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Zitiervorschau

7 New Ukes Reviewed

Santa Cruz Harbors a Prized Ukulele Collection

Ukulele Summer 2014

Sarah Maisel & Craig Chee A pop & jazz duo in perfect harmony

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SONGS TO PLAY

SLOOP JOHN B The Beach Boys

IT’S STILL ROCK & ROLL TO ME Billy Joel

I RIDE AN OLD PAINT Michael Martin Murphey

OLD FOLKS AT HOME Stephen Foster

Take Your First Uke Lesson Learn to Play a Solo Using Chord Melodies God of Uke: Bill Tapia How to Select a Pick

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Ukulele Summer 2014 • VOLUME 1, ISSUE No. 5 ON THE COVER: Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Amsler

DEPARTMENTS 13

WHY I UKE On writing exactly one tune on my Bushman tenor ukulele. But it’s a winner! By Freedy Johnston 14

CLUB UKE The Seattle Ukulele Players Association Ukes rule despite the notoriously inclement weather By Amber von Nagel 16

UKE-A-RAMA News from the world on four strings 18

GODS OF UKE Bill Tapia The Duke of Uke By Greg Cahill

MICHAEL AMSLER

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UKE BASICS

FEATURES

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Finding the Tune How to build a chord/melody solo on ukulele By Fred Sokolow 62

MIXED MEDIA 40

SONGS TO PLAY

Ukulele aficionado Sandor Nagyszalanczy shows off his prized collection By David Knowles

26 Sloop John B Traditional, arranged by Andrew DuBrock

The Museum Downstairs 46

The Love Boat

Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee’s cruise-ship romance has brought career benefits By Mark Segal Kemp

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Your First Ukulele Lesson

Completely new to the uke? By the end of this lesson, you’ll be playing your first tune By Holly Rudin-Braschi

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GEAR GURU How to select the right pick By Gary Peare

30 I Ride an Old Paint Traditional, arranged by Andrew DuBrock

GEAR REVIEWS

32 It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me Words & music by Billy Joel, arranged by Andrew DuBrock

70 Cordoba 22C Concert & 22T Tenor A pair of classically themed ukes that give players something to dance about

36 Old Folks at Home Words & music by Stephen Foster, arranged by Andrew DuBrock 4 EDITOR’S NOTE 5 PHOTO PLAY 7 THE UKE LIFE 7 EVENTS 20 UKULELE CHORDS

Summer 2014

New editions from Jake Shimabukuro, Billy Joel, and others

68 Lanikai LUTU-21s Soprano & SOTTU-T ‘Thinkline” Tenor ‘TunaUkes’ perform swimmingly with new feature

72 National Reso-Phonic Style O A note-cannon that delivers sweetness 74 Kala U-Basses A fretless solidbody and fretted acoustic bring uke thunder 76 D’Addario Planet Waves NS Ukulele Capo Pro A little miracle 78

GREAT UKES A classic Knutsen harp ukulele By Gregg Miner

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Editor’s Note

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CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Editorial Director & Interim Editor Greg Cahill Managing Editor Megan Westberg Senior Editor Greg Olwell Staff Writer Mark Segal Kemp, David Knowles Production Designer Brad Amorosino, Bayard Heimer Production Manager Hugh O’Connor Assistant Editor Amber von Nagel Contributing Editors Andrew DuBrock, Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

INTERACTIVE SERVICES Interactive Services Director Lyzy Lusterman Creative Content Manager Joey Lusterman Digital Developer Breeze Kinsey Community Relations Coordinator Courtnee Rhone Single Copy Sales Consultant Tom Ferruggia

MARKETING SERVICES Marketing Services Director Desiree Forsyth Marketing Services Manager Cindi Kazarian Marketing Services Associate Tanya Gonzalez

W

elcome to the summer issue of Ukulele magazine. Summer sun, surf, and sand— sorry if this sounds stereotypical, but those iconic images provide an ideal mood for ukulele music. If you’re too far from the coast or a lake or a river or a wading pool, then sit on the front porch and settle into that endless summer of the mind, where you can imagine the sound of gently lapping waves serenading as you strum “Sloop John B” (found on page 26) or for get fired up for the clam bake with the classic Billy Joel anthem “It’s Still Rock ’n’ Roll to Me” (page 32). Or gallop into a favorite cowboy song (“I Ride an Old Paint,” page 30). Or drift down the Swanee River (Stephen Foster’s “Old Folks at Home” page 36). After you’ve mastered those tunes, and if the summer sun hasn’t sapped you of your strength (a tall, cool glass of iced tea

might come in handy right about now), then grab your iPhone or some other handy digital device and share your performance video with the ukulele community on Twitter or our Facebook page. Now grab a second tall, cool glass of iced tea, put up your feet, and delve into the rest of the issue. If you’re a newcomer (welcome!), you’ll find a ukulele starter guide that will walk you through everything you need to get going on this mighty little instrument. Meanwhile, there’s a profile of ukulele duo Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee, and a visit with uber-ukulele collector Sandor Nagyszalanczy, In addition, you’ll find a brief profile of Bill Tapia, a true God of Uke; reviews of seven new ukuleles (including a pair of uke basses and a resonator); a music lesson from Fred Sokolow on building solos; and much, much more. Enjoy! —Greg Cahill, editorial director

GOT A QUESTION or comment for Ukulele’s editors? Please send an e-mail to [email protected] or snail-mail Ukulele Editorial, 501 Canal Blvd., Suite J, Richmond, CA 94804. JOIN US ONLINE at UkuleleMag.com to activate your free e-mail alerts and get uke content that entertains, enlightens, and inspires, sent right to your inbox. Ukulele magazine is now on all your favorite social networks, too. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube and join the conversation today!

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Stringletter.com Publisher David A. Lusterman

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Ukulele

Summer 2014

Photo Play

American child actress Shirley Temple (1928–2014), seen wearing a grass skirt and playing a ukulele in a promotional portrait for the 1936 musical Captain January. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Summer 2014

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Events APRIL/MAY Ukulele Festival of Northern California April 6 The festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year at the Chabot College Campus in Hayward, California, with uke performances, great food, arts and crafts, and more. ukulelefestivalnorcal.org

Reno Ukulele Festival April 24–27 The Reno Ukulele Festival in Reno, Nevada, will feature an excellent lineup of performers and instructors, including Leftover Cuties, Heidi Swedberg, Daniel Ho, Gerald Ross, Ralph Shaw, Jason Arimoto, and more. Attendees can enjoy some uke performances and workshops, all while taking in the beauty of the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.

National Play Your Ukulele Day

N’Ukefest

May 2 OK, this event shares a day devoted to space, truffles, tubas, tuna, scurvy awareness, and the wearing of no pants. But even if something else on that motley list strikes your fancy, there’s always room uke. So get out there and play!

May 16–18 This completely volunteer-run, charitable uke festival in Wrenbury, England, supports Macmillan Cancer Support and the Wingate Centre in Wrenbury. Performers this year include Phil Doleman, Chonkinfeckle, Dead Man’s Uke, and others. Plus, the festival boasts a huge open mic for its attendants (applying in advance is recommended for larger performing acts). nukefest.com

Mighty Uke Day IV May 9–10 Lansing, Michigan’s Mighty Uke Day IV will be a celebration of all things uke, the instrument’s connection to the community, and the role it plays in music education. Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee are headlining the event, which helps support local music programs for school children. benhassenger.com/mighty-uke-day

West Coast Ukulele Retreat May 28–June 1 The fifth annual retreat happens at the gorgeous Asilomar hotel and conference center on California’s Monterey Peninsula. Features uke events, music, and workshops with Heidi Swedberg, Daniel Ward, James Hill, Stuart Fuchs, and Rick Turner. westcoastukuleleretreat.com

THE UKE LIFE by Mike Taylor

Summer 2014

Ukulele

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Events MAY/JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

California Ukulele Academy

Cairns Ukulele Festival

Utah Ukulele Festival

May 29–June 1 Scenic retreat at Alpine Meadows Conference Center, Southern California. Performers include Lil’ Rev and Fred Sokolow. playuke.net/ca-uke-academy

July 3–6 Billed as “Australia’s biggest celebration of all things ukulele,” the Cairns Ukulele Festival in Cairns, Australia, features a bunch of workshops and concerts with artists including Abe Lagrimas Jr., Daniel Ho, and Ryo Natoyama. The crew from KoAloha ukuleles is having a two-day building workshop, where attendees leave with a uke they made. In addition, there’s a “uke art exhibition” running June 27–July 11. cairnsukulelefestival.net

Aug. 1–2 You can’t beat free, and that’s just one of the reasons to head to Willow Park in Logan, Utah, for the Utah Ukulele Festival—free entertainers, free ukulele instruction, even free lessons on lei making and hula dancing. There’s only one catch, and it’s worthwhile: they want you to help with the crowd-sourcing that raises the funds to pay for the rental space, insurance, workshop supplies, advertising and equipment. utahukefest.com

Mighty MO Ukulele Festival

Oakridge Ukulele Festival

July 10–13 Get ready to uke under the Cedar Creek, Missouri, stars with Brad Griffith—poolside. Other performers include  Brook Adams, Flea Bitten Dawgs. mightymoukefest.com

Aug. 1–3 One of the more idyllic uke fests takes place in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Oakridge, Oregon, a short 45-minute drive south from Eugene. Presented by the Oakridge Lodge & Guest House, this one’s got it all: top instructors, great performers,

Ukulele World Congress VI June 6–7 Needmore, Indiana

Ukulele Festival of Great Britain June 20–22 The festival’s fifth year boasts some major uke performers, including Taimane Gardner, Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee, Phil Doleman, Mother Ukers, and Ryo Natoyama, among others. There also will be plenty of vendors to check out, workshops for people of all abilities, and an open mic for all attendees. ukulelefestival.co.uk

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Ukulele

Summer 2014

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Events AUGUST/SEPTEMBER a fun open-mic event, a Sunday sing-along, hula dancing, and tons of informal jamming. Take your uke into the woods for hiking, or by the Willamette River for a picnic. You’ll find a marketplace filled with uke vendors (including Pacific Winds, Covered Bridge, and Ed Culwell Luthiery), as well as makers of uke straps and even uke jewelry. Best of all is the wealth of instructors: James Clem, Richard Colombo, Denise Hinz, Pat Knaus, Buck Mueller, Ron Ontiveros, and Patty Sage. oakridge-lodge.com/events

Midwest Uke Fest Aug. 16–17 Featuring the populist ukulele stylings of Lil’ Rev (who’s been called the Jewish Pete Seeger) and dulcimer players Bing Futch and Richard Ash (who also uke, of course), the third annual Midwest Uke Fest—held in Woodburn, Indiana, and sponsored by Folkcraft, makers of Druid Moon ukuleles—

kicks into gear in mid-August. Learn, jam, eat well, and meet up with old friends. midwestukefest.com

Ukulele Hooley by the Sea Aug. 23–24 Gather your shamrocks and green beer and head over the pond for this good-luck uke fest in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. Last year, Ukulele Hooley by the Sea featured an eclectic lineup of ukulele greats, from Dublin-based uke “supergroup” Ukeristic Congress to California’s spunky Janet Klein to the uber-entertaining, all-female French trio Les Poupées Gonflées (“The Inflatable Dolls”). ukulelehooley.com

Oyama Ukulele Festival Aug. 23–24 If you happen to be in Japan this summer, don’t forget to take your uke to the Water Square Special Stage, in Oyama, Tochigi,

between 10 AM and 6 PM, where you’ll pick up a few tips from featured artists and instructors, including Kyas Ryo. oyama-ukulelefestival.com/ (caveat: this site is in Japanese)

Port Townsend Ukulele Festival Sept. 3–7 Port Townsend, Washington, is one of the centers of acoustic world and its uke fest includes some of the biggest names in the scene: James Hill, Joel Eckhaus, Francis Doo, the Hula Honeys (Ginger Johnson and Robyn Kneubuhl), Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, Fred Sokolow, Gerald Ross, the Canote Brothers, and Del Rey. centrum.org/the-port-townsend-ukulelefestival

Blackwater Ukulele Festival Sept. 13 This one-day event in Cypress Gardens, South Carolina, north of Charleston,

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Summer 2014

SEPTEMBER features a workshop, a hula workshop and exhibition, open mic, and concerts by the Charleston Hot Shots and the V-Tones. Regular park admission gets you into the festival. festival.charlestonhotshots.com

Great Northern Ukulele Festival Sept. 13–14 Venture to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England and expect many workshops and performances by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Del Rey, Andy Eastwood, and many more. northernuke.com

Tunes in the Dunes IV Sept. 19–21 Head to Westwind on the Oregon coast for a weekend of uke events featuring James Hill, Anne Janelle, Sarah Maisel, Craig Chee, Kate Power, and Steve Einhorn. tunesinthedunes.com

Lil’ Rev

SUMMER BIRTHDAYS!

Albuquerque Ukekopelli Family Music Festival Sept. 26–27 Featuring Heidi Swedberg, ’Lil Rev, Daniel Ward, the Arkansas Boys, New Mexico’s “one and only ukulele festival” happens at the African-American Performing Arts Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. abqukefest.com

April 12 Tiny Tim (1932) May 20 Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (1959) May 24 Craig Chee May 26 George Formby (1904) June 5 Daniel Ward

July 3 “King” Bennie Nawahi (1899) July 11 Johnny Marvin (1897) July 17 Sarah Maisel August 4 Eddie Kamae (1927) August 31 Arthur Godfrey (1903)

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Why I Uke Under the Covers Freedy Johnston has written exactly one tune on his Bushman tenor ukulele. But it’s a winner

Freedy Johnston may be best known for his “Bad Reputation,” the modern-rock hit from his 1994 album This Perfect World, but he’s long been an acclaimed singer-songwriter. His most recent recorded project is the 2012 Americana concept album At Least We Have Each Other, by the Hobart Brothers and Lil’ Sis Hobart (consisting of Johnston and singer-songwriters Susan Cowsill and Joe Dee Graham). Before that, Johnston wrote his first (and so far only) uke song on his Bushman tenor—“Lonely Penny,” from his 2010 release Rain on the City. We asked Johnston why he ukes.

I

got my ukulele when I lived in Nashville in 2006 or so. My buddy had a uke and I was inspired by playing it. I’d never played a uke before, and this was sort of at the start of the uke craze. So, like everybody else, I bought one. I ordered it online from a guy in Kentucky who was importing them. It just

Summer 2014

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came in a box, already tuned, didn’t even have a gig bag. I picked it up out of the box and the first thing I did was write “Lonely Penny” on it, based on the first chord I hit. I didn’t know how to play the uke. So, that’s what the song is—it’s just basically the first thing I did when I got it. For a whole year, I never learned any other chords on the ukulele. After that one song came out of me, I didn’t see any reason to play uke anymore. And then, after the record came out, I went on the road and had to play that song—I started learning more chords, so I could play some covers on it, too. In fact, that’s what I would say during the shows: “Hey, this is my one ukulele song, and then after that I’m gonna do some covers on the uke just to prove to you that I can play it.” I started working on songs like Nick Lowe’s “Cruel to Be Kind” and stuff like that, and “Cruel to Be Kind” just kind of stuck. It’s always in the set when I bring my uke out.

