Here's how to do it: 1. I’m getting quite comfortable with this now. Fingerpicking Rhythm 01:57. Probably the two main resources were Al Wood’s How To Play Blues Ukulele ebook and Manitoba Hal’s YouTube channel. Easy Blues Solos 02:52. October 22, 2015. Then we will add melody notes on the beat and between the beat. The ebooks are aimed at all levels and all come with supporting MP3s and YouTube videos to help you learn. Click here for Tab. Quite frankly I wasn’t improving. I can drop little half and full bar riffs into my playing relatively seamlessly (always room for improvement though). Some of them are really basic. Chords and riff are played and explained. One popular guitar style I sometimes use on the uke is the alternating-thumb fingerpicking popularized by acoustic blues guitarists of the 1930s, like Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Blake. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In this uke minute, you’ll be learning the basics of Fingerpicking Rhythm. Travis-style guitarists play alternating bass notes with their thumb, on all four downbeats of every measure, while playing melodies on the higher strings with their fingers. Sweet Dreams. 8. by lwolfe63. Blues Fingerpicking. A blues in the key of C ( C, F7 & G7 chords). Take a look around for info on tour dates, lessons and workshops. The Ultimate List of Christmas Ukulele Songs and Tabs, Can’t Help Falling in Love by Twenty One Pilots Ukulele Lesson, Changing Fingering For Faster Chord Changes. Lil Revs ukulele licks book came in handy but wasn’t used as much as Al’s book. . Each of the fingers of your picking hand (the right if you’re right-handed) is allocated to a specific string: Thumb — g-string Index finger — C-string Middle finger — E-string Ring finger — A-string Curl your fingers around […] You can find all 'blues' ukulele songs on UkuTabs right here on this page, ordered by popularity.UkuTabs is your true source to find chords and tabs for all of your favorite songs. Featuring tips, chords, worksheets & more! Well done! Blues Scale in A The diagram below shows the notes of the blues scale in A, in the first position: You can play any of these notes, in any order, to create a blues solo in the key of A: All of the open strings 1st and 2nd strings at the 3rd fret 3rd string at the 2nd and 3rd fret … Written by lwolfe63. One popular guitar style I sometimes use on the uke is the alternating-thumb fingerpicking popularized by acoustic blues guitarists of the 1930s, like Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Blake. Here I'm playing a more elaborate 12 bar blues than the version I played on day 1 (see my feed for day 1). 3. How hard can it be? Fingerpicking Basics. That’s sorted now. For the string and strum version, you can do a D-DU-D-DU (D-down, U-up) pattern as shown by Jenny in the video. You’ve inspired me…you mentioned there was a link to show how you played your day 30 tune, I didn’t see it? Below is a large collection of free ukulele tabs for a number of different skills and styles. By focusing only on the blues, I figured I would have to see some improvement in my playing. Another thing I got to grips with as a result of my 30 days of blues was the E7 chord shape further up the neck. If the previous version of “Stagolee” sounds a little stiff, that’s because there’s no syncopation; all the melody notes coincide with the thumb notes. To fingerpick your ukulele, instead of strumming your fingers along the strings, you pluck the strings individually. I’d find myself half learning the intro to a song and moving on to something else that tickled my fancy. It has a lot of blues riffs in it (in pretty much all keys). If you’ve spent any time on this site you’ll know that I’ve mentioned Al Wood’s How to Play Blues Ukulele before. If you just can’t get enough playing the blues then I’d highly recommend Al Wood’s How To Play Blues Ukulele ebook. Regain that cold sadness of the forgotten winter by playing yourself some BLUES! I felt like it worked well and I learned quite a few things. I'm tuned to Open C tuning GECg. Those resources took a number of forms: physical books, ebooks, YouTube channels, websites and more. One of the things I’m most pleased about learning is developing my ability to mix up little riffs alongside my rhythm playing. . Applied Music Theory. Our House. Banana Pancakes. But I’d recommend being familiar with: Delia's Gone. This is a huge shame as there’s some great blues lessons on it. In this type of music notation, the stems pointing up are the melody notes, played by the middle (marked as “m” in