CONTENTS ABOUt the AUthOrS... 5 INtrODUCtION... 6 ChAPtEr 1 Getting Started ChAPtEr 2 Strum, Strum, Strum ChAPtEr 3 Reading Standard Music Notation

Transcription

1 ONENS bout the uthors 5 INRODUION 6 hapter Gettng Started 7 Lesson : Know Your Uke7 Lesson : Readng ablature Mary Had a Border olle Lesson : he Notes on the Fretboard hapter Strum, Strum, Strum 5 Lesson : Your Frst hords 5 Lesson : hangng hords 7 Lesson : Play Some Real Songs 9 Oh! Susanna 9 When the Sants Go Marchng In Lesson : Spce Up Your Strummng Lesson 5: More hords More hords My Dear, Dear Mama from Madera Wa O Ke nan (rystal Water) Lesson 6: Mnor hords 5 It s Only a Mnor Inconvenence 5 Lesson 7: Waltz me 7 mazng Grace 8 Lesson 8: Rght-Hand ools and echnques 9 hapter Readng Standard Musc Notaton Lesson : he Notes and the Staff Lesson : he Natural Notes on the rd and nd Strngs Lesson : me Go ell unt Rhody Lesson : Rests Lesson 5: Dotted Half Notes 5 When the Sants Go Marchng In 5 Lesson 6: Natural Notes on the st Strng 6 Lesson 7: he Maor Scale 6 Lesson 8: Eghth Notes (Of ourse) 7 Lesson 9: Dotted Quarter Notes 8 Ode to oy 8 Lesson : Sharps and Flats 9 Rased by Gypses 9 Lesson : ccdentals n a Key Sgnature Red Rver Valley Lesson : es Kng on the Beach Lesson : Navgatng a Muscal Map hapter heory Wthout Fear, or Lttle Knowledge an Get You ammng Lesson : he Maor Scale Is Your Measurng Stck Lesson : he rcle of 5ths Lesson : Intervals re Your Buldng Blocks 5 Lesson : Harmony and hords 7 hapter 5 Old-me Ukulele and Backng Up Fddle unes 9 Lesson : Strum Patterns and a une n G 5 hs Hammer s oo Heavy 5 ontents

2 Lesson : ccentng the Backbeat, he E and E7 hords, and Sally nn n 5 Sally nn 5 Lesson : Fddle une Form and Solder s oy n D 5 Solder s oy 5 hapter 6 Old School: he Swngn Ukulele 5 Lesson : How to Swng 5 Lesson : Sxes and Sevens and hords55 Lesson : he rcle of 5ths Progresson 57 How Wll I Ever Learn to harleston f I an t Even e My Own Shoes? 58 Lesson : he rple Strum 59 he Secret Handshake Rag 6 Lesson 5: he rple Burst Strum 6 Htch n My Gt-long Rag 6 hapter 7 Rockng Out the Uke 6 Lesson : he Syncopated Strum 6 My Feet Hurt (Oy! Sole Blsters!) 6 utoharp Sale (Replace Old Zthers!) 6 Dreams of Summer on a Gloomy Day (Haze, old, Msters) 6 Lesson : ddng Percusson wth Mute Strokes 65 Lesson : Moveable hord Forms, or How I Learned to Be My Own hord Dctonary In My Spare me wth No Money Down! 67 Lesson : Usng Moveable hords, Left-Hand Mute Strokes, Reggae, and Soul 7 Who Wants a ool Beverage? 7 Uke Got Soul 7 hapter 8 akng It Home: Island Style 7 loha Oe 7 Lesson : New Strums 75 Hula for Ho op 76 hapter 9 Ukulele Blues 77 Lesson : he -Bar Blues 77 Lesson : Memorzng the -Bar Blues 78 Lesson : he Blues Shuffle Rhythm 79 Shuffln hrough the Blues n 8 Lesson : he Mnor Pentatonc Scale 8 Lesson 5: ransposton 8 Lesson 6: ransposng the Blues and the Mnor Pentatonc Scale 85 -Bar Blues n ( Bouncy!) 86 Lesson 7: Blues n a Mnor Key 87 Nunmoor Blues: -Bar Blues n Mnor 88 hapter Introducton to Fngerstyle 89 Lesson : he Rght-Hand Poston 89 Lesson : rpeggo Pattern --m-a 9 H lawe 9 Lesson : Mddle and Rng Fngers ogether 9 Lesson : Fngerpckng n 9 Lesson 5: lternatng-humb Pattern ---m 9 Ukaledoscope 9 hapter Gettng Ready for the Next Level 9 Muscal Expresson 9 ppendx 95 Low-G unng 95 How to Practce 96 Organzng a Practce Sesson 96 Buy a Metronome 97 oncluson and Resources for Further Study 97 Begnnng Ukulele

