Ukulele Hunt

Tag: Rock

  • The Beach Boys – Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Tabs)

    The Beach Boys – Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Tab)Download

    How else could I pay tribute to Brian Wilson than with one of the greatest songs of all time: Wouldn’t It Be Nice. The song weaves through multiple keys and spans a wide vocal range, so I’ve done some shifting to bring it all within the range of the uke.

    Intro: Kicking off in the key of B with a nifty riff that is a bit of a finger-twister but fun to play. This section ends with a D chord setting things up for the key change to G in the verse. If you’re going to change keys in a song, playing the V chord of the key you’re changing to is the smoothest way to do it.

    Chorus: The happiest section of the song where you’re mostly rocking out open chords. As long as you keep things bright and percussive, you can’t go far wrong here.

    Verse: Moving to the key of E minor (the relative minor of G) for the more melancholy verse. This section contains my favourite chord in the song (the juicy F9 in bar 14) and favourite note (the D on “staaaaaayyyy” at the start of bar 16).

    Bridge: Shifting to the key of E major. This time, it’s more abrupt, without a chord to smooth the transition. This is the trickiest part of the arrangement. Lots of barre chords and use of the g-string in the melody.

    Outro: A nice, simple jam of an ending. No need to even change the chord. It’s just G all the way through.

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  • The Doors – Riders on the Storm (Tabs)

    The Doors – Riders on the Storm (Tab)Download

    Here’s one for everyone who is into The Doors: Riders on the Storm.

    Intro: The intro has hardest part of the whole song: the long legato line in bar 7. I’ve cut it much shorter than the original, but it’s still a challenge. Particularly since it needs to be played smoothly as it’s intended to evoke rain.

    Verse: Nothing much to worry about here. I’ve included the little twangy guitar riff in the first and third verses (e.g. bar 13). You can mix and match that with the straight chords in the second verse however you like.

    Solo: This is loosely based on the original guitar solo. Feel free to come up with your own version. But I recommend using lots of hammer-ons and pull-offs with a few bluesy bends to keep the feel of the original.

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  • Pearl Jam – Better Man (Tabs)

    Pearl Jam – Better Man (Tab)Download

    I don’t think I’ve ever anticipated an album more than I did Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy. At the time, I was disappointed it wasn’t as exciting as Ten and Vs. But in hindsight, it’s clear they were transitioning into being a band that would be around for decades. And that’s reflected in Better Man, which wasn’t even released as a single but has become one of their most enduring and popular songs.

    This one is pretty straightforward. Even the riff and the verse are almost identical. But I have shifted a couple of notes from the g-string to the A-string to create a bit of contrast.

    The first half of the song is all fingerpicking. After bar 44, there’s a lot more strumming going on. And it’s after that change that the biggest challenge of the song crops up: the transition from C to D at the end of bar 46. I found it tricky to barre across the second fret and hit the E-string, 3rd fret.

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  • Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside (Tabs)

    Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside (Tab)Download

    RHCP’s Otherside fits nicely on the uke. Just some fast melody notes to deal with. And the easiest solo in guitar history.

    Intro: A combination of the bass and guitar parts to create a little bit of counterpoint.

    Chorus: A simple melody and familiar chord shapes make this section an easy one.

    Verse: A bit more tricky with a more rapid melody requiring some alternate picking.

    Bridge: I’ve cut this section down to just the melody part in the second half. It’s the toughest section to play. The melody switches between the g-string and the A-string (where you play the A-string, 5th fret).

    Solo: A short and easy solo.

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  • Stealers Wheel – Stuck in the Middle with You (Tabs)

    Stealers Wheel – Stuck in the Middle with You (Tab)Download

    Stuck in the Middle with You is just strumming almost all the way through. Just a bit of fingerpicking on the “please-e-e-e-e-ease” bits and in the solo.

    And the fretting hand isn’t too much of a challenge either. There’s a fair amount of bouncing up and down the neck but it’s set against the open g and C strings for most of the song. The solo is a little challenging, but you’re free to change that up to suit your own playing.

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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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  • Green Day – American Idiot (Tabs)

    Green Day – American Idiot (Tab)Download

    Green Day’s American Idiot doesn’t require a whole lot finesse. Just blasting out the strums all the way through. The hardest bit is making sure the strum blocking is effective in the parts where there’s just a vocal melody.

    The solo is just messing around with the chorus melody and chords. Lots of scope for you to come up with your own set of chord inversions here.

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  • The Faces – Ooh La La (Tabs)

    The Faces – Ooh La La (Tab)Download

    I had assumed Rod Stewart was singing Ooh La La, but it’s a rare vocal outing for Ronnie Wood. Although Rod would go on to do his own version in the 90s.

    The chords couldn’t be simpler. It’s just G – Am7 all the way through. And there’s nothing too complicated in the verses and chorus but the rhythm can be a little tricky to keep straight.

    The hardest section is the solo. It’s completely of my own making. So feel free to mess around and come up with your own ideas.

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  • Lou Reed – Perfect Day (Tabs)

    Lou Reed – Perfect Day (Tab)Download

    Here’s Lou Reed’s Perfect Day in tribute to Herbie Flowers who passed away last week.

    As well as Lou Reed, Herbie played bass for David Bowie, Roger Daltrey, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and many others. He contributed iconic bass lines to Walk on the Wild Side (which you can hear him talk about here), Space Oddity and Rock On. And, to top it off, he played tuba on Perfect Day.

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  • 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.

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