Little Boy I'm So Blue (Little Girl I'm so Blue Without You) - Rachel E Manke ukulele

I've seen Rachel E Manke's videos before. She is very, VERY good... a lovely uke player and obviously a natural performer, (I'm green with envy) and she likes the songs I like... so it was a no-brainer that one of her videos would end up on here at some point.

This song was recorded by the Rice Brothers Gang in the 1930's. A new name to you? A new name to me, certainly. Read all about them here.... There's some interesting information about that uke club standard "You Are My Sunshine".. and why it's now on the Creative Commons list. A very human story. I won't re-invent the wheel - check out the link.

I love Rachel's version of the song. Such joy and energy! Played on an Ohana Sopranino, the chords are on the key of C shapes if your uke is tuned in C, but the sopranino is tuned higher than that - so you can't play along, as I discovered!

Look at those chords up the neck... I've recently learned that progression up the neck in my uke lessons - (more about them coming up!) If I'm not much mistaken, it's the so-called "rhythm changes".

Rachel tells me that she has a CD coming out in the spring. One to watch out for - watch this space!

One more thing - that ease, that speed of chord changes up the neck, those easy slides up and down the fingerboard... that's how I want to play. I'm aiming for that. Thanks Rachel!

And thanks, dear readers, for dropping in - I really appreciate it! Don't go too far away, now!

The Holiday Creep by John Bianchi - original song!

It's funny, I'd been thinking, these last couple of days, that we hadn't seen a new video by John Bianchi of New York for quite a little while - it even went through my mind that maybe he wasn't playing ukulele so much these days, there are other instruments, after all.... then this morning this popped up. And I have to share it while the holiday season is still with us. What a joy! It's his original song, written last year... boy, would I be proud if I had written this! Full of wit. Please enjoy - The Holiday Creep, by John Bianchi, one of my very, very favourite singers and players - and songwriters!



Played on Ohana Vita-uke.

Strum along with Ken Middleton in the Smoky Mountains!

I caught up with Ken Middleton again at the weekend, at the November convention of the George Formby Society in Blackpool. What a great weekend that was! (More about that very soon, I promise...) Once again Ken wowed the Sunday afternoon audience with his playing; first the Tennessee Waltz, then George Elmes joined him on stage to play the old bluegrass tune "Snowdrop". That's built around a repeated chord progression, so it's fun to join in for a strum.

Improvisation is what Ken is doing in this video, recorded during his recent travels to festivals in the USA. And it's something of a speciality of Ken's. I think it's time we heard Ken play in a festival in the UK.....

To improvise, (also called extemporisation), means "to play or sing (music) extemporaneously, especially by inventing variations on a melody or creating new melodies in accordance with a set progression of chords". The point is, it's "as you go along", with no previous planning. Clever stuff, eh? I've always been scared stiff of it..... deep water, as far as I'm concerned. But Ken is pretty good, don't you think?

The set progression of chords in this improvisation is G Dm F C. Playing this progression, I feel that it has a really haunting quality. That's strange, because it's in the key of C major, and major keys are bright keys, whereas minor keys have a sad or melancholy sense around them.... certainly the Dm chord adds that feeling in this progression. It's so effective here because of the beautiful autumnal Smoky mountain setting. Autumn seems to embody a sense of melancholy, with the retreating sun and the retreating green from the leaves, but the beauty is there in the reds and golds.... and the melancholy and the beauty are all here in this improvisation.

So if you've got your uke to hand (haven't you always?) strum along with it, it's fun! That's how I started my day today. I subscribe to Ken's youtube channel (good idea) so this lovely piece dropped into my email inbox this morning. And as Ken has kindly told us the chord progression he's using, I picked up my Tanglewood uke from its place right next to my computer and joined in along with Ken's friend Pete.

Lovely.

Good morning World.....

Oh - and actually, is this piece modal? Comments please!

John Bianchi is Blue Turning Grey Over You.... on Ohana Vita-uke

Here's one of my very favourite uke songsters braving the sweltering temperatures of Manhattan to sing and play in his car and avoid getting a parking ticket - at least I think that's what it's all about! And this is how good an Ohana CKP-70 Vita-uke sounds when played by someone of John's calibre... the tune is an 1929 Fats Waller number, lyrics by Andy Razaf.

John Bianchi does these old 20's and 30's songs so well, so effortlessly - his sound is so right, I could listen to this stuff all day! If you like it too, why not subscribe to John's Youtube channel! Just watch the video on Youtube, sign in and click "subscribe"....

And look out at the end of this one for Peter Bogdanovich walking onto a location shoot for his movie, filming outside John's house!