‘When I pull out my uke, it means I’m gonna do a bunch of covers.’ Since then, I’ve learned lots more songs on the uke. A lot of the chords have the same shapes as guitar chords, but they’re easier to play on the uke. So, songs that I always wanted to play on guitar, like Steely Dan songs, or certain Beach Boys songs like “Caroline No,” or Todd Rundgren songs, or Burt Bacharach songs—songs by artists that, for whatever reasons, lend themselves to complicated chord changes—I can do really easily on my uke. I’ve learned a lot of covers now, and that’s become the reason I always have the uke at my shows: when I pull out my uke, it means I’m gonna do a bunch of covers. Plus my one original uke song, of course. UkuleleMag.com 13

Club Uke Puget Sounds The Seattle Ukulele Players Association knows a thing or two about playing in the region’s notoriously inclement weather By Amber von Nagel

What made you want to start a uke club? There was already a very small group meeting in the community north of Seattle. Then a jam session held at Dusty Strings Music Store following a series of Hawaiian fingerstyle lessons taught by Peter “Pekelo” Palisbo attracted some 60 or 70 people, and indicated a large interest in continuing on some level in the Seattle area. With a few volunteers to help organize subsequent wellattended jam sessions, SUPA was born and continues to thrive. It’s probably also worth noting that there is a large Hawaiian community in the Seattle area, always adding impetus to the newest wave of interest in the uke. Tell me about the club members. Well, it seems every year there is a person we have never seen before who shows up to play with us onstage at the annual Northwest Folklife Festival and other events. Sometimes they introduce themselves and ask if they can play with us, but just as often they just seem to appear, unannounced, in the last row of those assembled onstage. And people who had never before done any serious music seem to wind up in local bands and 14 UkuleleMag.com

Seattle Ukulele Players Association

recording CDs. SUPA has also spawned a few teachers now providing group and private lessons, and one is conducting ukulele classes for second through fifth grades in a Seattle elementary school. Oh, and our open-mic events always provide a surprise or two; there is a lot of hidden ukulele talent in Seattle. Finally, I should also mention, because it is Seattle and everybody knows how much it rains here (not true), in 11 years it has only rained once at our annual picnic. Now that’s crazy. What is the most interesting venue or event you’ve played at? There are two events that we do every year that are both interesting and challenging. By far the most challenging for us is the Folklife Festival, a four-day event held at Seattle Center during the Memorial Day weekend that draws performers from all over the Pacific Northwest. For SUPA, it generally means picking a theme or genre (examples from past performances include the Beatles, Elvis, and doo-wop), choosing the songs (usually ones we haven’t done before), developing arrange-

ments, and holding extra practice sessions to prepare for the event. The program must be carefully scripted and planned to fit within the allotted and precisely controlled time allowed onstage. This is the event where, as I mentioned before, someone we have never seen before seems to show up to play with us. The second event is the Parade of Lights, a City Parks Department affair held at Green Lake Park in December. The three-mile path around the lake is lighted with luminarias, and an area near the park office is set up for entertainment. The event draws large crowds every year that walk the path and listen to the holiday music. The challenge is that it is cold! Try playing holiday music on your ukulele for 30 minutes in 30- to low-40-degree weather. One year as we started playing the holiday standard “Let it Snow!” it actually started to snow. How else does the club serve uke players in the Puget Sound area? We provide a community of welcoming members that enjoy making music together, a source of information for all ukulele players Ukulele

Summer 2014

CHONA KASINGER

O

n the second Sunday of each month, the joyous sound of ukuleles rings through the halls of an old brick schoolhouse in Seattle, Washington. The building, now run by the Phinney Neighborhood Association, is the meeting place of the Seattle Ukulele Players Association (SUPA), one of the leading ukulele clubs in the Puget Sound area. As a registered nonprofit, SUPA performs at community and special events in addition to the usual song-circle meetings. The club also organizes special guest workshops, inviting such uke experts as Moses Kamai, Jere Canote, Del Ray, Howlin’ Hobbit, and many others to extend their wisdom to the club members. Ukulele asked SUPA’s leader, John Leder, about the club’s role in the community and his experiences performing at local events.

‘One year as we started playing the holiday standard “Let it Snow!” it actually started to snow.’ in the greater Seattle and Pacific Northwest area, workshops taught by some of the best players in the ukulele community when they are in our area, the opportunity to perform onstage at local community events, and an eclectic ukulele venue that includes and respects all music genres. What are your favorite songs to play at your meetups? Too many to name. We have two songbooks (something like 400 songs altogether) that we developed that include a wide repertoire. At a recent folk festival, we performed songs such as “Sweet Pea,” “King of the Road,” “Ragtime Cowboy Joe,” “Hanalei Moon,” “Daydream Believer,” and “Surfin’ USA.” You mentioned there are some SUPA spinoff groups in the area. Were they founded by SUPA members? Some spinoff groups have been founded by SUPA members, many of whom continue to

attend SUPA as well. Several groups seem to have sprung up all on their own for a variety of reasons. It seems there can never be enough opportunities to play the ukulele! Also, the greater Seattle/Tacoma metropolitan area is very large and not always easy to get around, so folks find starting and their own “neighborhood” groups advantageous. Do you have any tips for people who want to start their own uke clubs? At last count, there are something like 15

other ukulele groups meeting in the metropolitan Seattle/Puget Sound region, several of which are spinoffs from SUPA. Find a place to meet, define your program including what you will use for music, decide who and how the group will be led, and put out a call through music shops, social media, and word of mouth. In my experience, literally, if you build it they will come. I went to a new group started in my own neighborhood last year and there were 50 people I had never met before in attendance.

The Benefits of Nonprofit Status For SUPA, nonprofit status provided a way to conduct business in an orderly fashion. “We needed a way to collect money to pay rent for our meeting space, pay workshop presenters, pay for picnic space in a city park, and purchase items for our regular meeting raffle,” John Leder says. “Early on, one of our board members took care of these needs with his own accounts, putting him at some risk. Setting up a nonprofit corporation in Washington State seemed the easiest way to create an entity that would

reduce the liability of the board members, allow us to open a bank account in the organization’s name, be able to solicit taxdeductible donations, secure the trade name Seattle Ukulele Players Association, and allow us to provide music as an educational benefit without necessarily worrying about copyright restrictions. “We thought about a 501(c)(3) organization, but found no benefit in doing so and lots of bureaucratic paperwork and restrictions that were unnecessary.”

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Uke News Don’t forget that May 2 is National Play Your Ukulele Day

Ukulele Could Become Hawaii’s State Instrument The ukulele has been associated with Hawaii since long before Elvis strummed one in the 1961 film Blue Hawaii, just two years after the state entered the union. In February, Hawaiian lawmakers began considering a bill that would make the ukulele the official state instrument. Given the close association between the state and the jumping flea, that report might be baffling. According to the Associated Press, when Jim Tranquada, co-author with Jim King of The Ukulele: A History, was told of the bill, his response was surprise—not that Hawaii was so honoring the ukulele, but that the state hadn’t already. Indeed, the ukulele is intricately entwined with Hawaiian history. The roots of the uke extend back about 130 years ago when Hawaiian plantation owners imported workers from Portugal. At that time, the Portuguese (Tranquada’s greatgreat-grandfather among them) brought along the little four-stringed instrument called a machete. When they started making similar instruments out of an indigenous acacia tree

called the koa, it became a distinctly Hawaiian creation. As Hawaii grappled with American annexation, AP reported, it became a point of pride to strum this instrument made of wood found only in Hawaii. “If you were playing a ukulele made of koa, you were demonstrating aloha aina, or love of the land,” Tranquada told the AP. “It was a patriotic act.”

The Little Life

It’s the perfect metaphor for ukulele living. Even before the March 25 release of Korby Lenker’s eponymous CD, the sixth album on his own Stuffed Piranha Records, the single “My Little Life” had made a big splash. This catchy ode to simple living—the result of a successful KickStarter campaign and replete with a fun-loving video that features guest appearances by some of Nashville’s finest—had already earned the Nashville singer-songwriter top songwriting honors at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 2012. Watch the video on YouTube and learn more at korbylenker.com.

The Healing Power of the Uke American musician and activist Laurie M. Kallevig is using the diminutive ukulele to make a big difference in the lives of sex workers and their children in India. According to a recent article in the Times of India, Kallevig, a volunteer at city-based NGO Odanadi Seva Samsthe, is teaching ukulele to rehab inmates, prostitutes, residents of a home for rescued girls, and the children of sex workers, most recently in the state of Karnatka. According to the Times: “[Kallevig], who worked as an executive assistant in the entertainment industry, says she’s here because God wants her to rescue innocent girls. She had learn[ed] that many girls from rural areas and poor families in Southeast Asia were pushed into prostitution. Recently, she decided to do something for rescued children from various backgrounds. She came to India and started volunteering with a 16 UkuleleMag.com

firm in Ooty. She had an opportunity to meet people of a particular community whose many members were involved in prostitution. ‘I grabbed the opportunity,’ she said, adding the girls loved singing and playing the ukulele. ‘I preferred the ukulele as it’s small, easy to carry, and inexpensive. I came back to India with a few to form a survivor girl ukulele band. But I’m here to show them love.’” Odanadi director L. Parashuram told the Times he met Kallevig at a meeting of NGO members in Pune and suggested she work with Odanadi, which is committed to helping sex workers and their children as well as children rescued from sexual harassment, beggary, and child marriage. He reports that the children aged eight to 16 “are relaxed and their attitude has changed” since coming in contact with Kallevig’s gospel of the ukulele. Ukulele

Summer 2014

Ukulele Sales Remain Robust News about the business of the ukulele has gotten a lot of media attention of late. After the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) reported this winter that between 2010 and 2012 ukulele sales nationwide jumped from 581,000 to more than one million, CNN Money ran a lengthy story in February on the continued popularity of the ukulele. Certainly, the action on the exhibit floor at NAMM’s mammoth winter convention in Anaheim, California, supports those numbers—ukulele manufacturer booths were jammed as dealers placed orders and other conventiongoers gathered in the aisles to listen to the likes of Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee and the Kings of Ukulele (and to watch hula dancers, of course). Peter Hix, an owner of Hix Bros. Music outside of Chicago, told CNN Money that “some days all we do is sell ukuleles,” adding that electric guitar sales are down, but ukuleles, banjos, and mandolins are all up. “It’s pretty much idiot-proof,” Tracy Leenman, owner of Musical Innovations in Green-

Summer 2014

Ukulele

ville, South Carolina, told CNN Money. “Anyone can learn to play it in a short amount of time.” Leenman added she’s seen the ukulele surpass the recorder as the instrument of choice for some music teachers at local elementary schools. CNN Money attributed the continued growth to the ukulele’s strong presence in popular culture. “Stars like Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson play the instrument,” CNN noted, “and it featured prominently on the TV show Glee.” Brian Winter of Acoustic Music in Salt Lake City told CNN Money that he noticed that customers seemed more interested in sound and quality, leading some to buy more expensive instruments. Some people were buying their second ukulele or bringing an experienced uke player with them for advice. “My definition of a fad is something that climbs, spikes, and dies,” he said after selling three ukuleles to a customer one January afternoon. “This climbed, spiked, and now it’s sustaining that same level.”

UkuleleMag.com 17

Gods of Uke Remembering the Duke of Uke Bill Tapia influenced both the Golden Age of Ukulele and the uke revival By Greg Cahill

T

hey called him “Uncle Bill,” or “Tappy,” but to many he was known as “The Duke of Uke,” a pioneer of ukulele jazz. At the time of his death in 2011, at age 103, Bill Tapia was believed to be the oldest performing musician to ever take the stage. His career spanned nine decades and put him at the center of both the 1920s ukulele explosion and, more recently, the uke revival. In between, Tapia enjoyed a formidable career as both a master ukester (and designer) and a jazz guitarist, forgoing the uke for several decades. Tapia was born in Hawaii on New Year’s Day in 1908. At age seven, he 18 UkuleleMag.com

bought his first ukulele from Manuel Nunes, one of the island’s most respected ukulele makers. He once recalled that he’d shelled out 75 cents from a beat-up coffee-canturned-piggy-bank to purchase the instrument. In a 2008 interview, Tapia told the Orange County Register that he’d grown up listening to the lilting sounds of the little instrument that was played on the narrow dusty lanes of Honolulu. At age 11, at the end of World War I, he entertained troops returning from the front lines by playing ukulele for the veterans, even venturing into Honolulu’s tough neighbor-

hoods to shine shoes and greet soldiers and sailors disembarking from the trains. As a child, he once was arrested when police raided a bordello where he was playing for servicemen. “There were prostitutes and bootleggers, but I could make money!” he told the National Association of Music Merchants in a 2004 oral history. “I’d come home with my pockets full of silver.” By age 12, he’d mastered the ukulele. According to Ian Whitcomb, author of Ukulele Heroes: The Golden Age, Tapia was a key figure in the island’s hapa haole culture, which included music that mixed Hawaiian and English influences. Ukulele

Summer 2014

He was an associate of Sonny Cunha, the musician, bandleader, and politician regarded as the founder of hapa haole music. And, Whitcomb writes, Tapia played in the Johnny Noble Band at the historic opening night of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki in 1927. He also taught child film star Shirley Temple and actor Clark Gable to play the ukulele (Tapia played on many movie soundtracks and taught several other actors to master the instrument). And he provided the uke playing on Bing Crosby’s hit record “Blue Hawaii,” featured in the 1937 film Waikiki Wedding. After World War II, Tapia gave away his ukuleles and for nearly a half century turned his attention to jazz guitar, landing jobs with such music greats as Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, and Charlie Barnet. In 2001, after a chance encounter at an LA music store where he had gone for a guitar repair, Tapia rekindled his interest in ukulele. “Something astonishing happened,” the New York Times wrote in his obituary. “Mr. Tapia was ‘discovered’ as a ukulele virtuoso at a time when the instrument was having a resurgence of popularity. He became a uku-

lele star, twice making the Top 10 on the jazz charts, wowing concertgoers by playing the ukulele behind his head à la Jimi Hendrix, and making three albums—one of which honored his 100th birthday. He was elected to the Ukulele Hall of Fame.”

He became a ukulele star, twice making the Top 10 on the jazz charts, wowing concertgoers by playing the ukulele behind his head à la Jimi Hendrix. “Bill Tapia has been involved with the ukulele, jazz, and Hawaiian music perhaps longer than any other living person,” the Hall of Fame said when it inducted him. “It was in my blood,” he said. But the master musician’s life wasn’t wholly defined by the uke. As a jazz man with a guitar, Tapia performed pretty much everywhere—from houses of ill repute to swanky hotels, such as the Los Angeles Biltmore. He played for soldiers during World War I and in “blackout ballrooms” during World War II. He

played radio and television shows, and, once, at baseball legend Joe DiMaggio’s bar in San Francisco. “The ukulele looked like a toy compared to the guitar,” Tapia said. So, when he put it away, he didn’t pick it back up—until 55 years later when someone heard him play it at an Orange County music shop. Soon, people were asking him to play concerts and give them lessons. His agent and publicist, Mark Taylor, said Tapia was a regular at the Oasis Senior Center in Newport Beach and played every Wednesday on the beach in San Onofre with a group of ukulele enthusiasts. Taylor said Tapia is the oldest performing musician for whom he has ever worked. “He was not just a novelty act,” Taylor said. “He was a real musician. He had real jazz chops.” Tapia also delighted his fans with his colorful personality and his sartorial elegance. “We had booked a show in Arcadia two years ago and a 101-year-old woman walked up to him and said, ‘I’m so happy to meet you because it’s so hard to meet men my age these days,’” Taylor said. Tapia was always impeccably dressed, whether he was on the stage or at home.

Join Us!

EddyFinnUkes.com Life Is Beachy III.indd 1 Summer 2014 Ukulele

12/4/2013 1:32:25 PM

UkuleleMag.com 19

Ukulele Basics

B B B B

Basic Ukulele Chords Just need some chords to start playing favorite songs? Majoryour Chords These major, minor, seventh, and minor seventh chords should get you started.

C 000 3 C 000 3 C 0C 00 3 000 3 G 0132 G 0132 G 0132 G 0132

C 3211 C 3211 C 3211 C 3211 G 3121 G 3121 G 3121 G 3121

C7 C7 0001 C7 0001 C7 0001

3121

C m 01 1 1 C m 01 1 1 C m 01 1 1 C m 01 1 1 G m 0231 G m 0231 G m 0231 G m 0231

C m 3 1 11 C m 3 1 11 C m 3 1 11 C m 3 1 11 Fm 1 0 24 Fm 1 0 24 Fm 1 0 24 Fm 1 0 24

0001

Major Chords

DChordsE b D Major1114 1230 0341 Major Chords D Eb DMajor1114 Chords0341 1230 D Eb D 1114 1230 0341 D Eb D 1114 1230 0341 A Ab A 21 00 3 121 3121 A 4 fr. Ab A 21 00 3 121 3121 A 4 fr. Ab A 21 00 3 121 3121 b A 4 fr. A A 21 00 3 121

D7 D7 1112 D7 1112 D7 1112 1112

4 fr.

