Generated by All in One SEO v5.0.0.1, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Ukulele In The Dark with Guido Heistek free your inner musician ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [UD#127 Learn a Song from a Recording!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud127-learn-a-song-from-a-recording/) - Once you know the key of a song, the first chords to try, in terms of learning the song by ear, are the diatonic chords in that key. The diatonic chords are the chords that are formed with each note of a scale as the root... - [UD#126 Bluesy Bending!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud126-bluesy-bending/) - 1. You can bend by pushing the string up towards your face or pulling the string down towards the floor, depending on which string you are on and how much you are going to bend it. 2. It's best to use more than one finger to bend! 3. We usually bend a note to a semi-tone or a whole-tone up. Play the "target note" before you practice a bend so you have a destination in mind. - [UD#125 What's Below the Musical Iceberg?](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud125-whats-below-the-musical-iceberg/) - When we try to learn to play a piece of music, it’s tempting to go straight to the final act without attending to the steps that will lead us to a successful performance. Why is this? One reason may be that taking the preliminary steps seems like a waste of time. For example, it can be very tempting to push through a passage with whatever fingering comes most habitually to us. This can seem to be more efficient in the short term but, in the long term, maybe not. - [UD#124 Secret Ukulele Notes!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud124-secret-ukulele-notes/) - One of the wonderful things about a ukulele, or a guitar, is that, unlike on a piano, the same note can be found in multiple places. Here's a simple exercise to show you how that works in an experiential way. I find it's a wonderful ear-awakening practice for players of all levels... - [UD#123 Choir Music for Ukulele!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud123-choir-music-for-ukulele/) - In one of my classes, we've made a project of taking music for different types of ensembles and transcribing them for ukulele. We've used music for recorder (Thanks Mom), brass and choir. Here are the soprano and alto parts to a public domain choir arrangement of "Away in a Manger" played as a ukulele duet... - [UD#121 The Power of the Pause!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud121-the-power-of-the-pause/) - When we play our ukuleles, or any instrument, we often use more force or exertion than we need to. This can show up in excessive gripping, held breath, tightened and narrow shoulders, tightened jaws, narrowed focus, etc. Today I’d like to share with you an Alexander Technique inspired procedure that I use with students to explore how habits are initiated…. - [UD#122 Let The Pinky Play Too!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud122-let-the-pinky-play-too/) - When unfamiliar fingerings are called for, it often elicits a conundrum. So, I've started using a simple exercise which I developed for myself and my students. It's a great warm up or break in a practice session... - [UD#120 Relaxing Chord Melody!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud120-relaxing-chord-melody/) - Here is a song that I wrote for a student who worked as a massage therapist. I had plenty of chord melody arrangements that he liked the sound of, but he found them too difficult! We needed to find a balance between playability and musical sophistication. So, I composed "Spa Song”... - [UD#119 It's in the Cards!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud119-its-in-the-cards/) - Last year, I wrote an article called “The Meridians of the Uke.” In it we focused on four areas of the ukulele neck which I called "Meridians:" -the open notes, GCEA -the fifth fret notes, CFAD -the 7th fret notes, DGBE -the 12th fret notes, GCEA As a follow up to the newsletter, I created some quiz cards. Check them out in this lesson... - [UD#114 Funky Bassline on the Uke!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud114-funky-bassline-on-the-uke/) - UD#114 Funky Bassline on the Uke!from Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek I've made a little uke ensemble arrangement of Low Rider. There are five parts: bass, strumming, melody, harmony and a solo. Have a listen! Below is the tab which includes the bass, melody and harmony parts. I forgot to include a chord diagram for - [UD#117 Hear the Harmony](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud117-hear-the-harmony/) - UD#117 Hear the Harmony!from Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek I like to find musically compelling ways to practice scales with students. Here is an example using a C major scale. Have a listen! The bottom part starts on C and and top part starts on E, a third above. I usually begin with both the - [UD #116 The Meridians of the Uke](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud-116-the-meridians-of-the-uke/) - UD#116 The Meridians of the Ukefrom Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek A quick question: On a ukulele with GCEA tuning, what note ison the 5th fret of the G string? Sometimes, students feel like they need to memorize the fretboard before they can play anything. I don't think this is true. However, some knowledge of the notes on the fretboard - [UD#118 Christmas Waltz for One!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud118-christmas-waltz-for-one/) - UD#118 Christmas Waltz for One!from Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek A quick lesson today! About a year ago, I wrote a little tune called “Christmas Waltz for One.” It’s very simple: just a melody, with an accompanying “bass line.” The melody notes are meant to be plucked with the fingers, and the accompanying notes are meant - [UD#115 I Spy With My Little Eye: a Uke!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud115-i-spy-with-my-little-eye-a-uke/) - UD#115 I Spy With My Little Eye: a Uke!from Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek As a music teacher who also teaches the Alexander Technique, I am often looking for simple ways that my students can gain awareness of habits that may be interfering with their best functioning while playing.Looking down at the ukulele? Being able to look down at ## Pages - [Upcoming Events](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/upcoming-events/) - September 24-26, 2026 Fort Langley International Ukulele Festival >INFO< November 20, 2026 Deep Cove Coffee House, North Vancouver >INFO< March 22-26, 2027 Menucha Band Camp, Oregon >INFO - [CHORD MELODY](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/chord-melody-club-2/) - CHORD MELODY WORKSHOPS Chord melody is a solo ukulele technique which allows you to play chords and melody at the same time. It's magic! Missed a workshop? It's not too late! If you missed one of the first 7 workshops and would still like to attend, you can do so after the fact. Please click - [Member Sign Up](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/membership-join/) - BECOME