3 hapter Strum, Strum, Strum LESSON : your frst chords Wth ust a few chords and a bt of know-how, you can make some real musc rght away chord s three or more notes sounded smultaneously he way to remember that s a note s one sound at a tme (lke one person sngng), and a chord s a bunch of notes played or sung together Your frst chords are called open chords because they nvolve a mxture of open (unfngered) strngs and fretted notes SUPER UKE IP Durng ths phase of your learnng, t s more mportant to practce often than to practce for long perods of tme Play for a whle, then put the uke down and come back to t agan later (but not days and days later!) Muscle memory s what gves us the ablty to perform a complex acton (lke walkng) wthout havng to plan t out every tme Muscle memory bulds through cycles of repetton, then rest, then returnng to repeat the moton agan Gve yourself the patence, persstence, and tme to let your fngers learn how to master each new skll SRUMMING One of the most common ways to play a chord s to strum You can strum wth a pck, fngers, or thumb Many uke players do most of ther strummng usng the ndex, mddle, or rng fnger all of whch carry the added bonus of beng hard to msplace or send through the clothes dryer (unlke a pck) o strum wth a fnger (of your strummng hand), start wth your hand held near the place where the neck ons the body, wth your fnger above the th strng In one moton, rapdly move your fnger across all the strngs, strkng them all (see photos to the rght) It should sound lke you ht them all at the same tme It may feel lke flckng the back of your fngernal across the strngs, or lke flckng your hand from the wrst, or a bt of both Stay very loose and relaxed and practce ths several tmes on the open strngs Strum setup Strummng symbols: Downstroke (strum toward the floor) Upstroke (strum toward the celng) Strum follow-through SUPER UKE IP he best basc uke tone s produced by strummng the strngs somewhere between the soundhole and the neck ont (where the neck meets the body) Fnd the spot that s comfortable and sounds good to you, and use ths spot as home base most of the tme Next, try movng toward the headstock where the sound gets softer and sweeter, and then toward the brdge where the sound gets louder, brghter, and, eventually, more nasal or metallc It s your uke Go nuts hapter Strum, Strum, Strum 5

4 he followng exercse uses the ++ strum n the frst four measures, then the trplet trple strum n the next three measures he trple strums have been hghlghted hs exercse also contans a four-fnger verson of F7 n measure four that you mght not have tred yet If you re havng trouble gettng the trple strums together, try strummng through ths progresson a few tmes wth smple swng eghths usng the regular down-up alternatng moton Practce the trple strum patterns separately and then try pluggng them nto the progresson as they get easer Swng 8ths o o o track 5 HE SERE HNDSHKE RG o o 7 o F o o F7 6 Û > Û Û Û > Û Û Û > Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û etc Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û ount: etc o o o o G7 o o o 6 o o o o 5 Û Û Û Û etc Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Œ ount: Û Û Û Û Û ah etc () LESSON 5: HE RIPLE BURS SRUM You have learned how to ncorporate the trple strum nto regular eghth-note strummng You can also learn to do trples very fast and use them as a fl oursh to accentuate a normal rhythm hese types of flourshes are sometmes called bursts, rolls, or shakes after both the sound and the quck movement of the hand INRODUING HE SIXEENH-NOE RIPLE he trple burst s shown as a sxteenth-note trplet Sxteenth notes look lke eghth notes, but wth a double beam, or a double flag for sngle sxteenths Normal sxteenth notes dvde a quarter note nto four peces, counted -e--a rplet sxteenths, lke all trplets, allow you to f t three notes where there are normally two Normal sxteenths are two equal notes n the space of an eghth note rplet sxteenths are three equal notes n the space of one eghth note One common way to count two sets of sxteenth-note trplets (one full beat s worth) s -lal--la-l hs can be a tongue twster f the tempos are fast, so an alternatve s -a-la--a-la Û Û Û Û e a Û Û Û Sxteenth Notes Sxteenth-Note rplets la a l la Û Û Û la a l la hapter 6 Old School: he Swngn Ukulele 6

