Talk me out of (or into) a ukulele

I think that the accompaniment is, essentially, composed mostly of arpeggios. In which case chords are (from my source I'm looking at) Dm, F, G, Bb, A, Asus4, A7 in various orders.


Arpeggio just means the notes of the chord are played consecutively up and down. On ukulele there are fewer strings and so this space needs to be filled differently. Also the arrangement isn't the song--there are many, many, many ways to play the same song and have it recognizable. I tried playing those arpeggiated chords on ukulele and it worked out, though sounded a bit different as one would expect. With fewer strings, it's reasonable to expect that the arrangement would be less complex. But we can add ornaments, etc. to add complexity if wished and maybe be able to come out with something sounding similar.

arpeggios
Such a pretty looking word.  I have to find some way to remember it.

I enjoy playing songs with that kind of picking pattern and the cords are pretty stable.  

One of the frustrations I find so far is youtubers putting their tabs or sheet music behind a pay wall.  Only, we find out that these sheet musics (arangementsa) are put together (transcribed?) by someone else and offered for free.  

They are profiting by someone elses hard work.  

Same with a book i found at the library.   The author didn't even bother to make the notation consistent within the book or take the names and "do not copy" notices off the music.

This makes me sad and now I am extra careful to try to find the original and support them when I can.

Just for fun, some of the versions of house ofmthe rising sun, I grew up listening to




Joan baez's voice still gives me chills

Did I mention this one yet?


This is the next warm up exercise I'm starting today.

I can now play house of the rising sun 8 different ways and sing along to most of them,  it's going in my fun book for playing to the chickens.

The morning lessons feel a little less structured now i finished the 30 day beginners class from Bernadette.   The finger style class is starting a little too easy so I might double up on those lessons until we get to something challenging.

The ukulele for dummies book is at brahms lullaby with cords and fancy strum.  I might make that my next song to learn inside and out.  Maybe.  If I can stay awake.

A lot of songs at this level keep too much melody on the first and second (next to floor) strings.  I feel like if the G string could be more involved, the melody would ring better instead of dampening each note as we play the next one.  I don't have good words for this, but it frustrates me.

brahms lullaby is well within my current skillset.  It's fun to play as we sometimes get to strum just three strings.  Finger pick 2 notes, semi strum.  Nice and engaging for my brain.

If I can get up to time, the notes keep going as the next ones play.  

This should only take a couple of days to learn well.

I love my ukulele more every day.

I don't know how to ask the question yet, but I am going to try.

Why do so many beginners and intermediate songs ignore the G-string?  Especially fingerstyle.

I did some testing and it looks like it can play many of the same notes the A-sting can play.  Fret4 on G sounds a lot like fret 2 on A.  I didn't try the tuner to double check yet, but they seem pretty close.

This is the part i have trouble describing.   When we play one note on one string, then a new note on the next string, the first note sings a little bit.  But if we play several notes on the same string in a row, changing fretting each time, the note before goes quet to make room for the next note.

I think the word is related to a bell tower.

Example.  The song says play the following frets on A string.  7 4 2 0 2 4 0.  It's pretty but, the note dies as soon as the next one is ready.

Why not play the two 2 notes on the G string (g string fret 4)?  It takes less fancy fret work and then the notes can sing to eachother?

Or is this not allowed?  

Bonus points if you can rephrase the question in an easy to understand way.

That's absolutely allowed! It's a wonderful idea too. I think your question makes sense and is not confusing.

I will link to a video explaining a banjo playing style that does something similar. Banjo also has reentrant tuning, like ukulele, but its fifth string is usually an interval of one fourth higher than the first string, whereas on ukulele it is a whole step lower. I believe that playing that way might potentially take more skill because the placement of the g string isn't as straightforward. Go to 5:28 for that particular style.



On banjo the fifth, higher string is often used as a drone string (the same note played over and over, which harmonizes and centers the rest of the notes) as well and I have played ukulele that way too.

I'm very happy to hear that.

It's kind of fun to alternate between the two outer strings, so I'm going to see if I can do that section this way.

I was really worried I missed some sort of rule telling us G can't be used for melody

So, I'm not breaking music laws by doing this?

