12 November 2016

Ukulele Music

The links below are to printable pdf files of ukulele arrangements I have made of music, mostly popular songs. I have borrowed ideas from many online sources. My arrangements are usually quite easy, although often with just a touch of added colour. Popular songs are typically heavily orchestrated, and arranging the song for playing on a single instrument is both an approximation and a compromise: to what extent should the ukulele chord follow the melody versus providing the harmony, and when the sung line consists of several voices singing in harmony, which chords are the best chords to use? In my view, the least interesting and often the most cumbersome ukulele arrangements are those that attempt to mimic unison singing, a style of arrangement not untypical for accompanying Christmas carols. On the other hand, it can be hard to sing a song accompanied by a ukulele playing only harmonious colour. Therefore arrangement always involves balancing these, and other, factors

It is a matter of regret for me that I have no opportunity to sing songs in (four-part) harmony, as a consequence of which the arrangements below are not separated into parts. Occasionally I include backing parts, and in one song I have divided the song up between men and women, although they still sing only the melody line. What I should really like to do is to write some arrangements that involve different ukulele parts.

Most ukuleles have only four strings, whereas a guitar has six or twelve strings. This gives the guitar a distinct edge when it comes to arrangements of songs. Many songs have already been arranged for a single guitar. However, whilst some ukulele arrangements can work perfectly well based on a guitar arrangement, others simply don't work well at all, and alternative solutions have to be found.

The skin on my fingers is far too fragile for me to be able to strum my ukulele without using a plectrum - otherwise there is soon blood on the strings, which is neither pleasant nor hygienic. Consequently my arrangements rarely involve finger-picking. Rather than use the recommended felt plectrum, with which I find it incredibly difficult to upstrum at speed, I use a soft nylon plectrum. This allows me to play either loudly and quietly, as required, although not with the same sensitivity as a player using their fingers.

I am not a purist, and when I am singing, I have no wish to pretend that I am the original singer. In my view the best covers are performed when the cover singer makes a song their own. The arrangements below, therefore, although similar to what can be found on YouTube, do not mimic existing recordings. By the same token, it would be fine for someone to take any of my arrangements and transform them into new arrangements that work better for them.

Big Yellow Taxi
Joni Mitchel's vocal range can make her songs demanding to sing. This arrangement includes a minor role for backing vocals.

Calling The Sheep Home From Their Pastures
This is a simple piece that I wrote as a practice session warm-up.I continue to use it. The title is derived from my observation that when sheep are called, they move faster and faster the closer they get to where they are going.

Dancing at Whitsun
This poignantly sad folk song about personal loss as a result of the First World War, was written by Austin John Marshall, and is set to a melody associated with a more traditional (1680s) song known, amongst various titles, as The Week Before Easter and The False Bride, and was made famous by the late Tim Hart before forming Steeleye Span.

Dedicated Follower of Fashion
This is the famous Kinks song from the mid-1960s. The Durham Ukulele Group to which I used to belong played this piece exceptionally well. I have intensified the call-and-response aspect by separating the men's and women's voices.

Grandma's Feather Bed
A classic John Denver song that is good for performance.

Honeycomb
A silly rockabilly song from 1957. Easy to play, and has the sophisticated-sounding feature of two key modulations.

Let It Be
Until I settled on this arrangement, I had previously found the song curiously difficult to pitch.

Maggie May
This is the Rod Stewart classic that is simply great fun to play.

Mariachi
This is an exercise piece I wrote to incorporate both different strumming patterns as well as some more chromatic chord progressions. It is not easy to play, and was never intended to be.

Nancy Spain
This is the song made famous by Christy Moore. It is a delightful song that is easy to play and easy to sing.

Take Me Home Country Roads
Whilst I have transposed this popular John Denver song into several different keys, this arrangement is in G, which works best for my voice.

Turn! Turn! Turn!
Mostly my ukulele arrangements simply involve selecting appropriate chords. However, with this song, which appears in different versions anyway, I have also re-arranged the words so that the lyrics achieve some emotional coherence.

Wonderful Tonight
Whilst this is a lovely song, a ukulele demands that it is played rather faster than Eric Clapton's own renditions. Some people do not like the gentle dissonance I have introduced, but I didn't arrange it for them.

World Turned Upside Down
Written by Leon Rosselson, the song was later covered both by Dick Gaughan and by Billy Brag. It tells the story of how, during the turmoil of the middle of the 17th century, a group of people led by Gerard Winstanley squatted on some land and were driven off by soldiers at the request of local landowners.