It seems like more and more people are buying ukuleles these days -the New York Times certainly seems to think so - and there are sure to be plenty of ukuleles on Christmas lists this year. But buying your first ukulele can be a tricky task. Unlike buying a guitar, your local music shop isn’t likely to have a big range of ukuleles for you to try. You will get a much better selection online - particuarly on eBay. But that does mean you won’t be able to try before you buy. So here are a few pointers to help you decide which ukulele to buy.
Visit Buy a Ukulele
On my other site, I have a section called Buy a Ukulele which has reviews from ukers, descriptions and videos of all the most common ukuleles around (both new and vintage). Continue reading “Buy a Ukulele: What’s Best for a Beginner?”
Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (or IZ for short) is one of the most popular and most recognisable ukulele player. His version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow has become on of the songs most associated with the ukulele. With him inspiring so many people to pick up the uke, many people are wondering which ukulele he played.
Israel Kamakawiwoole’s main ukulele was a Martin Tenor. You can see him using it in the famous video for Over the Rainbow. He had this ukulele strung with Low G strings.
Where Can I Buy A Tenor Martin Ukulele?
It’s not that easy, or that cheap. Martin don’t make tenor ukuleles any more, so you’ll have to try to buy one second hand. You can usually find one or two Martin Tenor ukuleles on eBay. You can expect to pay around $1,000 for one in good condition.
If you’re wondering how to re-string a ukulele, Aldrine has made a video walking you through the process. Continue reading “How to String A Ukulele Video”
There are certain songs that work really well on the ukulele. Some of them were written on and for the ukulele, others have been adapted to the ukulele and have since become uke standards.
Old School Ukulele Songs
Aloha Oe: One of the reasons the ukulele became so successful was the support of the Hawaiian Royal family in the late 19th Century. Aloha Oe was apparently written by Queen Liliuokalani. It has since became a ukulele standard and has even been covered by Lilo and Stitch.
Ain’t She Sweet: The 1920s saw the ukulele become incredibly popular on the US mainland and this song became a ukulele standard. It was even done by the Beatles with George Harrison on uke in The Beatles documentary.
Tonight You Belong To Me: The scene The Jerk where Steve Martin plays this song on the uke made it an instant ukulele standard.
Five Foot Two: Another 20s standard that works perfectly on the ukulele.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Made a ukulele standard by Israel Kamakwiwo’ole and immortalised further by Jason Castro when he played it on the ukulele on American Idol. You can find the Jason Castro version of the Somewhere Over the Rainbow ukulele chords here.
New School Ukulele Songs
Five Years Time: Noah and the Whale’s hit ukulele song. Perfect for beginners with it being just three easy chords: C, F and G.
I’m Yours: The Jason Mraz song has been picked up my the ukulele community. You can find oodles of covers (and parodies) of this song on the ukulele.
There are plenty of ukulele chord charts online for standard soprano tuning (gCEA re-entrant). You can find chord charts in both PDF, doc and jpg format on this page.
For a more interactive and decorative chord chart (of sorts) check out Sheep Entertainment. But be careful with the tuning as the default is D tuning.
Ukulele Chord Books
The online chord charts are perfectly adequate for beginners. But if you want something entirely comprehensive, it’s worth investing in a ukulele chord book. At $5 and 1,000 chord shapes, the Hal Leonard Ukulele Chord Finder is well worth the investment for ukers looking to expand their chord vocabulary.
Jake Shimabukuro’s instrumental version of George Harrison’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps on Midnight Ukulele Disco has quickly become a ukulele classic, just as much associated with the ukulele as Tiptoe Through the Tulips and Tiny Bubbles. So it’s no surprise that the question I get asked more than any other is, “Where can I get tabs for While My Ukulele Gently Weeps?”
Almost as legendary as the song itself is Dominator’s tab of it. Unfortunately, he was asked to take the tab down by Jake. I have, ahem, heard from people with much looser morals than me that you can find this tab on the torrents.
Alternatively, Ed Whitehead has done a ukulele tab of While My Guitar Gently Weeps as well.
Or, if you want to make your own version of the tune, there’s a tab of the ‘bare bones’ of the tune here.
