Ask Ukulala Vol. 4: Gaullimafry and KING DONKEY

what happened your blog? why haven't you been posting? Amandine

my... blog? blog.... blog... hmmm i don't... oh crap, my ukulele blog!!! i totally forgot about my blog this eleven-and-a-half months. i hope nobody else noticed....

Well, back to answering your uke and other questions! (how come nobody ever asks me relationship or stock trading questions on here?)

Hey man, I played your version of Postcards on a Baritone Uke and it sounded pretty good. However, due to the tuning differences from that of a Soprano, it didn't sound completely right. Would this be played differently on a Baritone? Thanks, -Harry

Interesting. I haven't done much with baritone ukes, but my understanding is that they are generally tuned very differently than the standard GCEA concert and soprano ukes. Instead, they are usually tuned in G, which is DGBE.

This means you have two options:

1. find out the proper chords for the baritone and play those instead. You may have some difficulty with the hammerons, and it will likely sound quite a bit different but be in the right key. http://www.ukulele.nl/chordfinder.php (click on baritone on the middle right side)
2. (BEST OPTION) Get a capo and put it on the 5th fret of your baritone. It will now have the exact same tuning as a concert or soprano uke in C, and the chords as shown in the video will work exactly the same.

Please let me know how this goes! Getting a capo if you don't have one is a good idea anyway. Allows for some interesting sounds and easy key changes.

okay, so i got my ukulele today and i got it tuned up right and all, but while playing it goes out of tune, and im only playing for like 5-10 minutes tops. what can i do
KING DONKEY

Editor's note: Artist's rendition



Hi KING DONKEY,

if you look on the tuning pegs, there should be little screws on the top of each one. Tighten those a bit to keep the peg from slipping out of tune. You may need a smaller-than-normal screwdriver.

Also, the more you paly the more the uke will settle in and require less tuning. In the beginning the strings will need to stretch and settle a bit and the screws will need tightening, etc.

Also, even though the uke wood is sweet sweet delicious good, your pegs will stay tighter if you can keep your gums and maw off them.

Good luck!

I have a question...

I'm wondering if you know what chord this is. (if it is a chord)

I put in a picture of it but if for some reason you can't see it, the layout thing for it is this:

1st 3rd A |___|___|_x_| G C E A E |_x_|___|___| |__|__X__| first fret C |___|___|___| |__|__|__ | G |___|___|___| |__|__|__ X third fret

Editor's Note: formatting worked over email, got destroyed in cut-and-paste to this blog.
I hope this is clear! Thank you!!
-Taylor

Hi Taylor!

This is an easy one thanks to a great ukulele tool out there:

http://www.ukulele.nl/chordfinder.php

Step one is to click on the tuning you are using over on the right, so either of the C options (soprano C or tenor C). Then click the picture of the ukulele so the yellow dots are where you put your fingers for the chord. Underneath it will say which chords it is, and it isn't necessarily just one. There are so many different kinds of chords out there, a lot of times with only four notes to work with on a uke there will be a lot of overlap.

So your configuration (and you should enter it to test) shows that your chord is both a Csus4 and an Fsus2.

The sus (stands for suspended) chords are beautiful if you are playing them with the right other chords. They work well in place of the standard chord to add a bit of extra emotion and variety without sounding too out of place or changing the key. It may be worth looking into some of the theory if you are interested to learn more about it. Here are a few places with some more info, although some of it is annoyingly technical:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chord_(music)#Suspended_chords

http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1381990

Congratulations for discovering it on your own, it's cool when what you think sounds interesting turns out to be backed up by music theory (or at least I think it's cool, which might not mean that much actually).

hey man i know you probably get this a million times especially since some dude apparently played this song on a ukulele on american idol or something but Beirut does a great cover of the song Hallelujah and i love it. ukehunt gave me the chords but the strumming is throwing me for a loop. im new to the ukulele had mine less than a month it was a birthday gift from my lady. im loving the hell out of it. and cant stop playing. ukehunt is a great sight but this site excited the hell out of me.to be honest. but the version as im sure you know is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnmact0wxNs

i mean im sure you busy so im not asking for like a video really (unless you had the time ha!) but just some pointers on ow he plays/strums this bad boy. im sure he uses hammer ons oo but i can figure that out im sure once im strumming it even remotely lose to correct.

let me know. thanks a lot keep up the great work. love this all.

carry the fire,
-Joshua

I HAVE been getting a lot of requests for this song. I really should learn it I suppose.... but I haven't yet. When I do, I will definitely do a video for it and let you know.... it really is a beautiful song. Maybe too beautiful, I dont want to butcher it too bad.

btw, your lady sounds like a real find!

Hiya,

First of all..thanks for making such great tutorials. You are the best I've found in my many searches. I've learned a lot from you! I was wondering if you have or will you have a tutorial for Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (Or Jeff Buckley) either the strumming or picking version.. Great song easy chords just the strumming and picking I have trouble with. Any tips on how to become better at strumming??

Thanks! -Rebecca

I don't know if I will be doing Hallelujah, but I have had it requested a few times (see above!) and if I can figure out how to play it I will put up a video...

My advice for strumming: just play every time you get a chance sitting around the house, and keep your left hand on one or two chords and just try to get as many different kinds of sound as you can with your right hand. Strum with one finger, or all your fingers... try to play it like a drum almost. The idea is to condition your hand to hit the strings without it feeling awkward. To remember what strumming was like when you first started, try switching sides and strumming with your left hand. This should feel extremely awkward, and it will serve to remind you how far you've come....