5 ONENS INRODUION hapter he World hordng to Uke Lesson : heory and Maor rad Inversons Lesson : Mnor Inversons Lesson : Dmnshed and ugmented rads Lesson : Domnant 7th hords Lesson 5: Dmnshed 7th hords5 Lesson 6: I IV V Progressons Usng Moveable Shapes6 Loue s Wld hng6 Lesson 7: I v V7 here Must Be Ffty Ways (to Leave the Fftes)7 here Must Be Ffty Ways (to Leave the Fftes) n F8 Lesson 8: VII VI9 ll long the Starway9 ll long the Starway n D Mnor9 hapter Expandng Your Groove Palette Lesson : Groove oncepts Lesson : Rhythms Usng rplets Lesson : ++ Lesson : Splt Strum Lesson 5: Bo Dddley Beat, or lave Lesson 6: and me Sgnatures hapter Knd of Blue 5 Lesson : -Bar Blues5 Lesson : 6-Bar Blues6 Lesson : 8-Bar Blues6 Lesson : urnarounds7 Lesson 5: rcle of 5ths Blues Progressons Salty Dog Blues Lesson 6: azzn the Blues Lesson 7: 6-Bar Ragtme Blues lce s Red Hot Electrc Rag hapter Melodc Playng Lesson : Open-Poston Scales Lesson : Playng Melodes5 mazng Grace5 Red Rver Valley6 Lesson : Scales up the Neck6 Lesson : ura Lee7 ura Lee7 Lesson 5: Oh! Susanna8 Oh! Susanna8 ontents 99

6 hapter 5 rds and 6ths 9 Lesson : rds9 Ode to oy (Harmonzed n rds) Lesson : 6ths Ode to oy (Harmonzed n 6ths) hapter 6 Fngerstyle Uke Lesson : Fngerpckng Patterns Lesson : lce s Red Hot Electrc Rag (Fngerstyle Verson) lce s Red Hot Electrc Rag (Fngerstyle Verson) Lesson : Bano Rolls Rollng Down hat Long Lonesome Road5 Lesson : Fngerpckng n and me6 Lesson 5: House of the Rsng Uke7 House of the Rsng Uke7 hapter 7 On the Other Hand: rcks and echnques for the Frettng Hand 8 Lesson : Hammer-Ons8 Lesson : Pull-Offs9 Lesson : ombnng Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs Lesson : Sldes Lesson 5: Bendng Strngs and Vbrato Lesson 6: shgrove (Usng Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs) shgrove Lesson 7: Sttng on op of the World (Usng Sldes) Sttng on op of the World hapter 8 hord-melody Lesson : hord-melody Style Oh! Susanna (hord-melody) Lesson : mazng Grace (hord-melody)6 mazng Grace (hord-melody)6 Lesson : shgrove (hord-melody)6 shgrove (hord-melody)7 Lesson : Greensleeves (hord-melody)8 Greensleeves (hord-melody)8 hapter 9 Gettng azzy 9 Lesson : Everythng You Wanted to Know bout azz9 Lesson : Has nybody Seen My Uke? (-Bar Progresson)5 Has nybody Seen My Uke?5 Lesson : Uke s Got Rhythm hanges5 Uke s Got Rhythm5 Lesson : Gypsy azz5 hapter Let s am 5 Lesson : ammng on the Blues!5 Lesson : Pentatonc Scales5 Lesson : Solong Usng the Mnor Pentatonc Scale56 Lesson : Solong Usng the Maor Pentatonc Scale57 Lesson 5: ombnng Maor Pentatonc, Mnor Pentatonc, and Blues Scales n a Solo59 Intermedate Ukulele