E E 2341 E 2341 E 2341 Bb 3211 Bb 3211 Bb 3211 Bb 3211 2341

Minor Chords Minor Chords m E m MinorD Chords 2310 0321 Minor Chords MinorDChords m Em

Seventh Chords Seventh Chords Seventh Chords F 7Chords G7 E 7 Seventh 2310 1203 0 213 F 7Chords G7 ESeventh 7 1203

E7 1203 E7 1203

2310

F7 2310 F7 2310

E m 3421 E m 3421 E m 3421 E m 3421 B m 3111 B m 3111 B m 3111 B m 3111

0321 E m 0321 E m 0321 A m 2 000 A m 2 000 A m 2 000 A m 2 000

2310 D m 2310 D m 2310 G m 3241 G m 3241 G m 3241 G m 3241

0 213

G7 G2137

0 213 0

F F 2010 F 2010 F 2010 B 3211 B 3211 B 3211 B 3211 2010

A7 A7 0 1 00 A7 0 1 00 A7 0 1 00

B7 B7 1211 B7 1211 B7 1211

0 1 00

1211

A m7 0000 A m7 A0000 m7 A0000 m7

B1111 m7 B1111 m7 B1111 m7 B1111 m7

Minor Seventh Chords

C m7 1111 C m7 C1111 m7 C1111 m7 20 UkuleleMag.com

1111

Minor Seventh Chords Minor Seventh Chords

D m7 Minor E m7 Seventh F m7 Chords G m7 2314 1324 0102 0211 D m7 Minor E m7 Seventh F m7 Chords G m7 D2314 m7 E0102 m7 F1324 m7 G0211 m7 D2314 m7 E0102 m7 F1324 m7 G0211 m7 2314

0102

1324

0211

0000

Ukulele

Summer 2014

Ukulele Basics Finding the Tune

Red River Valley

How to build a chord/melody solo By Fred Sokolow

I

n the last issue, I discussed how to jazz up your comping (chord backup), adding lots of substitutions to “Red River Valley,” a simple three-chord tune. Strumming backup is one aspect of swing or jazz uke, and soloing is yet another. You can play single-note solos, which sound great if someone is providing chord backup on another instrument, or you can play chord solos, which don’t require another player, because you’re playing chords and melody at the same time. Chord/melody playing is a complete use of the uke, so it’s quite satisfying to become adept at it, and it turns you into a one-person band! Here are some tips on the process of building a chord/melody solo, also using “Red River Valley” as an example: • You don’t need to play a chord for every melody note. But you do want to play each chord change at least once. One or two chords per bar of music is usually enough. • You can hear the melody more clearly if it’s the highest note in the chord. • You can play a chord/melody arrangement of any song in almost any key, but some keys are easier than others—every song has a different range (a different highest and lowest note). In some keys, the lowest note of your song isn’t on the uke! Or, the highest note is way up above the 12th fret. Chords can be played way up there, but it makes for a more difficult arrangement. If you play “Red River Valley” in F, the lowest note in the melody is C, which is also the lowest note on the uke. This is a good start, as F is an easy key on the uke, and starting at the lowest note on the instrument means the melody probably won’t take you way up the neck. Here’s the basic melody [Ex. 1]. If you add the indicated chords to that melody, you have this basic chord/melody Summer 2014

Ukulele

Traditional; arranged by Fred Sokolow Ex. 1

4 &b 4

F

˙ œ œ 0

B

0

1

C

œ œ 0

0

˙

œ œ

0

0

& b œ ˙.

11

B

1

3

1

Ó

0

0

3

1

0

F

œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ w 2

2

0

0

0

Chord/melody playing is a complete use of the uke, so it’s quite satisfying to become adept at it, and it turns you into a one-person band! arrangement. Notice that a few strums or arpeggios are added, to fill in the gaps between melodic phrases [Ex. 2]. Now, using some of the substitution ideas from the “Jazzing Up the Uke” article that appeared in the Spring 2014 issue, and some more ideas not mentioned (you’ll have to buy my book of the same name to learn more substitution ideas), here’s a jazzier version of the same chord/melody arrangement [Ex. 3]. Just for fun, try it in C. That key will force you to play chords up around the 10th

0

1 0

0

1 0

C7

1

1

0

0

Bb

3

0

œ œ

Ó œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ

5

1

Ó

˙.

F

&b ˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ w B

œ

0

C7

0

F

0

˙

Ó

1 0

fret. First, the melody [Ex. 4]. Now, add the chords [Ex. 5]. You need some knowledge of up-the-neck chords to do this (the book/CD Fretboard Roadmaps for Ukulele will help). Notice that the 4th string/G makes this arrangement easier to play, as the open string harmonizes with up-the-neck, three-string chords. Finally, try it with some jazzier chord choices [Ex. 6]. Try this same process with other familiar tunes, like Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” or Jimmie Davis’ “You Are My Sunshine.” For more examples of uke chord soloing, go to my website, sokolowmusic. com, and look under “instructional material,” then click on “dobro, mandolin, uke, and bass.” Feel free to email me from the website if you have any questions. UkuleleMag.com 21

Ukulele Basics F

Ex. 2

C6

4 &b 4 œ œ 1

0

B

F

2030

˙˙ œ œ ˙˙

œ ˙˙ ˙˙ œ

œœ œ ˙

0 1 0 2

0 0 0 0

3 0 2

0

0

F

2010

F add9

00 0 0

2010

0 0

1

C7

2 0 14

œœ œ

œœ œ œ œ œ

0 1 0

0 1 0

0

1

0

F

2010

0001

& b ˙˙˙˙ œ œ ˙˙˙˙ œ œ ˙˙˙ œ œ œœœ œ œ œ ˙˙˙˙ œ œ ˙˙˙ œ œ

5

B

0 1 0 2

1

0

badd9 B3214

3 1 0 2

1

0

Bb

B

1

1 1 2 3

& b 44

œ œ 1

0

B

F

2310

0

1

3210

B

B badd9 3214

22 UkuleleMag.com

0

0 1 0 2

0 1 2

0 0 0

3 2 3 2

0

B bm6

Gm

0

0111

3241

B bm6 0111

1 0

0 0

3 2 3

C7

1

0001

1 1 0

1

œœ œ ˙ 3 0 2

C7

0001

1

1 0 2

0

2010

Ó

˙˙ ˙

œ

F

2030

œ œœ œ

5

1

F add9

˙˙ ˙

1324

0

1 0 2

0

00 0 0

& b ˙˙˙˙ œ œ b b ˙˙˙˙ œ œ œœœ œ b œœœ œ 0 1 0 2

0

0 0 0

˙˙ œœ œ ˙˙ œœ

C dim

2010

1 0 2

F

B bmaj7 C 6

Dm

0 1 2 2

0

2010

1 0 0 0

2 2

F

0 1 0 2

˙˙˙ œ œ ˙˙ œ œ ˙˙ .. ˙ ˙ ˙.

1

2010

Ex. 3

0

C7

11

1

1 3 1 0 0 0

0001

3211

& b œœœœ ˙ œ œœœœ œ œ œ 3 1 2 3

1

0 0 0

C9

0201

œœ

œœ œ œ œ œ

0 1

1 0 2

F F maj7

2 0 1 0 2000

0

1

0

F7

2310

œœœ œ œ œ ˙˙˙ œœ œ ˙˙ œ œ b˙ œ ˙ œœ 1 3 1 0 0 0 0

Gm C6

3241 00 0 0

0 1 0 2

F

2010

0 0 0 2

E6

11 1 1

3

1 3 2

0 0

F6

1111

Ukulele

Summer 2014

& b ˙˙˙˙ œ œ b b ˙˙˙˙ œ œ œœœ œ b œœœ œ

œœœ œ œ ˙˙˙ œœœ œ b ˙˙˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ

5

B

0 1 0 2

0

1

3 2 3 2

B badd9

1 0

B bm6

1 3 1 0 0 0 0

Gm C6

0001

0 1 0 2

0 0 0 2

F

3241 00 0 0

3

E6

2010

11

3 1 2 3

B

1 2

Ex. 4

1

1 1

1 1

0

& 44 œ œ

C

˙

œ œ

3

7

7

B

1 0 0 1

G7

7

0 0 0 0

3 2 3

0

˙

œ œ

C

œ

˙.

7

5

5

3

7

n wwww 5 5 5 5

œ œ

Ó

3

0

0

˙ œ œ w

œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ Ó

G

˙ œ œ

C

5

7

0

1111

4 4 4 4

1 0 2

0

1 3 2

F6

11 1 1

œœœ ˙ œ œ ˙ œ ˙ n # ˙˙ œ œ b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙˙ œœœ œ ˙˙ # ˙˙

&b

&

1

1 1 0

C7

0111

3214

1

3 2 3

7

8

10

8

7

5

10 8

7

7

5

3

5

7

B

&

œ ˙.

F

11

10

G7

Ó œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ w

8

0

0

2

B

C

0 132

5

G6

8

B

0

C

0 132

˙

0111

7 fr.

˙ & 44 œ œ ˙˙˙

Ukulele

3

7

5

˙

Ó

3

0

Ex. 5

Summer 2014

C

7 8 7 0

œ œ 7

7

C

7 fr.

00 31

˙ ˙˙˙ 7 7 7 0

C add9 000 3

7 fr.

œ œ

œœ ˙ œœ

5

5 0 0 0

7

G7

10 fr.

œ ˙˙ œ œ

2314

œ

3

0 0

C

0 132

3 fr.

œ œ

œ œ œ œ 3 0

0

C7

7 fr.

˙ œ

1 00 2

UkuleleMag.com 23

œ

Ukulele Basics

& 4 œ œ ˙˙˙ 7 8 7 0

8

B

0

C 0 132

7

C 00 31

7 fr.

œœ ˙ œ

˙˙˙ 7

7 7 7 0

G7 2314

10 fr.

5

7

5 0 0 0

œ œ œ œ

œ

3

3

0

0

0

C 0 132

3 fr.

0

C7 1 00 2

7 fr.

˙˙ œ œ ˙˙ œ œ ˙˙ œ œ œ œ ˙˙ œ œ b ˙˙ œ œ ˙˙ ˙˙ & ˙˙ ˙˙ œ œ œœ œ ˙˙

5

B

7 8 7 0

7

8

10 12 0 0

8

7

5 3 5 4

F

1114

&

11

B

G7

10 8 5 5 5

8 5

5

C

0 132

7 8 7 0

0

7 6 7 6

7 fr.

9 fr.

˙ œ b ˙˙˙ & ˙˙˙ œ b ˙ 10 9 10 9

F

5 fr.

8 6 7 6

7

F12m6 14

B

24 UkuleleMag.com

5

1 2 1

5 0 0 0

7

4 fr.

5 4 5 5

5

1 1

5 3 5 4

1114

3

2 1 2

1

C

7 fr.

0 132

Em

0333

7 fr.

7 fr.

3 0

A m C9 1 00 3 1 2 1 4

œœ œ ˙ œ œ œœ ˙˙˙ b œœœœ œ ˙˙˙ œœœ ˙ 10 7 7 7

5 fr.

2 1 2 2 0 0

œ œœœ œ œ

œ 0

8

D1111 m7 G 13b 9 1214

œœœ œ œ

0

3

G

3 fr.

Ó

G7

5 5 5 4

5 fr.

7

0 213

7 5 5 5

G7

3

5

3 0 0

0

C000 add9 3

4 fr.

œœ ˙ œœ

œ ˙ & ˙˙˙ œ b œœœ œ œ œ œ œ 10 8 5 5 5

3 0 0 0

œœœ œ œ

0 213

11

5

˙˙˙ ˙

5 5 5 5

3 0 0 3

C

7

œœœ œ ˙˙ œœ œ ˙˙ ˙˙ b œœ œ ˙˙

5

7 7 8 8 9 0

6 fr.

5

000 3

3 fr.

5 3 5 4

G1324 dim G dim D m7 D m7 b 5 G 7 13 2 4 1111 2314 2314

C6

1114

5 fr.

7

7

˙ œœœ œ ˙˙˙˙ œ œ ˙˙ œ ˙˙ œ œ ˙˙

D1113 m9 G 9 1333

6 fr.

˙ œ œ ˙˙˙ b b œœœ

8

0321

G13dim 24

7 fr.

7 8 7 0

0

G7

2 3 1 2 2 0 0

5 5

10 8

2314

œ ˙˙ œ œ ˙˙ œ œ œ œ œ

& 44 œ œ

B

5

5 3 5

0 213

5 fr.

Ex. 6

B

5 3

7 8 7 0

7 7 7 0

5

C6

4 fr.

˙˙˙ œ ˙ œ

5 5 5 5

3 5 4 0

5

5 7 3 4 3

C6

0 231

˙˙˙˙ b œœœ œ œ 7 4 5 4

3 0 0 2

4

0

····

12 fr.

. . . .

Ó

Harm. 12 12 12 12

Ukulele

Summer 2014

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Songbook Sloop John B Traditional, arranged by Andrew DuBrock

“S

loop John B” dates back well over a century to the old Bahamian folk song “The John B. Sails.” Inspired by a real “sponger” ship” (a boat used to gather sponges from the ocean), the original “John B.” has long been wrecked. Different reports disagree on where the ship’s wreckage lies, but it’s most commonly believed to be resting in Governor’s Harbor on Eleuthera Island. Carl Sandburg included the song in his 1927 book, The American Songbag (as “The John B. Sails”), and many renditions of the song have been recorded under a variety of names since that time. The most popular recording of the tune appears on the Beach Boys’ 1966 masterpiece, Pet Sounds. Initially inspired by the Kingston Trio’s version of the song, Beach Boy Al Jardine brought it to Brian Wilson, who reworked it into a Beach Boys hit. The song has been played in many keys, and it’s shown here in the key of A, which falls easily under the fingers on ukulele (and is close in pitch to the Beach Boys’ version, which was recorded a half step lower in the key of A). The Beach Boys filled out the harmony with a few extra chords, but you really only need three chords to play the song: A, E7, and D. Try the strum pattern shown on p. 27, using either a pick, your index finger, or your thumb to strum. If you’d like to fingerpick the tune, try the alternate-bass pattern as a starting point. The melody for the verses and choruses is the same. Begin playing this melody with your frethand’s index finger up on the fourth fret of the first string. This puts your hand in perfect position to grab every note through the end of measure 5 with your index, ring, and pinky fingers (on the fourth, sixth, and seventh frets, respectively). When you reach the seventh measure, move your hand down to root position, using your index, ring, and pinky fingers to grab notes at the second, fourth, and fifth frets. —Andrew DuBrock

26 UkuleleMag.com

Ukulele

Summer 2014

Beginner

Strum Pattern

Fingerpicking Pattern

A

A

210 0

## & # 44 œœœ œ

Chords

A

E7

210 0

D

12 0 3

210 0

12 3 0

≥

*Strum:

0 0 1 B 2 * ≥ = down; ≤ = up

Û

Û

Û

Û

≥

Û

≤

Û

Û

Û

Û

≤

Œ œ

≥

j j j œ œœ œ œ œ

‰ œ 1

2

0

0

0

1

2

Melody (Verse/Chorus)

A

210 0

## & # 44 œ

œ

.. œ œ œ œ J J

1. We

come on the Sloop John 2–3. See additional lyrics.

.4 .

0

B

4

4

4

5

˙ B

Œ œ

my

4

0

E7

5

town

we

7

7

5

4

4

4

-

ther and 4

5

Œ œ

me

Œ ‰ j œ œ œ œ

roam

Drink - ing all

7

0

2

4

œ. œ œ œ. J J

A - round Nas - sau

4

0

A

w

did

grand - fa

˙

4

4

5

D

210 0

12 0 3

# # œ. œ œ œ œ & # J

œ. œ œ œ œ J

12 3 0

Œ œ œ œ œ œ

w

night

got in

0

0

0

-

to a 2

4

w fight 5

B

A

E7

210 0

## & # Ó

11

‰ œ Well 5

B Summer 2014

Ukulele

j œ œ

A

210 0

12 0 3

œ œ œ œ. J

I

feel

so

broke

up

0

4

4

4

0

Œ

œ œ œ œ œ I

want

to

2

2

0

go 4

w

home 0

Ó

Œ

œ

So 0

.. . .

UkuleleMag.com 27

Songbook A

1.

A

We come on the Sloop John B, my grandfather and me

3. The first mate, he got drunk and broke in the captain’s trunk

E7

E7

Around Nassau town we did roam A

The constable had to come and take him away

D

A

Drinking all night, got into a fight A

D

Sheriff John Stone, why don’t you leave me alone?

E7

A

A

Well, I feel so broke up, I want to go home Chorus

E7

A

Well, I feel so broke up, I want to go home Repeat Chorus

A

So hoist up the John B’s sail, see how the mainsail sets E7

A

4. The poor cook, he caught the fits and threw away all my grits

Call for the captain ashore, let me go home A

E7

And then he took and he ate up all of my corn

D

Let me go home, I want to go home A

E7

A A

Well, I feel so broke up, I want to go home

D

Let me go home, why don’t they let me go home A

E7

A

This is the worst trip I’ve ever been on Repeat Chorus

28 UkuleleMag.com

Ukulele

Summer 2014

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Songbook

I Ride an Old Paint Traditional, arranged by Andrew DuBrock

C

arl Sandburg discovered the old folk tune “I Ride an Old Paint” as he travelled around the Southwest, and included it in his 1927 book The American Songbag (along with “The John B. Sails,” the original name for “Sloop John B,” which is also featured in this issue). Since that time, many artists, from Woody Guthrie to Michael Martin Murphey, have released the song. You can even hear an early recording of Sandburg singing the song online. “I Ride an Old Paint” uses only two chords: C and G7. A standard G chord will work fine in place of the G7, but I’ve used a G7 here because it allows for a thicker sound when fingerpicked. The tune uses 3/4 time, and you can try the strumming pattern shown below, left, which strikes the bass note on the third string and follows that up with two strums to fill out the measure. Fingerpickers

might try the pattern shown below, right, which creates an ascending and descending arpeggio of each chord. Most recordings of the tune feature two chords like this, but Michael Martin Murphey, in his interpretation of the tune (“Goodbye Old Paint”), moves to an F chord in measures 15 and 23, resolving to the C chord in measures 16 and 24. This version of the song shows a standard number of measures for the verse and chorus sections, but many artists pause between some of the phrases, stretching things out by strumming through the chords for a few extra beats. For instance, Woody Guthrie would always add a measure or two after the eighth measure. He’d also stretch out the choruses by pausing for two, three, or even four measures after each of the two phrases (measures 20 and 24). —Andrew DuBrock

Beginner

Fingerpicking Pattern

Strum Pattern

C

Chords

C

0003

& 43 œ

G7

0003

C

0003

0 213

*Strum:

≥

* ≥ = down; ≤ = up

Verse

œœ œœ

3 0 0 0

3 0 0 0

≥

0

B

œœ œœ

≥

C

1. I

3

B

G

0132

30 UkuleleMag.com

œ Œ œ

ride an old paint 2–3. See additional lyrics.

