Tag: UK

  • Greg Lake/ELP – I Believe in Father Christmas (Tabs)

    Just enough time before the big day to work up a version of Greg Lake’s I Believe in Father Christmas. Later recorded by the whole of Emerson, Lake and Palmer as well as U2, Mark Kozelek and many others. But it’s the original I worked from for this arrangement.

    Intro: The trickiest part of the song. There are a few switches in the picking pattern which can get you in a jumble. The best way to get these down is to practice them very slowly (slow enough you don’t make any mistakes). So when you speed up, you can just play them on auto-pilot.

    There’s also a bar of 2/4 (bar 8) followed by a big jump up the fretboard. Give yourself a little extra time by not holding the 23 notes and moving up during the open g-string.

    Verse and Chorus: Much simpler. All done with basic chord shapes and a melody that fits in the first three frets.

    Solo: The solo is adapted from Prokofiev’s Troika. It’s a nice, little Christmas ditty that fits well on the uke. Worth learning this section even if you’re not bothered about the rest of the song.

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  • KT Tunstall – Black Horse & the Cherry Tree (Tabs)

    This is a very propulsive song even in the very sparse sections. So in the verses, where it’s just the melody line, I’m using strum blocking to keep the energy up. The verse melody is busy. But it’s fine to miss a couple of notes so long as you keep the song moving along.

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  • Queen – Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon (Tabs)

    Intro: The hardest part of the whole song is the chromatic run between bars 3 and 4. I spread the notes between the strings to make it a bit easier to play but it’s still a big challenge.

    Verse: Lots of jumps up and down the neck to deal with. Bars 9-12 are fun to play (once you’ve practiced it enough not to have to think about it).

    Bridge: The tempo slows right down here which helps to make it easy to play.

    Solo: Another section that’s difficult to play. But I mostly ditched the chords for this section so it’s just single notes.

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  • Rod Stewart – Maggie May (Tabs)

    Intro 1: The album version of the track starts with Martin Quittenton’s (completely out of place) little contrapuntal piece in 3/4 time. I almost skipped it but it’s a fun tune that’s worth learning by itself.

    Intro 2: The second intro is much more in keeping with the song’s melancholy mood.

    Verses: The verses are fairly straightforward. It’s mostly strummed with a few notes picked out here and there.

    Solo: Loosely based on the original with lots of sliding around the fretboard. As always, throw some ideas of your own in here.

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  • Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (Tabs)

    Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black has to be one of the best albums of the noughties. I tabbed Rehab a while back. And it’s high time I tackled the title track.

    The chord progression is Gm – Cm – Eb – D in the verse and chorus. That drop down from Eb to D is so effective in conveying a sense of defeat.

    The verse melody acts in a similar way starting out on just a single note repeated (G in this arrangement) and ending by dropping down one fret on the D chord.

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  • The Smiths – Panic (Tabs)

    A version of Panic tribute to Smiths bassist, Andy Rourke.

    Intro: A short jingle-jangle intro. I originally played it an octave up to accommodate the original. But this version is much easier to play and keeps the vibe of the original.

    Verses: The verses are all very slightly different. The trickiest part comes in bar 17-18 with some quick triplets. The first will require a bit of alternate picking. The third verse starts using the g-string to play melody notes (beginning in bar 38).

    Bridge: Keeping the barre across the strings even when you don’t need to makes this section easier to play.

    Chorus: Even more melody notes on the g-string in this section to keep it rocking. Plus the chords are a little more filled out with a G between the C and D.

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  • Culture Club – Karma Chameleon (Tabs)

    In keeping with the theme of the song, Culture Club’s Karma Chameleon is a mish-mash. Including some country harmonic, funky bass, cheesy 80s keyboards and a catchy pop chorus.

    Intro: A bit of everything here: the guitar riff, muted strums for the drums and a bit of harmonica.

    Verse and Pre-Chorus: A fair bit of sliding up and down here but nothing too challenging.

    Chorus: This is where it gets tricky. The melody notes here are very fast. You’ll need to use alternate picking to get them up to speed.

    Bridge: I forgot this section existed before I relistened to the song!

    Solo: A brief solo that I cobbled together based mostly on the chords.

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  • Billy Bragg/Kirsty MacColl – A New England (Tabs)

    A New England was originally by Billy Bragg and made more famous by by Kirsty MacColl. This arrangement starts with a riff inspired by Johnny Marr’s intro on Kirsty MacColl’s version. After that, it’s closer to the Billy Bragg version.

    I’ve reduced the tempo for my recording. There are a lot of fast notes in it. With the most challenging run being bars 59-60. If you can play that at the tempo of the MacColl version, you’re a way better player than me.

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  • The Beatles – You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (Tabs)

    Intro: I did an extended intro based on the verse chords. It’s a little tricky so feel free to adapt it however you like. Or just replace the whole thing with one bar of G like the original.

    Verse: First time around, this section is picked (using one finger per string picking). Second time is more loose and strummed with a few notes picked out.

    Chorus: The funnest part of the song with a big G chord on the “HEY!”

    Solo: Lots of room for your own ideas here too. You could make it as simple as strumming the chords and throwing in a few sus2 and sus4 chords.

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  • Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody (Tabs)

    Intro: Starting off in usual fashion with Eb leading into G major. The Bb note (A-string, 1st fret) suggests G minor so the G major chord is a little surprising.

    Verse: I’m fingerpicking this section the first two times it’s played. The third I’m using some strumming particularly on the Gsus4-G bit. You can do that every time if you prefer.

    Chorus: The Eb chord crops up again creating discord under the line, “Everybody’s having fun,” and suggesting the Christmas isn’t as merry as claimed. If that was intentional, Noddy Holder is a more nuanced songwriter than I gave him credit for.

    Bridge: I had forgotten this section existed. But it does give us the Gm that has been hinted at since the intro.

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