Also: I forgot to tell Rebecca when I emailed her back, but thank you for the kind words! I'm so glad to hear the tutorials have been useful for people... what it really means is that there are lots of people who share some love for good songs and good uking.

Hello there! I'm a Spanish boy, from Madrid, and I've just got to know Beirut's music thanks to a friend like 2 months ago. I like it so so much. As i was lookin for videos on outube i found yours and then thought bout buyin' an ukelele. My doubt, if you could please answer it, is this: which kind of ukelele does he play? is it a sopran, bariton... Thank you so much for it!
Jonas

Hi Jonas,

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you, I was hoping to hear directly from the source about what Beirut used for his recordings but I haven't heard back from them (him?) yet.

I did however find this discussion on Ukulele Hunt about the ukes he uses in his videos and on the road:
http://ukulelehunt.com/2008/06/18/zach-condon-of-beiruts-ukuleles/

Apparently they are (relatively) cheap, including one that he plays on stage (the Lanikai Tenor uke) that goes for just $99!

According to the Uke Hunt discussion, he uses all different sizes except the soprano. Tenor, baritone, and concert are all on that list. If I were you, I would stick to Tenor or Concert, because traditionally the tuning for the baritone uke (DGBE) is different than the tuning for standard ukes (GCEA), and Beirut tends to use standard uke tuning (or a close variation of it) in his songs.

I play a Concert uke, and feel like I get a very similar sound. I hope this has helped and is not too late to help with your purchase!

I hope this email finds you well. Thought you might get a kick out of a the brand new “Swine Flu” music video featuring my trusty ukulele :)
Swine Flu can be viewed through the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exC6uKiHI9I

Amelia www.myspace.com/ameliams
Www.facebook.com/electricukulele
Www.ameliarobinson.co.uk

Not technically a question, but I'm going to allow this. Very cute song and video with high quality sound and production.

I checked out the site and she makes a lot of good songs and even has a service where she writes and records special songs for a special occasions. Very neat entrepreneurial idea. I wonder how much it costs... probably something you find out through the consultation.

Hello, I was wondering what kind of Ukulele you play in your videos. It has a beautiful sound.
-Noah

This is probably the question I get asked the most over email and on my youtube channel. I should probably just post it on the main page, but I probably won't. Anyway, I have a Hamano Concert H-100C ukulele.

I will say I have been extremely happy with the purchase. I think it is a great investment to spend a bit more than usual on a solid instrument with a pretty tone. Buy something you can't wait to play!

I just started playing ukulele on my cheap, $13 instrument from a souvenir shop in Hawaii. Day 3 and your YouTube videos have taught me more than the cruddy book I bought to go with it ever did, including Beirut songs! (I've been playing trumpet for 9 years and have wanted to play Postcards from Italy since I first heard it)

Now, for the question at hand, I was wondering if you might ever do a tutorial video for "Sea of Love" by Cat Power?

Thanks a bunch!
-Nicholas

whoa, cool. it took me so long to learn those songs i forget some people can actually do it in three days.....

I would LOVE to play Sea of Love and do a video for it. I haven't learned it yet though, but I think it would be a pretty great one to know. It's one of my favorite songs ever. Although I should say, the song I fell in love with the original by Phil Phillips.

When I wrote back to you, I was mixing this song up with another similar song I tried to learn. Basically when i told you it was very difficult I was way wrong: Sea of Love is not hard to play a basic version of. It is just four looping chords (G, B, C, A) played at a steady rhythm.

In terms of a strumming pattern, if I do a video for this one it will likely try to follow the Phil Phillips version's rhythm. I think Cat Power did a very pretty minimalist cover, but man, I love the original.

thanks for writing, reading, uking, loving good music

Hello there!:) Thank you for your blog. I have learned so much from you, you are a wonderful teacher. Up here in the cold north, it is really delightful to play on my most beautifull ukulele from Hawaii. It is indeed a wonderful uke. Anyways. I was clicking around on your site and saw a song you really, really wanted to learn: New Slang by The Shins. This is what I found out:

Tune: G-C-E-A Chords: Am/C, F/C, C, G, Am, F Am/C F/C C G Gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth. C Am G
Only, i don't know how they got out, dear. Am/C F/C C G
Turn me back into the pet that i was when we met. C Am G
I was happier then with no mind-set.
C
And if you'd 'a took to me like F G
A gull takes to the wind. C
Well, i'd 'a jumped from my tree F
And i'd a danced like the king of the eyesores
G And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well.

That's all, thank you for blogging and keep smiling.
Hugs from uke-chic, Norway
Eir

wow, this is really great, thank you for putting this together! I have been doing less on the site recently (partly so i can focus on making my own music), but i have always wanted to know how to play this song. it's such a beautiful one. big :)

Also: So I told Eir that I would try this out as soon as possible---- and now that I have had a chance..... WTF? This song is fucking impossible for me to learn for some reason. See, this is why there needs to be more tutorial videos out there. I try to play this right now and everything seems wrong, and I can't get the timing, and I don't know how to strum it right, and... and.... why doesn't someone put a video up for this one so I can learn it!?

Well, clearly there is more work to be done.

~
Peace! til next time.....

Ask Ukulala Vol. 3: Bosnia to the Moustache Empire

Yeeeeeeehaw, time for another round of Ask Ukulala Anything!

It's been a little while, but I have noticed I get enough questions about once a month, so I think from now on I'll try to make these approximately a monthly event.

We've got some excellent questions again this round, so I'll do my best to answer, starting with Piennoich from across the ocean in Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Hello my friends :)
;)
Piennoich, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Hi Piennoich! (mangles pronunciation as "pie"-"noych", smiles inquisitively, wonders which sex the name applies to)

I guess you have no question in particular, but, believe me, I read that wink loud and clear.