.3 .

p

i

5

3

3

I

3

œ . œj œ

lead 3

C

5

3

Dan

I’m

3

3

G

0003

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p

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œ

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0132

.. œ . œj œ

œ

œ

G

0003

3 &4 œ

‰ œ

0003

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œ œ œ

5

5

goin’ to Mon - tan - a 5

5

3

œ. œ œ œ ˙ J

throw the hou - li - han

to 5

7

5

7 5

3

œ They 3

C

0003

Ukulele

Summer 2014

.. œ . œj œ

& 43 œ

1. I

œ Œ œ

ride an old paint 2–3. See additional lyrics.

.3 .

3

B

G

5

3

3

lead

an old

3

3

3

5

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Dan

I’m

3

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0132

feed 5

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5

5

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5

5

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7

5 7 5

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tails

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I

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2

2

their

0

œ œ J

backs are all

2

3

3

3

œ œ œ raw Ride 3

2

a 3

B Chorus

G

C

0132

round 5

lit - tle 5

œ œ ˙

dog - ies ride a - round

5

5

3

3

5

C

0132

œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

&˙

17

G

0003

them

7

7

slow 5

3

œ

œ

0003

œ œ œ

For they’re fier - y 3

3

2

and

2

2

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œ œ œ œ ˙.

œ and

0

2

rar - in’

to

go

3

3

3

3

B

C

1.

G7

I ride an old paint, I lead an old Dan G7

. .

C

His wife, she died in a poolroom fight

C

G7

I’m goin’ to Montana to throw the houlihan G7

..

C

But still he keeps singing from morning to night

C

They feed in the coolies, they water in the draw G7

Repeat Chorus

C

Their tails are all matted, their backs are all raw

C

3. Chorus

When I die, take my saddle from the wall G7

G7

C

Ride around little dogies, ride around them slow G7

C

For they’re fiery and snuffy and rarin’ to go

C

And put it on my pony and lead him from his stall G7

C

Tie my bones to his back, turn our faces to the west G7

C

And we’ll ride the prairies that we love the best C

2.

Old Bill Jones had two daughters and a song G7

Repeat Chorus

C

One went to Denver, the other went wrong

Summer 2014

Ukulele

UkuleleMag.com 31

Songbook

It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me Words and music by Billy Joel

T

his hit song from the 1980 Billy Joel album Glass Houses was the seventh best-selling single that year. It’s a cynical look at the punk, new wave, disco, and other so-called new-music styles that flooded the charts in the 1970s and threatened to leave Joel behind. In the song’s lyrics, the defiant protagonist is making a case for the power of what you would now call classic rock and roll. The resulting song soared to platinum status, so Joel got the last laugh, at least commercially, if not creatively. “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” has a fast, rock shuffle beat and a sassy, anthemic feel—the chorus is perfect for a club or party sing-along. —Andrew DuBrock

This transcription is excerpted from Billy Joel for Ukulele (Rondor Music Int’l), distributed by the Hal Leonard Corp. It can be purchased at halleonard.com.

32 UkuleleMag.com

Ukulele

Summer 2014

Intermediate

First note: xxx

3

Moderately Fast Shuffle ( q q = q e )

Verse

C

Bb

Em

0003

0321

& 44 .. Œ œ

œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ

C

&Œ

5

œ œ

May - be

I

œ

œ

œ

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old

© 1980 IMPULSIVE MUSIC. ALL RIGHTS ADMINISTERED BY ALMO MUSIC CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED BY PERMISSION. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF HAL LEONARD CORPORATION

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Summer 2014

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lot

of

hid - in’

bœ

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to the age

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roll

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to

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me

fi

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jive

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can’t

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dress

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12

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tab

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should buy some

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UkuleleMag.com 33

Songbook Bridge

G

F

0132

&œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

19

it

does - n’t

22

say

in

the

Œ

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band in

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town

but

Eb 0 231

Œ ‰ œJ

26

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at your av - er - age teen

Bb

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talk - in’ ’bout the

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you

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in

∑

& œj

30

G

C9

1 00 3

but

œ

it’s

œ œ œ

still

j œ œ.

œ œ

rock and roll

to

me

Bb

F Am

Nowadays you can’t be too sentimental Em

F

D

G

“Welcome back to the age of jive

Your best bet’s a true baby blue Continental”

Em

C

Am

Where have you been hidin’ out lately, honey? G

You can’t dress trashy till you spend a lot of money” C

Em

Bb

Everybody’s talkin’ ’bout the new sound F

Am

G

C

Bb

Em

F

Hot funk, cool punk, even it’s old junk Am

G

C

It’s still rock and roll to me Bridge G

F

Funny, but it’s still rock and roll to me

Oh, it doesn’t matter what they say in the papers

C

Cause it’s always been the same old scene

E7 2.

Em

What’s the matter with the car I’m drivin’? Bb

F

“Can’t you tell that it’s out of style?”

Ó

Em

Em

D

U

Should I get a set of whitewall tires?

C

Maybe I should buy some old tab collars

Em

Ó

œ.

“Are you gonna cruise the miracle mile?

Bb

a mag - a - zine

0132

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0003

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scene

fi Coda C

a

D.C. al Coda (with repeat)

C

Em

What’s the matter with the clothes I’m wearin’

œ œ

œ

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w

Fun - ny

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al - ways been the same old

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F

bœ

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2010

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12 0 3

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F 2010

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aimed

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2010

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31

12 0 3

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mat - ter what they

A m 2000

&œ

E7

2010

Am

G

F

There’s a new band in town, but you can’t get the sound E7

Ab Eb

F

G

From a story in a magazine, aimed at your average teen 34 UkuleleMag.com

Ukulele

Summer 2014

C

3.

C

Em

4.

How about a pair of pink side-winders Bb

F

Em

What’s the matter with the crowd I’m seein’? Bb

F

And a bright orange pair of pants?

“Don’t you know that they’re out of touch?”

C

C

Em

“Well, you could really be a Beau Brummell, baby Bb

F

Em

Well, should I try to be a straight “A” student? Bb

F

If you just give it half a chance

“If you are, then you think too much

Em

Em

Am

Don’t waste your time on a new set of speakers Em

D

G

You get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers” C

Bb

Em

F

Next phase, new wave dance craze, anyways Am

G

C

It’s still rock and roll to me

Am

Don’t you know about the new fashion, honey? Em

D

G

All you need are looks and a whole lot of money” C

Bb

Em

F

It’s the next phase, new wave dance craze, anyways Am

G

C

It’s still rock and roll to me C

Em

Bb

Everybody’s talkin’ ’bout the new sound F

Am

G

C

Funny, but it’s still rock and roll to me

Summer 2014

Ukulele

UkuleleMag.com 35

Songbook Old Folks at Home Words and music by Stephen Foster, arranged by Andrew DuBrock

S

tephen Foster penned “Old Folks at Home” in 1851 when it was initially used in one of the controversial minstrel performances common to that time period. But the strength of its catchy melody enabled “Old Folks at Home” to endure to this day (along with a few lyrical adaptations). The song talks about a “Swanee” River, and many mistakenly assume that is the name of the song, but its inspiration comes from the similarly spelled Suwannee River that runs through northern Florida into the Gulf of Mexico (a place Foster apparently never visited). However, over the years, the song drew enough tourism to the region that it now serves as the official state song of Florida.

Over the years, the song drew enough tourism to the region that it now serves as the official state song of Florida.

Try the strum pattern shown on p. 37 for a rhythm that works throughout the song. Use your index finger, your thumb, or a combination of the two (the thumb for downstrokes and the index finger for upstrokes). For a more flowing rhythm, try the second strum pattern. However, if you do try this pattern, you may find it trickier to keep strumming through the quick midmeasure chord changes in bars 7, 15, 20, and 23. For those measures, try briefly switching to the first strum pattern—this makes it easier to change chords, while also adding emphasis to each chord change. If you find the chord changes a little quick to handle, you can simplify the strum pattern and it will still sound fine. For instance, try strumming only quarter notes on the beat, using downstrokes (which you can do with either your thumb or index finger). Fingerpickers may want to try any alternate-bass pattern, like the one shown on p. 37. —Andrew DuBrock 36 UkuleleMag.com

Stephen Foster

Ukulele

Summer 2014

Intermediate

Strum Pattern 1

Strum Pattern 2

C

0003

Chords

C

F

0003

0 213

*Strum:

C

F

0003

œ œ œ œ

.0 .

2

œ œ œ

there’s where the old 0

0

B

2

C 0003

Still 0

B Summer 2014

2

0

œ

Ukulele

0

0

folks

˙

0

2

All

0

2

œ œj œ . 3

0

0

G7 0 213

and for the old folks at home 3

0

œ œj œ .

0

2

0

2

2

0

˙

sad

3

0

G7

-

œ œ ly

0

G7

2

C

0003

.. œ . œ œ œ J 2

roam

0

0 213

. .

w

I

Chorus

All

0 3

0 213

3

0

C 0003

œ œ œ œ œ œ w

2

C

3 2

3

0

0

turn - ing ev - er

0003

up and down the whole cre - a - tion

C 0003

old plan - ta - tion

0

2

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œ

There’s where my heart is

œ œ œ œ œ

0

0

œ œ œ œ

F

stay

2

F

2010

w

3 2

3

3

a - way

0

2010

˙

w

0

0

C

C

œ œ œ œ œ 0

far

0

0

3

0

0003

0003

F 2010

long - ing for the

far

0

G7

3

13

2

0

Û Û Û Û Û Û

3 0 0 0

G7

œ œ

‰ œj œœj œ œj œ œ

≥ ≤ ≥ ≤ ≥ ≤

0 213

˙

Swan - ee Riv - er

0 213

&œ

C

3

0

0

0003

&˙

≥

Û Û Û Û Û

œ œj œ .

œ

1. Way down u - pon the 2. See additional lyrics.

7

≥ ≤

0003

2010

& 44 .. ˙

C

≥ ≤ ≥

0003

œœ Û Û Û Û Û Û œŒ œœ

* ≥ = down; ≤ = up

Verse

B

≥

3 0 0 0

B

C

0003

4 & 4 œœœ Û Û Û Û Û œ

G7

2010

Fingerpicking Pattern

C

the world is 3

5

3

j œ œ œ œ.

sad and drear - y 3

0

3

3

UkuleleMag.com 37

Songbook

Intermediate

F

C

0003

2010

&œ œ œ œ

19

0

1

C

˙

roam

0

F

0003

w

Ev - ery - where I 3

G7

0 213

Oh

3

œ œ œ œ œ

how my heart is

0

2

B C

1.

F

C

0

F

0

2

C

G7

C

G7

F

C

3

far 3

C

0003

from the old folks at 0

F

0

2

..

œ œ w

2

2

C

. .

home

0

G7

All round the little farm I wandered, when I was young C

F

C

G7

C

Then many happy days I squandered, many a song I sung C

F

C

G7

When I was playing with my brother, happy was I

G7

C

Still longing for the old plantation and for the old folks at home

C

F

C

G7

C

Oh, take me to my kind old mother, there let me live and die Repeat Chorus

Chorus G7

G7

0 213

œ œ œ œ

C

All up and down the whole creation, sadly I roam C

0

0

2.

C

F

grow - ing wear - y

G7

There’s where my heart is turning ever, there’s where the old folks stay C

œ œj œ .

3

Way down upon the Swanee River, far, far away C

C

0003

2010

C

F

C

G7

All the world is sad and dreary everywhere I roam C

F

C

G7

C

Oh, how my heart is growing weary far from the old folks at home

Suwannee River

38 UkuleleMag.com

ANDREW DuBROCK, former Acoustic Guitar music editor and author of Stringletter publication Acoustic Rock Basics, lives in Portland, Oregon, where he transcribes, edits, and engraves music for print and multimedia publications.

Ukulele

Summer 2014

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The

M U S EU M

DOWNSTAIRS Ukulele aficionado Sandor Nagyszalanczy shows off his prized collection By David Knowles

‘When I first started collecting, it was kind of scattershot. Everything I saw, I bought.’ —Sandor Nagyszalanczy

40 UkuleleMag.com

H

idden away on the ground floor of a redwood-shaded home set high in the Santa Cruz Mountains is a ukulele collection like no other. Lining the walls, from floor to ceiling, more than 400 iterations of the instrument—from vintage Martins and coveted Maccaferri plastic ukes to a Donald Duck–shaped model and an outsider art one-off—vie for one’s attention as you pass through a home recording studio and into a one-room ukulele man cave.

Ukulele

Summer 2014

MICHAEL ANSLER

W

hen I first started collecting, it was kind of scattershot— everything I saw, I bought,” Sandor Nagyszalanczy says as he stands beneath a lamp whose makeshift shade is constructed of, what else, a dozen ukes.

astonished reaction to an official 1940s U.S. Army poster demonstrating proper ukulele technique that is tucked behind a few homemade instruments fashioned out of metal.

Wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt, his long graying hair casting him as an aging member of the Beach Boys, Sandor (pronounced Shandoor) beams with pride at my

Though there’s a pack-rat quality to his collection, Sandor’s nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the instrument distinguishes him from your garden-variety

Summer 2014

Ukulele

“I guess the Army thought ukes were good for morale,” Sandor says.

hoarder, and he’s happy to let me play any of the ukes that, by and large, he keeps free of dust. “I try to tune them once a month or so,” he explains as I strum a round-backed model. When I ask what got him started collecting these instruments, Sandor darts out of the room and returns carrying an old photograph. “A little while ago I found this photo,” Sandor says.

In the faded picture, a twoyear-old boy is holding a model not dissimilar to the dozens of plastic instruments on his wall designed by famed Italian luthier Mario Maccaferri, whose Selmer acoustic guitars were played by Gypsy jazz legend Django Reinhardt. “I don’t really remember playing it,” Sandor says, “but I guess my interest in it can be traced back to Hungary.” UkuleleMag.com 41

I

t was in 1957, when Sandor was just three, that his parents plotted their escape from behind the Iron Curtain and the Sovietcontrolled nation of his birth. “We left during the revolution of 1956 and literally crawled under barbed wire, and came to America,” he says, smiling. “We were refugees in an army camp, then were situated in an all-Hungarian ghetto in Newark, New Jersey.” His plastic ukulele didn’t make the trip, and it wasn’t until years later, when his girlfriend surprised him with a gift, that Sandor would rekindle his interest in the instrument. “It was a Martin Style O,” Sandor recalls. “She came in one day and presented me with it and said, ‘I know you have a Martin guitar, so here’s a Martin ukulele.’ “I said, ‘I hope you didn’t pay too much money for it,’ and she said, ‘No, no, no, I bought it at a thrift store for one dollar!’” The bargain-priced Martin sparked Sandor’s passion for the ukulele, and he soon began bringing it along on busking sessions on Santa Cruz’s Pacific Garden Mall.

SANDOR NAGYSZALANCZY

“I was 22, and was singing with an a cappella group. We did a lot of doo-wop, but had some other songs that seemed a little thin, so I brought the ukulele down and I’d put the neck down the back of my pants and then pull it out on a few Tin Pan Alley songs,” Sandor says. “It was a great addition!” Still, not everyone he encountered on his quest was ready to give the uke its due. “I remember early on I brought my uke to a party, and a girl said, ‘Is that a ukulele? My grandmother plays one of those,’” Sandor says, laughing. “It was like, you are ultimately uncool. But I just loved them, I thought they were fun little instruments. Then I started seeing them around for very little money; nobody seemed to want them.”

