Masters of their art, each signature on my Little White Uke! Who's there so far?

My Little Blue Uke (sky-blue Mahalo, taken everywhere) has a Little White counterpart - the one I won (so proud!) in a songwriting competition hosted by one of the Seasonistas on the Ukulele Undergound Forum last Christmas. I generally keep it as my D uke and it comes out occasionally.

Just before I left home for GNUF (Grand Northern Ukulele Festival)on Friday, I had a brainwave... so many of my ukulele heroes would be there... why not ask them all to sign it? And I did!

Almost all of the signatures on here belong to players featured on this blog more than once.

What they all have in common is that I love their music and they are indeed masters of their art. And all are quite different.

I regret that I didn't catch Zoe Bestel to sign it. She just gets better and better. Her voice is ethereal and her delivery will break your heart. She is featured on this blog more than once, as a singer who plays ukulele and writes much of her own material.

The work of both Mike Hind and Ben Rouse is pretty new to me. But Mike Hind (AKA Uncle Elvis) just owned the stage during his set - he did indeed hold the audience in the palm of his hand ... and Ben Rouse supporting him on bass (as he supported others, as well as doing a great set in his own right on uke) was phenomenal, he tore the place up. Such nice fellas, too, both of them. So they are there, kindly gracing my Little White Uke with their signatures.

So who of my known favourites have you spotted? Well... there's Phil Doleman; (music from the 20's and 30's - a great musician and performer - and teacher!) Manitoba Hal, blues uker extraordinaire; Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee, jazz standards and original songs, (soon to be married.... wonderful...) Aaron Keim, (The Quiet American) - all-style fingerpickin and all-round super-duper musician; Peter Moss, long-time virtuoso player on wooden uke and banjo-uke, Mike Warren, exemplary Formby player who plays a mean wooden uke too... young Michael Adcock, who is fast making a name for himself on the uke scene, and last but not least, Mike Hind and Ben Rouse.

I have room for a few more.

I know who I want on that uke. Superb musicians and entertainers all. And there's a space on my wall where it will hang for a while and inspire me to...

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! That's the only way to go, folks... the only way to go.

Hawaii and a great uke festival (GNUF)... what more could a ukulele girl ask for?

Did I tell you I was going away for the holiday of a lifetime?

Across two ponds to finish up on a rock in Hawaii?

Sure I did! And we got back last Tuesday after five days on the loose in Honolulu and then a cruise round the islands, finishing up sailing across the North Pacific to Vancouver for a flight home to England and a few days jet-lag. And a ukulele festival. Ukafrolics galore, dear readers, ukafrolics galore! The festival was GNUF - the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival, held in Huddersfield 23rd and 24th May. It was fantastic. I've just read Barry Maz's comprehensive account of it in Got A Ukulele blog... and if you want to read all about it I suggest you hot-foot it over there because as always, it's very thorough, and very detailed. I'll be saying a few things about it over the next few days. For now, here's David Morgan (DJ Morgan Ukuleles) with the beautiful uke he made that became MINE a few weeks ago (yes I did tell you all about it...) enjoying the buzz and the music in the pre-festival get-together in the Head of Steam pub on Friday!

What a lovely fella he is!

And here's one from Hawaii....

Where is this and who are the two lovely fellas here? That's Yours Truly in the middle, of course, proudly sporting my Ukulele Underground teeshirt... answers please in the comments! You'll have to sign in to Google... and sorry but there are no prizes! I just want to know you're there, and on the ball, ukulele-wise!

She's the Most! video collaboration by Phil Doleman and Todd Baio

She's the Most - written by Murray Berlin... what a great collaboration this is! Lovely old song, great vocal by Todd... and you should know, dear readers, that's Phil Doleman on the small screen at the back - my new uke teacher! (Instrumental break, including the slide guitar - lovely stuff!)

