You've probably been hearing a lot of buzz about this movie about "The amazing comeback of a musical underdog".
"A must-see...it will leave you with a burning desire to get your own ukulele." - PDX Pipeline, Portland
"Offers key musical discoveries every 3 minutes." - Chronogram .com
"The Way a documentary should be put together."
- Westender Magazine
And if you don't believe these reviews, at least you can trust my mom who called me from Hawaii to tell me how much she enjoyed it. Be sure to catch a special interview with the movie's Producer and the Hollywood premiere:
Thursday July 29th 11:15 am (PST)
Tune in to "The Global Village" on KPFK 90.7 FM (98.7 FM Santa Barbara) and online at http://www.kpfk.org
Tony Coleman, producer of the new motion picture "Mighty Uke" stops by to talk about the experience of making this wonderful documentary about the Ukulele, its newfound popularity, and the Hollywood Premiere of the film (see below).
Saturday, August 7
Event begins at 5pm, film starts around 7:30pm
"MIGHTY UKE" screens at Grauman's Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood, CA.
There will be Tiki vendors and booths in the Egyptian courtyard and at 5pm a Hawaiian Luau, a performance by King Kukulele, the Polynesian Paradise Dancers, a special Tiki slide show by King Kukulele - all followed by the film "MIGHTY UKE". Film maker Tony Coleman will also be there for a Q & A after the film! Don't forget to bring your uke for a strum-along after the movie! There will also be a raffle for a Kala ukulele from the film sponsors Kala Brand Music. Get your tickets here
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Don't Kill Your Hand With Barre Chords! Here's How to Play Them the Right Way
Some ukulele chords require you to "barre" an entire fret - that is, to use your (index) finger to cover all the strings of a certain fret. Learning to properly play these chords is probably one of the hardest things for beginning ukulele players who feel they have to press down very hard and just end up with tired, cramped hands.
If you've been having trouble with chords like Bm, D7, or C#m, and you feel like the bare minimum amount of pressure needed to sound the chord is still a lot, here are a few tips that will help, even if you've been playing for many years:
1. Make sure your wrist is straight and the heel of your palm is not touching the neck.
2. Be sure your thumb is near the middle of the back of the neck of the ukulele and under the fret you're barring. Use your thumb as the fulcrum of pressure opposite the barring finger.
3. Most importantly: You DON'T have to press excessively hard. Simply relax your arm and shoulder and just "hang" from the ukulele (while holding whatever chord). Let gravity help you apply enough pressure to the strings to get them to ring out properly.
If you do this third step, the first two will happen practically automatically. You'll find the hanging concept will release all the tension from your shoulders and is something you should continually keep in mind. You should never have to apply so much pressure that you feel like you have to squeeze your fingers together like a vise in order to make the chord sound.
Now there's no need to avoid all those chords!
If you've been having trouble with chords like Bm, D7, or C#m, and you feel like the bare minimum amount of pressure needed to sound the chord is still a lot, here are a few tips that will help, even if you've been playing for many years:
1. Make sure your wrist is straight and the heel of your palm is not touching the neck.
2. Be sure your thumb is near the middle of the back of the neck of the ukulele and under the fret you're barring. Use your thumb as the fulcrum of pressure opposite the barring finger.
3. Most importantly: You DON'T have to press excessively hard. Simply relax your arm and shoulder and just "hang" from the ukulele (while holding whatever chord). Let gravity help you apply enough pressure to the strings to get them to ring out properly.
If you do this third step, the first two will happen practically automatically. You'll find the hanging concept will release all the tension from your shoulders and is something you should continually keep in mind. You should never have to apply so much pressure that you feel like you have to squeeze your fingers together like a vise in order to make the chord sound.
Now there's no need to avoid all those chords!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Improve Your Ukulele Strumming Part 1
If you can't count "them", how can you keep "it"? Whether you're playing solo, or in a group, a strong sense of timing and rhythm is of the utmost importance.