;)
:)
;)

Do you play World of Warcraft? Would you consider doing so if I sent you one?
Kelly, Circus clown (seriously!)

Well, the thing about Worl---wait a minute.... Are you reaaaally a circus clown?!?!

I feel like these questions are suddenly going the wrong direction. If you're really a circus clown, I want to know MORE. Like, what kind of clown tricks do you do? And are all your friends carnies and how do those flexy people carry heavy things without their bodies bending and how does that guy know how heavy everyone is and what do you feed the bears and is your whole family in the circus and---I'm trying to write down all my questions for you... but ..... head.... exploding..... with questions......... YEARGGGGH! *pop*

....

Ok, wait, I'm fine. Must have just been a blood clot.

Anyway, I don't play World of Warcraft. The last Warcraft I played was Warcraft II, and it was awesome (my favorite quote, from the two-headed ogre with the British accent: "We're ready master. No we're not!").

It's probably too late for me to get into Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) at this point if I haven't yet, so I probably wouldn't sta----wait, are you really a circus clown though?

Do you have videos of yourself online? And where do you access the internet?

*more delicious flattery* Also, teaching helps to learn, so i bet that your answering all these questions advances you even further.
A Fan, Everywhere

You, Mr. or Ms. Fan, are correct. Part of why I started making the tutorial videos and answering questions was so that I would be forced to figure it all out myself before I opened my big yapper. The questions aren't quite as rigorous as the videos, since I like to have a bit of fun with them, but I do try to address the substantial questions with real answers as best I can.

In fact, I might go out on a limb here and say teaching is the best the way to learn. So... everyone should go teach someone else how to play their favorite uke song, and let me know how it goes!

a lot of kids at my school have been pressuring me to try ukulele, but I've heard from adults it's a gateway silly instrument and can lead to the playing of yet sillier instruments. Could you possiably skip straight to the siller instruments? i'm a busy kid, and i can't aford to waste time on the uke when i know there are more hard-core silly instruments out there. Maybe you can post soungs on the jew's harp, or a series of wine glasses filled to different levels. OH! hows about an accordian song?! that big, ol' squeezy box is the bees knees.

...

Marduk

Marduk, Mustachioed child upon a beardo's lap

Ooooh, this questioner also included a link to what appears to be a photo of himself:

I like how their coats match, but I'd be concerned if I were that guy that the kid is not actually his. I mean, look at that blond hair and relatively tiny moustache....

Anyway, back to the meat of this question: silly instrument!? SILLY!?!? DAMN YOU TINY TIM!

Nobody thought the ukulele was silly back before that moron started playing it. It's an amazingly versatile, portable, and yet simple instrument. It has a long proud history as a fusion of Portuguese culture and Hawaiian craftsmanship, and it was the instrument of choice here in the US during the 1920s jazz--the "icon of the Jazz Age" according to wikipedia.

And then that idiot picked it up and starting dancing around like a buffoon and squawking like a bird so people could laugh at him and his stupid little novelty instrument. Har har. RIP, no disrespect, but come on. I'm not even sure he knows how to tune or play his uke.

Anyway, those other ideas for instruments all sound awesome. Accordion, wine glasses, jew's harp--wait, is that a racial slur? Bringing up google... ok, no, you're in the clear--would all be fantastic to learn how to play. Lord knows there are ten billion people out there right now playing fucking electric guitar and nothing but. And I got nothing against the electric guitar, I just love to see more variety in music.

I like the idea of the ukulele being a gateway instrument, but there's nothing silly about it. It's fun and easy to learn, so it is a gateway... to music! (nods with self-satisfaction at the turn of the phrase)

So my advice to you is like anything else: if kids at school are pressuring you to do something, go for it bruh.

so...I've been flirting with the uke for a while now. nothing serious, but I came across this and was wondering if you knew where the hell to find tab for it. it's gorgeous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9toJRdu2bXQ
thanks
sam, austin, tx

First of all, what a fantastic contrast between that video (the link goes to "ukulele master Ohta-san performs HAWAII") and the Tiny Tim video I just watched. The perfect juxtaposition of a master and a jester.

Yes, this is a beautiful song that I have never heard before. I did a pretty intensive online search (read: 10 full minutes) and came up with no tabs for it.

If you really are serious about learning this song, I would write Woodshed at ukulelehunt.com and request that he figure out tabs for it. There's nobody more qualified (or likely) to figure it out, and that song would be a great addition to the uke-iverse (not my term, but I like it).

...But, please don't ask him to figure it out unless you really would appreciate the work he does on it. It ain't easy what he does for the uke community, and if anyone out there requests tabs, I hope they would follow up and let him know it is appreciated.

Hey,
I just got my ukulele yesterday so I'm a total newbie with it, but I have to say I love your videos and I just can't wait to learn them all.
But well, as you know I have to start somewhere and I just want to ask you wich song do you think is the easiest to begin with?
Thank you
(Anonymous because it was sent in a private message. If this is you and you don't care, let me know)

If you have a capo or you are comfortable tuning the ukulele up by a half-note, I'd say Elephant Gun would be a great place to start. That's where I started. You can make it sound very much like Beirut's version pretty quickly.

If you don't have a capo or don't have a tuner that does different notes (I HIGHLY recommend AP Tuner if you are tuning on a computer), then I'd say In the Aeroplane Over the Sea would be the best place to start, especially if you just do the first verse of the song to get a feel for it. It uses 4 simple repeating chords, and it's a very pretty instrumental song.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it is very motivating to play your favorite songs, so if you have a favorite, I'd say start with that and just plug away!

