Fingerpicking with Manitoba Hal!

Hal Brolund, AKA Manitoba Hal is another one of my favourite players. Fantastic bluesman, a golden voice and a unique way with a ukulele. If you've never seen and heard him play live, you are really missing something! He has just recorded this great tutorial on fingerpicking... so I thought I would share it here. I'm a huge fan of this man! Watch and learn, watch and learn!



Brilliant, eh?

Thanks for dropping in. This was a very short post - I wanted to catch the publish time...

Resonator uke - why? Here's why - Del Rey...

Ever since I saw Del Rey play at the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival 2014 I've rather hankered after a resonator ukulele.. and longed to play like her. That finger-picking is phenomenal. The uke was made by R E Phillips in the USA. No further info on that maker, sorry!

No other words necessary, methinks, just watch, listen and enjoy... watch this on YouTube here...

I don't know what the tune is, but I'm guessing the genre is delta blues. Perhaps someone can enlighten me further?

Just a quickie, had to share this - thanks for dropping by!

To learn more about Del Rey, check out her website here! It's all there, I won't try to reinvent the wheel!

Carter Picking - bring it ON! Tutorial by Aaron Keim, The Quiet American

Two or three weeks ago or thereabouts, I was scouring the net, looking for a tutorial on Carter-picking. Uke players come in two kinds, one with a huge background of guitars, and the other with little or no guitar experience. I'm from the latter, and had only just become acquainted with the term - but when I did, I wanted to be able to do it on the uke. Nothing doing - but I did see Aaron Keim (AKA The Quiet American) pop up somewhere in the search, saying that he was preparing some tutorials on it. Well now he has, and it's really exciting....

Carter picking is a finger picking style where you pick out a melodic line with the thumb, and flick in strums with the first finger. Although Maybelle Carter didn't actually invent the style, it was she who became well known for using it and brought it to prominence. It's a lovely catchy, bouncy style that just gets your feet tapping right away... think Johnny Cash!



Aaron gives four pages of help and tabs - for that and videos click here

I've featured Aaron Keim on these pages before, he's a fantastic uke player - just check out the tag cloud at the bottom. If you're in the UK and want to see Aaron live - well, he'll be coming to the 2015 Grand Northern Ukulele Festival in Huddersfield next year! I've got my ticket already, oh yes!

(Pssst - that's a Mya-Moe uke he's playing. Beautiful American luthier-built ukes. Fred (the rooster song) from Quebec was playing a Mya-Moe banjo-uke in my post from the other day, too... see that distinctive headstock....)

Thanks for dropping in! Now to practise that Carter picking.....

Three Mermaids - original instrumental by Ganga Karmokar

For me, visually, there are two kinds of beautiful ukulele. One kind is where the beauty all comes from the wood and the way it has been worked and crafted, and the other is where the luthier has used artistry to decorate the instrument with beautiful inlays of patterns or other images. In this second category, Chuck Moore's ukuleles are a joy to behold. Chuck Moore operates as Moore Bettah Ukuleles of Big Island, Hawaii, and if you want so spend some time drooling over "uke porn" get over to his site and take a look. A good, long look. In the ukulele world, the artistry of Chuck Moore is legendary.

On his For Sale page, you'll find The Three Mermaids tenor ukulele. Here are just two of the pictures of it.

This is what Chuck writes about it.

"This all koa ukulele was challenging yet immensely satisfying to build. Living so close to nature in this beautiful Hawaiian environment was naturally very influential in my choice of whimsical designs depicting two mermaids frolicking in the sea and one dreamingly relaxing in a banana moon. I use AAA Big Island curly koa for the body and ebony elsewhere including the fretboard and headstock veneer. Paua abalone is used unashamedly throughout, adorning the entire front and back of the instrument. The seahorse on the end graft was an afterthought that occurred to me only after I sprayed the first couple of coats of lacquer. The mermaids are made up of composite stone and 10,000 year old fossil mammoth ivory. After the ukulele was finish sanded, I scrimshawed the details in the bodies, remembering the art form I was involved in years ago. Other inlay materials include gold mother of pearl, abalone shell and fossil walrus ivory."

It's not really any surprise that this particular ukulele proved inspirational for one player, Ganga Karmokar. I was knocked out by her instrumental - watch her video to hear what she had to say about it. For me, her music conjured up the mermaid and the sea, just the way it was meant to - and put me in mind of the music of the French composer, Claude Debussy. Writing in the early 20th century, his work was inspired by the painters of the impressionist movement, and his music, full of light and air, was full of a similar imagery. Think of "Clair de Lune" (Moonlight) for example. In fact, the first piece in his first collection of "Images" was "Reflets dans L'Eau" (reflections in the water.) In my college days I lapped this stuff up.

Ganga's composition not only conjures up the sea, but has an eerie, mystical feeling to it that brings those mermaids to life. Please watch, listen and enjoy!