It's ok to change music or do people get angry?

Well, it's your book/sheet of paper... unless you are defacing a library copy?

People do this sort of thing all the time. It is called arranging.

Ah, I'm beginning to see why they didn't bother with the G string there.  It's weird to wake up the thumb as it's only used in two other notes for the whole song.

But it sounds better this way.  And kind of fun to alternate the outer threads like that.

I feel like I'm finally understanding the limitations of my ukulele.

Thinking about the trip to see used guitars and other string instruments.   Many of them would start to sing/play if the finger touched the string.  Not all of them, but one of the mandolin and about 5 guitars, we could firmly put a finger on the fretting board and (if the place is right) the guitar would sing a note as if plucked.

My affordable ukulele refuses to do this.  Probably because it is affordable.

If I want to play the medieval song in the original post, or Concerning Hobbits, I will need to find a way to compensate for the hammer on and pull off notes.  

Either that or decided if I want to save up for a better ukulele or move over to guitars.   I'm not ready for that decision yet.

Why do some people wiggle their fretting hand like this guy when he just has his pinky on the strings?



It seems to be more common for guitar players when the note is alone and ringing for a while after plucking.  This makes the sound wobble a little bit.  

But for ukulele playing, what is the purpose of the fretting wiggle?

"Why do some people wiggle their fretting hand like this guy when he just has his pinky on the strings?”

I’s called “vibrato” and is done to make a note more dynamic, to give it, I guess you could say, some emotion, and also because it somehow sounds more natural. Singers do it all the time.

Vibrato can be overused of course. It can become annoying, or redundant so that its effect is diluted, but well-placed vibrato is generally a welcome addition.

By the way, there are various ways to add dynamic when playing the ukulele… in addition to vibrato there’s “tremolo” (rapid, slight increases and decreases in volume), hard stops (cutting off the ringing strings for a moment), and trills (rapid up and down across a fret—like vibrato) come to mind.

Here’s a video of me playing “Dream A Little Dream Of Me” that has examples of all three. They can go by quickly so you may have to pay closer attention than the rendition deserves!

r ransom wrote:So, I'm not breaking music laws by doing this?

It's ok to change music or do people get angry?

Unless you're playing a composed classical tune, feel free to personalize it. Even then, classical music is subject to some interpretation by the player. If that angered someone, it would signify an unhealthy mental condition 🤯.

r ransom wrote:..
My affordable ukulele refuses to do this.  Probably because it is affordable.

If I want to play the medieval song in the original post, or Concerning Hobbits, I will need to find a way to compensate for the hammer on and pull off notes.  
...

The clarity of sound you get from a hammer-on depends on at least three things: distance to the fretboard, speed of attack, and firmness of the "hammer" fingertip. The string length is likely a factor too, which limits the uke.

An alternative to a hammer-on is a double pluck, which works to get more volume, if you can fit it in.

David Wieland wrote:

r ransom wrote:..
My affordable ukulele refuses to do this.  Probably because it is affordable.

If I want to play the medieval song in the original post, or Concerning Hobbits, I will need to find a way to compensate for the hammer on and pull off notes.  
...

The clarity of sound you get from a hammer-on depends on at least three things: distance to the fretboard, speed of attack, and firmness of the "hammer" fingertip. The string length is likely a factor too, which limits the use.

An alternative to a hammer-on is a double pluck, which works to get more volume, if you can fit it in.

Double pluck will have to do for now.  Sound isn't as good.  

In the next week or month or so, someone promised to take me to a proper guitar shop in town.  I hear that many have as many ukulele as they do guitar, so I can get an idea of what it should sound like.

Ukulele is going to have less time for a few weeks due to a visitor to our home

But the ukulele is now good enough to play for my chickens, so it will probably still get a lot of practice.   Just not the fully dedicated practice time in the mornings.

Returning to concerning hobbits (because this is the minimum skill level I want to achieve)

If these two notes are both G, what is the advantage of having one on the open G string and one with the 7th fret C string?