Psst, by the way - playing like this is far from effortless of course - it takes time, commitment, and practice, practice, practice.... and there's no better way of enjoying yourself with all your clothes on. Apart from going to a good uke festival that is! So I'm off to practise my uke some more.... now where's that practice file gone..... :D

Mr. Sandman UKULELE TUTORIAL - ukulelezaza

Here is a great tutorial on a wonderfully achievable version of Mr Sandman, played chord melody style by Remco Houtman-Janssen, aka ukulelezaza. Remco has made the tab available - see the video on Youtube for details. I'm working on this, (just one of my butterfly flits.... I really should get focused...) and I really love it.

More on Remco to follow..... don't go too far away, now!

It's the November Convention of the GFS - and here come the Judge!

Last weekend we braved the busy motorway all the way to Blackpool once more- for the November Convention of the George Formby Society. "What is the attraction?" you may ask! Well - watch this video, (thanks to Caroline) and you'll get an idea! Judge Henry and friends - yes, I do believe he really IS a judge - they were well into their piece on the last evening, after the band had gone home and the wonderful stand-ins had picked up the traces. Actually, you'll notice that this little combo were using their backing track to this medley. If you'd like to see the whole twelve minutes of madness, see Peter Pollard's video of Judge Henry and his gang, Alan Kershaw, Mac McGee and Tom Fletcher here!

Judge Henry mentions struggling with his split-stroke... the fast, syncopated, rhythmic strumming that characterizes a Formby-style solo in the instrumental break in the middle of a song. I know how he feels. It's one thing being able to do the strum - however slowly - but playing it in time with a song, to be able to "solo" with it is something else again. BUT - after reaching the height of frustration with it at the weekend, I can at last report a little progress! The GFS members are so kind and helpful... and I have Jonathan Richards to thank for the help he gave me on Sunday to start to get it together - so kind, what a lovely family... I'm concentrating now on the "window cleaner" solo - it's actually one of the easier songs to play - I think the way ahead is to practise getting the split-stroke into the right places in the solo, as fast as is manageable, then work at putting "frills" on it.

I'll let you know how I get on!

Meanwhile - my uke-mate Caroline goes down a storm when she goes on stage in Blackpool. This time she gave us a bit of Tom Jones, (with Kala pocket-uke) and Kirsty MacColl... (with Ohana tenor-necked soprano) a cracking number that and really well done! See here....

And - see here for more pics and news on the November GFS Convention.

(Psst - that woman with Caroline - is Yours Truly... what did I do to get my mug-shot in there?)

And if you're tempted to get a taste of the warmth and fun of a GFS Convention, all the information you need for the 2013 meetings is here.

Coming up - after a few days enforced blog-silence - a couple of the youngest GFS members, Lewis Clifton and Tommy Bland, two of the nicest (and very talented) young lads you could wish to meet - if you can't wait, look them up on Youtube!

Thanks for looking in!

John Bianchi, "It Had To Be You" - Alternate Side of the Street Video

A truly wonderful version by John Bianchi of the 1924 song by Isham Jones (music) and Gus Kahn (lyrics). I just adore what John does with these old songs.... here he has done a really great chord melody on his Ohana Vita-Uke; it's a musical education just watching how he picks that melody out of those jazzy chords.....and once again, his voice is just perfect for these old songs.

Look here for the low-down on the lyrics to this song - they are all about being in love with a less-than-perfect and domineering partner... quite a change from the idea of the beloved as a faultless angel.

Also by Isham Jones and Gus Kahn - I'll See You in My Dreams.

(Published for educational purposes, all rights reserved.)

A GENTLE WAVE - Ukulele Improvisation by Ken Middleton

Just the thing for a peaceful Sunday - tranquility, a calm sea and beautiful sounds from a ukulele. I've already listened to this three times - the usual, when I have really enjoyed a piece of music.

Ken Middleton is a dab-hand at improvisation. I wish I could do it - I know that I could, if I knew my way round the uke fret-board - and there's only one answer to that - work at it.

You have to know your way round the ukulele the way that you know your way round your own house - blindfold. To know where everything is. On the ukulele, that means every note, every chord, every progression, every movement by step up and down an scale, every leap to the note you want... and it means work, concentration and application, and exercising your memory. If you rely completely on chord charts and tabs, you never learn to master the instrument, because you don't know it intimately enough - it's like knowing something only second-hand, somehow.

You also need to know something about structure - structure of a musical piece. If you play, you know that most pieces are played in one key - and the most common key for the uke is the key of C - because that's the easiest key to play in for the ukulele. But a piece of music also has a musical form or shape - and a very common and basic one is AABA.

"Whaaat?" Don't panic. Think of a song - better still, look here, at how music works. I don't believe in reinventing the wheel - this chap explains it very well..... AABA song structure is actually very, very familiar to all of us!