And if you liked that, just wait awhile, and I will post her other version of this, the version that is a song with words. It changes the mood again, and Ganga's voice is that of a siren, luring with her ethereal and bell-like voice the sailors of old to their fate on the rocks....

NEWS 6th November - Ganga is thrilled to have taken delivery today of a new (to her) Moore Bettah tenor uke - and has done a new video of The Three Mermaids....

Success with Cherry Blossoms instrumental in the Season of Mists...

These autumn mornings, I can't look out of bedroom window without recalling the first few lines of Keats' Ode to Autumn, so painstakingly learned at school all those years ago...

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;"

They are surely fitting lines for this day, this Sunday... we live at the top of a hill - not a big hill, but a hill nonetheless, and on these autumn days the cloud can be so low as to hang just above the ground and obscure the usual view across the roofs and trees. Quite a pleasant view normally, although there are no thatch-eaves to be seen! AT 11.20 this morning the sun was trying hard to burn that mist off - and now, half an hour later it has partially succeeded, revealing the tall trees behind the houses that back onto ours - but beyond that all remains obscured by the mist. And I notice that overnight, the leaves on our flowering cherry tree have finally begun to turn gold.

They are actually very late this year, some trees in neighbouring gardens are glowing red already, but I put the steadfast October greenness of ours down to the heavy rain we have had all summer - the wettest summer in the UK since records began in the 1700s.

The descent into autumn and winter always has the effect of making me feel quite melancholy - a bright, sunny day can be depended upon to lift my mood dramatically, but I adore the spring and look forward to seeing the cherry blossom tree swathed in white once more.

And talking of Cherry Blossom, I spent an evening last week working hard to finish learning Mike Lynch's Cherry Blossoms fingerstyle instrumental solo - and I finally nailed it. One of my short-term targets that I set a while back. Late, but I nailed it. My other targets, sadly, are not going so well, as I remain a butterfly, flitting about from piece to piece, skill to skill, making slow progress across too-wide a path. Ah me. BUT - You know what? I'm still having so much FUN!

(Psst - I'll let you see how I got on with it - on the "Summerhouse Practice List" page there's a link - don't tell anyone I told you though......!)

Bach Bouree from BWV 1006: John King ukulele

I discovered the late great John King a little while ago. If you like his style of playing, it's called "campanella" and it derives from campanology, or bell-ringing. I have it on good authority that John King adapted this style of playing for the ukulele, in as much as that the bell-like sound of each note is made by playing successive notes of a melody on different strings, so that each note can ring out into the next note, like a bell.

Al Wood of the great uke blog "Uke Hunt" has just done a new a superb blog post on campanella, with a great explanation and tabs. (2nd Aug 2012)

This link should put you straight on to it. Wonderful stuff.

Thanks, Woodshed!

Cripple Creek- Clawhammer Ukulele - Aaron Keim

Here's Aaron Keim playing clawhammer style on a Mya-Moe uke - clawhammer is 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.

I love this - had to share..... hope you like it too....

At Last a Great low G - What Now? Fingerstyle Ukulele Instruction Low G Tuning by Aaron Keim

Over the moon at having a good low G string on a uke at last,(new Aquila Red Series)I've found this great video tutorial on fingerstyle with a low G by Aaron Keim.

Find Aaron Keim, "The Quiet American" here. If you vaven't come across him before, do look - and his videos are superb.

In this one he teaches and then combines two fingerstyle techniques; the roll and the pinch.



Stringing the ukulele with a high G at the 4th string, known as re-entrant tuning, is the traditional way to string a uke. It's bright, it gives that traditional uke sound, and most chords and tabs are for a uke strung this way. The high G is great for bluegrass and clawhammer fingerpicking too. But for classical and jazz pieces, people often choose the low G option.

For a fantastic and popular classical piece, see John Moen's arrangement for Prelude for the First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello, posted 5th May this year, and for more on jazzy chords with a low G, see Glen Rose Jazzy Ukulele. (Post done here 31st May 2012).

Celtic Fiddle Tune Medley - Ben Lyman

I'll be posting shortly on a real Ukafrolic of a weekend in Blackpool at the GFS - the George Formby Society. But as I was trying to catch up on posts I've missed on my subscribed threads on the Ukulele Underground Forum, I saw this video posted by Ben Lyman.

I've loved traditional folk music since I was introduced to it in my teens by a boyfriend back in 1967 - giving my age away again here! There is something deep and haunting about these old Celtic fiddle melodies, and Ben performs them beautifully here on his ukulele. I just had to share with you.

The tunes are
1. Banish Misfortune
2. Planxty Irwin
3. After the Battle of Aughrin
4. The Wind that Shakes the Barley

Thank you, Ben, for allowing me to share this on my blog; you play just beautifully - another inspiration for me!

I must practice, practice, practice......

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.