A

fter landing a job back east as a writer with Fine Woodworking magazine, Sandor set off on a weekend trip to Minneapolis, where a pawn shop encounter epitomized the disdain that was so prevalent for ukes back in the

’In any discussion of ukulele, Sandor’s a great person to know because he’s got everything.’ —Dick Boak, Martin & Co. luthier and archivist

1970s.

“This crusty old dude with a stogie was sitting behind the counter. I sheepishly asked him if I could see the little instrument hanging up behind him. Grudgingly, he gets a ladder and grabs the thing, it has an inch of dust covering it, and he blows it off, and says, ‘This is what you want to see?’ And then he hands the uke to me and says, ‘Take it. I don’t want to see you or this instrument again.’ “Even a pawn shop dealer had no idea about the value of these instruments at that time.”

42 UkuleleMag.com

Ukulele

Summer 2014

O

f course, without that ignorance Sandor might never have compiled such a fantastic collection. “I started seeing all these ukuleles everywhere,” Sandor explains. “Often they were marked as children’s toys. They were a dollar here and five dollars there.” What with his love of woodworking and stringed instruments, it’s no surprise that Sandor has tried his hand at making ukuleles, but he says his best effort ended up with an ex-girlfriend. “Let’s just say it’s long gone now,” he says with a smile. While his own creations may not have changed the course of ukulele history, Sandor has played a part in making sure that the beloved instrument didn’t simply go the way of old girlfriends. While living back east, he became friends with Martin Guitars luthier and archivist Dick Boak, who Sandor routinely pressured to resume production of the company’s famed uke line. “Sandor is a tremendous ukulele collector,” Boak says. “In any discussion of ukuleles, he’s a great person to know, because he’s got everything.” Eventually, Martin did re-release the commensurate-with-its-price 5K model, and has since gone on to bring back more of its less expensive ukes.

“It’s really hard to date them,” Sandor says, holding the unmarked, darkened wood instrument up for inspection. “But there’s no instrument that people can identify as a ukulele earlier than about 1890.” As the price of ukuleles has skyrocketed over the past couple of decades, the pace of Sandor’s acquisitions has slowed. Still, he hasn’t given up proselytizing for the instrument he loves so much, helping in 2002 to cofound the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz, along with Andy Andrews and Peter Thomas. “We had the fortune of being one of the first clubs, and having this nexus of interest not only in the instrument but in Hawaiian music,” Sandor explains. “One of the reasons is because Santa Cruz became one of the ukulele capitals of the world partially because of the surfing connection. One of the first times anybody surfed here was at Steamer Lane [it was legendary Hawaiian surfer and competition swimmer Duke Kahanamoku]. Through that rich connection with the islands, different people in the club knew people over there, ukulele [and slack-key guitar] players [like] the Pahinuis, Dennis Kamakahi, all those guys.” The club, whose theme song is “Under the Boardwalk” in honor of the famed Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, meets on the third Thursday of each month, regularly drawing more than 100 participants to

MICHAEL ANSLER

By the time Sandor returned to California and founded the allukulele group the UkeAholics, with Eric Conly and Ukulele Dick McKee, in 1999, he’d amassed enough instruments to fill three of the four walls of his ukulele man-cave shrine.

A

mong his more prized finds was a uke made out of a soldier’s mess kit during World War II, while the oldest instrument he owns dates back to the turn of the last century.

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UkuleleMag.com 43

its makeshift theater in Santa Cruz. As the ukulele wave has started to build on the mainland in recent years, the club has had nights with crowds of upwards of 300 players when big-name acts have dropped by to perform. “The seeds of interest were already there from people who knew about Hawaiian music, but the bottom line was that Andy [Andrews], who was really running the club at the time, would just call these guys and say ‘Hey, next time you’re on the mainland just come and play for us.’ In the first five, six, seven years of our existence just about anybody who is anybody who played the ukulele came and played for us for free,” Sandor says. “We had [famed Hawaiian soloist] Eddie Bush come unannounced!” Despite the marquee talent, the club’s vibe has remained decidedly laid back. “We have a wonderful venue called Bocci’s Cellar,” Sandor explains. “It’s a wonderful old Victorian house that has a restaurant and bar on the first floor, and behind it they built the most ramshackle space to have covered bocce ball courts—think barn-meets-clubhouse-meets-tree-house, a million roof lines and holes. You can see through the roof everywhere. It’s funky, funky, funky.” Pulling down yet another handmade uke from the wall—this one fabricated out of tin, with a metal neck and a one-of-a-kind wingnut tuning key lock—it’s clear that Sandor has never used the word funky as an insult, and, thankfully, never will.

A

s for the future of his collection, Sandor says he has no immediate plans to open his shrine to the public. In the long run, however, he says he envisions donating the ukuleles to a music museum. But, first, there’s one ukulele that he’s still searching for—a rumored tramp-art model, the body of which was constructed with glued-together cigar boxes.

SANDOR NAGYSZALANCZY

“It’s one of the Holy Grails,” Sandor says. “Who knows if I’ll ever find one, but I keep looking.”

Ukulele

Summer 2014

Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel

46 UkuleleMag.com

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Summer 2014

THE LOVE BOAT

Sarah Maisel & Craig Chee have turned a ukulele partnership that began on a cruise ship into a romance with career benefits Text by Mark Segal Kemp Photos by Michael Amsler

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UkuleleMag.com 47

S

arah Maisel and Craig Chee didn’t set out to become a couple—they set out to become a ukulele duo: she the trad-jazz connoisseur and he the indie-pop dude. In fact, it takes a full hour of conversation for their couple-ness to surface. Maisel lets slip the magic word: “Honey, could you bring that . . . ?” She catches herself mid-sentence, glances sheepishly at Chee, then explodes into laughter. She was asking him to bring some sort of uke gear to where she sits, strumming her custom-built sunburst DaSilva, when the word dropped from her mouth— inadvertently, unexpectedly, but quite naturally. “OK, so we’re a couple!” exclaims Maisel, mock-defensively, as she regains her composure. Chee just grins. The two are hanging out at the DaSilva Ukulele Company in Sawtooth Studios, a sprawling, block-long industrial building on the west side of Berkeley, California, that houses artists of all kinds: potters, jewelers, dancers, and, in the case of Mike DaSilva, ukulele makers. DaSilva holds regular music events here on a small stage surrounded by woodworking machinery, bookshelves, an upright piano, and some digital recording equipment. Later in the afternoon, Maisel and Chee will be conducting a ukulele workshop for a couple dozen or so people. The two officially met at DaSilva’s booth at the 2013 National Association of Music Merchants trade show in Anaheim, California. Before that, Maisel had been performing since the early 2010s with bassist Paul Tillery and recording albums of jazz and pop standards ranging from “The Lady Is a Tramp” (from her 2010 debut Have Uke Will Travel) and “East of the Sun” (from 2011’s In the Moment) to “Blue Skies” and “How High the Moon” (from 2012’s With Love, Sarah Maisel). Chee’s solo work is more rock-band oriented—his 2011 album Life in the Key of Chee features guitar, mandolin, violin, bass, drums, and tambourine on original songs that would fit well on a Pitchfork.com indie-folk playlist. When the two met, Chee thought his music could complement Maisel’s. “He was like, ‘You have a very different sound than me, and you’re female, and you sing, and I think we can cover a lot of bases,’” Maisel remembers. “I just thought it would be cool to blend our styles,” Chee adds. The duo initially teamed up for a uke cruise along the US West Coast, but they were soon playing together at the Cairns Ukulele Festival in Australia. By then, they were inseparable, although still not officially a couple. “We actually didn’t want to get together romantically at first,” Chee says. “I was like, ‘This is working out so well and people love us so much—I’m glad we’re not dating, because that would just cause so many problems.’” “And that was it,” Maisel says, finishing his thought. Apparently, denying the bond only confirmed it. “We just kept being put together, so I was like, ‘Fine. I guess I’ll date you, Craig.’”

48 UkuleleMag.com

e k a t to m my d e t n ro ‘I waething fd share som ture an thers.’ ee h cul with o C g ai —Cr that

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L

ess than a month earlier, Maisel and Chee are at their second NAMM show together, trying to compete with the cacophony of guitars, basses, drums, electronics, and thunderous chatter from the thousands of music heads strolling through the Anaheim Convention Center. Maisel and uke bassist Jason Arimoto are perched on a pair of stools at the Ohana exhibit booth, cooking up a little musical sweet and light along with Chee, who stands next to them in a Hawaiian shirt, playing lead ukulele. A small crowd swells around them as Maisel, in a yellow shirt and tan pants, gets a bit bawdy on a smoking blues tune. Over a walking bass line and slinky rhythm, Maisel sings, “When I go to the door and he answers, he looks right at me and says, ‘Oh, little girl, what’re you lookin’ for?’” She grins mischievously as Chee fills in the gaps with stinging leads. “I say, ‘I’m out of sugar. What’s a girl supposed to do? It could be brown, it could be white, but I’ve got to have that sweet sugar tonight.’” The trio then launches full-throttle into a blues jam that has the crowd nodding their heads and tapping their toes. Maisel credits her dad with inspiring her early on to explore the intersection of jazz and the blues. “My father was a big Crumb fan,” she says, referring to cartoonist R. Crumb, who not only illustrates the blues—he designed Janis Joplin’s classic 1968 album Cheap Thrills, and in the ’80s released a series of illustrated trading cards compiled as Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country—but also performs with his own eclectic country/swing/jazz band. “My family was definitely the weird family,” Maisel continues. “All of my friends loved my dad. They were like, ‘Your dad’s so cool!’ And of course, being young, I was like, ‘Oh, God, he’s so embarrassing!’ But I didn’t really feel that way.” Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Maisel lived in an unlikely part of the country to have a Crumb-loving dad who taught his daughter about the blues and jazz and encouraged her to follow her muse wherever it took her. It started with the violin. “I played classical violin from six years old until about 17,” she says. “I was in string orchestras, did the private lessons, performed at private parties and stuff like that.” And then it all stopped. Suddenly. Maisel was 17 when her mother, who had been diagnosed with leukemia when Sarah was just five, died. Later that year, Maisel also lost a beloved great-grandmother. It was a one-two punch that left the naturally cheerful musician hopelessly ambivalent about music. “It was hard,” she says, “especially when my

‘I was going through a little depression when I discovered the uke, and it just pulled me right out of it.’ Summer 2014

Ukulele

—Sa r a h M a is e l

great-grandmother died. I always played piano for her. So I was like, ‘OK, we’re done. I’m finished with this.’” She enrolled at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she majored in theater, studying pattern making and costume construction. “I still wanted to be in the arts, and I knew that this would be a skill that I could always get a job in, ether doing alterations or making wedding dresses or freelancing or whatever,” Maisel says. After she graduated in 2004, Maisel moved to San Diego, California, where she worked in the theater department at the University of California and at La Jolla Playhouse. She still wasn’t making music. Then, one day, some friends from work invited her to come along with them to a pizza joint in Encinitas that held weekly Hawaiian-themed nights. She’d have a blast, they promised. “I’m like, ‘What? Ukuleles?’” Maisel cracks up, as she often does in conversation. “I mean, being from Alabama, you don’t see many ukuleles.” Her friends were right, though. Maisel was blown away when she arrived to find some 40 people, all playing ukuleles, all laughing and having fun. “It was just immediately . . .” She pauses and shakes her head, “. . . it was life-changing. To walk in this room UkuleleMag.com 49

and suddenly see all these people playing ukuleles—you could feel all the joy in the room. I must have had a look on my face, because people started coming up to me, handing me their instruments, saying, ‘You should play, you really should play.’” Maisel and three others from her theater crowd signed up for a group ukulele class at nearby MiraCosta College. That was 2006. Eight years later, Maisel is already a virtuoso. “I was going through a little depression when I discovered the uke, and it just pulled me right out of it,” she says. “It helped me during a really hard time.” She looks down at the DaSilva on her lap. “How can you not be passionate about this?” she asks. “It’s such an awesome instrument.” It wasn’t just the instrument, but also the culture around ukuleles. “You have this whole

group of people that you meet up with every week, and then you discover more people,” she says. “Anytime I was sad or upset, all I had to do was play or go be with people who play.” While her friends were casually interested in ukuleles, Maisel was obsessed. She loved the uke, and eventually was ready to play more than just novelty songs. She wanted to learn complicated jazz chords, so she could make the kinds of music she listened to with her dad. Maisel asked her instructor, Frank Leong, if he would give her private lessons, and he introduced her to the music of Lyle Ritz, the L.A. Wrecking Crew session player who had taken the ukulele into jazz territory on his 1957 album How About Uke? Soon, she was playing Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald material.

Maisel chords her instrument with the grace and dexterity of a jazz guitarist, although she’s never played a guitar in her life. “I actually like that I don’t have a guitar background, because I don’t have preconceived notions about how to play a chord-based instrument,” she says. “When you watch someone play ukulele, a lot of times you can tell in technique if it’s a guitar player. They’re often trying to do guitar things on it. And there’s nothing wrong with that—it’s just a different way of approaching the instrument, and I like that I approach it as a ukulele. “Well, there is one thing that I do on ukulele that Byron Yasui [a music professor at the University of Hawaii] used to tease me about: I tend to play with a low G, and he jokingly would say to me, ‘That’s not a ukulele. We can still be friends, but that’s not a ukulele.’”

CRAIG CHEE’S GEAR UKES DaSilva CC-Tenor, KoAloha Slim Body Custom Tenor. STRINGS D’Addario T2. ELECTRONICS : The DaSilva uses a Fishman Pro Blend Preamp; the KoAloha uses an L.R. Baggs FIVE.O. Also, Shure 58 Beta and Fishman Aura DI. Pedals include TC Electronics Hall of Fame reverb and Boss RC-30 looper. He has a Peterson Strobe tuner. AMPLIFICATION AER Compact 60.

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Summer 2014

SARAH MAISEL’S GEAR UKES Custom DaSilva Ukulele, Compass Rose “Le Jazz” model made for her by California builder Rick Turner. She uses a combination: D’Addario T2 for C through A strings, and a PHD Ukulele Creation unwound low G.

STRINGS

The DaSilva uses a Fishman Pro Blend Preamp. The Compass Rose is equipped with a pickup builder Turner designed specifically for the instrument. She uses a TC Electronics Hall of Fame reverb pedal.

ELECTRONICS

Fishman Loudbox 100 for restaurant gigs, though she plans to switch to an AER Compact 60.

AMPLIFICATION

M

aisel was on the hunt for a low G string when DaSilva introduced her to Chee. She hates wound G strings, but was having a hard time finding non-wound strings that she liked. DaSilva, whom she’d met in 2011 at the San Diego Ukulele Festival, told her to contact Chee, who knew someone with the kind of G string Maisel was looking for. Like Maisel, Chee had a background in classical music—he grew up in the Manoa Valley on the island of Oahu in Hawaii playing cello—but took up the uke after arriving for college at the University of Oregon in Eugene. “I didn’t see myself carrying my cello around to parties going, ‘Hey, guys, let’s play some music!’” he says. His laugh is as infectious as Maisel’s, but louder and more husky. “That’s when I decided to pick up ukulele,” Chee adds. “I wanted to take something from my culture and share that with others.” At first, Chee formed a duo with a fellow Hawaiian who played guitar. Eventually, the duo expanded to a full band with drums and percussion, keyboards, horns, and other stringed instruments. Chee and his group of instrumentalists and hula dancers landed a weekly Friday night gig at a club called Noho’s Café. In the three years that they played Summer 2014

Ukulele

the job, Chee became proficient on ukulele. Then he met Maisel. While DaSilva takes credit for introducing the two, he won’t be blamed for their hooking up. He just smiles and shakes his head as he walks about in the ukulele company he’s had in Berkeley for the past decade. “That’s on them,” DaSilva says. Once Maisel and Chee began playing together, they became a virtual DaSilva traveling ad. Maisel was playing an $800 Pono ukulele when DaSilva offered to custom-build a uke for her. “At the time, I was happy with my Pono. It was my first real uke,” she says. “But then it crapped out on me during a gig and I went back to Mike and said, ‘If that offer still stands, I’d like an instrument.’” Maisel’s custom uke is a beauty—bright sunburst finish over an Adirondack spruce top (with no soundhole) and ziricote back and sides (with the soundhole on the top side). Its most interesting feature is the rosewood headplate with a guinea pig appliqué made from koa, spruce, ebony, and reconstituted stone. Chee’s signature DaSilva CC-Tenor has a hand-rubbed polyester high-gloss finish over an Adirondack spruce top, with curly koa back and sides. The notable features on his instrument are its random wood rosette, two-toned body, stone fret markers, and

slotted, asymmetric peghead with a yellowheart underlay. Over the past year, Maisel and Chee have conducted several workshops at the DaSilva Ukulele Company, and their performance schedule has gotten busier and busier. Summer 2014 has them going from a March festival in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to a June uke fest in Cheltenham, England, and on to a seven-day Alaska cruise in July that they will host, offering workshops and performances. When they first got together, Maisel and Chee weren’t sure the partnership would work out. “It was a leap of faith on both our parts,” Maisel says. “But after the Australia festival last year, we decided, ‘Yeah, this is going to work out; this is going to be a good partnership.’ Now, we’re hoping to do a record together some time next year.” The two also plan to continue doing their own solo music. “We do stuff together and we do stuff separately,” Maisel says. “It’s important to us that we keep our separate careers.” She gazes over at Chee and he smiles. “I mean, Craig writes his own music and it’s great,” Maisel observes, “but it’s different, stylistically, from what we do together. We work really well together and we have a great time, but we also don’t want to lose our n individual identities.” UkuleleMag.com 51

Completely new to the uke? By the end of this lesson, you’ll be playing your first tune By Holly Rudin-Braschi Reprinted with permission from ‘Ukulele Method: Ultra Beginner’ by Holly Rudin-Braschi. © 2011 Holly Rudin-Braschi 52 UkuleleMag.com

Ukulele

Summer 2014

Oh-muh-gawd! You just got your

singer, little did I know that I

jazz—you name it, you can play

first ukulele and are so excited.

would be hooked on an instru-

it! Since I couldn’t find a text that

But, you don’t have any idea how

ment that my husband purchased

suited my needs as a musician

to play and you want to start now.

for me as an anniversary gift!)

and teacher, I have written three

Perhaps you were inspired to

However you got connected to

books that help students learn to

purchase your ukulele because a

your ukulele, I have solutions to

read music, play chords, and play

friend invited you to a uke group,

help get your musical mojo

solos on this four-stringed

one of your favorite musicians

started.

dynamo.

plays a song on the uke that you

My ukulele is more than just a

These techniques can help

want to learn, you used to play as

“cute” instrument. It’s serious fun!

ukulele novices get started, as

a child and want to resume, or

Any devoted ukulele student who

well as give seasoned ukulele

you impulsively purchased a uke

puts in the time can learn to play

players a new look at how they

you saw beckoning in a shop win-

any genre of music, from folk to

handle their instrument.

dow. (Trained as a guitarist and

classical, rock, reggae, blues,

STEP 1:

The Basics

1

Notes: G C E A

PREPARE TO PLAY Learn the names of your strings. This sounds so obvious, but you would be surprised at how many people

don’t bother.