Of course I shouldn't be blogging... I'm preparing for some fun-packed, ukulele-packed weeks ahead... a week or so around Hawaii, no less, and after that the uke festivals come fast and furious. My little blue travel uke is poised... I'll be telling you all about it, just as soon as I can....

Mike Warren, Leaning on a Lamppost...Ukulele Fever 2014

Mike Warren, one of the best exponents of the George Formby style of banjo-ukulele playing, playing at the concert "Ukulele Fever 2014" last October. George Formby's songs are often played with a backing band or backing track, but Mike plays unaccompanied here; it's a lovely performance of "Leaning on a Lamppost" and shows off his Formby-style expertise beautifully.

What is "Formby-style"? in a George Formby song, the song part (sung) is sung to a pared-back, simple accompaniment on ukulele, where the singing and the lyrics are the important bit - then comes a uke solo, usually banjo-uke, full of syncopated, tricky strumming techniques such as the split-stroke, which take ages to learn to do, especially at speed and in time, unless you're under 16......! (The GFS has many talented teenagers who play the style with great aplomb!)

It warms my heart to see George's music played at a ukulele event. Too many fans of the wooden uke in the UK disparage George and his music, which saddens me enormously, especially when it's done on stage. George Formby was a much-loved artist during the 1930's and 40's with his saucy songs full of inuendo, some of which were banned by the BBC! Not this song, though, which was written by Noel Gay and was first performed in the George Formby film "Feather Your Nest". It has become perhaps the most popular of all the songs George performed and a little lamppost is emblem and badge of the George Formby Society. George and his wife Beryl worked extensively during the Second World War for the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), and entertained civilians and troops, and by 1946 it was estimated that he had performed in front of three million service personnel.

If you want to learn to play Formby-style, visit Mike Warren's website...

And please - don't knock George. He's a Ukulele Hero!

Thanks for dropping in!

What - Widecombe Fair on Ukulele? Oh YES!

But this is NOT the song that you may have learned all those years ago - oh no!


As a child, one of my prize possessions was "The News Chronicle Songbook" - a book full of all manner of songs, which had belonged to my grandmother.

It was the only sheet music in the house, and I used it to play my recorder. I thought it a treasure trove, and discovered all sorts of songs which I would never have come across otherwise... sea shanties and old folk songs, spirituals, hymns and carols... it's still among my treasures now, and if it seemed battered then now it's even more so.
One of the songs I learned and loved was "Widdicombe Fair".. Widecombe-in-the-Moor is a village in Dartmoor National Park in Devon, and the song tells of Old Uncle Tom Cobley and All.... a tale of woe ... Dartmoor is NOT a place one would wish to get lost. If you don't know the old song, hear it here..

Anyway... as I told you last time, I have been hosting Season of the Ukulele, number 164, on the Ukulele Underground Forum. As my theme, I chose "All the Fun of the Fair"... and one of the "Seasonistas" found..... this video. I think it's a spine-tingling performance of this song by "Phil" of the Yorkshire Dales..... Here's his own page.... PhilzMusic

The song was written by Steve Knightley of the English folk duo Show of Hands, and is a reworking of the title and the theme of the old song. It includes the names of the characters and even Tom Pierce and his grey mare - but you never heard this tale before. I love it.... and had to share.

See Steve Knightley perform his song live with his South American cuatro here

Thanks for dropping in! Coming up - some of the songs from my "All the Fun of the Fair" week. Don't go too far away, now!

A Day in the Life - The Ukelites cover... Amazing.

A uke and a U-bass and without doubt the most challenging of Beatles numbers .... unbelievable. Are these two something special or are they not? They are. THEY ARE!

Quickie post - could not delay. A bonus for the day! You are sure to enjoy this as much as I did!

Spring arrives and I'm hosting a Season of the Ukulele...

The land is greening at last, under our eyes. Along the roads, the hawthorn hedgerows are densely speckled with bright green - the buds that have just burst and will, within days, clothe them in the rich new green of the true spring. I love it. My heart and spirits rise along with the sun and the sap.

