Free prize draw - win a copy of my ukulele ebook!

Summer is here - time to be happy, so how about a free prize draw to win a copy of my ebook "What Ukulele Players Really Want To Know".  In fact I am giving away five copies (yes, five!) to those who enter.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED - KEEP READING GOT A UKULELE FOR MORE GIVEAWAYS!

All you have to do is use Twitter (its easy and takes two seconds to register) and do the following

Tweet or Re-Tweet the following message exactly.

I want to win a free #ukulele ebook by @bazmaz http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/37988

It's that simple!

The draw will end at 5pm UK time on Sunday 10th April, and I will then draw randomly 5 names who tweeted and contact you via twitter and announce on here.  I will then need an email address from you to send the file (which will be used for nothing else) and you can choose from the following formats

EPUB
PDF
RTF
LRF (Sony Format)
PalmDoc (PDB)

Or, Plain text (yuk)

Good luck!

RULES (IMPORTANT)!

1. Competition  ends at 5.00pm UK time on 10 April 2011

2. To be eligible for the prize draw, you must post the message above on  Twitter and provide a valid email if you win to receive prize

3. On draw day, I will randomly pick 5 winners and contact them by twitter.

5. The winner will be announced within 7 days of the draw day, on this website

6. No purchase necessary

7. posting a tweet is not proof that I have received your entry. No responsibility can be accepted for entries that are lost or delayed, or which are not received for any reason

8. The prize in not transferable to another person

Proof of the paper version of my book arrives!

Wow - my proof copy of the paperback version of What Ukulele Players Really Want To Know has arrived and it looks great!

Will soon be available to buy online.

Eddie Vedder - ukulele album update

More news on the Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam) Ukulele album.

STOP PRESS - before you read on - the album has since been released, and you can read my full review of it HERE!


As unlikely as it sounds for a rock hero to be doing this, Eddie has been playing the uke for many years, and the sample track and live stuff I have heard sounds really promising.  (My last post with his launch single Longing To Belong is HERE )


Here is a live version of another track from the forthcoming album called Satellite





The tracklisting is rumoured to be


01 Can’t Keep
02 Sleeping by Myself
03 Without You
04 More Than You Know
05 Goodbye
06 Broken Heart
07 Satellite
08 Longing to Belong
09 Hey Fahkah
10 You’re True
11 Light Today
12 Sleepless Nights [ft. Glen Hansard]
13 Once in Awhile
14 Waving Palms
15 Tonight You Belong to Me [ft. Cat Power]
16 Dream a Little Dream


WOW! Tonight You Belong To Me with Cat Power!!


Releases on 31 May 2011.

Ukulele A-Z - F is For....

My next installment of the Ukulele A-Z - this time, the letter F!

Figure

The distinctive pattern produced by a wood's grain, annual rings, rays, coloration, or knots. A nicely figured uke can be desirable as well as expensive!


Fingerboard

The area of the neck over which the strings run and into which the frets are mounted. The fingerboard is where your fretting hand holds the notes by pressing down on the strings between the frets. Fingerboards are often made out of a strip of dark wood or dark stained wood applied to the neck of the ukulele.


Fingerstyle

The technique of playing the ukulele by picking individual strings with the fingers or a pick, rather than strumming them.


Finish

The term used to describe how a ukulele body is finished in manufacture - either glossy, matte or painted (usually)


Flat

Lower in pitch. (deeper)


Flatpick

A triangular or teardrop-shaped piece of nylon or plastic used to pluck or strum the strings. Not something that is usually used to play a ukulele, but anything goes!


Flea and Fluke

Names of modern designed ukuleles with distinctive shapes and moulded plastic backs. Their design is exact and are rarely badly set up. Manufactured by the Magic Fluke Company in the USA.


Four/four time

A time signature of four quarter beats in one bar of music.


Fret

The thin strips of metal set into the neck of a ukulele to allow you to change notes. By holding a string between frets, the fret nearest the bridge acts as a nut and shortens the length of the string, hence sharpening the note higher.


Fretting

The action of placing a finger between frets, thus changing the length and pitch of the string.


Fret Marker

The dots inlayed in the fingerboard of the ukulele to help finger placement and finding notes.

