Play 12th Street Rag on banjo-uke with Marcy Marxer - tuition video

12th Street Rag was written in 1914 - yes, 100 years ago - by Euday L Bowman, and was one of the most popular and best-selling rags of the ragtime era.

I've seen a lot of videos and versions of 12th Street Rag for ukulele, but I do like this one, a chord melody version which looks achievable for the likes of me - i.e not TOO hard! Marcy shows us the basics and then shows some fancier moves and chords which you can put in just to put the icing on the cake. Great to see a good tuition video for this great and enduring number, and using a banjo-uke too!

Do take a look at this video .... First Marcy talks about meeting the great Roy Smeck, who famously played a blistering ukulele version of this catchy tune. Then she plays it with Cathy Fink and James Hill! A few years back, now... 2008.

Right - I'm off to have another go at this! Catch you again soon!

Update, next day....

Having a go at this again I realised that I needed extra help after the first three lines of music, and searched on Google again. I came across this website. Chicks With Picks Melbourne, with the same Marcy Marxer video..... and a link to a tab. Now, I clicked on the tab and could print it, and all became clear - but as it isn't my tab to share, I'll just direct you to the page and you can go to it yourself. It does help with the middle and the end hugely!

Good luck! Getting on like a bomb with it now.....

Another must-watch..... Some of These Days - Julien Staudt

I haven't seen Julien Staudt's videos before, but after this I'm a subscriber to his channel..this great old song, written in 1911, gets a hum-dinger of a treatment here.... a slow, bluesy intro lulls us into a false sense of security, only to lead...... find out!



What a scorcher! And chock-full of jazzy chords. First recorded by Sophie Tucker, it became her theme song.

If you like these old jazzy numbers, take a look at this list of pre-1920 jazz standards - you'll recognise many, and it's amazing just how old these enduring favourites are!

I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl that Married Dear Old Dad

Well, here's my take on the 1911 song

I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl that Married Dear Old Dad



(C) I want a girl, (F) just like the girl that (C) married (G7) dear old (C) Dad (C7)


(F) She was a pearl (C) and she was the (A7) only girl that (D7) Daddy ever (G7) had,


A (C) good old-fashioned girl with (E7) heart so true


(Am) One who loves nobody (G7) else but you


(C) I want a girl, (F) just like the girl that (C) married (G7) dear old (C) Dad


You can throw in more C7s passing from C to F if you want....



It sounds great on banjo-uke - I reckon a Formby-style solo would work well on this! Something to work on there.... well, GFS, here we come! I could be strumming along with the gang in Blackpool Tower on Saturday... watch this space! ;)

"Some of these Days".... I can get all the chords by ear!

Whether it was the tranquility of the summerhouse that did it, I don't know - but I was going through some pieces and songs the other day, and playing "I Wanna be like You" - the first chords being back and forth between Am and E7. I realised that they also sounded like the opening chords of "Some of These Days"

I tried to work out the rest, by ear - and here's the result.


Some of these [E7]days you'll miss me, [Am]honey

Some of these [E7]days you're gonna be so [Am]lonely

You'll miss my [F]huggin'; you're gonna miss my [C]kissin'

You're gonna miss me, [D7] honey, when I'm far a[G7]way

I feel so [C]lonely, for you [F]only

'cause you know, [A7]honey, you've always had your [Dm]way

And when you leave me [Cdim]you know it's gonna [C]grieve [A7]me

Gonna miss your [D7]big, fat mamma, your [G7]mamma some of these [C]days


Some of These Days, written and composed by Shelton Brooks, became a signature song for Sophie Tucker (1886-1966)styled "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas"

Noticed the diminished chord? Scrumptious!


(All rights reserved)