Knowing your string names helps:

Strings: 4 3 2 1

4 &4 œ œ

Good

B

0

œ

Cats 0

œ

Eat 0

œ Apples 0

•  tune your instrument; •  learn the note names on your fretboard; •  enable you to purchase strings and restring your uke. I help my students remember string names with

hold your uke upright so the strings face you. The string on the far left is string 4, or the G string, and the string on the far right is string 1, or the A string.

this phrase that is so silly, it’s hard to forget: “Good

To memorize their names, sing “Good Cats Eat

Cats Eat Apples.” To learn the names of the strings,

Apples” as you play each string.

Summer 2014

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UkuleleMag.com 53

2

TUNE UP Since ukulele players tend to play in groups, consider purchasing a clipon tuner. This type of tuner doesn’t

pick up the ambient sound of other musicians tuning their instruments because the tuner works off the vibrations of your instrument alone. My favorite tuners have a red-light/green-light system. When you get the string perfectly tuned, the light turns from red to green. Many of these tuners can be used on other stringed instruments including bass, cello, and guitar, so make sure you set your tuner to either “chromatic” or “ukulele in C.” Clip-on tuners have a small computer chip that gets easily “distracted” if you pluck a string too many times in a row, or pluck more than one string at the same time. Grip the tuning peg of the string you are tuning with the fingers of one hand, a finger of the other hand on the string. Pluck the string you are tuning once. As it resonates, simultaneously adjust the tuning peg until the tuner light turns green. After the tuning peg is set, mute the string with your plucking finger to stop the sound and let the minicomputer readjust. Then pluck the string again to test for

3

CLOCK INTO YOUR PLAYING POSITION Even though the traditional ukulele looks like a mini guitar, it isn’t held

or played the same way. This is due to the physics of the sound. Whether sitting or standing, imagine your head at the 12 o’clock position. Then rotate the head

4

of your ukulele slightly below the two o’clock position, about a 40° angle.

FIND THE STRUMMING ‘SWEET SPOT’ Next, position your strumming hand and arm. Do not play over the sound-

hole. The best sound from any ukulele is at a position

called the “sweet spot,” located just above the spot where the neck and body join. Depending on the length of your arms and the size of your instrument, your elbow or forearm will rest against the lower body of the uke, while the fingers tickle the sweet spot (Ex. 1).

accuracy. Remember after tuning to turn off your tuner so you don’t use up your battery too quickly (though many clip-on tuners have an on/off switch). But leave it connected to your ukulele while playing because you may need to retune several times depending on the temperature and age of the strings. Cold weather can cause strings to go sharp, while hot weather can cause them to go flat. If your strings are new, they will constantly go flat. So you will need to retune constantly to stretch them.

Ex. 1 54 UkuleleMag.com

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Summer 2014

5

GET A GRIP WITH YOUR FRETTING HAND Correct fretting-hand positioning and fretting technique is essen-

tial for a clear, vibrant sound and ergonomically safe playing. Your fretting fingers are known as: thumb; 1=index; 2=middle; 3=ring; 4=pinky (Ex. 2).

If you’re right-handed, the left-hand fingers will get

1

2

3 4

their best placement and be able to stretch farther if you place them at an angle, pointing toward your nose. Think of the left thumb as a vise that helps dis-

Ex. 2

tribute pressure evenly among the fingers. Place the underside of your thumb at the back of the ukulele neck directly behind the fretboard. Position your thumb just under the second finger at a slight angle, and then point the tip of the thumb toward your nose. Beginners often point their thumb toward the head of the ukulele, which gives a weak grip and is ergonomically bad for your wrist and fingers. For the cleanest technique, do not wrap your thumb around the neck of the ukulele. Think “little bridges” when pressing down the strings with the fingers on your left hand. The two

Ex. 3

joints of each finger should make a rounded U-shaped bridge over each string. This gives your hand the most strength and power to get the best sound from your instrument. Collapsed fingers make it hard to hold the strings down (Ex. 3). Aim for just above the fret bar at the bottom of each fret (toward the ukulele body) for the clearest sound and maximum tone quality. This is especially important when playing in the first fret because the strings are slightly higher near the nut and harder to hold down in that position (Ex. 4).

Ex . 4 Summer 2014

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UkuleleMag.com 55

6

LEARN TO STRUM Traditionally, the ukulele is strummed either with the thumb, index, or middle finger—choose

whichever feels comfortable to you. You can also use a combination of thumb, index, and middle finger if you like. Some people find the thumb is better for downstrokes while the index or middle work well for upstrokes. Whether you use your thumb or index finger, the strum movement is economical and comes from a rotating forearm. For a downstroke, the movement should be down and away from you. For an upstroke, the movement is upward and toward you. When thumb strumming, use the left underside of your thumbnail for downstrokes and the top left of your thumbnail for upstrokes. If you prefer index- or middle-finger strumming, use the top of

Ex . 5

your fingernail for downstrokes and the underside of your fingernail for upstrokes (Ex. 5).

7

ADD SOME PRESSURE Now that you have identified your favorite strumming finger or fingers, please apply some pressure to your strum. Otherwise

your playing will sound wimpy and weak. Strumming with pressure brings out the best tone quality your uku-

lele has to offer. And, let’s face it, you only have four strings. So practice techniques that bring out as much resonance from your instrument as possible. Whether you are playing piano (softly) or forte (loudly), you still need some pressure to bring out your ukulele’s best sound.

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Ukulele

Summer 2014

STEP 2:

Play Your First Chords

1

LEARN TO READ CHORD GRIDS A chord grid is a diagram of three or more frets on the ukulele’s fretboard. They are

used to represent the fretted (also known as closed) notes and non-fretted (or open) notes of a chord. They will often appear over a musical staff, directly over a lyric. This indicates: •  the harmony that supports the melody and/or vocal line and; •  when to change from one chord to the next. When looking at a chord grid: •  the vertical lines represent the strings; •  the horizontal lines indicate the fret wires that delineate the frets (spaces between the fret wires); •  solid dots tell you where to place your finger in a fret (closed notes); •  open dots indicate open strings, or a string played without pressing down a finger in a fret (open notes); •  X indicates do not play a string. Numbers under or over the grid tell you the fretting (left) hand finger to place in the fret: •  1 = index finger •  2 = middle finger •  3 = ring finger •  4 = pinky finger

Strings: G C E A Fret Fret Fret Fret Fret

1 2 3 4 5

Nut Fret wire

}

Fret (space between fret wires)

String Summer 2014

Ukulele

UkuleleMag.com 57

2

CREATE A ROADMAP FOR FRETTING BETWEEN CHORDS

frets a C note in the C chord. When moving to G7, the third finger then frets a B note in the G7 chord. In order to move smoothly between C and G7 chords, keep your place by sliding your third finger from the C

The key for accuracy and speed in moving from one specific chord to the next is to do

it the same every time. To find your “route,” identify fretted notes between chords that are either common or adjacent, then use “slide,” “pivot,” or “walking” fingers to travel from chord to chord. For example, take a look at the C and G7 chords (Ex. 6 and 7). There are no fretted notes in common between these two chords. But they have “adjacent” notes on the A string: The third finger

position (A string, third finger, third fret) up to the second fret. As you slide, continue applying pressure so you feel the fretbar as you move over it. This helps you place your third finger exactly where you want it for good tone quality. Next, place your remaining fingers in the G7 position in this order: second finger (D note, C string, second fret), then first finger (F note, E string, first fret). Practice this roadmap with your eyes closed to create fretting- and strumming-hand muscle memory and to train your ear.

to :Change Chords : Staff : Musical Staff : When to ChangeWhen Chords Notes show Strum how the melody line. the melody Strumline. the C chord on the C chord on The chord grids above indicate beats d grids above indicate beats 1 and 3 until the 1 and 3 until the Downstr harmony that supports “He,” when you switch mony thatthe supports word “He,” whenword you switch Universa the melody. ody. to the G7 chord. to the G7 chord. “strum d C Gyo7 C G7 when 0003 0 213 0003 0 213 beneath Ex . 6

≥

44 œ

m:

Strum: ≥

≥

4 œ & ˙4 œ

58 UkuleleMag.com

≥ ≥

œ œ ˙ œ

Ex . 7

≥

≥

˙ œ

≥ ≥

œ œ ˙ œ Ukulele

≥ ≥

Summer 2014

œœ

GEAR TIPS

STRINGS No matter how inexpensive your instrument, a good set of strings can make all the difference in tone quality. Whether you play a soprano, concert, or tenor ukulele, consider choosing a high-quality set of strings that includes a low G string. The low G gives you three extra low melody notes that aren’t available in traditional high-G string sets: the G, A, and B notes below middle C. These three extra low notes enable you to play a world of lead melodies. In addition, a low G string provides a more rounded depth of sound for your instrument.

You can choose: •  Low G strings wound with metal: The metal increases the weight of the string while keeping the flexibility of a smaller string and provides a vibrant sound. Strings that are too thick have a dead, muddy sound.

Both metal and “no wound” are acceptable. But remember that metal can wear out the wood between the fret bars. I recommend looking at Aquila or Worth low-G string sets.

•  “No wound” low G strings: Some musicians don’t like metal-wound strings because they make a hissing sound when a finger rubs the winding.

STRAPS

Uke straps make holding your instrument easier. Using a strap puts less pressure on your strumming and fingerpicking arm, allowing it to work freely, and is particularly helpful when you stand and play. Plus, straps keep your uke in the optimal position for ergonomically sound playing.

neck facing the floor. Many instrument stores have in-house luthiers who can install the buttons in a jiffy. Then, choose a strap that fits your instrument and personality. Many uke manufacturers now sell ukulele straps. Check out kalabrand.com. You can also choose a colorful guitar strap if you have a large frame.

Have a luthier (stringed-instrument maker) install one strap button on the bottom of the body and a second button at the base of the

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3

DEMYSTIFYING THE MUSIC In my experience, most beginners purchase a load of ukulele songbooks to help

kick-start their learning. Most have never read a note of music, so when they excitedly open their new purchases, the musical staff looks like hieroglyphics and they panic. “This Old Man” (Ex. 8, page 61) is typical of what you

will get in most ukulele songbooks. Most books don’t include the beats and the note names underneath the staff. My beginning books do in order to help students learn to read music. What you are looking at is a musical staff containing the melody notes. Melody notes are the notes that are sung or played by a solo instrument. On top of the staff are the chord grids that identify the harmonies that accompany the melody line. Strum Markings: Some beginning books include strum

Practice Breeds Progress Learning to play an instrument and read music is like learning a new language. It involves choreography and coordination of muscle, auditory, and visual memory. It takes time to grow calluses on your fretting hand so your fingertips don’t hurt when you play. The more you play, the more it hurts, the faster your calluses will form. When you are first learning, set your ukulele and music up near your TV chair. There are 20 minutes of commercials in a one-hour television show. Even if you record your favorite shows, let the commercials roll, switch on your mute button, and practice. You will be surprised at your progress! Multi-instrumentalist Holly Rudin-Braschi has taught hundreds of beginners to successfully make music on their ukuleles with professional techniques. She has been teaching group and private ukulele lessons at Santa Rosa Junior College and the Petaluma School of Music in California for ten years and has taught master classes around the United States. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College in musicology and a master’s degree in music from the Manhattan School of Music. She is the author of three ukulele books. For more information, visit ukelesson.com.

markings. The downstroke sign looks like a small table. The upstroke sign looks like a V. In this example we are only using a downstroke on the 1 and 3 beats of each measure. Changing Chords: Start playing a chord. Continue playing the chord designated above the lyrics until a new chord is indicated above a word. Then quickly change chords and do not stop strumming. Don’t look at your fretting hand! Constantly looking at your fretting hand can, over time, give you neck problems and will move your ukulele out of optimal playing position. Keep your eyes on the music and not your hands. Once you take your eyes off the music to look at your fretting hand, you’ll find yourself scrambling to find the place you left off in the music and everyone will be singing way ahead of you. Try feeling and listening instead of looking. If the chord doesn’t sound right, feel around with your left hand until you find the correct position. If you still can’t find the chord, take a quick peek and readjust your fingers.

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Ex . 8 Musical Staff : Notes show the melody line. The chord grids above indicate the harmony that supports the melody.

When to Change Chords : Strum the C chord on beats 1 and 3 until the word “He,” when you switch to the G7 chord.

C

G7

0003

≥

& 44 œ

Strum:

≥

0 213

œ

≥

≥

˙

œ

man Lyrics: 1. This old 2–7. See additional lyrics. Beat (count): 1 2 3 4 E G Note (vocal): G

he

≥

œ

˙

2 E

3 G

≥

œ

played one

1 G

4

played

1 A

2 G

C

≥

œ

He

≥

œ

œ

on

3 F

4 E

1 D

œ

œ

œ

knick - knack

≥

my &

2 E

&

G7

≥

&œ

œ

≥

œ œ œ

knick - knack pad - dy whack 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & G C C C C

≥

≥

œ œ œ œ ˙

give my dog a bone 1 & 2 & 3 & C D E F G

≥

œ

4

&

G7

œ

≥

G7

C

œ

This old man came 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & G D D F

4 E

& F

œ

≥

˙

rol - ling home 1 & 2 & 3 & E D C

G7

.. 4

&

C

This old man came rolling home C

C

6.

This old man came rolling home

With a knick-knack paddy whack,

≥

œ

œ

give my dog a bone

He played knick-knack on my drum

&

C

With a knick-knack paddy whack,

This old man, he played one

3 F

With a

0003

C

C

œ œ

drum

0 213

0003

1.

Downstroke Symbol ( ) : Universal sign that means “strum down” on this beat when you sing the lyric beneath it.

This old man, he played six G7

He played knick-knack on my sticks give my dog a bone G7

C C

4.

This old man came rolling home

C

This old man, he played four

With a knick-knack paddy whack,

G7

He played knick-knack on my door C

C

2.

give my dog a bone G7

With a knick-knack paddy whack,

This old man, he played two G7

give my dog a bone

He played knick-knack on my shoe

G7

C

C C

This old man came rolling home

With a knick-knack paddy whack,

C

This old man came rolling home

7.

This old man, he played seven G7

He played knick-knack up in heaven give my dog a bone G7

C C

This old man came rolling home

5.

C

This old man, he played five G7

He played knick-knack on my thigh C

C

3.