My instinct says it's easier to play an open string than a fretted one.  But the arranger seems to know something I do not.

r ransom wrote:Returning to concerning hobbits (because this is the minimum skill level I want to achieve)

If these two notes are both G, what is the advantage of having one on the open G string and one with the 7th fret C string?

My instinct says it's easier to play an open string than a fretted one.  But the arranger seems to know something I do not.

As you observed, the G notes (with traditional re-entrant tuning) are the same. The related and adjacent chord fingerings are factors in choosing a particular voicing, as is the actual sound. Notice the different vibrating string length of the two Gs gives them different "flavours". Playing the passage very slowly might also give you some insight into the choice of fingering.

Oh, sound flavour.

I'm going to set some time to observe that.

I've also been meaning to find out which notes are the same on different strings, so these two might go well together

With the guitar visiting our home, ukulele time is being squeezed to one side.  That's okay.  

Food allergies and stuff make me unwilling to lift something as big a a guitar this morning, and brain hurt made any proper practice and learning new things seems unlikely.   So ukulele and the C major scale will be my friend today.

The goal is to practice something, everyday.   Even if it's just tuning and 2 min.  2 min usually turns into 20 pretty easily.

And I am surprised how close together the frets are compared to just a few days of guitar.   It feels like one guitar fret is three ukulele frets distance.  And they say the tennor ukulele has long distance between frets.  

And was it a month ago, I thought ukulele frets were impossibly far apart and I could never get used to it.  

It also reminds me of how unhappy I am with my ukulele sound right now.  The Aquila super nylgut strings I put on sound quiet and dull.  Is this simply because they are for a concert and I have a tenor?  This is the string that is supposed to make affordable ukulele sound amazing!  It's anything but.  there is no reverb, no volume, no joyful sound.  I thought it was my depression making it sound sad, but I think it's the strings.  

And the darn strings cost almost as much as the ukulele.   Maybe the 50cent set of strings will be a better fit.

Maybe super nylgut need a better quality ukulele?

I need to do a set up for the ukulele anyway. The intonation is nearly a full sharp/flat out on fret 12.  Lower the nut and saddle (look at me using fancy words!).  I'm also considering some danish oil (tried and true as it's solvent free) as the wood of the ukulele isn't finished, just stained.  I read Danish oil is popular for instruments before high gloss poly-whatever came along.

(As a side note, the finish on the guitar I am borrowing is amazing!  The maker describes it as a matt lacquer and I need to learn more about that)

But ukulele set up time is weeks away.  

Today, C major.  

Focus on
- learn the letters (apparently, this is the hardest thing I've attempted on ukulele so far, and if you know the c major scale, you will know how sad this is that my brain can't do this)
- learn the frets.

Later i can focus on different plucking techniques like this rest and free strok I'm learning about in guitar land.

How hard is it to make a bone nut and saddle for a ukulele?  

Is it a specific kind of bone or...?

r ransom wrote:How hard is it to make a bone nut and saddle for a ukulele?  

Is it a specific kind of bone or...?

Maple wood works too...

Ash maybe. My homemade gourd instrument has an ash nut and maple bridge. Any hard, durable wood is likely to be usable, but it is a matter of experimenting to see what sounds best. I used an ash bridge for a while until I tried maple and realized the sound was far better.

I think that any bone that's big enough would work, I am guessing? Anyway if you can switch it once, then you can switch it again.

Speaking of which, I do notice what you mean about the instruments and how it is so much nicer to play one that sounds nice. My guitar and my homemade gourd instrument both sound amazing. One has steel strings and the other is nylon fishing line! I think it has to do with the fact that both are made of real, natural, solid materials (for the most part). The first guitar I ever had (the one before the current) I didn't feel that it had a satisfying sound and the strings were the same.

I would like to try natural strings though. Silk seems up on my list of things to try, and a kind of fiddle from India is made from horse hair strings...

How about holly?  We saved a few chunks from one we chopped down 10 years ago.  It should be somewhere in the workshop.

r ransom wrote:I need to do a set up for the ukulele anyway. The intonation is nearly a full sharp/flat out on fret 12.  

Are you saying that the string clearance is so great that fretting at the 12th fret raises the pitch nearly a half tone? That's pretty extreme. The string-fret clearance on my uke at the 12th fret is about the thickness of two Canadian dimes.