7 hapter 6 Whle the uke s most often heard strummed, t has a beautful, harp-lke sound when played fngerstyle o play the uke fngerstyle, we ll be pckng ndvdual strngs wth the fngers of the rght hand Some pckng patterns wll use four fngers (thumb, ndex, mddle, and rng), and others wll use three fngers (thumb, ndex, and mddle) In classcal gutar notaton, the pckng fngers are desgnated usng the letters p,, m, and a: p = thumb, = ndex, m = mddle, and a = rng In bano notaton, the letters,, and m are used: = thumb, = ndex, m = mddle Fngerstyle Uke LESSON : fngerpckng patterns For ths book, we re usng a hybrd of the two, the letters,, m, and a: = thumb, = ndex, m = mddle, and a = rng Frst, we ll explore some patterns n tme Each measure s an ndvdual exercse, so repeat t untl you can play t smoothly wthout mstakes he exercses are wrtten usng a chord, but once you get comfortable wth that, try usng other chords, keepng the pattern gong smoothly as you change from chord to chord Our frst exercse s a smple arpeggo usng four fngers he next pattern uses three fngers, wth the thumb alternatng between the rd and th strngs hs s smlar to a fngerstyle gutar pattern, and on the chord, t creates the arpeggo root rd 5th 8th(root) he next two patterns use what s often called a pnch, pluckng two strngs together In the frst pnch exercse, the pnch s on the downbeat of the measure, and n the second pnch exercse, t occurs on the second beat s you get profcent wth these patterns, you can combne them nto longer, two-measure patterns he fnal exercse demonstrates a two-measure pattern For those wshng gutar-lke fngerstyle patterns wth extended bass range, consder tryng the low-g tunng (For more about the low-g tunng, see ppendx on page 95) rack 55 B m a m a m m m m m m m m m m B Intermedate Ukulele

8 LESSON : greensleeves (chord-melody) We ll play one more chord-melody arrangement, Greensleeves, n the key of D Mnor gan, make sure to hold down the notes of the chord so they sustan whle you re playng the melody notes that follow rack 77 greensleeves (hord-melody) b 8 6 Dmn F Dmn B b # # B 5 b Dmn F B b # Dmn B 9 b F n mn Dmn B b # # B b F n mn B b # Dmn B 8 Intermedate Ukulele

9 ONENS INRODUION 6 hapter he World hordng to Uke 6 Lesson : he Harmonzed Maor Scale6 Lesson : Four ypes of 7th hord Inversons65 Lesson : Maor and Mnor 6th Inversons66 Lesson : Suspended hords67 Lesson 5: What re ll hose Other Numbers, nyway?68 Lesson 6: V I Progresson69 hapter rrangng hord-melody Style Up the Neck 7 Lesson : hord Scale7 Lesson : When the Sants Go Marchng In (hord-melody)7 When the Sants Go Marchng In (hord-melody)7 Lesson : he Star-Spangled Banner (hord-melody)7 he Star-Spangled Banner (hord-melody)7 Lesson : azzn the Blues (hord-melody)7 hapter Yet More Strums and echnques 7 Lesson : Revewng rples, Bursts, and Splt Strums7 Lesson : he Fan Stroke75 Lesson : he Fan Stroke ontnued76 Lesson : One-Fnger remolo76 Lesson 5: Rasgueados78 Bg Flamenco Workout79 hapter Old-School Fancy: radtonal Ragtme, azz, and Hawaan 8 Lesson : loha Oe8 loha Oe8 Lesson : Raggn on th Street8 Raggn on th Street8 Lesson : une n the Formby Style8 George on Holday8 Lesson : utumn Has Left86 utumn Has Left86 Lesson 5: Has nybody Seen My Uke?88 Has nybody Seen My Uke?88 Lesson 6: New rple Strum from the Islands9 he Breeze hrough the rees Blows wth Ease9 hapter 5 Scales and rpeggos: Postons Up the Neck 9 Lesson : Maor Scale Postons9 Lesson : À La Mode9 Lesson : Maor and Mnor Pentatonc Scales95 Lesson : rpeggos96 Lesson 5: Scale and rpeggo Practce Ideas98 6 Masterng Ukulele