COUNTING BEATS Start with the C chord. Stick out the index finger on your strumming hand like a record player stylus. Strum across the strings down toward the ground and count "ONE". Do this three more times counting "TWO", "THREE" AND "FOUR". Strumming down toward the ground is called a downstroke and always falls on a number. A number is a beat. Strumming down four times = strumming four beats = one full measure (phrase) of 4/4 time. We call the numbers "Beat One", "Beat Two", "Beat Three" and "Beat Four". Can you think of any songs that consist of nothing but downstrokes on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4? Play the Am chord, strum down on each beat, then listen to "Sandman" by America. Now play the G chord in the same manner and listen to the intro to "Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John.
ACCENTING BEATS The first step toward emulating certain songs or the feel of different music genres like country, reggae, etc, is understanding accents. Starting with those same 4 downstrokes, strum softly on beats 1 and 3, and strum beats 2 and 4 with a heavier hand. You should aim for hitting only the bottom one or two strings (G and C strings) on beats 1 and 3 by strumming slightly away from the ukulele, thereby avoiding the other strings.
Accenting beats 2 and 4 (one TWO three FOUR) emulates a drummer hitting a snare drum and at a medium to fast tempo sounds a lot like a Country or Bluegrass song. Use this pattern for songs like "This Land Is Your Land", "You Are My Sunshine", and "Keep On The Sunny Side". It also works great for "When The Saints Go Marching In".
Obviously, to strum on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4, your finger has to come up in between each number. We call these in-between beats "AND". Strum the C chord down toward the ground and count "ONE". Now move your finger across the strings toward the ceiling and say "AND". On the next downward strum count "TWO", followed by an "AND" on the way back up. Repeat with "THREE AND FOUR AND" for one full measure (phrase) of 4/4 time, this time with both upstrokes and downstrokes. Be sure to give equal volume to both up and downstrokes.
Accenting different beats produces familiar grooves to songs. Examples:
one and TWO and three and FOUR and ("Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson)
ONE and two AND three and FOUR and one and TWO and THREE and four and ("Faith" by George Michael)
Be sure to visit my website for instantly downloadable ukulele lessons
COUNTING BEATS Start with the C chord. Stick out the index finger on your strumming hand like a record player stylus. Strum across the strings down toward the ground and count "ONE". Do this three more times counting "TWO", "THREE" AND "FOUR". Strumming down toward the ground is called a downstroke and always falls on a number. A number is a beat. Strumming down four times = strumming four beats = one full measure (phrase) of 4/4 time. We call the numbers "Beat One", "Beat Two", "Beat Three" and "Beat Four". Can you think of any songs that consist of nothing but downstrokes on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4? Play the Am chord, strum down on each beat, then listen to "Sandman" by America. Now play the G chord in the same manner and listen to the intro to "Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John.
ACCENTING BEATS The first step toward emulating certain songs or the feel of different music genres like country, reggae, etc, is understanding accents. Starting with those same 4 downstrokes, strum softly on beats 1 and 3, and strum beats 2 and 4 with a heavier hand. You should aim for hitting only the bottom one or two strings (G and C strings) on beats 1 and 3 by strumming slightly away from the ukulele, thereby avoiding the other strings.
Accenting beats 2 and 4 (one TWO three FOUR) emulates a drummer hitting a snare drum and at a medium to fast tempo sounds a lot like a Country or Bluegrass song. Use this pattern for songs like "This Land Is Your Land", "You Are My Sunshine", and "Keep On The Sunny Side". It also works great for "When The Saints Go Marching In".
Obviously, to strum on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4, your finger has to come up in between each number. We call these in-between beats "AND". Strum the C chord down toward the ground and count "ONE". Now move your finger across the strings toward the ceiling and say "AND". On the next downward strum count "TWO", followed by an "AND" on the way back up. Repeat with "THREE AND FOUR AND" for one full measure (phrase) of 4/4 time, this time with both upstrokes and downstrokes. Be sure to give equal volume to both up and downstrokes.
Accenting different beats produces familiar grooves to songs. Examples:
one and TWO and three and FOUR and ("Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson)
ONE and two AND three and FOUR and one and TWO and THREE and four and ("Faith" by George Michael)
Be sure to visit my website for instantly downloadable ukulele lessons
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)