Tag Archives: ukulele

UD#107 The Great Race to the Melody Note

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UD#107 The Great Race to the Melodyfrom Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek When we play chord melody style, we play both the chords and melody of a song at the same time. We often use a simple thumb strum through the chord that finishes on the melody note. One of the challenges of this is getting the timing right between the chord notes and the melody note. That’s something that I would like to focus on in today’s lesson! For that purpose, I’ve written a short ukulele piece.  Here is a recording of the song we will look   …Continue Reading


UD#106 Wipe Out!

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I love to teach Wipe Out to my students. One of the great things about it is that the main melody of the song uses melodic patterns that repeat again and again with variations. I like to show my students the notes in the patterns and the shape that these notes make on the fretboard. Then, we learn the melody by ear, a little at a time. If that sounds fun, read on! Or, if you prefer, you can jump to the end of the lesson and grab the tablature there.


UD#105 Christmas Uke Duet: Coventry Carol

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UD#105 Christmas Uke Duet: Coventry Carolfrom Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek One of my students suggested that we learn this carol. I have created a little two part ukulele arrangement that is loosely based on the traditional harmonization of the song. Have a listen! For those of you who are interested, let’s learn the main melody by ear! Here are the notes involved. They come mostly from the G harmonic minor scale.  There are some notes that are altered in the song. This creates a really cool affect. On a couple of occasions, the Bb note is changed to a B natural   …Continue Reading


UD#103 Harmony of One: Chord Melody Backing!

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I love harmony singing and the richness that it creates. Sometimes when I am doing a song on my own, I miss that feeling: the feeing of two voices interacting. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with how to create a melodic interaction between the uke and the voice that can give a similar effect….


UD#7 PAPER STRUM (Strum-without-a-uke)

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UD#7 PAPER STRUM (Strum-without-a-uke)  from Ukulele in the Dark w/ Guido Heistek Learning to strum can be a little daunting especially if you have never played a strummed instrument before. There is a lot to consider: •What finger should I strum with on my right hand? Thumb? Index finger? Both? •How can I change between the chords and keep strumming? •How do I know which pattern to strum? •How can I strum and sing at the same time? I find that new players need a lot of experience with the simple act of keeping rhythm with their strumming hand. They   …Continue Reading