Live 'Ukulele

Pedal steel guitars are heard a lot in country music. They make up a good part of the fills in many of the popular country songs. The reason for the distinct sound lies in the pedals and knee levers that raise or lower the pitch of the strings. So, in a nutshell it’s the string bends that define the sound. To achieve that sound on an ‘ukulele you will be bending one string but leaving the other the same. The hardest thing about these kinds of bends is getting enough power from your fingers to actually move the strings (be sure to double up your fingers for the bend). Here are some nice sounding bends that you can integrate into you ‘ukulele music.

A |-10-------|-10-------|--------|-7------|
E |-10b12r10-|-12b13r12-|-8------|-8b10r8-|
C |----------|----------|-9b10r9-|--------|
G |----------|----------|--------|--------|

RIP Captain Google.

To continue with my ever ongoing Santana kick, here is my latest tab. Samba Pa Ti is from the Abraxas album and is one of the most beautiful instrumentals I have heard. I tabbed all of the main melody parts but left the solo at the end alone (no point doing that as Santana is the only one who could ever do his own solo justice). It’s a pretty straightforward song, the only things to watch for are the double bends which might take some finagling. You can always play just the melody note, but if you can do the double stops, more power to you as they sound awesome. Brittni Paiva also covers this song, but I haven’t heard her version so I can’t tell you how similar they are.

Samba Pa Ti ‘ukulele tab

~Hippie Guy

What is the best cheap ‘ukulele I can buy?
Cheap is relative in this case, because you can pick up an ABC store ‘ukulele for $15 that is horrible. So, you probably want to buy something that is at least $50. Kala, Makala, and Lanikai are respectable brands that will get you started at a reasonable price. Competition between companies has eliminated almost all of the weak products.

I want to invest in a high quality ‘ukulele. What is the best brand/kind?
There is no “best brand” of Hawaiian made ‘ukulele. Kamaka, Koaloha, Kanile’a, G String, Ko’olau, etc. all make great instruments. Spending that much money on an ‘ukulele though, would almost warrant a trip to the islands (like you need an excuse) to shop around and try all the different makes. I have heard of only a few cases in which the buyer was not happy with the $1000 uke that he/she just picked up (and most of them were because they didn’t do their research and neglected to “go shopping”). Read the page on buying tips and check out the manufacturer’s web sites. Beyond the big Hawaiian made ‘ukulele companies, there are individual luthiers who do fabulous work. If you are looking for a custom instrument that says “Joe Blow” on the headstock, then the one man shop is probably going to be your best bet. You can find lists of custom luthiers on these sites: http://www.hawaiianmusichistory.com/ukulele/luthiers.htm, and http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12834

What are the best kind of ‘ukulele strings?
It depends on your ‘ukulele and preferences. If you like warm a sound, you might want to try Hilo, D’addario, or Ko’olau. If you prefer a bright sound you might want Worth strings, or Aquila. Another thing to keep in mind is that if your ‘ukulele sounds really bright or warm, you can use different types of strings to mellow out the sound. Everybody has their own favorite strings, so if you ask you will get many different answers. Experimentation is the best way to find your favorite strings.

Should I get a high G or a low G string?
It depends. A high G is the traditional Hawaiian tuning and has the signature “plinky” sound. The low G is a little more “new school” and adds 5 extra notes below middle C for a more even sound. The best option would be to have two ‘ukuleles that you can string with both tunings (if you like them evenly that is). But in the real world that might not happen. So you will have to choose your favorite or get a 5 string instrument that has both. Again, experimenting is the only way you will discover your preference.

What are the chords/tabs for ______________?
If it’s not already on the site I probably don’t know, but here are some great places to search before you send in a request (remember, guitar and piano chord names are the same as ‘ukulele chord names):

• Google – just search “[song name] chords” or “[song name] tab”. Sometimes you will need to add the artist’s name too: “[song name] by [artist name] chords (or tabs)”
• Tropical Storm Hawai’i
• Ultimate Guitar
• Chordie

Is there an easy way to play E major?
No, sorry. Try using different fingerings or playing just the top three strings at the 4^th fret. Practice is the solution for difficult chords.

What size ‘ukulele should I get?
Again it is a matter of preference. For a first ‘ukulele though, I would suggest one of the middle sizes (concert or tenor). This way you can get a feel for playing and compare your instrument to others that you play. For more on the different sizes read “’Ukulele Sizes”.

Harmony is a really neat facet of music, it’s kind of a shame that there aren’t more harmonized ‘ukulele parts.

Anytime you play a chord you are playing harmony. Anytime one or more people sing backup in a different interval they are singing harmony. But there is plenty of info out there about that kind of harmony. This lesson will focus on two ‘ukuleles playing lead at the same time in different intervals. The Allman Brothers made this style famous with their simultaneous guitar licks.