Ukulele ebook update

Firstly, a huge thank you to those who bought the book and made it a success - it really has taken me aback. I hope you enjoyed it and can pass on the good word to other readers who are thinking about the ukulele.

I've been particularly pleased to see it rise up the Amazon rankings.

If you are in the UK, you will find the book at What Ukulele Players Really Want To Know UK edition

US buyers, just click the book cover in the panel on the right hand side of this blog.

If you are not a Kindle owner - the great site Smashwords has the book at the same price in a bewildering range of formats here - Smashwords Ukulele ebook

Oh, and also, something of a stop press - I am hoping to get a version in print shortly meaning those of you who want to own a physical copy will soon be able to  - watch this space!

New Ukulele Poll

If you glance over to the right column of this blog, you will see that I have started a new poll. I am interested in how the readership is split between those with and without ukes, and I would be most grateful for your votes!

So tell the world - are you an aspiring player? Been playing a while but looking to upgrade your uke? Advanced player with a bad case of UAS (Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome!)?

Bosko & Honey CD Appeal for Japan

I am overdue in letting my readers know about this but the marvellous Australian ukulele couple Bosko and Honey are donating proceeds from sales of their CD "Ukulele Safari Volume 1" to the Red Cross Japan Disaster Appeal.

The CD is a compilation of ukulele tracks from their world Ukulele Safari, runs to 75 minutes and is packed with 22 songs by artists from around the world (including a couple by Bosko amd Honey themselves!)

It comes with a beautiful colour booklet designed by Shelley Rickey, and they will ship them to you worldwide.

Do something good today and place an order (mine is ordered and on its way and I will post a bit more about it when it arrives).  A great cause.

Bosko and Honey page - Ukulele Safari CD

Ukulele Beginners - Basic Ukulele Theory - part 3 - Minor Chords

In our last guide HERE we looked at Major ukulele chords.  It is important that you know the majors, but you will not get very far without some variations on these chords.  In this theory guide we look at Minor Chords.

A minor chord is a variation on the major chords we looked at last time, and is shown in chord notation with a small "m" after the Chord, like Am, Cm etc.  The minor chords are often referred to as the sad chords, and provide real expression to you songs.

When we looked at the major chords (on the link above) we saw that a major chord is made up of the 1st, third and fifth of the scale of the chord you are looking for.

A minor chord is exactly the same, but the third  is played down half a tone (or flat).

Using our example from the last lesson on the A chord, we learned that the A was made up of the notes A, C# and E.  On the Am, we need to take that middle note, the third, down a half tone and flatten it.  Taking a C# down a step takes it to a C.  We therefore know that for Am, we need the notes A, C and E on the Uke.

Looking at the notes on the strings, the A note remains the same as in the Major A chord - the G string and the second fret.  Unlike the A chord though, for the Am, the next note is not a C# but a C.  We know that the third string on a uke is a C when played open, so it doesnt need fretting.  The first and second strings also can be left alone because they play A and E respectively, so work for this chord.

And thats it.  To turn any major chord into a minor, just take that third, middle note in your chord down a half tone.  Easy - try it with the other major chords you learned.

Good luck!

Ukulele A-Z - D and E is for.....

Continuing my Ukulele A to Z, this time we are at the letters D and E

DECAY

The decline and fade in the volume and reverberation of a note


DOUBLE BAR LINE

The double vertical lines on a stave of musical notation that signifies the end of the piece of music.



DOWN STROKE

The strumming action across the ukulele strings, moving from top to bottom.



EIGHTH NOTE

In musical notation, this signifies the time value of the note as being an eighth of a whole note ( half as long as a quarter note)



EBONY

A hard dark wood favoured for fingerboards and in some cases, nuts and saddles.



ELECTRO ACOUSTIC

The term given to a ukulele that looks and plays just like a standard acoustic ukulele with a sound hole, but is fitted with a pickup system allowing the uke to be plugged in to an amplifier.



END BLOCK

A solid piece of wood inside the ukulele construction at the base of the instrument to provide structural support to the instrument, and in some cases support for a strap pin.



END PIN

A (usually) metal button fitted to the base of the ukulele into the end block for the attachment of a strap, or in the case of electro instruments, the jack socket for connection to an amplifier.