Good luck.

"apprenez à jouer Five Years au Ukulele et emportez le avec vous samedi, on va s’amuser !" "Learn to play Five Years on the Ukulele and take it with you on Saturday. It will be fun!" Shouldn't one learn the incoherent nonsensical gibberish language?
Francophone, USA

Merci, mon ami, pour la traduction. Je regrette de ne pas pouvoir assister à ce concert-là. C'était probablement un peu trop loin ... *pop*

....

Wait, what the hell just happened!? What's all that gibberish up there and why does my head hurt? Where am I!?!?

This question was in response to this post, where I found that caption above my tutorial for Five Years Time on the blogoteque page. While I appreciate the magic tricks you and Quentin (in the comments from that post) can do turning nonsense into english, I don't think there's any way someone like me could do it.

We love our willful ignorance of foreign stuff where I come from.

Hey, Just wanted to send a big thanks from the WonderHowTo team for featuring us on your blog. We always love people talking about our site! Thanks! Best,
Ben Kinzel, Online Marketing Manager
WonderHowTo.com

Well, Ben, I think you're doing a fine job as Online Marketing Manager. In fact, since you sent me this nice little note and since your website is very useful, I'm going to add this link to my main list of Ukulinklinks (over on the right). It's the ukulele section of your "how to" videos.

I hope I can reward you guys with a few clicks. All kinds of useful information on this site, like a very candid (read: shady but true) video how to get started in internet marketing, from this guy:



Herwitz, if you're reading this, there's a thing or two in there about the benefits of maintaining online anonymity. Mr. Kinzel, if you're reading this, don't worry, I think you're one of the good kind of internet marketers based on the honest approach and friendly note. That might even be your real name, which, according to the video above, means you have a good product. Unlikely, but possible.

Anyway, I appreciate a bit of honesty and openness from marketers.

Hey Paz! I have really been enjoying your videos! I've got quite a few of them down now. But my question is this: When playing Five Years Time, is the "hit-type" strum like the "hit" strum in Nantes? I have watched your videos many times and I can't seem to get it.
Taylor

Oh man, this is probably the question I've received the most at Ukulala. "How do I make that 'hit' noise you talk about?"

The problem is, I learned how to do it early on, back years ago when I tried and failed to learn guitar, so I hardly think about it anymore. I've made a few attempts to describe it (question from Molly, about halfway down), but it's always been an unexpected road block for people in the videos I've done.

Apparently it's called a "chuck" noise, and yes, it IS the same "move" I'm doing in both Nantes and Five Years Time (although it's done quicker in Five Years Time). I also use it in Boy With the Arab Strap and Plenty More.

It's a part of my repertoire, and I hope it will eventually be part of yours. The basic idea is just to strum quickly down, and immediately mute the strings with your palm. Just push your palm up against them as the end of your strum.

I really need to make a video of it like this guy did. Then I can do some better show-and-tell. So... practice what you can for now, but... stay tuned?

So, I am a beginner with the ukulele, and I've been searching in Google for ukulele songs to play. I have found many songs such as, Tiny Bubbles (to play for my grandpa, haha). I can play the chords just fine, but they don't tell you how to strum them! I am really confused. Do you just have to try different patterns until it sounds right? Cause it's really hard...
Taylor

Damn right it's hard! And why the HELL don't any sites tell you how to strum the songs when it's so important!?

That's exactly why I include strumming patterns into all my videos. It was a complete mystery to me why it is ignored in

1) books
2) tutorial videos
3) chord sites
4) tab sites

and that made it really difficult to learn some songs that should have been simple. It's like they all assume the strumming just kinda "happens". WRONG. It's a major--sometimes THE defining--part of a song.

Actually I do give HUGE credit to Woodshed at ukulelehunt.com for including strumming patterns when it really matters. It was his written description of Elephant Gun that helped me learn the song so easily it inspired me to make my first video. And no, I'm not just kissing his ass cause he's got the #1 uke site in the world, I'm legitimately impressed with the depth and breadth of his body of work.

Very cool tutorial for "the penalty", Thanks for putting that online. As you maybe know, theres an alternative version of the song on flyingclubcup.com with a different strumming pattern. Any chance you could figure out that one?
Sayyadina, Germany

I see what you're talking about. It's very similar, still in twelve beats of course, but he doesn't let it pause as long after the first strum on each chord. Basically just replace some of the misses in the version I did with soft strums, where you just barely hit the strings on your up or down strums.

With bold as a louder strum, I think it would be:

1) down
2) miss up
3) soft down (instead of miss)
4) up
5) down
6) soft up (instead of miss)
7) down
8) miss up
9) down
10) up
11) down
12) up


i hope the reason this weeks poll was so lame is cause you're too busy workin' with that song "allmike_newDIR2_2." i've been playing with the other ones to make them less monotonous. it's been slow going- everything good keeps ending up sounding sad, and when i manage to make it sound uppity it sounds too corny. i had a spot of luck this evening, but i'm too tired to work on it now, so hopefully i can iron it out this weekend. oh, and here's my question for ukulala: did you see that colbert report when he postulated the existence of santa's arch rival, Manfred Claus? comic GOLD.
the mighty gorch, earthquake island

D'oh, I missed that episode, but I did find this mention of the Manfred Claus here (at 0:37 in the video). Colbert is kind of a hero.

And yes, this week's poll is LAME. I am sorry. I meant to have it be a reference to this quote from this Simpsons episode, where Springfield Elementary students took an aptitude test to determine ' future careers:

Ms. Hoover: First question. If I could be any animal, I would be (a) a carpenter ant, (b) a nurse shark, or (c) a lawyer bird.

