Ukulele tutorial - Taking Back Sunday's "Cute without the E"

Here is a tutorial of how to play Cute Without The 'E' (Cut From The Team) by Taking Back Sunday on the ukulele.

This was requested by someone, and was not a song I would have pictured to be popular on the ukulele, but who can argue? I mean, in many ways the song can carry more meaning from the uke because it's quieter, and a little more, oh what would be the best word? Intimate? Passive-aggressive? Rather than in your face rock-n-roll!!

Whatever the case may be, here is my tutorial:

Many of my lessons reference a variety of ukulele chords. You can get a grasp of all of them here: Hal Leonard Ukulele Chord Find (Google Affiliate Ad)

Fun Ukulele turnaround

Here is a quick tutorial for a fun blues turnaround. I show you how to play A7, D7 and E7. It's a twelve bar turnaround:

|A7---|----|----|----|              (four bars of A7, each bar is four counts)
|D7---|----|A7---|----|          (two bars D7, two bars A7)
|E7---|D7---|A7---|E7---|    (one bar E7, one bar D7, one bar A7, back to one bar E7)


A7

D7

E7

As always, keep practicing, and get into playing. For a comprehensive list of chords, tips, tricks, techniques, etc, I recommend Ukulele For Dummies. Check it out.

Daily ukulele

Greetings to the ukulele players of the world. I recently came across this deal: The Daily Ukulele - 365 Songs for Better Living- Ukulele Songbook is on sale for about $25 on Amazon right now (normally $35).

I've heard that this book is fantastic because it can be used as a textbook for an ukulele class. You can get together with a group, and do a new song every time you meet. Even if you met every day and learned one song, you wouldn't have to repeat anything for an entire year. That's pretty rockin' bad.

So anyways, I was curious to know if anyone out there has used this book, and whether it was worth it. I'm going to dig into my piggy bank to acquire it, and then try and set up a ukulele class.

Does that sound crazy? Probably. I'm aware of how crazy that sounds.

Anyone ever done anything like this? I'd love to know what tips and tricks are out there to set this kind of thing up.

Ukulele Tutorial for "I Won't Give up" - Jason Mraz

This song is fantastic, and a great one to learn! I definitely stuck to a basic way of playing it (adjustments need to be made in order to play along with the actual song), but the chords are meant for a beginner player.

I also like that this song is a three count, which are not common amongst popular music. 

The third thing that stood out to me with this song is it has a chord hold until you start singing. That doesn't always happen. In other words, you can play the same chord until you start singing, and then the progression will begin. This is a fun thing to take note of because you can direct the song yourself, rather than have the progression push you through it. I dunno, it's hard to explain. 

Identifying notes on your fretboard

As mentioned in the video, this isn't exactly something people are dying to know, but it will help you in the long wrong to at least get an idea of where your notes on on the fretboard.

Write this down:

A   BC   D    EF    G
D   EF
G   A     BC
      D     EF
      G     A    BC
              D    EF
              G


This looks confusing, but it helps me remember.

Always remember that A, D and G notes have a full step between them and the next note. In other words, they have both a flat and a sharp.

B and C as well as E and F are always together, or a half step. B has a flat, and C has a sharp. E has a flat and F has a sharp.

Unlocking the shuffle strum

I wanted to break down a few options you have while working on the shuffle strum. This is the strum most folks will use when learning the ukulele, and you have no excuse not to learn it. Once you get it, it all gets easier. But maybe it doesn't. 

Beginner version of Jingle Bell Rock on the ukulele

Jingle bell rock! An iconic song played again, again and again during the holiday season. If you're an accomplished player, this song should not give you any trouble, but for a beginner, it can be a little daunting. I tried to make my tutorial a little easier to grasp for a beginner. 

Have fun with it. Once you start getting it, look up harder ways to play the song! Or maybe ask me how to play it the fancy dance way, and I'll help you out!

Until next time.

Never getting back together

This is a great song to practice on the ukulele. You get to practice strumming, chucking, picking and just changing chords. I've put together a little video to help you out.

Again, the chords are C, G, D and Em7. Go for it!