| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
 Posted - 09/20/2007 : 10:44:39 AM
|
And don't forget this site where you can make your own
chord charts for the entire fretboard for any chord
in any key in any tuning: (and they are laid out sideways,
which is the only way that really makes any sense IMHO).
For Ukes just set the 5 & 6th string tunings to the same as
the 4th string, and ignore those positions. You can make
a screen-capture (shift-printscreen keys) and then use a
photo editor to chop-off the lower two strings and end up
with a semi-respectable Uke chart.
http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/guitar/index_rb.html
P.S. it is kind of silly to talk about complicated chords
(i.e. chords with more that 4 notes) being played on a Uke.
However, if you are in an ensemble, someone else will usually
be playing the tonic and third or fifth, so you can make quite
nice sounding partial chords of just the upper tones.
|
Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
Edited by - Lawrence on 09/20/2007 10:51:25 AM |
 |
|
|
Absolute
Lokahi
275 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 11:32:22 AM
|
I learned more than I otherwise would have by watching "Uncle Dave's" hands on "YouTube". (Even with three fingered fretting - quite an inspiration, given my own limitations). That's why I hope more people with "Uncle Daves" talent level produce "YouTube" videos.
I once read that a popular learning style in Hawaii is to shut up, watch, and listen to someone else. Of course, that's popular with a lot of traditional music in many cultures, including Ireland. You listen and try to learn how to recreate someone else's style, so you can embellish your own. Of course, its more than just style.
I saw "Uncle Daves" "three fingers at an angle" finger positions on the strings, and have been using them in my song writing efforts ever since. I also like to use G shaped chords and barres as basic positions I can do with my fingers and hands without moving into complicated up-down-up-down "pinkie chord" shapes that I know I can't handle. Instead I'm learning to do up-down-barre chords as a substitute, which "flatten" the G string note a bit, but the emphasis is usually on the higher notes. (It's better than "brain lock" when I try to figure out how to get my fingers in a "pinkie chord" position in mid-song.) I also attempt to briefly barre all four strings and apply basic chord positions normally used near the nut using the remaining fingers to create a shift in the tuning that I can immediately abandon.
"Uncle Dave" is an amazing music teacher. He didn't say a word in those video's, yet in them he teaches so much about how to play, including basic finger positions, composure, the need for graceful placement of one's fingers on the fingerboard, how to fingerpick in different patterns, double plucking strings, and how to shift patterns and do basic slack key style note sequences, like the "D7" chord vamp. The videos are a study in themselves, and I enjoy watching them as much as possible in search of new inspiration and insight into "Uncle Daves" great talent and knowledge of how to implement slack key on a ukulele and how to play a ukulele in general. |
Thank you. |
|
|
|
Momi
Lokahi
402 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 11:47:00 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Lawrence:
P.S. it is kind of silly to talk about complicated chords
(i.e. chords with more that 4 notes) being played on a Uke.
True. But it can make for exciting adventures in forming 9th chords (boy, I must lead a sheltered life). You'll get slightly different "shadings" in each 9th (or other 5+ note) chord depending on which note(s) you decide to leave out. |
Edited by - Momi on 09/20/2007 11:49:51 AM |
|
|
|
sm80808
Lokahi
347 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 1:52:20 PM
|
Absolute: you ever think about taking some formal ukulele lessons? Lessons definitely help if you are a hands-on type of person. (like me)
|
|
|
|
Absolute
Lokahi
275 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 6:48:18 PM
|
No, but I have considered spending more time playing my birdhouse ukuleles and the Baja concert and less time working the bugs out of them (now that the "work the bugs out" phase is over. I even adjusted the Baja's nut for lower action and less palm muscle pain.) I've got my "low G" strings set up with DGBD tuning, so I've got my "slack key" set-up as well. I may spend less time writing music and more time playing the fifty or sixty pieces I've already written (instead of being perpetually in search of an idea that "sounds like" Hawaiian slack key music instead of country or blues).
That way I don't even have to think about music theory. I just put my fingers on the numbers on the tab and pluck, or glance at a chord chart and strum. In fact, it may please some people to know that I plan to spend more time playing the ukulele and less time asking beginner questions or writing essay length messages here... (At least until that fateful day when I decide to build a big, birdhoue ukulele out of koa, and need to find an E-bay vendor who can supply the wood for the big, rectangular, koa box and a suggestion for what type of moulding to use for the neck and headstock, instead of the soft pine I used the last time, which I truly hope doesn't start to warp or rot, though it was nice to work with (because it was soft)! Of course, that won't be for a few years, assuming I get that far.)
See, I could have been practicing "Sakura", or "Pineapple Sunday" from "Discovering the Ukulele". (And I just ordered Mark's book!)
|
Thank you. |
Edited by - Absolute on 09/20/2007 9:50:27 PM |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
