So why am I now having ukulele lessons, after all this time?

So why, after owning a uke for nine years and starting to try to seriously get to grips with it for three and a half, have I decided to start taking lessons just now? After all, I’ve been getting on OK on my own, following videos and so on; I can play quite a few chords, do an instrumental or two, play a couple of tricky strums, have fun on my own or with other folks… well. It’s because it was gradually dawning on me that I need guidance… and taking in hand. Some discipline. A route through the maze. I’ve been having lots of fun for more than three years, dipping into this, having a go at that, but I came to think that learning in my own way was rather like herding cats. Because there’s Chord Melody cat, Jazz Standards cat, Blues cat, the George Formby-style cat… and chief cat Myself was actually not doing the most productive and efficient job iof turning me into a half-decent player - which is what I want to be. To make faster progress I needed a proper shepherd. What’s more, I hate Skype, and I realised ages ago that if I were to have uke lessons, they would have to be face-to-face ones...

So the bottom line is, I’m having lessons with the wonderful Phil Doleman, (more about Phil later…. ) Lucky me…. He lives not TOO far away for me to travel. Right now I’ve had three lessons, and already I know it’s paying off…. Phil’s a great teacher, and his love of the music of the 20’s and 30’s and blues suits me down to a T.

This is a piece he gave me a couple of weeks ago. Shine on Harvest Moon. Still a little ragged, but definitely getting there!



This is unlisted... but I'll do another video when I can play it better!

If you watched - thank you! And if you are learning to play the uke, don't stop!

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!

With the Sound of Purple! Ken Middleton improvisation - My Bonnie

TURNING A FOLK SONG INTO A JIG

I love what Ken Middleton does. He's a great player. Improvisation and what he calls "noodling" are his specialities, I think, and every now and then he comes up with something that just grabs me. This is one such, turning the old folk song "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" into a jig by altering the timing. The hammer-ons and pull-offs are magic.

I noticed Ken's use of triplets here, but didn't notice immediately that he's using the thumb-led triple. I'm used to the fore-finger led triple, but the thumb-led triple isn't tricky, it's just different!

Ken says....

"I wanted to try the well-known Scottish folk tune "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean" as a jig. The song is normally played in triple time (3/4), but, after the slow intro, I am playing it in compound duple time (6/8). A jig should have a clear 2 beat feel, with each beat subdivided into 3. Pretty much any tune with a good melodic line can be played as a jig, but folk songs work really well.

The strum I am using is basically a triplet strum: thumb down, pointer up, pointer down. But I don't always play the full triplet. And, I do use other finger and the tune is sometimes played as the triplet, sometimes with just thumb and sometimes with hammer-ons and pull-offs.

I chose to play it in G and often use the 4th string as a melody note."

I do hope you enjoyed that! I've watched it about four times already... one to try and play along with?

Oh - and did you clock that beautiful purple-coloured uke? Custom built for Ken by Rob Collins of Hebden Bridge here in England. It's a deep-bodied uke, 6mm deeper in the body than the normal tenor, for a fuller sound. And the purple colour comes from the wood itself, it's not painted. Purple Heart wood. There you go. For the sound that Ken wanted.

To find out all about this beautiful Purple Heart uke, see Ken's full youtube review... check it out here!

Thanks for dropping in - do call again!

Clawhammer ukulele? Try lesson 1 by Aaron Keim

A few uke players sometimes play clawhammer style. Aaron Keim, AKA "The Quiet American" is one of them ... are you in the UK? You want to see him live? He'll be at the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival in Huddersfield, England - 22nd to the 24th May this year, 2015. And he will be doing a workshop on fingerpicking - NB, fingerpicking, NOT clawhammer.... anyways, I've got my ticket, booked my workshops, including this one.

Better be quick if you get in on it - there are not many tickets left, and workshops have begun to sell out!

Thanks for dropping in... I'm getting back to my practice now!

Grand Northern Ukulele Festival

The Grand Northern Ukulele Festival - Huddersfield, England.

22nd - 24th May, 2015.

