Ukulele Hunt

Tag: Tricky

  • Nena – 99 Red Balloons (Tabs)

    Nena – 99 Red Balloons (Tab)Download

    Today’s tab is Nena’s 99 Red Balloons. Originally 99 Luftballons. I worked from the English version for this arrangement, but there’s not a lot of difference between them.

    Intro/Outro: The song closes with a slow, fingerpicked version of the melody. Nothing troubling to tackle here. It’s all basic chords in the first position. The g-string does some of the melody work, so make sure those notes are prominent.

    Bridge: The song speeds up for the riff section. I’m fingerpicking the notes here with muted strums (plus a muted note on the g-string that’s picked with the thumb). Keep this section staccato to match the original.

    Verse: The increased tempo and use of strums makes this section trickier than the first. But, as compensation, it’s more repetitive so it’s simple once you get it under your fingers.

    Solo: The keyboard solo doesn’t seem any trickier than the verse, but I found it much more of a challenge.

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  • Don McLean – American Pie (Tabs)

    Don McLean – American Pie (Tab)Download

    Inevitably, I’ve trimmed this one down from its 8 1/2 minute runtime. This arrangement includes the opening slow verse, then speeds up for the first chorus, then speeds up again for the second verse and chorus.

    There’s nothing too tricky to play until the second half of the second verse. As well as the increased tempo, there’s a lot of jumping up and down the neck to handle.

    But the hardest part for me was memorising the verses. The chorus has a very catchy melody and a clear chord structure. But the verses are meandering and wordy. The chord progression never settles into a pattern. And even changes slightly between the two verses.

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  • They Might Be Giants – Doctor Worm (Tabs)

    They Might Be Giants – Doctor Worm (Tab)Download

    Doctor Worm is my favourite TMBG song. And it has been dusted off to promote their latest live album. It’s a lot of fun to play but has some challenging sections.

    Intro: I tried a few different ways to play this horn riff. And three of them crop up in this arrangement.

    The version in the intro is by far the trickiest but also the truest to the original. If you’d rather avoid playing it (and that’s the sensible choice), you can replace the first four bars with bars 69-72. Or, if you have the chops of Rabbi Vole, you can make the opposite substitution.

    Verse: The verses are much simpler. The third verse is especially simple, as it’s just the melody without chords.

    Chorus: The chorus starts with just blasting out the strums with the melody alternating between B and C on the A-string.

    The chorus ends with the horn riff transposed to Bb.

    Middle: The trickiest section of the whole song. You have to deal with the melody whilst the chords alternate between G and C. I highly recommend slowing this section right down when you’re learning it before attempting it anywhere near full speed.

    Bridge: A nice, simple section to recover after the middle.

    Solo: A very easy solo too. It starts off mirroring the verse melody then descends from there. The bass has much more room to descend than the uke, so I had to cheat it a little.

    Outro: Another variation on the horn riff. This time heading up the neck for the crescendo.

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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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  • The Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA (Tabs)

    The Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA (Tab)Download

    Keeping up the summer vibes (and the Brian Wilson tributes) with The Beach Boys’ Surfin’ USA. Musically, the song is based on Chuck Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen. But Wilson took the wise decision to change the lyrics.

    The key technique throughout is strum blocking i.e. muting the strings you don’t want to sound. For example, in the opening three notes, I’m muting the g-string with my thumb and the E- and A-strings with my index finger.

    Intro: A very Chuck Berry-style lick. Played with all down-strums. And I’m holding my thumb against my index finger for some extra force (almost holding it like a pick).

    Verse: The verse starts out alternating bars between melody notes (played on the g-string) and a standard blues shuffle. Then switches to more straightforward chords in bar 10.

    For the strum blocking in the melody bars (e.g. bar 4) I’m muting the C-string with the underside of the finger I’m fretting the g-string with. And I’m muting the A-string with my middle finger (which is fretting the E-string).

    Chorus: Starts almost identical to the verse except for having a more basic shuffle and not muting the C-string for the melody parts. Then it ventures up the neck for the falsetto “Everybody’s gone…” in bar 30.

    Solo: I’ve stuck fairly close to the original here. But so long as you stay in the Chuck Berry area, there’s plenty of room to make changes.

    Outro: Just the “Everybody’s gone…” bit repeated, then I threw in a little lick at the end.

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  • Charles Mingus – Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (Tabs)

    Charles Mingus – Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (Tab)Download

    I hope you’re not coming here for a detailed harmonic breakdown of Charles Mingus’s Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, because I have no idea what he’s doing most of the time. Which made it a tough song for me to memorise. With all the unfamiliar chords and movements, I found myself constantly having to think ahead, since there weren’t many familiar shapes to fall back on.

    Verse: I found the easiest way to play the opening bars is to barre across the first fret from the last note of bar 1 to the Gm in bar 4. Not all the chords need the barre, but it’s a lot easier to keep it there than to take it on and off.

    As well as the harmony, there’s plenty of rhythmic jiggery-pokery going on. Most notably, the entire tune is in swing time except for bar 10. Which is played straight.

    Solo: In the original, the solo uses a new (slightly simpler) chord progression. For my version, I’ve gone with a simplified take on the original chords. And I’ve leaned into the songs bluesiness with a bunch of bends and slides.

    There’s loads of room here to bring in your own ideas. My take draws heavily on the melody. But you can go way off piste if you’re feeling brave.

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  • 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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  • 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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  • Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen in Love (Tabs)

    Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen in Love (Tab)Download

    Intro: Well worth learning the opening even if you don’t bother with the rest of it. It’s the easiest part of the song.

    Verse: Here’s where things get tricky. A lot of quick alternate picking to deal with. Make sure you’re fretting the E-string with you pinky for the G minor chord in bar 11. That’ll mean you’re in position for the quick hammer-on and pull-off between bars 12 and 13.

    Chorus: The trickiest part of the song comes in the transition between the Ab and the Eb. You can make it easier by releasing the Ab chord rather than letting it ring. That’ll give you time to prepare your index finger on the A-string, 1st fret.

    Break: Just the second half of the intro played a few times. Build up the volume here to increase the pull back to the chorus.

    Outro: A key change right at the end. Which does make it trickier to play. The upside is you can just slow it down and call it ritardando and people will think you’re fancy.

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