This old man, he played three G7

He played knick-knack on my tree Summer 2014

Ukulele

With a knick-knack paddy whack,

With a knick-knack paddy whack,

give my dog a bone G7

C

This old man came rolling home

give my dog a bone UkuleleMag.com 61

Mixed Media World Class Ukuleles from a

World Class Luthier

Uke World Goes ‘Over The Rainbow’

The Petros Tenor Ukulele Koa Headstock Overlay

No one on the contemporary music scene has done more to ignite the ukulele revolution than virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, and transcriptions by this 37-year-old Hawaiian with the fleet fingers are highly prized. Grand Ukulele features transcriptions of 12 songs from his 2013 album of the same title (including eight originals). Among the covers are his popular arrangement of the Harold Arlen tune “Over the Rainbow” and of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” two of the most well-loved contemporary songs in the uke repertoire. Several of the arrangements included here require either an intermediate-advanced or advanced skill level, and playing with Shimabukuro’s fervor may prove challenging. But the transcription for Sting’s “Fields of Gold,” for instance, could be handled by a well-informed beginner or intermediate player. And it’s best to find your own voice and make these songs your own.

Carved Boxwood Tuner Buttons Premium Gotoh Stealth Tuning Keys

Ebony Fretboard & Bridge Graduated Curly Redwood Top for Superior Tonal Balance

Mahogany Neck

‘Grand Ukulele’ edition features some of Jake Shimabukuro’s most popular songs

Grand Ukulele by Jake Shimabukuro $17.99 (Hal Leonard)

Folk Pop Rock, Vol. 20 Koa Back & Sides

Maple Binding Boxwood Celtic Purflex® Inlays

Victoria Vox & her Petros Tenor Ukulele

Petros Ukuleles are offered in both Concert and Tenor with a variety of elegant appointments.

petrosguitars.com [email protected]

62 UkuleleMag.com

This latest addition to the Ukulele Play-Along CD/book series gathers eight songs mostly from the 1970s singer-songwriter era. Included in this volume are John Denver’s “Annie’s Song,” Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen,” America’s “A Horse with No Name,” Jim Croce’s “I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song,” Dan Fogelberg’s “Longer,” and Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne.” The odd songs out in the otherwise folkie volume are “26 Miles” by the doo-wop group the Four Preps and the classic-rock song “Nights in White Satin” by the Moody Blues. The type is large and easy to read, and many of the arrangements should be accessible to a skilled beginner or intermediate player.

Folk Pop Rock, Vol. 20 by various artists $12.99 (Hal Leonard) Ukulele

Summer 2014

College Fight Songs & Alma Maters Do you know “Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech”? Or “Hail to the Victors,” the University of Illinois alma mater song? Well, boola boola, it’s time to tap into 41 team songs from major conferences across the country. Longtime uke player Dick Sheridan, who used to strum along at college dorm parties, has compiled College Fight Songs & Alma Maters for Ukulele, a collection of songs from the Ivy League, schools of the Big Ten, and sports conferences from the Midwest, the Deep South, and the Pacific. It’s an engaging, and

nostalgic, take on ukulele songs from the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, when life was simpler, or seemingly so. I would have liked more information contextualizing these songs, though the annotation making the connection between Boston College students and the tragic 1942 Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire puts a bit of a damper on the proceedings. Still, while many of these cheers may be new to you, there are familiar songs, like the University of Texas at Austin alma mater “The Eyes of Texas (Are Upon You).”

College Fight Songs & Alma Maters for Ukulele by Dick Sheridan $15.99 (Centerstream)

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Mixed Media English Folk Tunes for Ukulele Each tune in this selection of 37 English folk tunes is arranged for two voices for melody and accompaniment, so it presents a great opportunity to play along with a friend or fellow club members. Composer and arranger Colin Tribe offers easy-to-read arrange-

ments to such familiar tunes as “Amazing Grace,” “Greensleeves,” “Scarborough Fair,” and “What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor,” as well as insightful performance notes on each tune. The book includes a companion CD.

English Folk Tunes for Ukulele:37 Traditional Pieces by Colin Tribe $19.99 (Schott)

Ukulele Aerobics Have you learned the basics of the uke and are ready to develop more technique so you can tackle advanced songs. Ukulele Aerobics: A 40-Week, One-lick-per-day Workout Program for Developing, Improving, and Maintaining Ukulele Technique is a comprehensive course that introduces everything from moveable chords and flatted fifths to the mysterious 7 9 chord (aka the “Hendrix Chord” heard on “Purple Haze”). The succinct, clearly laid-out

daily lessons compose a series of weekly workouts, each focusing on chord vocabulary, strumming techniques, fingerstyle tips, a scale exercise, and pointers on using legato, licks, and riffs, as well as miscellaneous advice on employing drone strings and the like. A companion CD provides demos for all of the examples in the book. This is one of the best method books to come across the review desk in quite a while.

Ukulele Aerobics by Chad Johnson $17.99 (Hal Leonard)

Cowboy Songs for Ukulele The Old West inspired some great guitar and fiddle ballads, and many of the most wellknown are arranged in this collection of 50 classic songs. Those include “Abilene,” “Back in the Saddle,” “Happy Trails,” “The Red River

Valley,” and “Streets of Laredo.” The songs are brassy, bold, and filled with bravado. The arrangements are suitable for beginners and the print is big and easy-to-read. Now, get along little dogie.

Cowboy Songs for Ukulele by various artists $12.99 (Hal Leonard)

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Gear Guru Pickin’ & Grinnin’ A guide to why you might want to use a pick and which ones might be best By Gary Peare

I

like to tell my ukulele students that there are no rules for playing the uke. Well, except one: never use a pick. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but before I tell you the right reasons to use a pick, let me give you three good reasons to avoid them:

The Cons Sounds Like a Guitar Playing with a hard pick makes your uke sound less like a uke and more like a guitar—a cheap, tiny one at that. If that’s what you want, just play a guitar, OK? You Can’t Pick & Roll With a pick, you miss out on all of the uke’s wonderful strumming possibilities. There’s a whole world of strums—from rolls to triplets— that are simply beyond your grasp if you’ve got a plectrum pinched between your fingers. It Ruins Your Uke Ever see Willie Nelson’s guitar? The one with the cavernous hole caused by picking? Normal strumming will produce wear to the upper bout of any uke, but picks will chew up your top faster than rats through a cracker. Want to hear a room full of uke lovers scream? Strum your 1920s Martin Style-3K with a hard pick. Now that that’s out of the way, there are reasons why you might want to use a pick:

The Pros Ergonomics I’ve had at least one student use a pick because of arthritis. Some educators recommend felt picks for children’s delicate fingers. If strumming is painful, by all means, try using a pick. Fingerpicking Rigid picks produce a harsh sound for strumming, but many fingerstyle players, like Hawaiian slack-key legend Led Kaapana, use thumb- and fingerpicks to great effect. Since these picks are sized for guitar playing—especially the thumbpicks—some players file them down to avoid digging into the top. Use It for Effect A felt pick can produce a nice mellow tone, 66 UkuleleMag.com

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particularly on baritone and tenor ukes. Really want to shred? A rigid pick is for you. Go for the sound that speaks to you. But don’t kid yourself that you need a pick for speed. Jake Shimabukuro lives a pick-free existence. Heck, he even wears his nails short. Unless you’re really trying to channel your inner Amanda Palmer, avoid normal guitar picks—they’re really meant for steel strings. But a wide variety of picks are made especially for ukes.

How to Pick a Pick The classic uke pick is the felt pick, which comes in a variety of shapes (oval and triangular), sizes, thicknesses, and degrees of hardness. The softer the felt, the mellower the sound. There are even thin poly-felt picks with a stiff inner core that provides a punchy attack without a plastic-y click.

Summer 2014

Ukulele

Two nice alternatives are picks made of leather or rubber. Along with felt, leather is the classic material for ukulele picks and dates back to a hundred years ago. A more modern take on those are Wedgie’s rubber picks. They come in a range of thicknesses and degrees of hardness, plus they have a molded grip, making them a good choice for hands young and old. Which one is the best? Well, there really is no rule: get what feels best and works best for you. The best part may be that it’s an inexpensive experiment.

choice for first-timers. Dunlop also makes felt uke picks that are available at music stores. One other place to check? Your wallet. With a nifty gadget called the Pick Punch (pickpunch. com), you can make your own picks from an old credit card, school ID—whatever. Experiment and invent your own signature plectrum.

Where to Get a Pick Your best bet is your local music store, where you can handle and test-drive several options. The best selection I’ve found online is at Roy T. Cone’s Ukulele World (ukuleleworld.com). Cone stocks nearly 30 different kinds of picks, and even offers a variety pack, which is a terrific

UkuleleMag.com 67

Gear Reviews Lanikai TunaUkes Perform Swimmingly Lanikai showcases a new feature with the LUTU-21S soprano and SOTTU-T Thinline tenor

L

anikai smelled something fishy about ukuleles and spent the last three years working on a way to improve the instrument’s intonation. Borrowing from decades of guitar design innovations and focusing it on the jumping flea, they came up with a system that uses both a compensated nut and individual string saddles to achieve a high degree of tuning accuracy. They call it TunaUke Technology and rolled it out to two of the company’s popular lines at this year’s NAMM show. The first line to receive the added attention is the affordable, all-nato LUTU line, represented here by the LUTU-21S soprano, and the fancier spruce-topped SP series, shown off by the more glamorous, limited-edition SOTTU-T Thinline. Will it make a splash or is it a flop? I put two models to the test.

Two Very Different Animals

Lanikai SOTTU-T Tenor Thinline Limited edition thinline tenor with compensated nut and adjustable bridge saddles Solid spruce top with laminated okoume back and sides Abalone rosette, fingerboard dots, and purfling on the top and back; rope binding and backstripe Hardshell case included $475 (MSRP), $300 (street) lanikaiukes.com

The LUTU-21S is an update of the LU-21, Lanikai’s first uke model released when it was founded in 2000. With Lanikai’s modern twist, the LUTU-21S is a classic design clearly as influenced by tradition as it is by innovation. Built with a nato top, back, and sides stained reddishbrown; 12-fret rosewood fingerboard; and a simple white stripe of binding around the top and back, the design is distinctly reminiscent of the clean, elegant designs of early Martin ukuleles. It also comes in tenor, baritone, and pineapple sizes. The SOTTU-T Thinline is a whole different animal. It has a tenor-sized body, but it is only two inches deep. Where the LUTU is simple, the SOTTU is ornate. It is adorned with an abalone rosette, fret markings, and purfling, as well as rope-style marquetry on the binding and back seam. The top is made of solid spruce, and the back and sides are made of laminated okoume, which is a strong, light wood from Central Africa with a pleasant ripple like a calm day on a tropical bay. Though soprano sized, the LUTU-21S is packed to the gills with rich, warm sound. The small nato body makes for a surprisingly deep tone, but with a spring in its step. Comparatively, the SOTTU-T had a much sharper, brighter sound, due in part to the depth, but also to the spruce top, which is generally considered to offer a snappier sound. Both instruments have very low action, to the point of buzzing a little when played with enthusiasm. 68 UkuleleMag.com

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See video review at UkuleleMag.com

You Can’t Tuna Fish, but You Can Tuna Uke Intonation is one of the key elements of a good instrument, and ukuleles are notoriously delinquent in this department. The intonation is off when a note played on one string is different than the same note played elsewhere. (An easy way to check your intonation is by playing a harmonic at the twelfth fret and comparing it to the fretted note. They should match.) Without careful attention to it, an instrument can sound terrible or get confoundingly close to being in tune without ever getting there. Enter the new TunaUke tuning system. The nuts on each of these new Lanikai models is compensated, which means that it is notched to a different length for each string to account for the varying width and tension of the strings. On the other end of each string, an adjustable bridge saddle allows for further adjustment. The saddles are set in grooves in the bridge with just enough give to allow them to move, but still stay firmly in place when you’re strumming away. Each TunaUke-equipped uke comes with two sets of saddles so you can adjust the height to your liking. Though it takes a gentle grip to get the right notes out of the higher sections of the neck, especially with the soprano’s shorter scale, both instruments have good intonation right out of the box. After playing around for a while, I finally found a passage that revealed some slight differ-

ences way up the neck. With just a few minutes of tapping the saddles around and double-checking with a tuner, I achieved a noticeable improvement. The TunaUke makes correcting the intonation a quick and easy job. When all is said and done, both models are great ukuleles. The SOTTU-T Thinline is a work of art, and speaking as a guitarist-turned-uker, the tenor size is more finger-friendly. With that said, the LUTU-21S had a better tone to my ear, and as an instrument addict with an evergrowing list of “next” instruments, that would be my first choice. The TunaUke is a welcome improvement, and don’t be surprised when you start seeing it on other Lanikai models. Whichever model you’re drawn to, if you can get your paws on a TunaUke, you’ll be one happy cat. —Breeze Kinsey

Lanikai’s LUTU-21S All-nato soprano with compensated nut and adjustable bridge saddles Nato neck with 12-fret rosewood fingerboard $150 (MSRP), $95 (street)

Try Something Different 35 Years of Custom Ukuleles

Tenor Moderne

Summer 2014

Ukulele

grazianoukuleles.com 831-479-3590

UkuleleMag.com 69

Gear Reviews Do the Spanish Fandango with Cordoba’s 22 Series Ukes With the classically themed 22C concert and 22T tenor ukes, Cordoba gives players something to dance about

S

ince its founding in 1997, Cordoba Guitars has sought to lead a rebirth in the popularity of the nylon-string guitar. The company prides itself on adhering to the old Spanish tradition of making instruments and applying that heritage to the instruments it makes in the United States, Spain, and China. Though ukes are not just tiny guitars, many makers, including Cordoba, are applying guitar-building know-how to the ukulele. Recently released at this year’s NAMM show as the company’s mid-range lineup, Cordoba’s 22 series ukes may be the company’s strongest statement yet of combining the Spanish model to a new line of ukes made in China. Call it “Hecho en China.” Cordoba applies the classic combination of solid spruce tops and laminated Indian rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and glossy finish for this new full series of ukuleles. The ropepattern purfling and rosette and the abalone dot markers and headstock inlay add a touch of elegance. Aquila Nylgut strings round out the specs.

Cordoba’s 22 Series Solid spruce top with laminated Indian rosewood back and sides Mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard and bridge Rope binding and rosette pattern High-gloss finish

One ‘Medio,’ One ‘Grande,’ Both Fun One of the best things about having two ukes from the same lineup is sampling how different these two popular uke formats can be. Beyond picking your favorite uke using the body-size and scale-length as factors, you can easily explore the different tonal strengths for the best-sounding instrument to your ears. And in the case of my two test 22s, they sounded quite different. But, let’s start with the things that connect these two beneath their high-gloss exteriors. Both Cordobas had sounds filled with sparkle and depth, tonal features that you could credit to the powers that some attribute to the spruce and rosewood and to the quality construction. Much like the classical guitars filling out the Cordoba brand, both the tenor and the concert feature fan-braced tops, with the larger uke having three to the smaller uke’s two. The 22s also had slightly arched backs, which some feel helps give a more complex tone. The top and back’s slightly rounded edges greatly helped make playing comfortable. 70 UkuleleMag.com

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See video review at UkuleleMag.com

To my ears, the concert size was the loudest of the pair, with a slightly stronger midrange that seemed to throw the sound around the room more than the tenor. The tenor sounded a little more even across the entire tonal range, with more depth on the low end than the smaller concert. Both ukes had great intonation all the way up the neck, thanks in part to a compensated saddle made from bone. A player who may feel a little cramped on other ukes may want to try out the 22s, especially the tenor, which has a wider fingerboard than many other ukes I’ve had the pleasure of strumming. It could be a more comfy outlet for ukers wanting to explore more complicated fingerpicking or even uke-curious guitarists who may want something that feels a little more familiar. Compared to other ukes in this popular price range, Cordoba’s 22 concert and tenor ukes are strong competitors in a field packed with competent performers. —G.O.

D

EM BA C AN K D BY FO P R OP A UL 4 TH A YE R AR

Prices 22C concert, $235 (MSRP), $190 (MAP); 22T tenor, $245 (MSRP), $200 (MAP). Series also includes 22S soprano $220 (MSRP), $180 (MAP); 22T-CE tenor cutaway with pickup, $280 (MSRP), $230 (MAP); 22B baritone, $255 (MSRP), $210 (MAP) cordobaguitars.com

Full Heart Productions Presents

TUNES IN THE DUNES September 19-21, 2014

LET’S MAKE HAPPY UKULELE MUSIC TOGETHER!

