To the songwriters and bloggers

Throughout my life, I've always had a journal relatively handy. Though I may not write it one regularly, writing my thoughts translates into a form of meditation for my brain.

Tragically, I do not journal very often, and personally I don't count blogging as journaling. Whether I'm not allowing myself the time to do it, or I'm spending more time watching TV than trying to exercise my brain, I don't know. But there's always a part of me that wants to write a poem, or try to sort out the gobbly goop of random slop in my brain.

Earlier this year I embarked on a goal to learn 100 songs in 100 days on the guitar. It was fun because it gave me something to work on every day, but what I soon discovered after starting the goal was how uncomplicated so many songs actually are. I couldn't help wondering why I didn't write more songs myself. I had the capacity to write poems, as well as play the guitar. Why not just slap the two together?

Unfortunately I couldn't justify learning my own songs as a part of my 100 song in 100 day goal. No one would care, and I didn't have much time to devote to an unknown black hole.

But now those 100 days are over and the goal is officially complete. Here I am with a renewed energy for my creative capacity, but I'm still disengaged from sitting down and writing. Crap. Now what? It's not like I have tons of spare time in the day, and can just sit down and write whenever inspiration strikes.

But then I remembered one of my daily goals earlier this year; getting words on paper, every day. You don't know when creativity will strike, but you won't recognize it when it does if you're not writing anything down at all.

Two days ago, I found my most creative time of the day, and it happens to last about 10 minutes in the morning. I drive my wife to work and then come back home. I unbuckle my daughter out of her carseat and she spends the next 10 minutes using the inside of our car as a jungle gym. Meanwhile, I listen to NPR and drink my coffee. Lately though, I've pulled out my phone and have begun writing in the notepad app. Once the toddler is finished, I email my notes to myself and boom, words on paper.

Here is the song I wrote yesterday.

So for anyone out there who has a desire to write, but can't find the time, all you need to do is make it happen, maybe 10 minutes in the morning. If inspiration strikes, you're going to find you have a lot more time in the day than you thought.

Twinkle twinkle, ABCs

I have a respectable number of young nieces and nephews, in addition to a very young daughter. 

Among the age group, I have found the most commonly requested song is "Twinkle, twinkle little star". It's a tough one (sarcasm).

A funny revelation I had was that twinkle twinkle sounds EXACTLY the same as the ABC song. It's like a Weird Al Yankovich thing. In case you were not aware of this, please take a moment to sing both of those songs. It should take less than 60 seconds, unless you're belting it out for the bleachers.

Here is a very quick tutorial of, as I like to call it, "Twinkle twinkle, ABCs".

The progression in C:

C - G - F - C - 

Twinkle twinkle little star

F - C - G - C

How I wonder what you are

C - F - C - G - 

Up above the world so high

C - F - C - G

Like a diamond in the sky

C - G - F - C - 

Twinkle twinkle little star

F - C - G - C

How I wonder what you are

If this is not the right pitch for you, try the progression in G:

G - D - C - G - 

C - G - D - G 

G - C - G - D

G - C - G - D

G - D - C - G - 

C - G - D - G 

For other pitches, just ask. Whatever your voice is willing to do, there is a pitch for that. 

I hope these songs successfully enter your home and get your kids bouncing around before bedtime! Enjoy.

Tribute to Mount St Helen's

I use Facebook. It's a funny network because your grandmother can see what you post, and provide all sorts of various feedback. If you have an awesome gramma like me, she'll tell you that your ukulele videos should be recorded while you're fully clothed in the shower. She also will offer suggestions for songs you should write.

I received a suggestion a few days ago, the anniversary of Mt. Saint Helen's erupting, titled: "where were you when the mountain blew?" As a northwesterner, this was a pretty big deal, even though I hadn't been born yet when it happened. I made a deal that I would write music if she wrote lyrics. Gramma's reply was "I was at the zoo, poo poo pa doo". 

It is late, but without further ado, "Where were you when the mountain blew"

Dream a little dream of me - ukulele and guitar

I wrote about this during my 100 song in 100 day goal, which happened to be song 89 of 100. This song is rad. What better way to say it.

Also, the chord progression was much more complicated than I expected. Here's my take on the song:

I've come to believe that there is no better time in history to learn anything than right now. You have at your fingertips every possible resource to learn how to do something. And the better news is that with the help of youtube, it's all free. After thumbing through 200 versions of this song, I was able to find proper instruction on how to play it. Searching for the chord progression, I was able to find it for the uke and the guitar.

The best resource I found to learn this song on the uke was at ukulelehunt.com, a far better resource than I will ever be. Go there. Click here for Dream a little dream's chords and lyrics.

Go out and get an ukulele. It's the best thing you'll ever do.

Leaving on a jet plane - Ukulele style

There are a handful of songs that everyone should know. On day one of owning an ukulele, I learned five chords: C, G, Am, F and D. The rest would come later.

In my excitement, I reached for a song in my repertoire that was easy to play, easy to sing, and that most people enjoy. It's "Leaving on a Jetplane".

Here is my ukulele version of "Leaving on a Jetplane". I've little patience to sing slowly, and my excitement wouldn't allow me to play it's more classic speed. You may also notice that I can't recall the chords throughout the entire song. All in all, it's a fresh version of an old song. Enjoy!


For anyone interested in the chord progression of "Leaving on a jetplane", I use G, C, G, C, G, C. D.

Other equally simple progression can include, but are not limited to:

C, F and G
A, D and E
E, A and B

Depending on how high or low you sing, you're entitled to use whatever chords you like to play a song. You just have to find which chords go together.

Hope that helps. Have fun!

For the beginner from a beginner

I've played the guitar for years, and I just recently took up playing the ukulele. Though working as a stay-at-home dad keeps me very busy, a few months ago I decided to take up a goal of learning 100 songs in 100 days on the guitar. About 10 days into this goal, I realized I needed an ukulele. I bought one about halfway through my 100 day goal, and now that I'm 100 songs smarter on the guitar, I've turned my focus to the ukulele.

This is my ukulele. She currently does not have a name.

It's such a similar instrument to the guitar, yet so very different. It feels different. It sounds different. You relocate yourself when you strum an uke rather than stay in the moment with a guitar. To me, it's a different feeling altogether. I'm driven to play outside more.

One could say that when you have a smaller instrument, you're more inclined to play with it all the time. Wait, that doesn't sound quite right.

As such a highly portable instrument, I find that I take it with me almost everywhere I go. I might not impress anyone with it, but it's a positive addiction that I hope I never give up.

This blog is going to serve a few purposes, I hope. First, I want to share my progress with the world. Second, I want to provide lessons from a beginner for a beginner. I feel that I have enough music theory understanding to be able to spread a good word, but I also want to disclaim that there are highly experienced ukulele players in this great big world who will provide more information than a beginner can handle. My goal is to provide a nice balance. We will see.

That's all for now.