Before I get thrown in music jail, this was not my idea.
To be fair, the music of Sk8er Boi does have a few things to recommend it. I do enjoy the move from Em to Eb while keeping the two note riff on the A-string. And the chorus is undeniably catchy.
I went into this tab expecting it to be pretty straight-forward. But there are a few tricky twists in this arrangement. The trickiest bit comes in bars 18-19 with the pinkie playing the 10th fret. I tried a few different ways of playing this section and couldn’t come up with anything that felt natural.
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.
For this arrangement I’ve mashed-up elements of the Andy Williams version and the original Frankie Valli version. Like the Williams version, mine is in the uke-friendly key of C all the way through. Whereas the Valli version starts in E and modulates to G.
The verses are fairly straightforward. A simple melody with descending notes on the g-string. Things get a little harder with preposterous Austin Powers bridge. Then ramp up to a chorus with fancy chords and a few jumps around the neck.
Despite it having over 900 million views on YouTube, I’d never heard this song before it was suggested by Patreon Taras and a surprisingly large number of YouTube commenters.
But it’s a catchy song and has some nice elements to it. I particularly like his vocal bends. So I’ve incorporated those into the arrangement. The trickiest bend is in bar 23. There you’re fretting the C-string, 3rd fret without bending and playing the E-string, 5th fret with a bend. That takes a bit of practice to get right. And I recommend using your middle and ring fingers to bend the string.
Being a huge fan of Bon Iver and not such a fan of Taylor Swift, I was curious to find out how this collab between the two would work out. And, while it lacks the musical and lyrical layers of a Bon Iver song, it’s very catchy. Certainly good enough for a tabbing.
I’m not too strict with the fingerpicking in this one. The intro is one finger per string picking. The verse and chorus have some rapid melody notes. So I switch to alternating between index and middle finger picking for those. Then I start using more strums when things get more strident in the bridge.
There’s nothing too challenging as far as the fretting hand goes. The chords will mostly be familiar to you, and it’s almost all played in the first position. The only exception is the little hop up to the fifth fret for the Dm in the bridge. There’s also a bit of a stretch for the Csus4 with the A-string, 5th fret on top.
About once a year a pop song manages to pierce my grumpiness and make me grin. This year it’s been Dua Lipa’s Don’t Start Now.
There’s a lot to recommend the song: the jazzy chords, the funky bass, the cowbell. But my favourite aspect is the one-note chorus. Adam Neely recently made an outstanding video about the worst solo of all time that’s a must-watch on this subject.
Contrary to what Ben Shapiro will tell you, not having a melody doesn’t mean it isn’t music. The static A note (in this arrangement) adds a different flavour to each chord. So it changes the Em into Emadd11, the C into C6 and G into Gsus2.
It also means there’s more room to play about with other aspects of the song. So there’s a little chromatic run-up to the root note of the chord (inspired by the bass line). And, in the second chorus, I throw in some harmonics on the E-string 5th fret to imitate the cowbell. I don’t think I entirely pull it off but it is fun.
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.
Starting up the Uke Hunt Patreon has really lit a fire under me to do some tabs. So much so, this is an extra week of tabs to ease the backlog a little. Starting with a request from Patron Daniel who wanted a Lizzobanger.
This arrangement uses a few elements from the SNL version of the tune featuring Celisse Henderson wailing on the guitar. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw her. Celisse is a uker and a Uke Hunt favourite from way back.
Firstly, the arrangement starts off with a lick adapted from Celisse’s intro. And, secondly, the bridge is also follows the SNL version. Other than that, it sticks pretty closely to the original.
I don’t think any ukulele player has had a bigger year than Billie Eilish. She’s been all over the shop and her debut album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? and 2017 EP don’t smile at me have both been selling by the bucket-hat load. I’ve already done a few tracks from the album, so today I’m doing one from the EP.
I’m using one finger per string picking all the way through this arrangement. There are many chnks in the song which can make it difficult to get your fingers back in position. I’d recommend not doing a standard chnk and instead muting the strings with your fretting hand and bringing each finger down on the string it’s plucking. That should leave them in the right position for picking.
The tab is pretty long thanks to the second verse and second chorus being slightly different to the first. Both are a little trickier second time around. I don’t think anyone would notice if you just played them the same both times.
For my version, I with a capo on the 4th fret. Making it the same key as the original. But there’s nothing stopping you playing it without a capo if you’re not playing along with the recording.
There are a couple of sections in this song that are full of swoops, whoops, beeps and boops that don’t transfer particularly well to uke. Which makes for the perfect opportunity to come up with your own parts.
The first of these comes in the intro. For that I took the notes in the melody and fingerpicked them campanella style to create a shimmering effect.
The second part is the solo. There I let the g and E strings ring out to produce the Em backing while playing octaves on the C and A strings using the E minor scale.
I highly recommend you play around and try to find something you like for your own version.