I will use “E Ku’u Morning Dew” as an example for building a harmony part. It is in G. We start again with the lovely major scale.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7  8-1
G A B C D E F# G

The melody of “E Ku’u Morning Dew” goes like this:

|-------0-2-3-0-
|-----3---------
|---2-----------
|-0-------------

The notes are: G D G A B C A.

There are several common ways of harmonizing notes – 3rds, 5ths, and 6ths. There are others that have a different sound, but they are not so widely used. Any can be used in an ‘ukulele part, so you will have to listen to them and decide what sound you like best. You are probably going to want to record yourself playing the main melody so that you have something to build from. Or if you have a friend who plays, that works too.

I’ll start harmonizing with thirds. To find a harmony note, first locate the main melody note in the scale. Starting with the first G that appears in the melody.

G a b c d e f# G


Then count up a third, counting the start note and end note.

1 2 3
G A B C D E F# G

The third note is the harmony note – B. To figure out the rest of the harmony part, just start on the melody note and count up a third.

Main melody: G D  G A B C A
3rd harmony: B F# B C D E C

To figure out the 5^th harmony just count up a fifth.

Main melody: G D G A B  C A
5th harmony: D A D E F# G E

To figure out 6^th harmony just count up a sixth.

Main melody: G D G A  B C A
6th harmony: E B E F# G A F#

You can add harmony to any melody or solo. Experiment.

This is a great site about the basics of jazz improvisation. Marc Sabatella covers many aspects of the genre including: chords, scales, accompaniment, theory, etc. It is written with a number of instruments in mind, so as long as you have the basics of theory and how an ‘ukulele can fit in figured out, there is a ton to learn here.

A Jazz Improvisation Primer

Slash chords can be confusing, because on top of the hundreds of normal chords to be learned, add a slash and you have a whole new meaning.

A slash chord is written like this: C/B, G7/A, etc…

What a slash chord is, is a normal chord voicing (before the slash) with an added bass note (after the slash). The bass note is supposed to be the lowest note played. With the limited number of strings on an ‘ukulele, adding a note on the lowest string can change the whole makeup of the chord. You will have to move the location of the notes around until you can have the bass note and the main chord in a usable fingering. It gets tricky to do slash chords right if you play with a high G string. So for this lesson I’ll write for a low G.

A lot of times a slash chord makes things look simple, but as you try and figure out the bass note you realize that it is really another way of writing this chord, or that chord.

For example, a slash chord would be something like: C/B. So put B on the G string – there is your bass note. But by doing that you take away the G note from the C triad, so move it to the E string, 3^rd fret. Now you have eliminated the E note from the triad, so move it to the C string, 4^th fret. Now you have the C triad notes plus the bass note. 4433 - this is a Cmaj7 chord. So C/B is just a hard way to write Cmaj7.

Here is another example: Em/C. Because there are already two Gs in an open Em chord, the open G string can be used for the bass note very easily. Add the C note on the 5^th fret of the top string – it’s still the lowest note – guess what! It’s Cmaj7 again - 5432.

G7/A is a harder one because a 7^th chord already uses up all of the ‘ukulele’s strings to hold the 4 notes. So if we add a an extra note to the mix we will need 5 strings to house all of the notes. The ‘ukulele does not have a fifth string to give, so to fit the bass note one of the G7 notes needs to go. Usually you can get away with removing the root note from a big chord, so I would take away the open G and replace it with the A bass. This is a G9 chord. G9 is an extension of G7 – if you had the room you would just add the 9^th (2) note of the scale to G7. It adds more color.

So you’ve probably noticed by now that slash chords are kind of pointless (at least for the ‘ukulele). I find that they are, but as long as they are found in sheet music we will have to know how to decipher them.

This song was requested by Ole. Off of the early Santana album “Abraxas”, Black Magic Woman has one of the most memorable guitar intros ever. It arranges for ‘ukulele nicely. Here it is:

Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen ‘ukulele tab

This is an interesting idea, one string tabs. The melody can be played on any string, just follow the fret numbers. I could see this being great for beginning ‘ukulele players who want to try some easy picking.

One String Tabs

Here is an easy way to create ‘ukulele intros and outros for Hawaiian style songs like “Sophisticated Hula” and “Little Rock Getaway”.

I learned this trick from Kimo Hussey who said that the most important thing is that it sounds good – it doesn’t matter what chord progression you use. That said, the idea is based around a 4 chord progression: I, VIm, IV, V7. This is the progression that is used in “Surf” and many other songs. By themselves those chords sound pretty “Surf-ish”, so they need to be jazzed out. To jazz things up we will use substitution chords.

Substitution chords are chords that fit right over the top of the normal chord and add a different sound without disturbing the tonality of the main chord. Here is a chart of C substitution chords. For example, C6 can fit over C, Adim can fit over Am, Dm7 fits over F, and G7 stays the same. Any combination of chords that sound good will work, so experiment to find your favorite sounds. Here is a chart of substitution chords for this progression. Pick any chord from the left column, and work your way through the other columns picking one chord from each and by the time you get to the right side you will have a snazzy intro or outro.