The tickets for this stupendous ukulele event in the North of England have nearly all gone - they really have! Last year's festival was phenomenal - I know, I was there... and I have my ticket for this year's, so I'm All Right Jack! If you want to go, get in there sharpish. Because many of the greatest names in the ukulele world are going to playing there.

Manitoba Hal Brolund, Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee, Aaron Keim, the Quiet American, Phil Doleman - and many more, including Mike Warren of the GFS, Zoe Bestel, Dead Man's Uke, ... and still more!

A snippet of hot news is that Remco Houtman-Janssen (Ukulelezaza) is returning to do something new. He's put together a collaborative set called, "Ukulelezaza & Friends" where he'll be playing music with a range of different performers. That's going to be really exciting to see, what a great way to enjoy talented performers doing their thing!

Also. Mim from Mim's Ukes in the USA is going to be at the festival. It's her first ever visit to the UK!

Workshops - The Festival Workshops will led by some of the top ukulele players, performers and makers in the world. These all take place at the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival (23-24 May, 2015) at the main festival site - the Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield. To attend workshops you'll need a festival ticket... and look out, be quick - Phil Doleman's workshop is sold out already! For one, I'm not surprised.... but that's another story!

Getting time to blog hasn't been easy these last couple of weeks again - life is such a Ukafrolic, there's little time to write about it! A couple of weekends ago LSH and I were at a rather exciting uke weekend in the very north of England near Hadrian's Wall - haven't had time to tell you all about it. Well, I will, just as soon as I can.

And I'll tell you all about the uke lessons I've decided to take after all this time.

And right now, I'll get back to my uke "homework"....!

Thanks for dropping in - I appreciate it. I really do.

"Rondo alla Turca" by Mozart - Andreas David and Corey Fujimoto, ukulele

This is rather special. Mozart. Now really, it doesn't get much, if any, better than that, does it - The MASTER musician and composer..... simpl takes your breath away. Want to get as good as this? In your dreams! Or - practice, practice, practice!



Just a quickie.... couldn't resist!

Thanks for dropping in!

George Elmes demonstrates percussion techniques on ukulele!

Wonderful stuff, this! A bit of percussive tapping on a uke can really enhance a piece. I was thrilled to see George Elmes doing this lovely tuition video! George, who hails from Dublin, is simply one of the most accomplished players around, but he's not so well-known as many. I've featured his playing many times on here, he's one of my favourites! Just find him on the label-cloud at the bottom of the page to find more posts.

The video speaks for itself, as does any good tuition video.

The "Brajao", a "Serious Joke" of an instrument by Carlos Jorge Pereira Rodrigues

A fourth and final (for the moment) post on the Madeiran instruments which are the fore-runners of the ukulele, the machete (braguinha)and the rajao, and on the Madeiran luthier who is still building them. If you read my last few posts, you'll know that last week I was fortunate and privileged to visit the workshop of the highly esteemed Madeiran luthier Carlos Jorge Pereira Rodrigues in Funchal, Madeira.

I haven't said much about the rajao in my posts as yet, but actually it's the rajao that has the most in common with the ukulele, because of the way it's tuned.

About the size of a concert uke, it has 5 strings; strings 1-4 are GCEA exactly like the ukulele, and the 5th string is tuned to D (2nd fret of the C string.) In fact, Dan Scanlan writes here that there are real grounds for believing that it was the rajao, not the machete, that was adapted to become the ukulele, simply by the removal of the 5th string! Do read that article, it's very interesting!

Well, here is an instrument built by Mr Carlos Jorge Pereira Rodrigues twenty years ago as a "serious joke" - a hybrid braguinha/rajao, which he calls a "brajao"!














And here is this amazing instrument being played by two of the very best players of the braguinha and rajao! Roberto Moniz and Roberto Moritz. I don't seem to be able to embed it, it's on vimeo. Just give the link a click. It's delightful.

There are several videos on Youtube and vimeo by these two superb players. Here's Roberto Moniz playing an original piece on a rajao built by Carlos.

And if your appetite for "uke porn" has been whetted, just look at these beautiful instruments!

