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There is so much I could have posted on this blog in the last few months. I have been to the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival, where my favourite instrumentalist happened to be the violin player with the Toots (but I also saw lots of great ukulele players). I've been to the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain in Cheltenham and I've played on the main stage at the Hoylake Ukulele Festival.

I thought I'd better write something to let you know I am still here, and if you want more evidence then take a look at my website where I write a song a week. They are mainly simple instrumentals for the ukulele. This week's is the theme tune to Robinson Crusoe, the TV series from the '70s.

Aloha

Camberwick Green

If you normally strum chords on a ukulele then the theme to Camberwick Green is the tune to get you playing instrumentals. It helps if you know the tune and it helps if it brings back childhood memories. Even if it doesn't it is a very simple tune that sounds like the original - and it's short and sweet.

------3-0-3---------------2-3---

--0-3---1---3---1-3-0-3-----0---

0---0---0---0---0---0---2---0---

0---0---2---0---2---0---0---0---

Aloha

Ukulele Logos

 In the summer I had a go at adding a photo of one of my ukuleles to a photo of Eric Morecambe's statue. It became the logo for the Morecambe Ukulele Club and was the motif on the front of the 2014 'tour' shirt. The back of the shirt, as is usual, had our tour dates.

The logo, on the right shows Eric holding the ukulele. In reality his fingers are outstretched and I had to remove the ends of the fingers to make it look like he was holding it. The easiest part of the image to add is probably the text as all I had to do was choose a font and get the size of font to fit the length of the image.

Today I had a go at a logo for Ukulele Jukebox - see https://www.facebook.com/ukulelejukebox

Strangely, or maybe not if you know about these things, it was easier to make Eric into a silhouette and add a ukulele than it was to draw straight lines and circles to make a jukebox. I haven't had a lesson in using a computer but maybe I need a lesson or two.



And if you want to see where Morecambe Ukulele Club go on tour, here is the back of the shirt. The trouble with a tour shirt is it can't get printed until we know where we are going. We have had dates that aren't on the tour shirt e.g. last weekend we played Morecambe Library.

I believe we have been invited back to Morecambe Library next year and we should be alright in 2015 for the Paris Olympia, the Albert Hall and New York's Carnegie Hall.

Aloha

The importance of dynamics

A couple of days ago I posted my first two videos on an Ohana TKG 70 guitalele. The first is Aguado's study in Am which is fairly simple and I played it slowly but I played it as it is written. Then, in take two, with a shift in accent, I recorded it with an emphasis on the melody. It became a different tune which just goes to show the importance of dynamics.

A few weeks ago I won the guitalele from Omega Music. Yes, won. How lucky is that, so thanks to Omega Music I now have a welcome addition to my ukuleles. This one plays like a guitar at the fifth fret and is the size of a tenor ukulele. Four of the six strings are exactly like a tenor (G,C,E and A) with an additional fifth and sixth strings (A and D) which makes it relative tuning exactly like a guitar - hence the name.

I now need to learn a whole new set of chord names. However it is easy to play classical pieces on the guitalele as long as you don't want them to be in their original key. This isn't a problem because most classical music is for solo guitar. Those extra two strings make me think I am playing guitar but all the notes have changed. I can play all my classical guitar music but the sound that is produced is five semitones higher.

I like ukuleles, in fact I prefer them to the classical guitar because they are easy to carry, easier to play, much cheaper than guitars, and mostly I prefer ukuleles because they are a social instrument. There are groups of like-minded ukulele players everywhere. In fact I am off later today to play in Sainsbury's in Lancaster. I don't think you'll find many guitar groups playing for charity this Christmas in your local supermarket.

Aloha

The Best Size for a Ukulele

I have just been asked for advice on buying a ukulele and specifically which size is best. This person already plays guitar and they had already heard about the different tuning of the baritone which may be helpful to her. Here is a copy of the advice...

I have a guitalele which is the size of a tenor ukulele but has six strings tuned like a guitar at the fifth fret. When I play a G chord on the guitalele I am actually playing a C chord and this makes me feel like a beginner as I have to think in a totally different way from when I am playing the guitar. Even if you decide on a baritone, I would treat your ukulele Christmas present like a new instrument and forget that you play guitar. You will have new chord shapes to learn but at least they are all the same regardless of the size of ukulele (apart from baritone). I have Brunswick soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles which aren't very expensive but I bought them to help me decide which size is best for me. I am still deciding.

Sopranos are good for stretching for higher notes but there is more space to move around in first position with the tenor. All of them have chords in the same shape and all I have to do is remember how far to stretch for the notes that aren't in first position... I also have an eight-string tenor which is my first choice playing solo.

I like my soprano as I can carry it in a small bag and it's probably best to start with a soprano and they tend to be cheaper too. It's probably best not to spend too much on your first ukulele. Octopus are cheap and good. Slightly better and slightly more expensive are Mahalo Dolphin ukuleles. For a little more money you get a huge choice including Brunswick. Don't forget looks. If you like the look of a ukulele then you are more likely to play it too. I hope that helps.

So Many Ukulele Opportunities

We are very lucky in Morecambe to have so many opportunities for playing the ukulele. On Thursday a couple who were staying in Lancaster for a couple of nights sent a message on Facebook to ask about joining us at our regular Saturday morning session at the Morecambe Ukulele Club. From that message they managed to get to Arnside on Thursday evening, Lancaster on Friday and Morecambe on Saturday. I did mention that the Snug Ukulele  group from Carnforth were playing at the beer festival at Carnforth Station on Saturday (yesterday) evening but they were making their way north to Carlisle and to Omega Music.

Here is the evidence for one of those events, the Beer Festival at Carnforth. Thanks to Glenn Bennett - https://picasaweb.google.com/103639…/SnugBeerFestival221114…"

Aloha

P.S. Take a look at the Lancashire Ukulele website.

Lancashire Ukulele

I have a website which went live a few hours ago and here is the link for 'Lancashire Ukulele'.

There are plenty of photos and videos as well as an advert for lessons in classical guitar and ukulele.

Aloha