UD#10 A Knee Slapping Reggae Strum

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UD#10 Knee Slapping Reggae Strum
from Ukulele in the Dark w/ Guido Heistek

-HOW TO STRUM A REGGAE BEAT

I am teaching and playing this weekend at the Vancouver Ukulele Festival. I will be teaching a workshop on strumming so I thought I would teach a strum for this week’s newsletter.

Here are a couple of recordings of me playing the chords to Somewhere over the Rainbow  (Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole version).

I am playing the song in the key of G (different from the original)  so just use them as a reference for the strumming groove.

faster version:

slower version:

In the video below I walk you through how to play a simple version of the strum. I use 4 steps:

1. Getting the basic feel on a piece of paper.
2. Adding knee slaps to the basic feel.
3. Playing the strum with a muted chord.
4. Playing the strum with a chord.

)
This is not the full version of the strum but once you have mastered it you can easily add more nuances and variations as you pick them up by ear. You can use this strum to play:

Three Little Birds (A, D, E7),
)

Get Up Stand Up (ONE CHORD! Cm),
)

Somewhere Over the Rainbow and pretty much any other song with a reggae groove. Have fun!
)

All for now!

See you next week.

Guido

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Bio

Guido Heistek holds a B.F.A. Music from Concordia University in Montreal and is a CANSTAT certified teacher of the Alexander Technique. He makes his home in Vancouver, BC.  Guido has performed in the US, Japan, Canada and Europe, and has worked as both an arranger and consultant for stage and film. Guido teaches private and small group lessons at his downtown studio: Yaletown Music . In 2011, Guido released Hear the Strum,  an instructional DVD which teaches ukulele students how to strum by ear and from the heart. In 2013 he released a CD, Guido Heistek – Solo Ukulele. In 2016, Guido released The Chord Melody Book for Ukulele.

To book a lesson or consult call:

604-605-0174   or
Send me an e-mail.

VIDEOS:

I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE:

BLUE BOSSA:

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW:

HEISTEK and PLATO:

BLUES JUST TAKE THEIR TIME (Heistek and Plato):

DON'T TAKE TOO LONG (Madeleine Peyroux):

Trip to Japan:

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