I started playing piano when I was six. For quite a few years in my life, I’ve avoided performing like a plague. I remember entering into a talent show in second grade for a piece I learned on piano. I played it for the judge’s panel and they gave me a superior rating (the highest) and then invited me to perform for the entire church. You think that would be a huge vouch of confidence, but I told them, “No way!”
[Continue Reading...]“Hallelujah” Leonard Cohen / Jeff Buckley Ukulele Chords
This beautiful song was originally written by Leonard Cohen, but made very popular by Jeff Buckley’s recording of it on his album Grace that debuted in 1994. Rufus Wainright also recorded a version of this song for the movie Shrek in 2001. The video below is my rendition of this song on the ukulele. I took out a couple verses, but the idea is still the same.
[Continue Reading...]3 Reasons Why You Aren’t Getting Better at Ukulele
Do you ever feel stuck in the same old spot with your skills as a ukulele player? If so, you’re not the only one who’s experienced this.
Here are five reasons why you might not be getting better as a ukulele player.
[Continue Reading...]I’ve Been Working On the Railroad
“I’ve Been Working On the Railroad” is the first song I learned how to play on the ukulele. My grandfather, who actually worked on the railroad, taught it to me when I was just six years old.
This song is a great song to learn if you are just beginning to play ukulele.
[Continue Reading...]Motivational Monday: Healing Power of Ukulele
Do you believe that people can receive healing through music?
Last week, I came across a really cool post over at the Ukulele Underground forums on the healing power of music in action.
[Continue Reading...]“Trouble” by Never Shout Never
If you’re a dude, and you play this song for some lovely lady you fancy after, you might just have a chance.
The good thing about this song is that it’s pretty easy to play. The only thing is that it might be pretty hard to sing. Nonetheless, here are the ukulele chords for “Trouble” by Never Shout Never.
[Continue Reading...]Major, Minor, Diminished & Augmented Chords Explained
You’ll have to forgive me, but I loooove talking about music theory. If we understand how music is put together, it unlocks a bunch of creative ideas for approaching songs in a different way and even writing our own songs.
So in view of our past post “Ukulele Scales Explained for Beginners” I wanted to take a look at the differences between major, minor, diminished, and augmented chords.
[Continue Reading...]Motivational Monday: Back from the Studio
I want to apologize for dropping off the face of the earth last week. This past week I had an exciting opportunity to go down to Nashville to work with my brother on a recording project of his. He’s doing a five song EP, so we were in the studio all week working away on that.
[Continue Reading...]Ukulele Scales Explained for Beginners
What are scales? How does a scale work? Why are they important to know?
We’re going to tackle these questions. In this lesson, I want to take an introductory look to scales, specific to the ukulele. This little bit of theory is very helpful to know, and it’s pretty easy to understand.
[Continue Reading...]Motivational Monday: Build Me Up, Buttercup
There are some folks on YouTube who’ve established themselves as ukulele legends. One such person is jaaaaaaa or Julia Nunes who has received over 5.5 million channel views and over 38 million upload views. Not to mention she’s even played some shows with Ben Folds. Dang!
As a ukulele player and as an artist, I have to ask myself, “What makes her so successful as a ukulele player and artist?”
[Continue Reading...]