A MEMBER! MEMBERSHIP SIGN-UP The cost of membership is just CAD $5.50/month. For that you will receive, in addition to the free newsletter I regularly send out, access to one newly published article from the Ukulele in the Dark archive* per week. And, as well, I will hold monthly members-only Zoom workshop sessions to - [Enter Password "chord"](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/chord-melody-club/) - RISK FREE: These workshops come with a money back guarantee. If, for any reason, you feel you have not gotten your money's worth, please contact me and I will arrange for a full refund, no questions asked. PAST CHORD MELODY CLUB WORKSHOPS: June 29, 2025, 11AM PDT episode 7: Freight Train We learn two solo - [FREE NEWSLETTER](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/free-newsletter/) - FREE NEWSLETTER I am regularly creating new lessons for this site. If you would like to receive every new lesson by e-mail, please subscribe to my newsletter below. Be sure not to miss a thing! Email First Name Subscribe Loading... One more step! Please click the confirmation button on the email we just sent you - [SHOP](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ukulele-in-the-dark-shop/) - UKULELE IN THE DARK SHOP (prices in CANADIAN DOLLARS $1CAN = about 75 cents US) BOOK The Chord Melody Book for Ukulele by Guido Heistek Graphic Design and Layout: Polly Wilson Chord Melody is the art of playing chords and melody at the same time. It is a solo ukulele technique that allows you to - [Thank You for Joining!](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/thank-you/) - Thank you for becoming MEMBER! Here is what you can expect to receive going forward. 1. New articles from the archive will be released every Monday. You will receive an email notice with a brief summary of the article and a link. Please use your member login information to login to see the article. 2. - [test 3](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/test-3/) - [What People Are Saying](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/what-people-are-saying/) - What people are saying... "Your lessons are fantastic!!!! I am 70 and began teaching myself how to play the uke several years ago. I discovered your web site when you were around Lesson 12 and have copied and saved all of them in a Microsoft folder. You have answered questions that I have had about music - [test page](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/test-page/) - [swpm_login_form] [swpm_payment_button id=123] Join the Ukulele in the Dark Archive Reconstruction Project! Cost: $5.50 CAD/month What you'll get: One email newsletter a week starting with UD#1 then UD#2 and so on as I restore them. Access to the new Members-only archive at Ukulele in the Dark Archive as I build it. 25% off anything in - [Festival Videos 2019](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/festival-videos-2019/) - Ode To Joy: Lulu's Back in Town: Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!---------------> - [Ukulele in the Dark - PRIVACY POLICY](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/ukulele-in-the-dark-privacy-policy/) - UKULELE IN THE DARK PRIVACY POLICY: This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make a purchase from ukuleleinthedark.com (the “Site”). NEWSLETTER: When you sign up for the newsletter we collect your e-mail address and your first name. In addition, the following information may be collected: - [The Chord Melody Book for Ukulele](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/the-chord-melody-book-for-ukulele/) - The Chord Melody Book for Ukulele by Guido Heistek Chord Melody is the art of playing chords and melody at the same time. It is a solo ukulele technique that allows you to play beautiful and complete song arrangements on your own. This book will show you how to do it, step by step. Two - [TUNING PRACTICE](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tuning-practice/) - THE GREAT TUNING CHALLENGE! PRACTICE NUMBER 1 TARGET NOTE: http://ukuleleinthedark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/G-1-1.mp3 Instructions: 1. Listen to the TARGET NOTE several times. 2. While the sound of the TARGET NOTE is still ringing in your head listen to note "A" below. 3. Determine whether note "A" is higher than, lower than or in-tune with the - [Home](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/blog-2/) ## Categories - [Strumming](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/strumming/) - [Chords](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/chords/) - [Ear Training](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/ear-training/) - [Listening](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/listening/) - [Transcription](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/transcription/) - [Music Theory](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/music-theory/) - [Soloing](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/soloing/) - [Jamming](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/jamming/) - [Learning Songs by Ear](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/learning-songs-by-ear/) - [Avoiding Injury](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/avoiding-injury/) - [Moveable Chord Shapes](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/moveable-shapes/) - [Scales](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/scales/) - [Fingerstyle](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/fingerstyle/) - [Travis Picking](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/travis-picking/) - [How to practice](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/how-to-practice/) - [Harmony Singing and Picking](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/harmony-singing-and-picking/) - [Chord Melody](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/chord-melody/) - [Beginner](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/beginner/) - [Duets](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/duets/) - [Archive (Members Only)](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/archive-members-only/) - [Alexander Technique Inspired](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/category/alexander-technique-inspired/) ## Tags - [strumming](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tag/strumming-2/) - [ukulele](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tag/ukulele/) - [groove](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tag/groove/) - [playing with recordings](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tag/playing-with-recordings/) - [Bo Diddley Ukulele Strum](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tag/bo-diddley-ukulele-strum/) - [Fretboard](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tag/fretboard/) - [ukulele travis picking](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tag/ukulele-travis-picking/) - [ukulele fingerstyle](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tag/ukulele-fingerstyle/) - [Chords](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tag/chords/) - [Music Theory](https://ukuleleinthedark.com/tag/music-theory/)