10 hapter 6 Fngerstyle Lesson : House of the Rsng Sun (hord-melody) House of the Rsng Sun (hord-melody) House of the Rsng Sun (Varaton ) House of the Rsng Sun (Varaton ) Lesson : ross-strng Fngerng Lesson : rpegg-uke (ross-strng) rpegg-uke (ross-strng) Lesson : ross-strng Rag6 ross-strng Rag6 Lesson 5: Mss McLeod s Reel8 Mss McLeod s Reel8 hapter 7 Rockn the Uke Lesson : Song for George Song for George Lesson : Body Percusson Lesson : Funky Funk Strummng Lesson : Buldng a Groove by Layers Gloves Off hapter 8 azz Improvsaton 6 Lesson : Improvsng over Domnant 7th hords6 Lesson : Improvsng over Other ypes of 7th hords8 hapter 9 World Rhythms and Scales Lesson : Odd me Sgnatures Lesson : Harmonc Mnor and Its Modes Lesson : Balkan Up the Wrong ree! Balkan Up the Wrong ree! INRODUION Masterng Ukulele bulds on what you learned n Begnnng Ukulele and Intermedate Ukulele In ths secton, you wll learn: How to construct and play more types of chords across the fretboard Maor scales and modes Maor and mnor pentatonc scales rpeggos Workng your way up the neck usng moveable postons Musc theory appled to the ukulele Playng technques ncludng strums, fngerstyle, harmoncs, and mutng Playng and arrangng chord-melody style Improvsaton We wll venture nto styles such as blues, azz, rock, folk, classcal, and fngerpckng s you work through Masterng Ukulele, many songs and exercses can be combned to extend the range of possbltes For example, try varous rhythms learned n one chapter over a song or chord progresson n another lesson We wll present deas on how to progress and create your own style usng the concepts presented n ths secton Introducton 6

11 hapter Yet More Strums and echnques LESSON : revewng trples, bursts, and splt strums hs lesson s a quck revew of technques covered n Begnnng and Intermedate Ukulele he lessons that follow wll buld on these technques, and n the next chapter, you ll use many of them n larger muscal examples rack 6 rack 7 HE RIPLE SRUM he trple strum (also smply called a trple ) s a three-stroke pattern that can be executed a number of ways common approach s to begn wth a downstroke of the ndex fnger (), followed by a downstroke of the thumb (), then an upstroke of the ndex fnger he frst part of Example 5 shows the trple n a ++ rhythm (two trples and a sngle down-up strum n eghth notes) HE RIPLE BURS he trple burst uses the trple strum as a floursh to set up a strong downstroke on the next beat t slow tempos, t sounds lke a trplet, but at faster tempos t sounds lke quck burst of strums he second part of Example 5 shows the trple burst 5 Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û rack 8 ++ ount: rple strum ++ rple burst Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û HE SPLI SRUM he splt strum s often assocated wth Brtsh uke star George Formby It produces a three-stroke rhythm, all wth the ndex fnger he frst stroke s a full downstroke he second stroke s an upstroke that ust hts the frst two strngs he thrd stroke s a downstroke that ust hts strngs and Splt strums often appear n a ++ rhythm of eghth notes It s very common wth splt strums to lft a left-hand fnger on and off one of the notes of the chord hs technque can be called a tap fnger 6 rack 9: Bar rack : Bar B # # Splt strum 7 7 Masterng Ukulele ++ ount: Splt strum wth tap fnger on st strng 9

12 LESSON : BUILDING GROOVE BY LYERS great way to buld an arrangement s to layer smple deas, the way some muscans layer short electronc loops to buld a complex groove Ukulele vrtuoso ames Hll used ths approach to buld a cool arrangement of Mchael ackson s ht Blle ean Hll s arrangement pulls together a bass rff, a body percusson groove, and a chord sequence We ll take a smlar approach to buld a groove for ths lesson called Gloves Off Your strummng n ths pece wll manly be wth your ndex fnger 7 rack Frst, learn ths lttle percusson groove he top lne shows the flck you learned on page he lower lne shows a lght fnger tap on the top Make these sounds n the area of the upper bout of the uke, on the sde above the th strng hs wll make t easer to ntegrate wth the strums Flck wth your mddle fnger, so your ndex wll be free for the tap / Flck top: Œ Fnger tap: Œ Œ Œ fter you ve got the percusson groove, put t asde and work on ths chord progresson that goes up the neck Watch out for the pull off n the frst chord of the four-chord pattern 8 rack B Dmn7 P Ó Emn F6 5 Emn 7 Ó Dmn7 P Ó Emn F6 5 Emn 7 Ó Now, try ntegratng both moves together You ll fnd that the rests n one part lne up wth the moves n the other part Later n the tune, you get to ncorporate those sldng funk chords from the prevous lesson, plus a couple of sngle-note runs Gloves Off Flck top: Fnger tap: / Dmn7 Emn Ó Œ rack 5 F6 Emn Ó Œ Dmn7 Emn Ó Œ B P Masterng Ukulele Ó # 5 ## # n 7 Œ # P ## # n Œ