This weekend event is dedicated to creating a community of ukulele players from the world famous to the just getting started. Come expand your musical boundaries while enjoying the wild ocean beaches of the central Oregon Coast. MU USSIIC CII A N S - T E A M AC CH HEER RSS

James Hill & Anne Janelle

Craig Chee & Sarah Maisel

Kate Power & Steve Einhorn

With Special Guest Stars - Andy Andrews, The Diggers, Bryan Holley and Suz Doyle

Information

WWW.TUNESINTHEDUNES.COM

Registration

Contact Event Coordinator Melany Berry at 206.697.0434 / [email protected]

LCCC CONCERT SEPTEMBER 18 7:00-9:00 PM

Summer 2014

Ukulele

UkuleleMag.com 71

Gear Reviews Can You Hear Me Now? The National Reso-Phonic Style O is a note cannon that delivers sweetness

E

ven before the rise of that demon electricity, our forebears craved more volume from their acoustic instruments. In the process of looking for loudness, they tried many solutions, like building larger instruments or stealing the archtop idea from the violin world, but one of the best ideas of all came in the ’20s from National Resonator. The company developed a mechanical means of amplifying ukuleles, guitars, and mandolins by fitting a resonator to a metal (and later, wood) body. Some people called them “note cannons” and, boy, were these things loud. The sound was unique and iconic, beloved by blues, jazz, and Hawaiian musicians until electricity charged onto the scene and made resonators obsolete. Production ceased at the outbreak of WWII. Still, those shiny old instruments always had fans, and a modern version of the company was reborn more than 20 years ago as National Reso-Phonic in San Luis Obispo, California. Like the original National ukuleles from the ’30s, the concert-size National Reso-Phonic Style O ukulele features a nickel-plated brass body etched with evocative island scenes and a 5.88-inch-wide spun-aluminum resonator cone hiding under a circular metal coverplate that looks like something you’d use to drain pasta. It’s this hand-spun cone that gives the beautiful little beast its voice. And what a voice it is. Acting like a speaker cone in your stereo, the Style O’s cone is driven by the strings running over a small wooden bridge under the metal handrest, which rests on a small piece of wood sitting on top of the cone called a biscuit. The uke’s back reflects the cone’s sound, giving this shiny little powerhouse a tremendous amount of resonance. It’s like putting your iPhone in a bowl to make it louder.

National Reso-Phonic Style O Concert-sized ukulele with 6-inch resonator cone Nickel-plated brass body with etched island-themed scenes 15-fret mahogany neck with ivoroid-bound ebony fingerboard and Gotoh tuners Hardshell case included $2,500 (MSRP), $2,100 (street)

nationalguitars.com

Like a Time Machine From the first strum of the Aquila Nylgut strings, you’re instantly transported back in time. Even if you never heard a 78 rpm record on Grandma’s Victrola, there’s something to the quality of the sound that just fires synapses in your brain that says “old.” You know this sound. While it’s easy to focus on the power and volume possible with the Style O, it’s capable of much more than loosening the fillings in your teeth. Sure, play it vigorously and it’ll deliver, but when I pulled the throttle back on my strumming hand, I discovered that the Style O has the greatest dynamic range of any ukulele I’ve ever played, 72 UkuleleMag.com

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See video review at UkuleleMag.com

including genuine vintage Nationals. Gently brush it with your thumb and fingers and the sound is soft, mellow, and round, and just as sweet as anything you’ve heard. There’s a dulcet chime on the tone’s high end, but the low-midrange is where the Style O’s warmth and carrying power is. Right-hand position for fingerpicking and strumming also reveals more shades, from a plonky banjo-like attack near the bridge to a locomotive roar at the end of the fingerboard that could drive the most raucous acoustic band. The construction and attentive setup work are some of the finest you’re likely to encounter. Anywhere. It’s not a stretch to suggest that these instruments may be some of the finest things being made in America today. The frets were magically smooth, and the action made playing the Style O nearly effortless. The Gotoh tuners made getting, and staying, in tune a breeze. And, of course, it’s shiny, so it’s hard not to be drawn to its appearance. If there’s one thing that surprises everyone who played the Style O, it’s how heavy it is. Even when your brain grasps that the National

is made of brass, it’s still a two-pound ukulele. I also loved the profile on the mahogany neck. It’s just one of those shapes that fit my hand better than any glove. Access to the 15th fret, where the body meets the fingerboard, is effortless, and getting to those last five frets won’t be hard for the showoffs that feel the need for such fretboard debauchery. Many other resonator ukuleles on the market clearly look to the Style O for inspiration, and it’s no wonder. At a list price of $2,500, the Style O is expensive, but when you must have the best there is no substitute. —G.O.

CLASSIC BEAUTY, COMPELLING SOUND, AND

UNCOMPROMISING QUALITY

May 23-26, 2014

World-class ukulele instruction amidst the scenic beauty of the Ashokan Center in New York. Workshops by Sarah Maisel, Lil’ Rev, Jim D’Ville, Cathy Fink, Ruthy Ungar and Gerald Ross. $495 per person includes all workshops, activities and events, bunkhouse lodging and a weekend of delicious meals prepared by our professional chef. For workshop descriptions, lodging upgrades and online registration, visit the Ashokan Music & Dance Camps website at

www.ashokan.org/camps/uke-fest or call 845-246-2121

Summer 2014

Ukulele

Discover the hallmarks of excellence with a Gary Zimnicki ukulele, crafted specifically to meet your musical needs.

Create your custom uke today. To find out more, visit zimnicki.com/guitars/ouds-and-ends UkuleleMag.com 73

Gear Reviews Thunder & Thunderer: Kala Brand U-Basses A fretless solidbody and fretted acoustic

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f there’s any instrument that can match the ukulele for soul-stirring goodness and deep emotional power, it’s the bass. I realize that I just gave myself away as a bass player and a uker, but hear me out. Bring them together in a band and it’s the perfect balance of high-end sweetness and low-end support. Together they create poetic depth. The folks at Kala must have felt it too, because when the company created the U-Bass by mixing ukulele and bass together into one instrument, it was a genius move up there with combining chocolate and peanut butter. Bassists quickly fell in love with the U-Bass, since now instead of schlepping a massive double bass to a gig, they can bring a U-Bass, which is about the same size as a baritone uke. Beyond the world of bass players, these tiny basses fit right in to the uke scene as the newest member of the family. Kala continues to expand and develop its line of U-Basses, and they sent in a few of the newest additions to the lineup. One is a spruce-topped acoustic-electric with frets; another a bold step in a new direction for the company, a signature model fretless solidbody made at the company’s Northern California shop.

Rubberband Man The strings Kala uses on the U-Basses may be the weirdest strings around. Thick and stretchy, they’re made from polyurethane and are important in giving these little basses oomph. They’re also doggone amazing. The very low-tension strings take a little getting used to, but they’re worth it. They pushed me to play more sensitively, and rewarded me with a more relaxed, deeper groove. (Kala equipped our test basses with its standard Pahoehoe strings, though several new strings for uke-basses are on the market now, including a new steel set from Pyramid.) Though technically an acoustic-electric uke, the acoustic volume of the spruce UBASS-SSMHG-FS is more suited to playing on the couch after work than it is to playing at your next uke club meeting. The spruce top seems to give the U-Bass’s sound and response a lot more clarity and snap over the mahogany-capped versions I’ve played. Since the pliable strings never seemed to break in, I found myself using the onboard tuner often. It’s integrated into the onboard battery-powered preamp that also features volume and tone controls. But, plug it into a decent bass amp or PA and the game is on. Even if the sound you heard was coming from an upright bass, it would still surprise with its heavy, seemingly 74 UkuleleMag.com

Ukulele

Summer 2014

See video review at UkuleleMag.com

bottomless low end. At home or at band practice, it was as much bass as anyone could need. And, after getting used to the U-Bass’s size and strings, they’re very easy to play. Copping the thud of an upright bass vibe is a breeze, as is the kind of garden-variety bass tone that people want to hear—and dance to.

You Can Call Me, Wow Seeing a chance to offer more from its products, Kala has taken to making some ukes in

its shop in Petaluma, California. One of the first to come out is the solidbody cousin, a signature model for Bakithi Kumalo, the great South African bassist most famous for his incredible fretless bass work on Paul Simon’s Graceland. The gorgeous little solidbody U-Bass looks a lot like a regular electric bass reduced to uke size, and in many ways it is. However, it has a sound all its own, thanks in part to the lined fretless fingerboard and the rechargeable Mi-Si electronics. The bass has controls

for volume, bass, and treble boost and cut. The sound was massive. The solidbody seems to give it even more punch and sustain than the acoustic. It’s a serious bass that one could use in nearly every situation. With piles of respected artist endorsements backing them up and massive bass in an ultraportable package, the Kala Bakithi Kumalo signature solidbody and spruce-topped acousticelectric U-Bass are more fun than is reasonable. —G.O.

Kala UBASSSSMHG-FS

Acoustic-electric ukulele bass with solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides Mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard and bridge Also available fretted, fretless, and left-handed with frets Onboard electronics with active EQ and built-in tuner $530 (MSRP), $449 (street)

Kala Bakithi Kumalo Signature U-Bass

Solid body ukulele bass made from swamp ash with maple neck and rosewood fingerboard L.R. Baggs and Mi-Si electronics Made in the USA 4-string: $1,399 (MSRP), $ 1,199 (street); also available as 5-string

Summer 2014

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Gear Reviews D’Addario Planet Waves NS Ukulele Capo Pro Let go with a new capo and have fun

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s with many parents of small children, the last several months of my life have been filled with songs from Disney’s animated film Frozen. The story of two sisters coming into their own has struck a chord with my little girl and led to a lot of singing in the house, in the car, in the bathtub—you get the picture. For me, the film soundtrack offered the best chance yet to play some songs with a budding singer. While playing the film’s catchy, Broadway-ready songs in the many original keys is a challenge. Playing them in the original keys couldn’t be easier than it was with the new D’Addario Planet Waves NS Ukulele Capo Pro on my uke. A capo for a ukulele might seem like a silly idea. At first. Ukes are easy to play, and learning new chord shapes is fun and easy to

work into your playing. So, why add a capo? Because by changing the capo’s position to stay in key for each song, I was won over in seconds by the speed, ease, and size of the NS capo. Capos can be tricky to get right on the first try and sometimes require re-tuning. I didn’t have that problem at all and I’m sure it has something to do with the clever guys who designed it: Ned Steinberger (whose initials are part of the name) and Jim D’Addario. It’s really easy to use: just find the correct position and twist the thumbscrew until it gently clamps the strings down. Ba-da-bing, you’re ready to go. Its small size also makes it much better for ukes than using a guitar capo—I tried a regular guitar capo and it was like putting

Aluminum ukulele capo with tension-adjustment $27.55 (MSRP); $16.47 (street) planetwaves.com

giant wheels on a small car: you can use it, but it’s awkward and looks silly. Call me a convert—I’m keeping one in my case. Now, if I could just wake up without one of those songs in my head . . . —G.O.

Advertiser Index Amati’s Fine Instruments amatisfine.us ......................................................... 9 Aquila Strings

aquilacorde.com................................................................... 63

Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Workshop ................................................................ 73 Cordoba Music Group cordobamusicgroup.com............................................. 12 D’Addario & Company daddario.com....................................................... 45,67 Elderly Instruments ..................................................................................... 15

Unique Affordable and Totally Portable Ukuleles Banjos Violins

Fender Acoustic Guitars

fender.com ............................................................ 39

Eddy Finn .................................................................................................. 19 Full Heart Productions ................................................................................. 71 Godin Guitars godinguitars.com .................................................................. 65 Tony Graziano

grazianoukuleles.com ............................................................ 69

Gruhn Guitars gruhn.com ........................................................................... 35 Hal Leonard Corporation ............................................................................... 77 Hohner, Inc. hohnerusa.com ......................................................................... 2 Homespun

homespun.com ......................................................................... 69

Juststrings.com

juststrings.com .................................................................. 11

Kala Brand Music Company kalabrand.com.................................................. 80 Kyser Musical Products kysermusical.com ................................................... 10 La Bella

www.labella.com ............................................................................. 8

SHS International morganmonroe.com......................................................... 19 Petros Guitars petrosguitars.com ................................................................. 62 Saga Musical Instruments sagamusic.com ................................................... 79 Ukulele Magazine UkuleleMag.com/Subscribe-Today ......................................... 6 Stewart-MacDonald’s Guitar Supply stewmac.com ........................................ 17 Erich Sylvester ............................................................................................ 71

292 South Main Street • Sheffield, MA 01257 [email protected] • www.magicfluke.com 413-229-8536 • Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4:30pm 76 UkuleleMag.com

Musiquip

musiquip.com ............................................................................. 29

The Loog Guitar

loogguitars.com ................................................................. 28

The Magic Fluke

magicfluke.com ................................................................ 76

Vision Musical Instruments visionmusical.com ............................................. 25 Gary Zimnicki zimnicki.com ....................................................................... 73

Ukulele

Summer 2014

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Great Ukes 1915–’30 Knutsen Harp Ukulele

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ometime between the 1909 AlaskaYukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle and San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Expo in 1915, luthier Chris Knutsen had an epiphany about creating new instruments for players of the imminent Hawaiian music rage spawned by these two events. He soon abandoned his popular harp guitars to concentrate on his line of “New Hawaiian Family” instruments, which included all manner of acoustic steel guitars like the fascinating “harp steels” with extra bass and treble strings. He also filled out the family with “harp” versions of mandolins and ukuleles that had a distinctive hollow arm borrowed from Knutsen’s harp guitars, though the harp-mandolins and harp-ukes had no extra strings. The eye-catching (and usually greatsounding) Knutsen instruments proved popular with Hawaiian bands, especially those more vaudeville-inclined. Virtually no two Knutsens are alike, nor did the maker use model or style names or numbers. However, you can group the approximately three dozen harp-ukes currently known into nine versions of mahogany or koa, with different levels of trim, from no binding to ukes fully decorated with rope binding. The example seen here is the only fully appointed Knutsen harp ukulele found so far. It’s festooned with miniature rope marquetry on nearly every edge. It has a scale of 13 5/8" and dimensions of 21 1/2" x 6 1/2" x 2" (Knutsen dimensions and scale inevitably vary). Knutsen used an “L” bracket in place of a heel and another bracket connecting the headstocks. The latter is not just a neck support but an “action adjustment system.” It’s a typically clever (if crude) Knutsen invention, wonderfully effective (and quicker than a truss rod adjustment). Of course, it’s also bad engineering, since the movement forces the neck forward or backward along the bracket slot, adding an unavoidable twist to the neck. Does the hollow arm improve the tone? In full-size harp guitars, definitely; in the tiny harp ukuleles, highly doubtful. The woods, soundboard, and construction all certainly override any effect of the couple extra cubic inches of vibrating cavity. The attraction is the aesthetic

coolness factor, plain and simple. They continue to inspire, with modern versions made by makers like Michael Dunn and Duane Noble. Knutsen’s harp ukuleles are unusual and rare, but not unattainable, and definitely collectible! I’ve cataloged over 400 Knutsen instruments on my website harpguitars.net and each is a unique combination of the maker’s imagination, creativity, and dubious lutherie skills. And I remain utterly smitten. —Gregg Miner

Ukulele (ISSN 2333-3790 (print), ISSN 2333-3820 (online), USPS# - TBD, Pending Periodical # - 7) is published quarterly by String Letter Publishing, Inc., 501 Canal Blvd., Suite J, Richmond, CA 94804. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is pending at Richmond, CA 94804 and additional mailing offices. Printed in USA. Canada Post: Publications mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Imex Global Solutions, PO Box 32229, Hartford, CT 06150-2229. Postmaster: Please make changes online at UkuleleMag.com or send to Ukulele, String Letter Publishing, Inc., PO Box 8525, Big Sandy, TX 75755.

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Summer 2014

Diamond Head Ukuleles... When Hawaii Calls!

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hether you’re under the banyan tree at the Moana Hotel or snowbound in Calumet, a Diamond Head uke is just the right companion for you. Easily transportable, accurately intonated and fun to play, it’s no wonder that Diamond Head ukes are in the forefront of the hottest musical trend of the decade. So, toss another log on the fire, take a sip of that Mai Tai and strum a tune on the instrument that everyone can play! Available in natural tropical mahogany or chose from 11 pastel island finishes…

Capture the Sounds of the Islands!

Diamond Head Ukuleles •Hand-crafted from select tropical hardwoods •Comfortable, easy playing necks with low, smooth frets •Dependable 14:1 ratio tuning machines for precise, easy tuning •Available in a variety of colors, wood types and body shapes •Includes a durable gig bag for easy transport •Easy to play and fun for all ages!

DU-107 Blue Ukulele

DU-200 Natural Mahogany Ukulele

To learn more about Saga’s Diamond Head Ukuleles, www.sagamusic.com

Saga Musical Instruments

P.O. Box 2841 • So. San Francisco, California Connect with us on

Your Uke, Choice. U , Your Y www.kalaukulele.com