Unfortunately I thought that was too obvious, so I kept only the carpenter ant. The poll ended up just... boring. Oh well, I guess the onus is on me to try and spice up the interpretion of the results. Looks like "Cat" is going to win.

In case anyone was wondering, yes, this is the same Gorch who was an honorary member of Ukulala. He helped me with this little ditty, my first bit of original uke music with drums. Someday I'll make that into a real song.

He lives in Japan now, where he is studying under the tutelage of electronic drumming masters to become a master himself, or something like that. Actually I forget why he went there. maybe just to feel tall (was that racist?).

Anyway, he recently started sending me stuff to add uke to, so we can collaborate again. I still have a hard time coming up with interesting original stuff and playing along with a beat, but I will be working on "allmike_newDIR2_2" soon. I have a certain mistrust of electronic music, but I think mixed with an acoustic recording it has potential. And when we have something to show for it, I'll post it here.

Plus, I already know what my album name will be for the great collaboration between Ukulala and the Mighty Gorch: The Rise and Fall of the Moustache Empire.

~

That's it for now! Use that little box over on the left ANY TIME to ask me about ANY THING!

Peace out!

-Paz

...

sam sam

Ask Ukulala Vol. 2: Lurkers and Ukers

Welcome to Ask Ukulala Anything, Volume 2!

A lot has happened over the last few weeks. Ukulala did it's first collaboration with Ukehunt, I put out another few videos, and we got a few new instruments based on the results of the poll over on the right. If we ever figure out how to play and record them, there are even plans (described at the end of this post) for (apparently) a kazoo-heavy song!

Most importantly for this post, there have been a lot of great questions through the new question box over on the left. And some non-questions, and some questions that make me scared to answer them... but I will anyway! and Flora gets in on one too! So off we go, starting with Moollyjane from YouTube:

hello. do you think you could try to learn how to play "the Penalty" by Beirut on a ukulele, and make a how-to video for it? I don't know how, and your videos are really helpful.
Moollyjane, Portland, OR

Ah, Moollyjane, how did you know I love a good flattering? Great name, by the way. Sounds like something an old person would mutter under their breath about some whippersnapper named Jane.

And good call with The Penalty by Beirut. It's a great song and I will be doing a video of it in the not-too-distant future. After doing three Beirut songs, I decided to chill out a bit and do some others so I don't just become the one-band all-Beirut tutorial guy.

I'll send you a note when I eventually put it up.

Thanks for the tutorial and fro teh elephant gun one. I just had a few questions: What type of ukulele do you use a; concert soprano tenor one? Also, on my soprano when I play the C chord it is more of a harsh popping sound than an smooth velvety tone. Any suggestions? Thanks
newrluergmailcom

I use a concert uke, so it's kind of in between. I wish I had more insight into what you are talking about with the different sounds your uke is making. Sopranos have a higher tone, but I also think the method of strumming has a lot to do with the noise you will get.

I suggest keeping your fingers very loose and experimenting with the effect. Also, I find I get completely different sounds depending on the length of my fingernails, with long nails being more harsh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y16QSarjptA ?
Famous ukulele player

Hmmmm, even with a question mark on the end, that's still not a question. But, I can forgive you, cause it's an awesome video where Joni Mitchell tells Tavis Smiley that her first real instrument was a ukulele.

Highlight: at 1:12, she describes how a teenage Joni went into a store, mouth full of bloody sutures, and bought a ukulele with the $36 she saved after her mom refused to buy her a guitar.

Cool.

do you have a myspace i can lurk? i think i might be in love...or something.
Roxanne, Los Angeles

Let's not get ahead of ourselves: it's probably not love.

...yet.

It goes lurking, creeping, stalking, then kissing in a tree and then love. And then marriage, and then a baby in a baby carriage.

Right now, Ukulala does not officially have a Myspace page, since we haven't made any real songs yet. And I (Paz) like to make it somewhat difficult for just anybody to find my personal info online, so my personal myspace probably isn't ever going to be directly linked from Ukulala.

...but... since this is a blog... and since people go to blogs to get "insider track" information.... I guess it does make sense to let a select few in on stuff even if it's still in progress. So yeah, if any of you stalkers and lurkers out there are highly motivated, I've included a link to the current myspace page on a single random letter hidden somewhere in this post. I think there are some cool photos up and some fun little musical ditties we've worked on.

Someday when we actually have some songs, you motivated few can be all like "omg! i was totally in on the ground floor, back before Paz and Flora from Ukulala were bigger than God!"

or... "huh? what the hell is ukulala and why would i care?"

Can you start including more photoshopped pictures of ukuleles in ridiculous situations?
Porkpie, atop the head of a gentleman

Photoshopped!? If you mean this and this from previous posts, I can assure you those are not photoshopped. I own the world's premiere collection of classic ukulele and turn-of-the-century photographs, and I'm sure I will be sharing more of them with the world as time passes.

My collection is... quite extensive. Why, I believe I've even found a photograph of you, based on the name and location you provided:



Good day, sir.

Hello there Thanks for your videos, i love beirut's song and as i am a beginner in ukulele this sis really helpful. Hard, really hard but thanks again. By the way as a beginner i still have problems with the strumming and i am not really sure of where to place my right hand and my strummed finger. I would apreciate a little comment about that or maybe a video. Same thought about the E chord who is for me really too difficult. How can i put my fingers ? Thanks man for your blog, it is really cool.
Aruno, Paris

Mmm delicious flattery, I eats it up. There are a few serious questions in there though.