I'll document how it goes with the ukulele when I get time to do it.  But yep, pretty sureit was quite a bit more than that.  Like I said, a very affordable price ukulele, so it's amazing it's this good.

I hope to wear out these aquila strings first, but they show no signs of wear yet.  

r ransom wrote:How about holly?  We saved a few chunks from one we chopped down 10 years ago.  It should be somewhere in the workshop.

I'm sure it would work...

I started working on this song today from the book Graded Repertoire for Classical Ukulele, Low G Ukulele.



I admit, I tried it on the guitar with a capo on fret 5 to make it behave like a low G ukulele.   Only after playing through several times, I understood it doesn't use string 4 and I can play it on whatever ukulele I want.  

Trying this song feels like a perfect match for where I am.  It's sufficiently difficult in places, but easy enough that I could manage a full play through on the first session with it.  I feel like I'm ready for the metronome already

That said, when I played through the soung, it felt like the song had joyful melancholy.   Like a kid looking out the window of a car while it drives past their favorite play ground and knowing they can't play today.  But that they will have ice cream at the end of it.

When I listened to online version of people playing this song, it felt dead,  technical lovely,  but where is the promise of ice-cream?

How come some times music is full of story and sometimes it sounds correct but lifeless?  

I want to play music with story.  What level proficiency do I need to get to before I can learn that?

Also, when I master this, the reward shall be ice cream or chocolate or possibly chocolate ice-cream.

Inspiration



Proof of what a ukulele is capable of
Also description has links to the tutorials for the songs!

(I don't normally recommend this, but maybe watch with an ad blocker as the ads seem to be broken and are showing every 55 seconds for me, including mid song)

Wow, this changed a lot.

Starting at about two minutes in, coffee and tea happen.



A way of counting music instead of one two um, where was i?  Coffee for eighth notes (in this context) and tea for quarter.  The video makes more sense

Update

Lambs don't seem to be big into ukulele.  It might be because they were newborn and looking for milk, so I'm off to try again.  

What is this sign called and what does it do?



Ukulele music and tab from the Sor book. Treble cleft, one flat on B line, 3/4 time.

The Notation Key at start of book doesn't say this symbol.

It's not a sharp, as we have one to the left.  Above we can see the note written normal has the same tab.  So I am obviously supposed to do something special.  Any ideas?

r ransom wrote:What is this sign called and what does it do?



Ukulele music and tab from the Sor book. Treble cleft, one flat on B line, 3/4 time.

The Notation Key at start of book doesn't say this symbol.

It's not a sharp, as we have one to the left.  Above we can see the note written normal has the same tab.  So I am obviously supposed to do something special.  Any ideas?

That symbol is a natural symbol—it specifically means to say that the note is not sharp or flat.

The usual assumption is that if there is a sharp or flat on the note earlier in the measure, then for the duration of the measure all others of that note will also have a sharp or flat. The natural sign neutralizes this, including if it’s in the key signature. I believe it works like a sharp or flat in that it lasts the whole measure unless contradicted but someone tell me if I’m mistaken.  

It has been a while and I’m also not sure if the sharp/flat/natural functions at the octave too.

Thanks.

I had no idea a sharp could apply to more than one note at a time.  This is getting pretty confusing.

This could go for ukulele or guitar or any string instrument with multiple strings—but intervals or two-note chords have been helpful for me to learn and help a lot for flexible playing and improvisation (which I recommend trying at some point). This sort of thing will be present already if a song has two or more lines of melody that are played simultaneously.

M Ljin wrote:This could go for ukulele or guitar or any string instrument with multiple strings—

The standard music notation system that you're using is independent of instrument and applies to wind instruments as much as strings. If you were looking at tablature for this passage, it would show a fretting shift. Exactly how that is performed is the player's choice, within the physical limits of body mechanics and the instrument design. Most of us look for the easiest, least stressful way (considering that playing an instrument isn't supposed to be an athletic event 🙂).

The sharps or flats in the key signature apply to all octaves unless overridden in a measure. You can think of those in the key signature as implicit -- just a way to simplify the notation.