From my window, the horse chestnut tree in the front garden has also burst its buds and the leaves have begun to unfurl... and the pale pink cammellia below the bedroom window is smothered in perfect blooms.

I'm busy. I'm hosting this week's Ukulele Underground Forum "Seasons of the Ukulele" and the theme is "All The Fun Of The Fair". I Haven't hosted before and it's great fun - the variety and quality of the entries is amazing - as host I need to watch each video entry and choose winners after the week has ended. Five days still to go. If you follow the link, you can take a peek yourself... why not join up and join in?

And I had a uke lesson a couple of days ago, with Phil Doleman. I think I'm doing okay. I took my new DJ Morgan concert ukulele. He was impressed with it. I'm going to do a video review of it just a soon as I get a chance... and I'll post some of the entries from "All the Fun of the Fair" week.

And now.. washing, dusting, places to go, people to see, uke to practise.... onward and upward.

Thanks for dropping in!

OldGardnerGuy and a North Country Girl - ukulele

"Remember me to one who lives there,
She once was a true love of mine..."



A stunningly beautiful video I simply had to share with you... a ukulele cover of the Dylan song from the 1960's, "Girl From The North Country" by one of the regular Seasonistas of the Ukulele Underground Forum, known to many of us "Rob", AKA "weegingayin" and on his YT channel, OldGardnerGuy.

The quotes from the song Scarborough Fair are clear.

The tender vocal treatment of this song is as mesmerising as it is different, as is the ukulele "dry-strum" accompaniment, done to rhythmic perfection here. All beautifully enhanced by the video images of north country Finland, shot by Rob near his home.

Made my day. I hope it helps to make yours.

Dave Morgan. Luthier, DJ Morgan Ukuleles, (Dudley, England) - remember that name!

I am the very proud owner of a new hand-built ukulele, and it's gorgeous.

This was not a commission, but an off-the-shelf purchase that just happened to be exactly what I was looking for - a concert uke in solid mahogany with 14 frets to the body, fret markers to the fingerboard and the side, a nice rosette, good geared tuners... the builder's name is Dave Morgan, (DJ Morgan Ukuleles) and is based in Dudley, a town not far from me in the English West Midlands. We chatted on the phone and he offered to bring the uke round for me to see. All arranged for yesterday morning. I waited with bated breath - would this uke be heavy? Over-built? Dead? Thick sound-board? I needn't have worried, it's beautiful, beautifully made and sounds just great. I'm thrilled to bits with it.

Dave Morgan is a cabinet-maker and guitarist of thirty years turned ukulele enthusiast and luthier. He just loves building ukuleles! The workmanship was always going to be spot-on. He says "All of my ukuleles are completely handmade, all timber components are individually crafted by myself even the kerfing strips. The only finished components I buy are the strings, fret wire and the tuners. As all my ukuleles are individually made they will all be unique in appearance depending on the materials I choose."

The intonation is perfect, with a saddle angled to aid this. And there are some inspired touches - the fret markers (5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th) are made of green abalone, which looks gorgeous. Also tiny ones to the side of the neck - I like those. The rosette is white with black edges, and is perfectly placed around the sound hole. And see that headstock? The three stripes? So subtle that I didn't notice them until Dave had gone home. Beautiful! Noticing that was like an extra surprise.

Grover tuners, nut and saddle hand-made from corian, rosewood finger board and bridge. And it is a joy to play. I'm going to do a video review - watch out for that!

And you know what else? He really is such a lovely fella, a great craftsman and I wish him well.

Like I said, watch that name - Dave Morgan, DJ Morgan Ukuleles - from the Black Country.

He's on facebook and sells on Etsy and ebay. As I write, he has another mahogany concert like mine and some gorgeous sopranos with Sitka spruce tops.... you really should look!

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!