1) Strumming. Strumming is not easy. I've been trying to learn ukulele for six months, and before that guitar for over a year, and I have so far to go in my strumming. It takes time, it takes relentless practice, and I would be lying to you if I said I was in a position to give you real advice about technique. I'm basically still a beginner, and I don't really know any advanced strumming techniques (and there are some I'd love to learn).

Having said that, I can tell you what I feel like I've learned so far. In terms of which finger or fingers to use: it doesn't matter. Each way you do it will get a different sound, and it just depends what kind of sound you are going for.

If you use one finger, you'll hear each string a bit separately, and you'll get a softer, more clear sound. If you have long fingernails, it will be sharper and louder. If you use all your fingers at once it will be a more full, louder noise. If you strum slowly you'll hear each note, like a harp. Keep your fingers loose, unless you're trying to play it hard and loud.

The most important thing is to experiment! Try it every way you can think of, and practice it until it actually feels comfortable. At first your fingers will get caught in the strings, and it will feel awkward and clumsy and you'll think 'what the hell!? this sucks and it sounds terrible!'. And it will be true.

But that will pass, after many many hours. Eventually your fingers will glide over the strings at just the right amount of pressure, and if you have been practicing all the different ways you can think of, you'll be able to get some very different, very cool sounds from just changing your strumming technique.

I may do a video about this still, if I can compose these thoughts into something teachable.

2) The E Chord. Ok, you've got a few options for doing the E chord, and yes, it is a pain the ass.

If you ever want to see ALL your options for a chord, check out this awesome tool, and don't forget to change the tuning to C over on the right before you go searching for your chord. Really, I use this site all the time: just click on the same chord multiple times and it will loop through every possible way to play that chord on a ukulele. Very very useful.

The best option, I think, is to put your pointer finger on the second fret, bottom string, then put your ring finger over the fourth fret and let the whole curved joint push down the top three strings, like so:





You gotta push down pretty hard, but at least on the uke you can do 75% of the strings with one finger. It might take a while to get used to, and it won't sound as tight, but it's a lot faster and better than some of your other options (I think).

The other big option, that I use a lot actually, is a retuning of the ukulele. If you tune the entire ukulele on half-note down (so G-C-E-A becomes F#-B-D#-G#), then all your chords are shifted (or "transposed") down by one half-note as well. This may sound a bit advanced, but if you get comfortable with the idea of changing the key with a capo or by retuning, chords will really become demystified to some degree. So if you transpose your ukulele down one half-note, then what was once your F chord (easy) is now your E chord (easy!).

All your other chords are different now too, so the best time to do this trick is when you have a song that has E along with the other chords that creates, like B which is also normally hard. A LOT of blues songs (and Johnny Cash) use E, B, and A, which are a hard combo with normal tuning but become the easier F, C, and A# positions if you tune the uke down a half-note.

If that doesn't make sense and anyone has more questions about that, I can go into more detail in another question.

Who is Flora?
Anonymous

Paz: Take it away, Flora!
****

You know, I am not sure, but I hear she is a mermaid with Alzheimer's. She plays the ukulele but only on 32nd of every month when the tide is low. So not very often.

She could also be known as Paz's little sister. Hope that answers everything for you.
-Flora

I am having a really hard time learning how to do the hit down chord in Nantes. any suggestions? Also your videos are great. definitely helping my ukulele skills improve!
Molly

First off, thank you for the kind words.

Yes, that "hit" is one part I try to talk a little bit about in my videos but I haven't done anything definitive on yet. It's something that I've worked on now, first on guitar and now on uke, for over a year now.

I think the best way I can describe starting out is to do a fast strum with your index finger pretty hard, then finish the strum by pushing down on the strings (muting them) with your palm. It's a bit difficult to describe, and it's hard to feel comfortable with at first. Your fingers will feel awkward and maybe get caught in the strings a bit, and the hit won't be a clear and distinct noise for a long time. But don't let that discourage you, it will sound awesome eventually!

This might be worth a video on. It's no easy move because it takes a balance of hitting the strings and hitting the body of the ukulele. If you get it right though, it opens up a whole world of extra rhythm with a snare kind of noise, great for rock beats or harder songs.

awesome. i really want to get a ukelele. how much would a decently cheap one be?
JMo93 , US

Ukuleles are one of those instruments you can spend any amount of money on, from $25 on up to thousands.

My plan was to get one that looked and felt good (so I wanted to pick it up), would stay in tune, and had a pleasant tone. Mine was a couple hundred dollars, but you can definitely get them for cheaper. Mine is the concert Hamano H-100C, and Flora's is the Soprano Hamano H-100 (both shown here), mainly because I loved the mahogany look and the sizes and tone when we tried them in the store.

The most important thing is that you like it, for whatever reason. Maybe you like it more if you get a deal at a garage sale for $20, or if it's shaped like a cool triangle, or if it's made of a really nice wood, it doesn't matter why.

Anything to help motivate you to pick it up and play, and if you have to spend a bit more to get one that you really like the look and feel of, I say go for it. It's a one-time investment and if it helps you play more often I guarantee it's worth it.

How did you learn to play the uke and do you play other instruments?
Kate, Detroit

I've never been able to play another instrument. I tried half-heartedly on the piano, but it went terribly and nearly ruined my high school GPA.

I'm still learning how to play the uke, and I have a loooooong way to go. I can't finger-pick, I have trouble with complicated rhythms, I can't switch chords quickly, and I haven't memorized enough chords to switch without thinking about it.