I've learned a lot about these Madeiran instruments over the last few days. I hope you've enjoyed reading about them and listening to them too. Thanks for dropping in!

Surprise workshop visit, Funchal, Madeira - Carlos Jorge Pereira Rodrigues

Continued...

Life for a lady with a ukulele or two just gets more interesting!

We were on holiday. A chance encounter led to us being directed to the workshop of Carlos Jorge Periera Rodrigues, luthier of the Madeiran machete (braguinha), the father of the ukulele (see posts from yesterday and earlier in the week). We got there, LSH and I. LSH didn't mind one bit - he's golden. The door (always decorated with a hibiscus flower) was opened by a very handsome young man with black curly hair and a beard - Carlos's son, who made us very welcome and showed us his father's work as best he could. Henrique was particularly proud of the tiny and exquisite machetinho which his father had made - (see photo yesterday) and here are some more of the pics we took.


This is a machete from the early 1900's. Of course, Carlos Rodrigues did NOT build this one!



And here I am with Carlos's son, who was so lovely to talk to - and the lovely tiny machetinho made by his father.
The machete (braguinha) is a solo instrument, tuned DGBD, low to high, traditionally with metal strings, I believe but also with nylon strings in Madeira. The top is always solid spruce. (For more information see also my posts from yesterday, and from a couple of days earlier.....)

What an array of instruments! Awaiting restoration...

Mandolins and guitars too...

Henrique with "a challenge" - a very damaged braguinha, which he plans to try to restore as he learns his father's craft.

and finally...

A piece of reclaimed spruce from a piano - perfect for the top of machetes! Old wood is superior, Henrique tells me.

Our surprise visit to the workshop was a wonderful experience, it was a shame that Carlos was not there as I would love to have met him, but his son was so kind and spoke of his father's work with such pride. What a joy, a real holiday highlight. My thanks to Henrique and to Carlos for his input since our return.

If anything need correcting in this post, Carlos will tell me and I will put it right. Meanwhile, here is a lovely Youtube video of Madeira, showing Carlos in action talking about his work and the machete, (braguinha) with subtitles in English and some music played by Roberto Moniz.



I hope you have enjoyed this post. One more amazing thing about Carlos's work to show you - next time! As for me, I plan to tune a ukulele like a braguinha (machete) DGBD to try it out, very soon! Thanks for dropping in!

The machete (braguinha) still built and played in Madeira....

Yes dear friends, the little fore-runner and father of the ukulele, the machete, also known as the braguinha, is still being built and played in Madeira. LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) and I have just returned from Funchal, the capital... where the highlight of the trip for me was a sudden and unexpected visit to the workshop of the luthier Carlos Jorge Pereira Rodrigues. He who builds the machete...

Here's my Little Blue Uke, a constant traveling companion, hurriedly snapped among the greenery of our hotel (Littel Blue Uke woz 'ere)

And here's the exquisite, tiny machetinho built by Carlos, held here by his son. Absolutely not for sale, he told us.







And here is one of Carlos's happy customers, playing his Carlos Jorge Pereira Rodrigues braguinha - or machete, the two are the same as I understand it.

Carlos tells me "Both the Braguinha and the Machete have the same tuning (Ré Si Sol Ré), but on the 19th century they sometimes used Mi Si Sol Ré (french guitar's 4 first strings) on the Machete. The difference between the both instruments is that the Machete was an erudit instrument before the end of the 19th century, then at the end of the 19th century people started "popularizing" the Machete (Machete de Braga), so they started calling it Braguinha."



The machete is tuned DGBD, low to high. I haven't tried to play a uke tuned that way; I understand the fingerings can be tricky.

I have more to share - and I will! But I like to keep my posts short and snappy so for now, I recommend you get over to Al Wood's uke blog, Uke Hunt, where he did a Madeiran Music Special about three years ago -I won't reinvent the wheel, Al is a superb blogger, one of the very best. So get over there and have a look at all the information he shares on the machete!

Al Wood's blog Uke Hunt - Madeiran Music Special

Ukulele chord melody solos - great tutorial by Peter Forrest!