the music examples) and index (“i”) fingers. I’ve never played so many 7 chords in my life! Your email address will not be published. UKE Minutes. Night Life. The next thing I learned was the minor pentatonic scale in multiple positions. Each chord stamp stands for a measure of music. When you start placing occasional melody notes between the thumb notes, things get rhythmically interesting. Obviously the 12 bar blues isn’t particularly difficult to learn but I became more used to it. With just fours lines and some numbers, anybody – even if you don’t read standard notation – can make sense of uke tablature. Blues Concepts & Techniques. So, you’re curious about learning how to play fingerpicking songs on the ukulele! It is built from the pentatonic minor scale, which has the diminished fifth, or the famous "blue note". 6 years ago. His lessons tend to breeze along at a fair old pace but you can always rewind and play again. That’s great, because once you’ve learned this technique, your music sounds richer and more complex. Most beginners to this style find that picking melody notes throws the thumb off track. Here’s one more example of alternating thumb-style fingerpicking. Your email address will not be published. Grab my free Ukulele Go! I'm tuned a half step down f# B D# G#. Overall I’m pretty happy with my Nothing But experiment. Even though the uke doesn’t have “bass strings” like the guitar’s sixth and fifth strings, you can get the rhythmic feel of raggy blues by playing the downbeats with your thumb, alternating on the fourth and third, or fourth and second, strings. Now try fingerpicking some songs! . Carr's dulcet and often haunting vocals have been heard everywhere from the Royal Opera House to Glastonbury Festival. Take the 1, 4, and 5 chords in the chord family and add 7ths to them. . Those thumb beats provide a steady accompaniment, taking the place of a bass player and rhythm guitarist. Sweet Dreams. . . BLUES FINGERPICKING LESSON This lesson is included in the book "A Guide to Acoustic Blues Guitar." The easiest version of the 12 Bar Blues on ukulele is the chord progression is shown above. I looked all over for material to help me learn. Because the ukulele and guitar have so much in common, uke players like me, who started on guitar, are inclined to adapt their guitar skills to the uke. In this quick lesson, you’ll be learning the basics to creating your own basic fingerpicking patterns on the ukulele. I learned quite a lot in my 30 days and I’ll definitely be doing it again! You may also like. Another one I have picked up a few things from is Dave Rubin’s book “Blues Ukulele”, published by Hal Leonard. Day 1. . Ready to play? I’ve written a nine part guide on how to read tab.But you don’t have to read them all before getting started. Welcome to Hot Jazz & Blues Ukulele! I wasn’t specifically looking for improvement in the blues, but with it having such a strong standing in modern music it seemed like a good place to start. Now you’ve got a simple ukulele fingerpicking pattern, apply it to some songs that you know the chords for. This article originally appeared in the Winter 2015 issue of Ukulele magazine. . Course Type: ... Blues Ukulele Chords ... 12 Bar Blues 02:28. Ukulele tabs are the easiest way to learn to pick a song. The thumb plays some of the melody notes, but it still plays every downbeat, four beats per measure. So don’t miss that part. Crazy. Angel Flyin' Too Close to the Ground. . A Blues Ukulele Scale. As mentioned, the thumb notes are on all four downbeats of every bar. Advertisement. A good progression to start with is to play the C7 chord for 4 bars, 2 bars of the F chord, 2 bars of the C7 chord, one bar of the G7, a bar of F, and 2 bars of C7. [Ab F Abm G Db A Dm C Cm Gm Dbm Bb Am D Gb] Chords for Hesitation Blues - fingerpicking ukulele with capo transposer, play along with guitar, piano, ukulele & mandolin. Sometimes the alternating thumb goes down to the second string. Here’s how to overcome this hurdle: Add the third bar, and so on. Finished my 30 days of blues experiment. I learned intro and outros and tips and tricks to make my blues playing better. It starts off very simple but takes you to a good level covering everything from strumming to licks and riffs. 