Ukulele Hunt

Tag: REM

  • R.E.M. – Shiny Happy People (Tabs)

    R.E.M. – Shiny Happy People (Tab)Download

    It’s crazy it’s taken me this long to cover R.E.M.’s Shiny Happy People given how perfectly it captures my personality.

    Intro: For such a light-hearted song, there’s a bunch going on musically. There are three key changes and a change of time signature before the vocals kick in.

    The song starts in 6/8 time in the key of G# (G in the original) for a relaxed intro before it kicks into 4/4 in bar 4. That shifts into the riff in the key of Bb. The riff is very fun to play. Worth learning even if you’re not bothering with the rest of it.

    Verse: The verse moves into the key of G minor. A less abrupt key change since Gm is the relative minor of Bb. The verse bounces up and down the fretboard. But it’s not too challenging to play.

    Chorus: Things are a bit more difficult in the chorus with the three, slightly overlapping, voices covering a large range.

    Outro: This is made up of the main riff and Kate Pierson’s “Happy peeepooooooole” bit. There’s room to play around with the chorus melody here if you fancy stretching out a bit.

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  • R.E.M. – Find the River (Tabs)

    R.E.M. – Find the River (Tab)Download

    Here’s my take on a track from R.E.M.’s massive Automatic for the People: Find the River.

    Intro: Easing into the song with a very straightforward four bars. Then into some tricky fast picking in the next four bars. Be sure to play the G chord in bars 5 and 7 by barreing the second fret. That’ll make for a smooth transition up the neck for the Gm7.

    Verse: The verse is fairly simple. It’s all first position chords and almost all strummed.

    Chorus: The chorus is more challenging as it moves up and down the neck. Although it’s still just strumming. The trickiest part comes in the second half of bars 19 and 21. If you’re finding that tricky, Here’s an alternative version that’s easier to play. Although it does require a quicker move down to the G chord.

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  • R.E.M. – Nightswimming (Tabs)

    R.E.M. – Nightswimming (Tab)Download

    The chords for this one are very simple, and the melody fits nicely on the fretboard. But the way the vocals shift unevenly against the chords made this tricky for me to get my head around.

    The other challenge is to keep the vocal melody distinct from the backing (both the chords and the piano runs e.g. bar 8) by giving the melody notes an extra-hard pluck.

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  • R.E.M. – Endgame (Tabs)

    R.E.M. – Endgame (Tab)Download

    An instrumental track from R.E.M.’s classic Out of Time.

    Intro: Starting off with thumb and two finger picking.

    I love the way this riff works with open strings on the uke. So much so, I considered inserting into the song itself. In the end, I saved it for the outro.

    Verse: By far the hardest part of the song comes with the big jumps down the fretboard in bars 13-16. Well worth practicing these bars by themselves until you’ve got them down.

    Chorus: Switching to one finger per string picking and moving into strums at the end of the chorus.

    Bridge: This section is just chord strumming.

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  • R.E.M. – Man on the Moon (Tabs)

    R.E.M. – Man on the Moon (Tab)Download

    I tabbed R.E.M.’s Losing My Religion a while back. So high time I did a song from their follow-up Automatic for the People.

    Intro: Plenty of room to play around with ideas in the intro. I’m just picking out notes from a few chord inversions.

    Verse: Just two chords (C and D), a stately pace and a contained melody.

    Pre-Chorus: A classic pre-chorus, building up the energy into the chorus. So it starts at the same level as the verse, builds complexity and moves up the neck in bars 26 and 27. Then switches from picking to strumming in bar 28.

    Chorus: The trickiest part of the song with chord changes coming thick and fast.

    Solo: Another place you can introduce your own ideas. Mine is a similar idea to the intro with notes coming mostly from the chords. I’m also doing plenty of sliding around to emulate the slide guitar in the original.

    This arrangement goes straight from the solo in the chorus. So I’ve taken a hint from the pre-chorus and ending the solo with a move up the neck and then some strumming.

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  • 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.

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