Bach Prelude from the First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello, on Ukulele

Bach Prelude from the First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello

This is simply stunning. This well-known and well-loved prelude, written most likely betweem 1717 and 1723, is often heard on TV and radio, and consists mainly of arpeggiated chords. Beautifully arranged for ukulele by John Moen and played here by John himself on "Stella", his myrtle tenor uke by Mya-Moe, it is jaw-droppingly exquisite. I could just listen over and over again... and I do.

Bach, what a composer - and John Moen - boy, what a musician!

Read all about Bach's Cello Suites here.

And watch more of John Moen's ukulele videos as ukuthemighty. He does a fantastic version of "I Will Survive"... a great voice, too! Watch it and get to know John Moen a little better!

Another Ukulele Hero for me...!

Here's eugeneukulele - On The Sunny Side Of The Street

This song is such a bright, happy number - written in 1930 by Jimmy McHugh, with lyrics by Dorothy Fields, it's one of those songs that is embedded in my childhood memories, a standard often heard on the radio. At my tap class it's a warm-up number, always guaranteed to bring a smile to the rainiest day, along with the tapping feet.

I love this version by eugeneukulele. He's a wonderfully talented ukulele player from Tasmania. There will be more of him on here... on my own ukulele journey I'm coming across so many amazing and talented people. They inspire me, show what's possible and give me something to aim for - aiming for the moon, methinks; I'll never get to these exalted heights, but the fun is in the journey, after all.

I trotted along to my newly discovered ukulele group this afternoon. Nineteen ukers, practising away for Sunday's performance at a village fete in Leicestershire. All easy two, three and four chord songs - until the last, which caught me stumbling and staggering from one chord to the next - chord changes which I'm not used to at speed, from Em to F for example - awkward. But good to be doing something that was stretching me and showing up weaknesses - just as I was starting to get cocky about blithely changing chords by feel alone - that'll teach me!

"Cherry Blossoms" - Original Instrumental for the Ukulele by Ukulelemike, Mike Lynch

A sunny spring morning, blue skies, cherry blossom - what a lovely day to enjoy this gorgeous video of ukulelemike Mike Lynch's own original ukulele instrumental, "Cherry Blossoms", arranged and performed by him. He's playing his Oscar Schmidt solid mahogany tenor. Cherry Blossoms is actually only one of three pieces of a trilogy that he calls The Dreamscape Trilogy. The other two pieces are called Paris Nocturne and River of Dreams.



You can find the tabs for the whole trilogy as well as many others in Mike's SOLO INSTRUMENTALS FOR THE UKULELE Vol.1. for sale on his website.

I have just bought this "e"book, which comes in pdf form, and I'm looking forward to tackling Cherry Blossoms. I've had a quick look, and the pieces vary in difficulty; some look easier to satisfy the novice finger-picker like me, and they do get harder - so there's plenty to keep you going. I'll have more to say about them when I've got "stuck in".... meanwhile do look on Mike's homepage for more information about them.

Thank you Mike for more inspirational music!

Wildwood Flower - a ukulele improvisation by Ken Middleton

I have a passion for the wildwood, the ancient woodlands and forests that have so very nearly disappeared from our "green and pleasant land." My last post featured a photo I took last year of an ancient oak tree in Sherwood Forest. What a beautiful place, mystical beyond belief, with ancient oaks that were living hundreds of years ago.

It has nothing to do with the traditional American bluegrass tune "Wildwood Flower", of course - but it does make a link! So I think I can get away with it! I first heard Wildwood Flower as a banjo piece... that was when I was saving for a 5 string banjo, before I got pole-axed by the banjolele and bought my 20's Slingerland instead. I was thrilled when I came across Ken Middleton's ukulele version. Bluegrass on a ukulele? YES! Give me more.....!

Ken Middleton is another of my Ukulele Heroes. He's a great ambassador for the Ukulele, and frequently pops up on the UU Forum to give help and guidance. And he's also almost a local man, which has to be good! I love his version of "Wildwood Flower" and I've been working hard to learn it from the tab - almost there! Although I have to say, my attempt is not quite as you hear Ken on the above video! Some way to go I think, but I love playing it and most of it is there in the muscle memory now - my first bluegrass piece! But it won't be my last!

On Ken and finger-picking, read an interesting interview with him here...

His webpage, with free tabs to download, is here.

Thanks, Ken!

Dueling Banjos (On One Ukulele)

I've found me another Ukulele Hero! He goes by the pseudonym Woodshed, and he has arranged Dueling Banjos, (that wonderful duet between a 5 string banjo and a guitar, used in the film "Deliverance",) for one ukulele.

It is an awesome arrangement. I've downloaded the tab but I'll never be able to play it. He gets two completely different tone colours by alternating playing on the fingerboard with playing down past the sound hole for the "guitar" passages.

The ukulele is a KoAloha Sceptre tenor; solid koa wood, made in Hawaii. You can see Woodshed's review of it on his blog, Uke Hunt here.

Hail Woodshed, you've got another fan!

Edit - some folk have asked for the tab - so here's a link to Woodshed's page on his fabulous blog, Uke Hunt! A link to the tab is on there!