C     | F     | Am   | G7   |
C6    | F6    | Adim | G9   |
Cmaj7 | Fmaj7 | Am7  | G11  |
Cmaj9 | Fmaj9 | A7b9 | G13  |
C6/9  | F6/9  | Am6  | G7b9 |
Cadd9 | Fadd9 |      |      |


You can transpose this into any key.

A |---------------0-
E |---0---0---0-4---
C |-3---3---2-------
G |-----------------

Kainoa is the guy behind Easy ‘Ukulele.com. He has been working on the site for quite some time, sharing his knowledge through video lessons and articles. I asked Kainoa if he would be wiling to do an interview for Live ‘Ukulele and he answered: “Blast me over your questions!”. So I did. Here are his answers - thanks Kainoa!

Hippie Guy: What inspired you to start Easy ‘Ukulele.com?

Kainoa: It all started when I was in High School. I had a bunch of friends that played “Jawaiian” music back in the early 90’s. It’s pretty much Hawaii’s version of Reggae music… Jamaican+Hawaiian=Jawaiian. Then I enrolled in “Polynesian Music” during my Sophomore year in High School. I was brought up listening to and “Trying” to play Hawaiian music my whole entire life, as with many Hawaiian kids, so I thought it made sense and it was the “In” thing too!! So while growing up my “‘Ukulele Idols” were Peter Moon, Moe Keale and Eddie Kamae. During High School it was Kelly Boy Delima, Troy Fernandez and Israel Kamakawiwoole. Yup, showing my age now!! So now, here I am in High School, listening to my friends play “Tropical Baby” by Kapena (Kelly Boy ripping up the ‘ukulele solos), “Tropical Hawaiian Day” by Ka’au Crater Boys (Troy Fernandez shredding his ‘ukulele) and “Henehene Kou Aka” by Israel Kamakawiwoole. Now I really got the “Bug”. I really wanted someone to show me how the heck these guys shred on the uke like that. So I took it upon myself, to learn as much as I could and learned how to play by ear. During my Sophomore year, entering my Junior year, I bought Kapena’s, Ka’au Crater Boys and Braddah Iz’s CD’s to teach myself by ear. It wasn’t easy in the beginning!! But after a year or so, of grueling daily practice, I kind of got it down. After that, I said to myself, “I’m gonna find a way to share the things that I learned, to try and make it easier for other people who are interested in learning how to play the ‘ukulele!!” So finally, I’ve decided to put a website together, to teach free ‘ukulele lessons. [www.easyukulele.com]

HG: What is your favorite part of the site that you would like more people to see?

K: Everything!! As well as my other favorites, liveukulele.com and ukuleleunderground.com!!

HG: What kind of process do you use to make your videos? Do you just fly by the seat of your pants or do you use a script?

K: I just set up my camcorder and record!! Just give ‘um, Hawaiian Style!! Actually, I should start using a script!! HAHA!!

HG: The ‘ukulele that I see you play on your videos doesn’t look like any I’ve seen before. Who is it made by?

K: The ‘ukulele that’s seen on most of my videos is a Custom Tenor Cutaway G-String ‘Ukulele, made by Derick Shimizu. The other one is another Custom Tenor Cutaway Heart and Soul ‘Ukulele, made by my friend Corey Ho’omana. Really awesome ‘ukuleles!!

HG: Is Easy ‘Ukulele your only musical outlet or do you play gigs, teach lessons, etc. as well?

K: Besides easyukulele.com, I’m currently in a Hawaiian Trio, called Hali’i. I also used to be in a “Jawaiian” group called “96744?, back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

HG: Go check out Easy ‘Ukulele and learn from Kainoa’s video lessons and articles! Thanks for doing the interview Kainoa.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go down to the Hawaiian Style Grill for their summer kick off ho’olaule’a. Good food, people, and music, it’s hard to find a better day. I had a great time (though it was kind of cold for a “summer” kick off). Throughout the day there were performances by several groups of musicians and halau. The most exciting thing for me was the chance to play two songs with Dominator at the open mic. We played Gently Weeps and Gypsy ‘Ukulele. It was so great to be able to have someone to perform with. I was honored to have Dom come down and play with me. Thank you Dominator, hopefully we can do this again. Here are some pictures and a video of our performance.

The sound booth

The guys (and Carla) from the grill playing a couple songs

Kanaka916 singing “Flying”

Some of the board members from ‘Ukulele Underground. Left to right: dhkane, Dominator, Hippie Guy, FHS-72, Torao, and Kanaka916

The tab king himself! Thank you Dom for coming down to play with me!

Shave ice: like a snow cone, but with finer ice and better flavors.

Jesse belting out some awesome vocals

Tokai

The Jakalaka band! From left: Kanaka916, Jody, dhkane, and FSH-72