I have just stumbled across this great tutorial on working out chord melody by Peter Forrest. It's very well explained, and Peter is clearly a very good musician.

His own words introduce it best!

Learning to do a ukulele chord solo is the Holy Grail of uke playing. A chord solo is basically playing a song's melody line over a chord accompaniment on a ukulele. It's very tricky to learn, but Petey will show you the basics with 3 easy steps: uno, dos, tres!!! hehe Sure, one can learn other techniques like fancy strumming to one's heart content, but playing a melody over backing chords at the same time requires a different kind of art and technique. Petey's simple 3 step tutorial (uno, dos, tres) will help you get going on that front without any musical theory required. As well, if you do have any background in musical theory, this vid will help you just as much! 8-)

Worth subscribing to, eh? I should think so!

Thanks for dropping in... this was a quickie - and I have a few more of those in store!

Coming up - Carlos Jorge Pereira Rodrigues and his Madeiran machetes!

Back from Madeira, home of the machete, fore-runner of the ukulele. Watch this space!

LSH and I have been away in search of winter sun.

We stayed in Funchal, the capital of he island of Madeira...

Madeira is the home of the little machete, the instrument taken to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants in the 1860's, and which was taken up by delighted Hawaiians who modified it slightly to became the ukulele we love.

I went in search of the machete - and I found it. Watch this space!

Meanwhile, if you don't know the story of how the machete traveled to Hawaii and gave birth to the uke, read it here.... beautifully told by the late, great John King....

Peter Moss - how to make a ukulele solo

A quickie. I had to post this. Regular readers will know that I've posted Peter Moss before - just check out the label cloud at the bottom of the page for more... but here's a wonderful freebie from virtuoso player Peter Moss... how to make a ukulele solo!



And... if you liked that (who wouldn't?) Peter is now doing individual Skype lessons!

Details here....

Thanks for dropping in!

Mandy Make Up Your Mind! Dr Bekken on baritone uke, high D

I've posted this video by Dr Bekken for two reasons - one, because it's good. Two, because I have just discovered the pleasure of a baritone uke with quality fluorocarbon strings and re-entrant tuning, that is, with high D.

About a year ago I picked up a used Makala baritone uke. It was strung DGBE with low D, the D and G strings being wound. It really didn't do much to impress me, and I didn't bother with it much. Then a respected player recommended that I restring it with a set of Living Water Strings, high D tuning. Now, I do love Living Water strings, nearly all my ukes have them now... so I did it - and the difference is nothing short of amazing! I can't put the thing down! Finger-picked, that uke sounds just great. Living Waters are high quality 100% fluorocarbon, and are sold by Ken Middleton - another highly respected player! So now I'm after inspiration for things to play on it, and I put out a plea on the Ukulele Underground Forum. Dr Bekken responded with this video! I love it! And I hope you enjoyed it too!

Dr Bekken has his own pages, Humble Baritonics... if you have a bari, check him out! In fact, check him out anyway, he plays soprano uke incredibly well, also. We'll have some of that later!

By the way - a baritone uke is strung like a guitar with the two lowest strings missing. So the chords are akin to guitar chords. You use the same chord shapes to play as GCEA tuned ukes - but they have different names. Yeah. More to learn!

Thanks for dropping in!

Just jammin' - Angus Lamont and Francesca Davies at GFS Convention November 2014

Just a few lines to describe this one.

GFS (George Formby Society) Convention, Blackpool, November 2014

Angus Lamont and Francesca Davies jamming in the back room.

Just two of the very talented young people who enjoy the music of George Formby - the fun songs, the tricky syncopated solos, and the warmth and friendliness of the GFS.

I was there - I think I was actually walking across that room as they were doing this! Superb. And to think that it was the GFS that brought them together!

By the way, Francesca is playing a 1928 Wendell Hall banjo-uke. Why such an old uke? Because the vintage ones are so much better - simple. Wendell Halls come at a pretty price, though. You'll have to save your pennies if you want one.

Up the neck - funky strums from the 60's? Try this one!

You'll like this. I know you will. And it'll get you playing up the neck of your uke, if you don't already...