What I've learned I've basically put on this blog and on youtube, but there was a period of time before I got the uke (as I call it, B.U.) when I was trying to learn guitar. I mostly just messed around with strumming on the guitar and tried to get some cool drum-like rhythm out of it.

One of the reasons this site exists is because of the void I found while trying to learn. I thought I would be able to go online and find videos of how to play all the songs I loved, but instead I just found hundreds of billions upon billions of covers--which were fun, but they didn't really help much beyond trying to watch their fingers moving around and trying to discern a pattern from the blur of their strumming hand.

So this site, and my youtube tutorials, are an attempt to fill that void for other people starting out on this fun adventure, like I am.

thank you, brother
Arromblorlete, USA

This is hardly a question, but dammit, brother, I like it! You are welcome.

I had no idea my brother was even interested in the ukulele. Or that he goes by "Arromblorlete" any more.

Hi there. I have no musical talent and have never played an instrument in my life. But lately I've been interested in trying to play the ukulele, and your little blog here has sort of inspired me to just go for it. However, I don't have many (any?) ukulele stores where I live, so I'll probably have to get one online. And I don't know jack about what I should be looking for. So, can you recommend a somewhat inexpensive uke to start with? Thanks,
Sean McDonald, Student

Ah, see, you are exactly who I am hoping to reach with this site, as I mentioned in the answer to Kate's question above. You are like me a few years ago, completely unable to play an instrument and worried I might not have any talent for it. I thought I may have missed the formative years of my musical life and I was doomed to listen to other people play the music I loved while I plucked out off-key cacophony every time I picked something up.

Then I dug in and decided that was NOT my fate. I still have no ear for it, but I made up for it by learning theory and practicing a lot. Some people can HEAR when chords go together (I'm looking at you, little sis), but I can't. Now if someone gives me a key for a song, I know which chords I can play to sound good along with it. My strengths are not music by ear, but that doesn't mean I can't learn how to play the songs I love! And the ukulele is an amazing, versatile, portable tool to help dudes and dudettes like us learn.

As for which ukulele to get, I think I kind of described my theory on that above in answering Jmo93's question. To summarize: the key is finding one you like and one you'll play. Whatever your methodology for deciding is, that's what's most important.

If you like to check out reviews and other such informational forums, there are lots of good resources out there. Here are a few to get started:

Cheap vs. Expensive ukes
Some instrument reviews and discussion here and here and here
Some tips for buying

Also: You took the initiative to include your email address in the question, and I think that was a great idea. As soon as I add this post I'm going to alert you with an email to let you know your question has been answered (or at least, attempted). Thanks to you, I am also going to add a new section in the "Ask Ukulala Anything" where people can put in their email address if they want to be alerted when I put an answer up.

I will NOT use the emails for anything except to let you know the answer is up, they will never show up on this site, and it will still be completely anonymous. It's just for your own personal knowledge, so you don't forget you ever asked a question and never see the answer.....

~

Well, if you made it reading this far, congratulations! You are one of maybe two people. If you are left wanting more, more, more--like the sick, salivating dogs that you are--then for God's sake send in a question.

In the meantime, keep on ukeing, ukeheads, crackheads, porkpies, alcoholics, people from France, kazoo marketers, and everyone else too drunk to press the back button on your browser!

Peace out!
-Paz
-and also Flora

Ask Ukulala Vol. 1: Mark Twain to John McCain

Welcome to the first ever "Ask Ukulala Anything" post!

I recognize that anyone learning the ukulele sometimes has questions, and this section of the blog is about answering those questions. Sometimes they are about ukuleles, sometimes they are about other stuff. It doesn't matter, this is the place to ask them. There's a little box over on the left hand side of the main page now.

Whatever the question, Ukulala has* the** answer***. It's like I always say: "You ask it, we ____ it!" Actually I can't think of a good rhyme there. Good slogan or no, let's jump right in with C-Dawg from Allston:

how do I get my hair to be like Mark Twain's?
C-Dawg - Allston

Well, I guess it depends on your age. If you're already really old, then it's just a matter of letting your hair grow out a bit.

However, based on your location (Allston, MA), I can put your age between 18-30 with a 95% degree of confidence. And because nobody has used the nickname "(Letter)-Dawg" in about a decade, I am going to also assume that you were in middle and high school throughout the 90s.

That puts your age... right in the late 20s. A very difficult age to have hair like Mark Twain.

If you can't wait 40 years, I recommend increasing the amount of stress in your daily life to speed the process along. Keep a running mental list of all the things you've done wrong this year, and then try to expand on it when you should be sleeping. Question each of your own decisions until you're sure it was wrong. Stress over exes: every one, every day. Think about your own death a lot.

And if that's still not fast enough, try a terrifying near-death experience.

why do you suck so much?
Rog - Semi Professional Rock Star -Boston, MA

I almost forgot to ask myself this question in the mirror this morning, thanks for bringing it back to my constant attention. Still no concrete answer, but every day I'm hearing all kinds of suggested reasons.

How do you tune that thing?
Rog- Urinal Cake Taste Tester - Allston, MA

I'm assuming you mean the ukulele. Some people can tune it by ear, but I think that's almost impossible. I use a computer program called AP Tuner, probably the best tuning program out there. It's precise to any note, so it's not instrument-specific.

The standard tuning for a ukulele is
G4
C3
E3
A4
starting at the top string and going down. These are the same notes (although not the same octaves) as a guitar if you were to put a capo on the fifth fret of the guitar and only play the bottom four strings, so as you learn the chords you will notice the finger positions are similar to guitar positions even though the chords themselves are different.

