Ukulele Tabs iPhone app - REVIEW

What a marvellous new app from the marvellous Ukulele Tabs website.

I spotted this app by chance in the app store, and noting it was FREE (yep, free!) I gave it a whirl.

I think its absolutely top notch! Read on

This app basically brings you the Ukulele Tabs website, and all of its many tabbed songs onto your iphone for using out and about.

On starting the application you are greeted with this page which shows you the monthly top viewed tabs, and an option to switch to the overall top tabs.

Across the bottom of the screen are other navigation options, to Browse (via an alphanumeric menu), to Search (by keyword, by song or band) and something called downloads - this is a very handy button - when you are online, you can choose to "save" a tab you have found, and will then appear in the downloads section when you are offline. Brilliant for cost saving, or if you are an ipod touch user.

There is a massive range of songs on offer, as you will well know if you use the Ukulele Tabs website as I do. The very best thing though is the way the songs are presented. You get an image of all the chords used in the song along the top of the screen and the words below that you can scroll through. But see that little "PLAY" button and slider - click that and the words start to scroll upwards - adjust the slider to time the scroll in time with your playing and hey presto, even the longest song will scroll automatically for you - no fumbling for "next page". What a great feature.

Sadly, my only gripe is the gripe I still have with Uke Tabs, and its not remotely their fault. They were threatened with legal action recently for copyright infringement in publishing lyrics, and in an amazing show of support from members, all songs were re-typed with XXXX in place of many of the words. Now, this is fine if you know the words to a song, but not very helpful if you dont. As I say, this aint their fault, but it is worth noting.

That said - its a great, polished little app that works brilliantly. I am now wondering why I need visit the website!

Top marks - if you are interested - the app is available from - HERE

Nice Mainland Banjolele review

With thanks to Ukisociety

Ukulele fretboard roadmap

Following a couple of requests, I can provide the following - a map of all notes on the uke neck in various tunings.

Standard soprano / concert tuning is the middle one!

Another call for Uke tutors

Hi folks

Well my page of uke clubs and societies received a good response, and there are plenty of links on there.

Less can be said for my page of tutors which is looking pretty empty. Come on people! If you are a tutor, anywhere in the world, and you want some help promoting your service, do get in touch and I will add you to this page

http://gotaukulele.blogspot.com/p/ukulele-tuition.html

Baritone Uke chord chart

It just struck me, whilst I had provided a chord chart for standard GCEA tuning, I hadnt provided one for Baritone Uke, tuned DGBE

Presto - here you go. As you will see, the chord shapes are pretty much the same but you are transposing down 4 notes - the standard C chord shape plays a G, the F plays a C etc - in fact -these chord shapes mirror the fingering on the top four strings of a guitar in standard tuning

Ukulele related comments that annoy me to bits

Thing about the uke is this, it's seen as rather quirky, and also probably quite rare when compared to, say guitars. But certain comments from people really get my goat. Here are a few of my favourites (or is that least favourites??) in no particular order.

1. "THAT'S A SMALL GUITAR" - no, it's not a guitar, it's a ukulele, four strings.... Usually followed by "well it looks like a guitar"...... Arrrgggghhh! No it doesn't!!!

2. "IS THAT A TOY?" - closely related to item 1 above

3. Said to me when playing my traditional soprano shaped uke, NOT my banjolele, "IS THAT A BANJO?" - it looks absolutely nothing like a banjo!!! Also closely related to 1 above..

4. When they enquired how much my mainland was, "HOW MUCH??????", erm, yes, its a real musical instrument... They do get much more expensive too...

5. "HAH YOU ARE JUST LIKE GEORGE FORMBY / TINY TIM" - now whilst I have no passion for Tiny Tim, I am quite fond of George, but really, there are plenty of other players, new and old, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Joe Brown, Eddie Vedder, Loudon Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright, Billy Corgan, Joe Strummer, Amanda Palmer (the list goes on)... When this is mentioned they glaze over... This comment obviously goes hand in hand with the other favourite "CAN YOU PLAY WHEN I'M CLEANING WINDOWS?"

6. Said to me by a ukulele player "IT'S ONLY A UKE, YOU DON'T NEED TO TUNE IT IT'S JUST FOR RHYTHM" erm... Jake Shimabukuro anyone?