From Coveywood, who introduces himself on Youtube thus.... "Ukulele Teacher, Enthusiast living in the South West of England, I've been a musician for all of my 60 years. Bought my first Uke in my early 20's and have had an unreasonable amount of pleasure from my small family of instruments. The "Best Ukulele Strum in the World" has been a constant companion and finds its way into many of my compositions. It has many different cultures woven into its innocent dancey step and will bring you endless pleasure once you get your head around the strangenesses of the co ordination. I also play in the Pindrop Band with a bunch of wonderful musicians and Singers, all of them good hearts."



See? I said you'd like it!

Thanks for dropping in¬

Enjoy Yourself - It's Later Than You Think! Pabrizzer from Oz

The sudden loss at far too young an age of our friend Dave Withers (Ukey Dave to the Ukulele Underground folk) sets the mind on a certain tack for sure. Carpe diem. Seize the day. And gather ye rosebuds while ye may.

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying." (by Robert Herrick)

The Seasonistas of the Ukulele Underground Forum have this week been offering tribute songs to Dave on Season 152 of the Ukulele. Songs that he covered while he was with us. So many seem so poignant now. And so many are favourite songs of mine, we just happened to like loads of the same songs.

I love this cover by pabrizzer from Australia. Upbeat and defiant, it demands, "Get out there and enjoy yourself before it's too darned late!" And just watch and listen to that great instrumental introduction. I need to STUDY this fella!

Thanks for dropping by.... now go and enjoy yourself!

Lewis Clifton - "I've Got A Girlfriend" by Billy Uke Scott

Lewis is one of the best young exponents of Formby-style playing.



Lewis Clifton performs a Billy Uke Scott classic on his Ludwig banjo-uke at the Chester Branch of the George Formby Society last week. Lewis has been a regular performer and a firm favourite at GFS meetings for about three years now. Still in his teens, he's one of the star players and has wonderful Formby technique.

Billy Uke Scott (1923-2004) from Sunderland was a real ukulele star in Britain during the 1940's and 50's. He was an honorary member of the George Formby Society, as is his great friend Alan Southworth, who writes about him here for the Society. That's a great, informative article and well worth reading!

A quickie post. But I thought you'd like this.... thanks for dropping in!

Ukey Dave - The Final Curtain

Today our friend Dave Withers, "Ukey Dave" to his friends the Seasonistas in the Ukulele Underground, is being laid to rest in his home town of Leicester.

He had a way with a song, he had a way a strum, he had a way with a video, and he had a way with people.

Each week, one of the Seasonistas hosts a light-hearted competition, a Youtube video with a song.... in September 2013, Dave took a turn, and this was his wrap-up video at the end of it. So very, very poignant now. He credits all the Seasonistas who took part that week. "The Final Curtain", "Stand By Me"... and they have, the Seasonistas, they have. Ukey Dave gave and gave, he hated to miss a Season, he loved to play and give support and encouragement to others - and now they're giving back.



Go and see.... Ukulele Underground, Seasons of the Ukulele, "Season 152,Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love for Ukey Dave"... has anyone had a week-long play-out like this is going to be.... he is already missed so much.

He came our way with music, with laughter, with encouragement and with love and we are all the richer for it.

I'm so glad I was one of the few Seasonistas fortunate enough to meet him and spend some ukulele time.

Thank you Dave, RIP.

My thoughts are with his family today.

One Hit Wonder by Paul Culkin

Here's a singer/songwriter with immense talent, and I'm thrilled to be posting this on here today. Paul Culkin from York. That's York, England, not New York, US! He has a way with a lyric that's inspired, and has written some of the funniest songs I've ever heard... can play a uke, too! I tell you from experience, he holds an audience in the palm of his hand. Here he is with his new Martin, and a new song. In case you're wondering, as I was, whether this is about a particular artist, it isn't.... but there were quite a few of these around in the "glam rock" era. Please enjoy.....



I'm hoping this will prove to be the first of a flush of new songs from Paul - it's wonderful stuff - this may be the first Paul Culkin song to appear on here, but I promise it won't be the last!