the g-string with my thumb and the E and A-strings with my fingers. If you prefer, you can just play these with fingerpicking the C-string alone. But that does lose a bit of the energy of the song.

    Things only get tricky in the solo section. But even then, it’s not exactly a finger-twister.

    Links

    More punk tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Chappell Roan – Picture You (Tabs)

    Chappell Roan – Picture You (Tab)Download

    Chappell Roan seems unavoidable at the moment. And Uke Hunt is no exception with a tab of Picture You.

    Intro: I took some inspiration from the Tiny Desk version in the intro. I like the way that lazy slide down from G to F# sets up the rest of the song.

    Verse: The awkwardness of the F# chord comes into play in the verse. I’d recommend trying out my favourite way to play the D chord here. I like to fret the g and C-strings with the tip of my index finger. Then fret the E with my middle finger. Playing it that way means your middle finger is already in position for the F# and the index finger is already half way to barreing the strings.

    The other tricky part is the long slide up to the ninth fret in bar 13.

    Pre-Chorus: There’s a shift down in the octave in bar 16. It is a little clunky but it’s necessary to keep things from going way up the fretboard.

    Chorus: Nothing new in the chorus. The transition from D to F# felt more natural here.

    Bridge: There are some very long hammer-on and pull-off bits in the “you-ou-ou-ou” bits that are tricky to get down.

    Links

    More 2020s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Oasis – Acquiesce (Tabs)

    Oasis – Acquiesce (Tab)Download

    This might be the first time I’ve arranged a b-side. But with Oasis reforming and the country being mad for it, I’ve tabbed my favourite Oasis song: Acquiesce.

    It’s a very simple song. You’re just bashing out chords for the most part. The only wrinkle is the stretch at the start of the chorus (and in the repeats of that line). If you prefer, you can play it x565. But that requires a quick drop down for the next note.

    For the outro, I took inspiration from the live version where Noel would quote The Stone Roses’ Sally Cinnamon.

    Links

    More 90s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Sleater Kinney – Modern Girl (Tabs)

    Sleater Kinney – Modern Girl (Tab)Download

    Sleater Kinney’s Modern Girl has a straightforwardness and sarcastic cheeriness that makes this one their most uke-able songs.

    Intro: The intro is a very simple bit of fingerpicking. It’s a good piece to try if you’re new to fingericking. The thumb picks everything on the C- and E-strings. And the middle finger picks the A-string. Then the index finger picks the E-string in bar 5 and from bar 10 onwards.

    Verse: The picking gets trickier in this section. I’m mostly using one finger per string picking. But I play the rapid notes in bar 22 with alternate picking.

    Chorus: A lot more strums in this section. But some more quick alternate picking in bar 26.

    Solo: The harmonic solo is my favourite part of the song. And it’s pretty simple to play. The tricky part is the quick transition into the next verse.

    Links

    More rock tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize?? (Tabs)

    The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize?? (Tab)Download

    There’s nothing too difficult to play in Do You Realize?? . But it is constantly shifting. There are slight changes in chord progressions, melodies and time signatures. Not much is a direct repeat. I found keeping track of everything a bit taxing on the noggin.

    Intro: I’ve tabbed the emphasised strums (the little arrows above the tab) for the first two bars. But the same pattern continues.

    Verse: This is a good example of what I was talking about. It feels like the chord progression should repeat in the first verse. But it’s slightly different every time. Although the two verse fragments later in the song are direct repeats.

    Chorus: Two entirely different choruses. The first has a lot of strums and is in G. The second is more delicate and is in Em.

    Break: A brief key change to Bb before heading back to G.

    Links

    More 2000s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • The Black Keys – Tighten Up (Tabs)

    The Black Keys – Tighten Up (Tab)Download

    The Black Key’s Tighten Up, like most of their songs, is a very straight forward blues rock song. But there are a couple of oddities. The first is a rogue bar of 3/4 in bar 38.

    The second starts at bar 48 when the song, ironically, loosens up and the tempo slows. I think you could switch the 3/4 bar to 4/4 and no one would notice. But the tempo change feels integral to the song.

    Links

    More rock tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Blink-182 – All the Small Things (Tabs)

    Blink-182 – All the Small Things (Tab)Download

    Here’s a fun version of Blink-182’s infectious (in the good sense and the bad sense) earworm All the Small Things.

    Intro: All strums. I’m using my index finger a bit like a pick here (and in most of the song).

    For all the strumming parts in the song, don’t worry about hitting the exact strings so long as you’re holding down the chord.

    Verses: I’m using a bit of palm muting on the strings during the strums (i.e. resting the side of my strumming hand lightly on the strings). That allows the melody to stand out more.

    The only tricky part here is in bar 17. I like the harmony on “At my show” so I’ve included that with the lower note picked by the thumb and the higher note by the index finger.

    Pre-Chorus, Chorus and Outro: All very simple strumming on standard chords.

    Solo: Similar to the intro but with a little melody on the g-string. So try to emphasise that as much as you can.

    Break: Starts of with strumming then switches to fingerpicking which builds into the outro. The picking isn’t complicated but it is fast. If you’re only it for the strumming, you can skip this bit entirely and just play the first four bars of the break.

    Links

    More rock tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • boygenius – Ketchum, ID (Tabs)

    boygenius – Ketchum, ID (Tab)Download

    Here’s a quick version of my favourite boygenius song: Ketchum, ID. It’s straightforward to play on uke and uses one finger per string picking the whole way through.

    Intro: This is my own noodling over the C-F-C-G chord progression. A good place to pick out your own version.

    Verses: Both verses (I’ve gone with the Phoebe Bridgers verse and Lucy Dacus verse) are simple melodies that are just played in the first position.

    Choruses: The choruses move up and down the neck as I do my best to recreate the harmonies on uke. But the pace is stately so it’s not too tricky.

    There are small differences between the choruses. Notably an Am chord in bar 49 for the final chorus.

    Bridge: Another place you can introduce your own ideas. I’ve stuck fairly close to the original.

    Links

    More folk tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Christine and the Queens – Tilted (Tabs)

    Christine and the Queens – Tilted (Tab)Download

    This is a rare occasion where I didn’t get tilted trying to record the video. It’s a straightforward and fun song to play on uke. There are many moves up and down the neck but you have plenty of time for them.

    The only challenge I had was playing the open C note on the offbeats in the verse (e.g. bar 13). I’m so used to plodding out the thumb-picked notes on the beats it took a bit of practice to rewire my brain.

    Links

    More 2010s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon

  • Tom Odell – Another Love (Tabs)

    Tom Odell – Another Love (Tab)Download

    Tom Odell’s Another Love managed to amass 900 million views on YouTube without me ever having heard it. Luckily, my Patreons are more on the ball than I am and requested it. And it’s a catchy song that fits nicely on ukulele in the original key.

    Technique-wise, it’s a song of two halves. For the first half, it’s all fingerpicking. The intensity picks up in the first midtro with the strums coming in during bar 42. Don’t worry about hitting every note exactly as it’s tabbed in the strumming section. It’s more important to keep up the intensity and the feel.

    Links

    More 2010s tabs
    Uke Hunt Patreon