7. Said to me by a guitar player, "UKULELE? NAH, WASTE OF A GOOD PRACTICE SESSION".... no comment...!

I'm sure readers have many others and would be interested to hear them in the comments section.

On the plus side the above comments are outweighed by the usual smiles and general interest I find is shown to you when you get a uke out at a gig!

Something on Uke - Paul McCartney

More Loudon on Uke

Mainland have done it again

Readers of this blog will know that I adore Mainland ukes - the quality, the sound, the service - all top notch.

Well Mike at Mainland has done it again - and is releasing a Mainland Banjolele!

This is definitely going on my christmas list....

Disaster!

I have been diagnosed with a RSI/carpal tunnel/tendonitis injury in my wrist. It's actually at the base of the thumb where it meets the wrist and is excruciatingly painful!

The cause could be a number of things, and the obvious culprit is the use of a computer mouse / keyboard. Well I do that a lot, but it also really hurts when I flex the wrist in the direction I strum uke and guitar...... Could I have been injured by the uke??

Anyway, bad news is that my wrist is in a splint to restrict movement and keep it rested for a week. No uke playing for 7 days!!

After that, it's exercise time to strengthen surrounding muscles to avoid it happening again, then I'm good to go!

(anyway, I blame the guitar not the uke, have had some lengthy gigs recently when we have played some violently chugging country blues, and I'm sure that did it....).

Ouch!

Copyright crackdowns - a sad road we are on

I'm asked quite often (and I also note from google search terms for this site) why I don't put up chords and lyrics for popular songs, or video tutorials.

Well, that was originally part of my plan but in the last year the greed machine that is the corporate music business decided that people giving up their own time to try to educate others in music, for no reward was just 'not on'...

The obvious cases involve the excellent Ukulele Tabs website and YouTube (though I'm sure there are others, such as chordie)

In the case of the former, UT is a community created database (massive database!) of all sorts of songs with full lyric and chord listings for uke.  Then the greed machine stepped in and pointed out they were infringing copyright and hit them with very real threats of very nasty legal action.  The UT site appealed to it's members who diligently went through the 1000's of songs and replaced all but first lines or key change words of songs with XXXXXXX.  This apparently gets them off the legal hook, but makes using the songsheets a bit of a pain.  A sterling effort from the fans but to me the site just isn't as much use now.

As for YouTube, a number of uke playing colleagues who have posted their uke versions of popular tunes online (as I have) have been hit with angry emails from YouTube telling them to remove material or have their accounts closed.  In one case an account was indeed closed.  Again, these videos are put up by passionate people who want to spread the ukulele word and help others- they ain't trying to get a record deal or get paid!

Now I don't know the full legal INS and OUTS but I was advised that if you put music and lyrics up not for profit and for educational purposes, then that is ok.  Seems the lawyers prefer the heavy handed approach and are hitting everyone.  We are all greedy crooks apparently (surely it's the other way around???)

As for me, I can't be doing with the hassle, and therefore this blog will continue as a useful tech source of info, with reviews, humour and snippets I like.

I do have some songs on my YouTube page, but am waiting on my email to remove them.  I've linked a couple on here in the past, so check them out.

Google will find you lots of uke chord sheets for your own use, so equally I would only be repeating what others already do so well

I think it's a really sad state of affairs. I fully understand the music biz trying to crackdown on file sharing or pirated cd's, but honestly, does posting the lyrics of a song accompanied by ukulele tabs pose a real threat to the music industry?


In a bygone era, songs were always copied, reinterpreted, passed on - that's what folk music is. Didn't stop the really talented dudes getting record deals and getting rich...

Got questions about ukulele?

Whether you are a beginner or an old hand, I'm gonna try to start a regular feature - "Got questions?" in which i will shout out to the whole interweb thingy for questions to be posed to me about Ukulele.

I will then do my best to answer a good dozen and post the answers on here.

If there is anything burning you want to know about uke, or about my thoughts on ukulele - either email me or post a comment on this post and keep checking back. MAKE SURE YOU MARK YOUR QUESTION "GOT QUESTIONS - VOLUME 1"

obviously, if I get none, this will be a short lived feature........

Thanks!

Gus & Fin do it again - BLOCKBUSTER!!