For more detail look at 32 bar form.

AABA is just for starters, but it's a very good start, and enough to keep you going and thinking for a while.

So, knowing a bit about structure in music helps when you want to improvise. Is it essential? Well, it certainly gives you a framework, which you can build on.

Trying to remember how to play pieces without the papers in front of you is a great starter - keep the music nearby to go to when you're stuck, but remember, memorising the musical pathways is a great learning pathway to knowing your instrument. And anyway, it's so much nicer to be able to pick up your uke and just play it, instead of always having to have the music up in front of you.

So - if you want to be able to improvise, know your instrument. I resolve to get to know mine. And start looking at how pieces of music are structured. It's really interesting!

HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE - Manitoba Hal, Ken Middleton & Gerald Ross

For the curious mind, of any age, life should be full of new experiences. A new experience for me over the last year or two has been watching Youtube videos... and I have recently discovered the "subscribe" button. So I now subscribe to Ken Middleton's channel. As many of you will know, Ken is a big ukulele man - there's wonderful playing by Ken on there, and he can sing - lucky devil.

This morning I noticed a video of Ken playing with friends, just a couple of weeks ago in Cheltenham, and one of them was Manitoba Hal Brolund. Having listened to Hal's latest album, Flirting with Mermaids, several times, I had to watch - and watch again - and then I just had to share it with you, it is superb.

Ken sings and plays an Ohana TK-35G, Hal is playing an Ohana TK-50G, and Gerald Ross is playing a Fender lap steel guitar. Wow. A fabulous blend of sounds, and Hal's inspired percussive additions to his strum lift the effect to another level. Must try to do that.....

If you want more where that came from, and to hear Manitoba Hal sing this time, watch Hal, Ken and ukulelezaza do Atlanta Moan - "wonderfully unrehearsed!" Go on, click it - I promise you, you'll be glad you did!

"I'm Sure of Everything But You" on Ukulele - John Bianchi

John is definitely on a roll. I had to post this one; his performance is simply sublime.

These songs from the 20's and 30's have a poignancy all their own, I find... and this song is particularly poignant. There is something of post-war heart-ache and dark days of the depression, whilst at the same time there's a dogged, rueful cheeriness about it. It hits the spot for me! John's delivery is, to my mind, masterful.

John writes "Here's a sentimental tune from 1932 that was a big hit - largely forgotten now. Everybody recorded it, from Annette Hanshaw to Nick Lucas - and May Singhi Breen had a hit with her husband Peter De Rose. This played on my Ohana CKP-70, which is a truly great instrument for the price!"

Enjoy...the perfect relaxation for a sultry summer day...

WORRIED MAN BLUES - Ken Middleton plays Clawhammer Ukulele

Here's one of my Ukulele Heroes, Ken Middleton, with his new video of Worried Man Blues on an Ohana ukulele. He's playing clawhammer style, a percussive way of playing fingerstyle originating from banjo playing in the Appalachians. Back in the 60's, Pete Seeger used it to great effect with the long neck 5 string banjo, which he invented. There are plenty of clawhammer banjo videos on Youtube - but here Ken shows the versatility of the wonderful ukulele once again!

Look here at ezfolk.com for more on clawhammer ukulele, with some tips.

Paul's Custom Uke

Here begins a tale of one man's case of UAS - Ukulele Aquisition Syndrome, or to give it its Latin name, needus ukuleleus. UAS is very, very common among the ukulele-playing community. A collection of five to ten ukuleles in various sizes and woods is not at all uncommon......Paul is a mate on the wonderful Ukulele Underground Forum. He begins his tale thus:

"If there is such a thing as the UAS (ukulele aquisition syndrome) bug, the little blighter bit me twice! I started of with a lovely little Lanikai soprano and fell head over heels in love with the ukulele! Chords were a little easier than the guitar, which I played for 25 years leading up to this, the sweet honey tones simply had me captivated. Then, my better half announced that she had ordered me an 'Oscar Schmidt' concert for valentines! Oh how I love her...Ah...The first thing I did was change the strings to a set of low G Aquila Nylguts. The sound was just beautiful and very different to my Lanikai. Then I heard people talking about solid wood ukuleles and how amazing they sounded and there my next mission began. A few weeks ago I bought myself an Ohana Tenor, all solid mahogany with a cutaway and she is a stunner! So warm and mellow, with sustain for weeks! I also recently commissioned a luthier to build me something rather special. Here are the first pictures; the actual woods which will make up my custom treasure!

Western red cedar - top

Macassar ebony - sides and bottom






Watch this space! Paul"

Reports from Paul to follow from time to time, as the build progresses!