12 Bar Blues on Ukulele in C. The standard variation of the 12 bar blues scale in C follows the sequence has the ukulele blues chords of C7, F, and G7 normally Incorporated. “Careless Love” is a popular folk blues; you’ll find dozens (maybe hundreds) of versions on YouTube by blues, jazz, rock, country, folk, and pop singers. Many pickers anchor their picking hand by placing the ring and little fingers on the uke’s soundboard, just below the soundhole. A multi instrumentalist, Carr variously plays a vintage electric Wurlitzer piano, ukulele and banjolele which feature on her recordings with her group, Katy Carr and the Aviators. Indeed, Worried Man Bluesis an easy ukulele song as you’ll need just three simple chords to play it. View this scale in: G-Tuning (DGBE) D-Tuning (ADF#B) Slack-key Tuning (gCEG) The blues minor scale is a six-note minor scale. The pattern stays the same throughout. EZ Ukulele Fingerpicking BLues Lesson is an introduction to fingerpicking and how to get that "independant thumb". Also, for those that love to play melody tabs, Jenny plays the chord melody at the end of the video. #ukulele #ukuleles #ukulelelove #ukelove #ukelele #fourstrings #ukuleletime #ukuleleplayer #ukulelelover #strings #acoustic #acousticmusic #ukulelecover #instacover #instamusic #lovemusic #instasong #unplugged #fingerstyle #fingerpicking #musician #music #ukelife, A post shared by Ukulele Go (@ukulelego) on Nov 1, 2017 at 1:17am PDT. Uke Basics: Explore the Blues with Fingerpicking. To get started, try a basic accompaniment pattern. I’m just debating what my next 30 days will be focussed on (I haven’t ruled out continuing with the blues yet). QuickStart Scale Fingerings for Ukulele, C Tuning - Blues Scale Updated: Jul 1, 2019. UKULELE TABS. Other Courses in UKE Minutes. It’s pretty much the most comprehensive resource out there for blues ukulele (certainly that I’ve found). By the way, join us on Facebook for a live lesson on Worried Man Bluesukulele tutorial. Because the ukulele and guitar have so much in common, uke players like me, who started on guitar, are inclined to adapt their guitar skills to the uke. Throughout October I decided to play nothing but the blues. It got me listening to a lot of blues music which has been a big help. By Fred Sokolow. . Some people call it Travis picking, after the brilliant fingerpicking guitarist Merle Travis; others call it “raggy blues,” because it has a rhythm similar to ragtime piano. Deep River Blues. 2. Begin . Why did I do this I hear you cry (ok maybe I can’t hear you but if you’re still reading you must be interested). Suicide is Painless. You Are So Beautiful to Me. . Loop the first two bars, playing them over and over. At just $17 it’s the best blues ukulele book out there and it will definitely turn you into a better blues man (or woman). In case you’re not able to join the Facebook Live session for this s… New: Dec 07, 2020 Happy Xmas (War is Over) Song: Artist / Composer: Tuning: Skill Level: Link to Tab: Africa Toto low G difficult hear the drums: Ain't She Sweet Milton Ager ... St. Louis Blues W.C. Pick a key and find the Chord Family. UKE Minutes. I’ve detailed below everything I found helpful when it came to progressing my blues ukulele playing. Manitoba Hal’s YouTube Channel I don’t think has been mentioned on my site before. Always on My Mind. Here’s a short video I recorded after the 30 day experiment (hopefully I did more than just put a jacket on). Begin . When you play fingerpicking solos, the thumb keeps playing those downbeats, relentlessly, while the fingers pick melody notes. 7 Videos Begin . […] If you're really serious about learning the ukulele and want to learn at a much faster pace then I'd highly recommend checking out these ukulele ebooks. Standard Tuning (gCEA). It’s like building a house, one brick at a time. Pick some easy songs that use 3-4 chords to begin with and rather than strum them, fingerpick your way through using the pattern you’ve just learned. 2,863 Views. . Skill Level: Intermediate Lessons. Here are some other resources I turned to. Advanced Strumming Techniques. Uke Basics – Bottleneck Blues – Slide on In, Review: Ortega’s Lizard-CC-GB Acoustic-Electric Uke Is Sneaky Good, #ThrowbackThursday to an Epic ‘Jug Band Style’ Uke Jam, Ukulele Sessions Presents Ragtime and Blues with Del Rey, Your First Ukulele Lesson: A Beginner’s Guide to Playing Ukulele, How to Read Ukulele Music: Your Guide to Understanding Musical Notation, Learn All The Notes in Advance: A Chromatic Scale Solfege Ukulele Lesson, Christmas Spirit: Kicking off our 2020 Ukulele Holiday Songs Playlist. I maybe didn’t use them quite as much as some of the others but they’re definitely worth your times if you’re interested in blues ukulele (also if you know of a great resource please let me know and I’ll get it included). I’d never really smoothed this one out as a movable chord and was a little bit slow to get it down. UKE Minutes. Ukulele players all over the world have direct access to UkuTabs its large and completely free song archive which is constantly being updated with new songs. One octave scale fingering solutions for strings four and three and any finger with the Blues scale chords are covered in all keys. Use the indicated fingering: Thumb, index, thumb, middle finger. . Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head. Musical improvisation means to make up music as you are playing. Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain. Songs that use the 12-bar blues often have a section where one musician makes up new melodies. . This type of picking made its way into pop, country, rock, and folk: Think of “Dust in the Wind,” “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” “Going to California,” or the Beatles’ “Julia.”. Hal is a brilliant blues player with some great tips and advice. Mango Blues is a slide song, yes, it's possible to use a slide on the ukulele. Here are a few highlights of the following arrangement at right: You’ll likely agree that this type of fingerpicking suits the uke well. Through soloing a lot, I found myself jumping into different positions more often. My practice sessions had lost their way. As a companion to the “Songs with Chords You Know” post I thought I’d put together a list of posts for people just getting started learning fingerpicking, tabs and solo playing.. Tutorials for Tabs and Fingerpicking. Got A Ukulele Beginners Tips – Ukulele Sizes and Scales. The stems pointing down are picked by the thumb (“p”). Some of the theory in the book is great though and I really liked the recommended listening section. I’ve always liked the sound of this so I’m happy that I’ve developed it enough to give it a go. Ukulele has been the first instrument in the Franklin family for four generations. Prefer listening to audio? Required fields are marked *. I would also give Al Wood’s e-book a vote. The chords are C, F and G7. Here’s an example of how to use this pattern to accompany a tune. beginners pack featuring tips, chords, worksheets and more! . Many of the songs on our list include chords as well as fingerpicking, while a few rely on fingerpicking alone. It didn’t matter if there was something else I desperately wanted to learn, it would have to wait. This version of the same tune adds syncopation and some slides, hammer-ons, and other touches that make it swing. There are only 12 bars to this tune! Could be great continue with slide ukulele! Fingerpicking is a very popular technique on the… In this week's episode of Uke Minutes, Aldrine breaks down how to find some "bluesy" sounding ukulele chords for any key! I’ve always been comfortable playing the minor pentatonic scale but only in a single position. More Ukulele Blues. The result can be pleasing to the ear, and can even push the envelope for ukers, creating new styles and sounds in the process. Begin . 14 Videos Begin . A little experiment, for the next 30 days I'm only going to play blues. The pattern you used to accompany “Stagolee” disappears, except for the thumb notes. #ukulele #ukuleles #ukulelelove #ukelove #ukelele #fourstrings #ukuleletime #ukuleleplayer #ukulelelover #strings #acoustic #acousticmusic #ukulelecover #instacover #instamusic #lovemusic #instasong #unplugged #musician #music #ukelife #bluesukulele #30daysofblues #instaukulele, A post shared by Ukulele Go (@ukulelego) on Sep 30, 2017 at 9:01am PDT. In this introduction to finger style blues we will cover an alternating bass pattern over a 12 bar blues progression in E. We will start with the just the bass pattern. This opening riff is played by the guitar on the … 1. Play the first measure of “Stagolee” over and over, slowly, until it flows evenly. . Something. Let’s get started! You can listen to this post by clicking the play button below or you can subscribe to the podcast here. Here’s a good song to try your fingerpicking on. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones. The reason I didn’t lean on this book quite so heavily is that I didn’t actually like a lot of the riffs in it. Let it Be Me. My Creole Belle. In My Life. Like the Al Wood one, it comes with loads of mp3 files, always good if, like me, you can’t pick things up just by looking at dots. . Blues Fingerpicking from Ukulele Mag; Ukulele Underground’s YouTube Channel; Overall I’m pretty happy with my Nothing But experiment. 2. Once you’ve mastered that bar, do the same with the second bar. A simple riff ( melodic figure) is used along with the chords. Unchain My Heart.