Ukulele Hunt

Tag: USA

  • Rusted Root – Send Me on My Way (Tabs)

    Rusted Root – Send Me on My Way (Tab)Download

    Rusted Root’s Send Me on My Way was a bit of a flop when it was first released. But it’s jaunty nature and semi-comprehensible lyrics have given it success in soundtracks to Ice Age, Matilda and that millipede.

    There are a lot of rapid notes to get your fingers around in this one. Even at this slightly slowed tempo, it’s tricky to pull off.

    Intro: The classic riff. Making use of the high-g string to avoid moving up and down the neck.

    Verse: No avoiding moving up and down in this part. But it’s not too difficult until the end of bar 14 with the mabubadeesay mabubadeeum bit (lyric sheets claim he’s saying, “You know what they say about the young,” but there is no way). This includes my favourite trick: playing the same note on different strings (g and E) to allow for quicker picking.

    Chorus: Busting out the strums for the chorus. Nothing too difficult here.

    Bridge: The trickiest bit with the very quick “Send me on my way”s. I’ve cut down the number of notes in some of these to make them easier to play.

    Solo: The funnest bit. As long as you keep the strumming up, you can play around with this section as much as you like.

    Outro: Just strumming out the chords in the outro followed by a stripped down version of the riff.

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  • Norma Tanega – You’re Dead (What We Do in the Shadows) (Tabs)

    Norma Tanega – You’re Dead (What We Do in the Shadows) (Tab)Download

    For spooky season, Norma Tanega’s You’re Dead aka the What We Do in the Shadows theme.

    The biggest challenge with this piece is getting the rhythms right. There are a bunch of time signature changes and even within the bars things get weird.

    Intro: In straight 4/4 but the rhythmic weirdness starts right away. You’d expect the initial riff to be played four times but it’s only played three times before switching to the slightly different second riff.

    Verses: These are made up of three bars of 5/4 and one bar of 3/4. Tricky to get the hang of but once you do the rest is fairly easy. It’s just strumming and occasionally picking the g-string. Other than that, there’s just a little lick at the end to deal with.

    Breaks: After each verse there’s an instrumental section of varying length. You can do pretty much whatever you like in these sections. I’d recommend not following exactly what I’m doing and just use it for ideas for your own version.

    I’m using mostly notes from G major and G minor scales with a few extra notes for a discordant sound. The only rule is to keep up the propulsive force of the tune.

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  • Otis Redding – (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay (Tabs)

    Otis Redding – (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay (Tab)Download

    Intro: I love the whistled outro of this song. So I simplified it and used is as the intro too.

    Verse: I’ve tabbed these as repeats but there are slight differences in the timings of the notes that are pretty easy to pick out yourself. Or I’m sure no one will notice or care if you just repeat the first verse exactly each time.

    Chorus: Usually, I’ll emphasise the melody of the song over other elements. But the guitar part here is so great I’ve tried to incorporate that as much as possible.

    Bridge: The hardest part of the song. The melody gets a bit fiddly. Especially with it being high on the fretboard.

    Outro: What a great melody to just toss out in the outro.

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  • Petula Clark – Downtown (Tabs)

    Petula Clark – Downtown (Tab)Download

    I was surprised to learn this song was written by Tony Hatch. Who is best known to me for writing the theme tunes to Neighbours, Emmerdale Farm and Crossroads.

    I was inspired to tab this one when it cropped up in Girl, Interrupted and I immediately lost interest in the movie and started working it out. This arrangement is based on the Petula Clark version. Although the Groundskeeper Willie version is definitive.

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  • Joan Jett – Bad Reputation (Tabs)

    Joan Jett – Bad Reputation (Tab)Download

    I first heard Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ Bad Reputation as the Freaks and Geeks theme.It’s a very straightforward punk song that’s ideal for just bashing out.

    I’m using strumming the whole way through this. Including using strum blocking to strum the individual notes. You can pick these notes if you prefer, but you lose some of the energy and aggression of the strums.

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  • Jim Croce – Time in a Bottle (Tabs)

    Jim Croce – Time in a Bottle (Tab)Download

    Jim Croce is an artist that past me by. He never get much attention in the UK. But after Time in a Bottle was a popular request on Patreon and it’s given me an appreciation of the song.

    Intro: With this song, the more impressive sounding parts are easier to play and the less impressive sounding parts are more a challenge.

    Despite how it sounds, the intro is fairly easy. Just make sure you’re fretting the A-string, 4th fret in bar 5 with your middle finger. Everything else falls into place.

    Verse: This is the part I found to be more of a challenge. Bars 9-12 feel cramped with the descending chromatic line on the C-string and the melody on the A-string.

    Things go back to being simple and effective in bars 14-16 with a walking bass line set against the melody.

    Chorus: A change from F minor to F major for the jaunty chorus. Some fun sliding around in this section.

    Outro: Closing out with some artificial harmonics to emulate the original. Made even more tricky than usual as you’ll probably have to estimate where the 20th fret would be. If you’re struggling, you can just play these without the harmonics and it’ll sound great.

    And don’t be a moron like me, fret the C- and E-strings with your middle and index fingers respectively for an easier stretch.

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  • The Chordettes – Mr Sandman (Tabs)

    The Chordettes – Mr Sandman (Tab)Download

    The release of the new Sandman TV show seems like a good excuse to finally get around to tabbing this classic. My arrangement is heavily based on the Chordettes version. Although not the original version, it’s by far the best known.

    Intro 1: I couldn’t resist rearranging Metallica’s Enter Sandman as an intro. Feel free to come up with an intro of your own or skip it all together.

    Intro 2: You can’t skip this one! It sounds fantastic and fits on the ukulele very nicely.

    Verse 1: Lots of tasty chords going on. And I’ve tried to incorporate some of the bass runs.

    Verse 2: I’ve added some extra elements here. There are some changes to the melody and plenty of twiddles. I made al the twiddles have are descending to give it a feel of gently falling asleep. Plenty of room for your own ideas here. The verse starts with a few “dings and pings”. These are natural harmonics.

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  • Neil Diamond – Song Sung Blue (Tabs)

    Neil Diamond – Song Sung Blue (Tab)Download

    The chill organ intro is my favourite part of the song. I’m picking this using one-finger-per-string.

    The picking in the verse is a bit more haphazard. But the basis is the thumb alternating between the g- and C-strings with each followed by a strum. Then the melody sits of top of that.

    In the original, there’s a half-verse solo with an instrumental of the melody. Since we’re already doing that, I threw in a quick solo of my own making. Plenty of scope for your own ideas here.

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  • Johnny Cash/NIN – Hurt (Tabs)

    Johnny Cash/NIN – Hurt (Tab)Download

    This arrangement of Hurt is very much based on the Cash version. But I was a massive Nine Inch Nails fan as an angsty teen, so some of that version might have slipped through.

    The plodding pace of this song makes it pretty easy to play. Just make sure you give the strings some welly in the chorus to recreate the thundering, steady pianos.

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  • Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On (Tabs)

    Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On (Tab)Download

    Here’s my take on Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. Although you could just tell people it’s Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud and no one will notice.

    I recommend being relaxed and loose with the phrasing in this one. Being on the beat is not sexy! My phrasing is slightly different to Marvin’s and you should play it the way you feel it.

    The trickiest parts of this arrangement are where you’re holding a Bb chord and also bending the E-string at the third fret (e.g. at the end of bar 1). You have to make sure you’re only bending the E-string and not the g- or C-strings. The good news is you only have to bend it slightly sharp. This mimics the original giving it a yearning feeling.

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