Love these guys

First ever Norwich Ukulele Festival! 18 September

Had an email this morning from one of the co-founders of the Norwich Ukulele Society, who advise me of their forthcoming, and first ever, Norwich Ukulele Festival

Looks like it will be a great do, and I am pleased to help promote it here.

getonthesoapbox is proud to present the first ever…

NORWICH UKULELE FESTIVAL
(in association with the Norwich Sound & Vision convention)
Saturday 18th SeptemberThe Ten Bells
1pm – 1am

FREE ENTRY

1pm – 8pm = ALL AGES
8pm – 1am = 18+

It’s hard to miss that these lovely four stringed instruments are currently having their biggest resurgence since the 1920’s. They have been described as the ultimate punk instrument, cheap to buy and easy to get something out of. They work well for introducing children to the joy of music and similarly for those of us whose small hands tried the guitar, but couldn’t quite reach those interesting chords (like me).

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain have been putting a unique spin on contemporary tunes, inspiring ukulele-ists to take on more inventive material, covering everything from Punk to Hip Hop. The creation of the Norwich Ukulele Society in February 2010 seems to have come at just the right time, with our fortnightly meetings attracting up to 40 people. The society is led by local ukulele teacher Gemma Cullingford who has now built up rather an impressive repertoire and skill level amongst our members.

So is born this mini-festival, a celebration of all that is fun, accessible and entertaining about grabbing these unassuming instruments and taking to the streets. The local area is rich in musical talent across the board but rather often, tucked away amongst these musicians’ tools, is a ukulele or two.

We are chuffed to pieces to be hosting a rare solo set from Noel Dashwood (of Dumbfoundus). Aside from getting to the final of a nationwide music competition with his band and having just played the O2, he recently shot to stardom when a video of him busking on the streets of Norwich ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ was featured on a Polish TV show, sending his youtube views through the roof!

NORWICH UKULELE FESTIVAL looks like this…

Performances from:
The Two Ukes / Norwich Ukulele Society / Daniel Buckland / Noel Dashwood / Jim The Legend / The Accidental Harmonies / Norfolk Ukulele Society / You!

Open Mic sessions:Throughout the day and night. Solo or groups with ukes only please, in the spirit of the festival. Email in advance to express your interest or just turn up on the day: getonthesoapbox@hotmail.co.uk

Lessons from: Gemma Cullingford. Two sessions at 3pm and 5pm, £5 per person. Book in advance to avoid disappointment: gemma@ukulele-lessons.co.uk

Prizes for:
Best dressed – think Hawaiian chic, flowers in your hair and grass skirts.

Games:
The Big Uke Quiz at 7pm, with ‘guess the tune’ section played live on the ukulele.

Art:
We will be making it look pretty but we want your help! There will be massive rolls of paper around with tons of pens and pencils, help us transform The Ten Bells into a ukulele-ist heaven.

Wanna get involved?
If you have an idea or skill that you would like to bring to this event please email me and lets get it on!

Special guests, performances, discounts and demos to be announced so tell your mates and watch this space as we bring the first EVER Norwich Ukuele festival to your doorstep.

Brought to you by:
www.myspace.com/getonthesoapbox
www.youtube.com/getonthesoapbox

Ukuleles are undesirable instruments???

This story on the Guardian made me seeth - Transport for London supposedly cracking down on busking and classing the banjolele as an "undesirable instrument"???

These buskers need our support - I'm passionate about keeping the busking tradition going (I have done it myself when a student), and over the last few years TfL have made things tougher and tougher.

Now to have a supposed list of "undesirable instruments" is just nuts

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/aug/31/transport-for-london-buskers

Open to offers to undertake reviews

Well, this blog has been going a while now, and I am pleased to note that the visitor numbers are pretty high - averaging around 500 unique visits a week, and last week that hit 700+

It's clearly being read and syndicated on other blogs, so....

My review pages seem to get the most hits, so I figure that I would be more than happy for any manufacturers out there (of either Ukes or accessories) to get in touch with me if they would like me to test and publish a review on any of their gear

Get in touch through the blog (email at foot of page) and I'd be happy to help giving you an impartial review.  Highly Strung in Wantage were happy with a couple of reviews and linked back from their store to my blog

here -http://www.highlystrung.co.uk/acatalog/Makala_Ukuleles.html

and here -http://www.highlystrung.co.uk/acatalog/Ukulele-Banjos.html

Am pleased to report that I know from direct emails that my reviews linked on those pages led to a number of actual sales!

Banging the gong now over, thanks for listening!