My ukulele has traditional tuning pegs, so they don't have an extra gear. Based on this description of the types of tuning pegs, I think that's called a "friction" peg. The lack of a gear makes tuning the ukulele more difficult for beginners (compared to a guitar), although you can find ones out there with the gear.

What's the difference between a ukelele and a guitar?
-Rog- Big Jerk- Boston, MA

The top 10 differences between a ukulele and a guitar:

10) A ukulele has four strings, a guitar has six.

9) A ukulele can probably fit inside a guitar.

8) The top string on a ukulele is higher in pitch than the one beneath it, whereas guitar strings go from lowest to highest.

7) Ukuleles have two "u"s in their name, guitars only have one (except in the UK, where it's spelled "ukelele" so they each have one u).

6) Ukuleles party with more girls in grass skirts.

5) The International Ukulele Council (IUC) has significantly less global influence than the Global Guitar Consortium (GGC), although both have a U.N Security Council vote.

4) Someone named "Tiny Tim" didn't actively destroy the public image of the guitar for three generations.

3) Ukuleles come in all kinds of crazy shapes.

2) Ukuleles can be used as hilarious tiny props to make someone look bigger. Bruddah Iz, for example, was actually only 170 pounds.

...and the number one way a ukulele is different than a guitar:

1) Hawaiians love ukuleles... but they hate guitars.

That's probably about it.

For now.

What's the difference between a ukelele and this?
Rog- Big Jerk- Boston, MA

I'm not sure there is a technical difference when it comes to classification. The video appears to just show some sort of hairy, living ukulele. It can be played similarly, but the sound it makes is... awful. The hissing and the screeching, it's just unpleasant.

do we ask you here, or at ukulala?
Aaron - Vagrant Stomper - Boston

I'm not sure where "here" is, but yeah, asking anywhere is fine. Probably the web site is best because then it will actually be recorded and sent to me.


Dear Paz, How big (or small) can a ukulele get before it can no longer be considered a ukulele?
Shotgun O'Douls - Enchilada Washer - Augusta, ME

Ukuleles come in all shapes and sizes, but there is of course a limit to how big they can get and still be called a ukulele. To wit:








Does that Noah and the Whale band have any albums released in the US?
JPS - Boston

They do not appear to.

They seem to be part of the Young and Lost Club, a British Indie record label without any clear album releases. They have a single coming out May 4th, available if you can pay for it in POUNDS (socialist).

I guess us Americans can just keep watching this awesome video (and learning how to play it, of course) and going to their Myspace for free samples.

Where's my hat?
Who are you?
What are you doing to my dog?
Are you going to clean that up?
Anonymous

Sir, you sound old and confus---oh, wait a minute I recognize these questions. Senator McCain--for the LAST TIME, I have NO IDEA where your hat is, or where you are, or what you think is happening with any of your dogs right now.

Also, please take my phone number off your cell phone. I think I speak for every phone number in there when I say we're sick of getting those angry 5am phone calls with your voice asking "why won't this remote turn the TV on", and "which button makes the bed tilt back up?"


Dear Paz,
Good soda, huh?
Jimmo - Little Rock, AR


Fuck. You.


Does you sister play the Ukulele too? What other instruments do you play? How about your sister?
Raya on Phuket, Thailand

Flora and I both started playing the ukulele at the beginning of this year. Before that I had been trying to learn guitar off and on for a couple years, and she had messed around on the piano.

I have almost no ear for music, so I try to make up for it by playing a lot and by learning theory. My sister, on the other hand, seems to be somewhat of a natural so far. She can hear notes, add melody, and figure out songs in a way that seems strange and mysterious to me.

Do you take requests? (if so, i might have some, although you already play a lot of the songs i love) What do you like about Mareva? Have you noticed ALL HER VIDEOS ARE THE SAME?! It's a little disoncerting.
R. - Eutaw, Alabama

The short answer is no, I don't do requests. But I am very interested in introductions. If you have music that--based on what you've seen in the ukulala repertoire--you think I might like, then please tell me and direct me to it.

If I really really like it (and that is very rare), then I'll try to learn it and put a video up. It's unlikely, but it is exactly what happened with the Noah and Whale song Five Years Time.

And yeah, I'm not that crazy about Mareva's music or videos. It's kind of repetitive and pop-boring. She is very cute and French though, and she does at least sometimes hold a ukulele. I think those qualifications alone are enough for a shout-out from a ukulele blog run by a guy.

If you have a cute picture of yourself holding a ukulele, I bet you could get a mention here too!

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon?
Related: Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grins?
Follow up: Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Final Question: Can You Paint with all the Colors of the Wind?
Anonymous - Tenakomakah

Yes.
No.
No.
No, all I have left in my set is cool breeze blue.

From whence did come this strange harpsichord known as "ukulele"? From the yonder savage land of Xanadu I presume?
How do I tie an ascot?
Cadwallader P. F. Wiffleplotz IV, Esq. - Lord of Commons - 18th century England

Again, Mr. McCain? Nice try, but your boyhood playmate Cadwallader has been dead for 130 years.

But since your questions (sort of) made sense this time, I'll do my best to answer them.

Ukuleles were created in Hawaii in the 19th century (~your midlife crisis), apparently rising from a Portuguese stringed-instrument influence. The name roughly translates to "jumping flea", which makes sense because ukuleles are... also known to... jump onto and live off the blood of mammals and birds? Ok, so I don't know what the etymology of that is, maybe I'll find out if anyone asks.

And if you really need to tie that ascot right, follow this carefully. Although I wouldn't recommend using the word "ascot" on the campaign trail--for any number of reasons.

~
Peace out!
-Paz

---------------
*may have
**one possible
***meaningless remark