MUSIC

Crieff Ukulele Group Beginners 4AI have been playinging ukulele

since I was eight years old - which was a very, very long time ago. I am passionate about music and the ukulele and this, hopefully,

comes across in my patient method of teaching.

The Beginners class aims to get you started on the ukulele, and

once you’re more confident with chords and strumming you will

enter the Improvers group. You don’t have to have any

experience of ukulele or music, but you should be prepared to

have a go, and have a laugh.

Day: Fridays Time: 5.30-6.00pm Venue: St Andrews Church Halls

Strathearn TerraceCrieff

PH7 3BZ Parking: In the street outside the hall.

Date TunesTerm A (September - December 2018)

21/9 A1 First Steps 1How Much is that Doggie?

28/9 A2 ClementineFirst Steps 2

5/10 A3 El Condor Pasa

12/10 A4 First Steps 3(All I Have to Do Is) Dream

19/10 XX Mid Term: No Class

26/10 A5 King of the Road

2/11 A6 You Are My SunshineMairi’s Wedding

9/11 A7 The Jeely Piece Song

16/11 A8 The Tennessee Waltz

23/11 A9 Let it BeLeaving On a Jet Plane

30/11 A10 Old Folks at Home

7/12 A11 Christmas Songs

14/12 A12 Christmas Event

First Steps 1

IndexMiddle Ring

Pinky

Congratulations on choosing the ukulele. As well as being relatively inexpensive, it’s portable, easy to get started on and it’s fun!

Our First ChordsThe two main things you have to get to grips with on the ukulele are strumming and making chords. You can’t strum without a chord, so let’s begin by learning a couple of chords.

Look at the diagram for the C chord on the right. There is

a number “3” located at a specific point on the grid. That represents your third finger, or “ring finger”. On the grid it’s placed on the line on the far right, which represents the first string (the one nearest the floor when you’re playing), and on the third row up, or the third fret. The chord diagram tells you exactly how to play the chord: place your third finger on the third fret of the first string. Now strum through all of the strings, and you’re playing our first chord: a “C”.

Beside the C chord is the G7 (the “G seventh” chord), which uses three of your fingers, and therefore is a bit more difficult to get to grips with. Place your index finger on the first fret of the second string; then your middle finger on the second fret of the third string, and finally your ring finger on the second fret of the first string. Now strum all the strings and you’re playing the G7 chord. Start off by simply forming each chord, introducing your fingers to the idea. Do an easy strum, down through all the strings gently. The next step is to practise changing from one chord to another. Take your time; some changes will be easier than others, but everything will become easier.

Ukulele First Steps 1 - 1st Chords

Theory and Application

How

Much is that D

oggie?How Much is that Doggie in the Window? (Merrill) song

A very popular song written by Bob Merrill

in 1952, said to have based on the older tune “Carnival of Venice”. It was a No.1 hit in the US

(for Patti Page) and the UK (for Lita Roza, although she hated

the song, and vowed never to perform it

live; she adhered to her word).

The Fifties Collection

Clem

entineClementine (Montrose)

The Folksong Collection

We should now be fairly comfortable with the two chords we’ve learned already: the C and the G7. There are a few songs which use just these two chords (e.g. How Much is That Doggie in the Window and Oh My Darling Clementine), but if we expand the number of chords we can play to four, there are many, many more songs that we can play. So let’s do it! The A minor chord is quite easy because it only uses one finger. Place your middle finger on the second fret of the fourth string (the one nearest the ceiling when you’re playing). Strum all the strings, and you’re playing the A minor chord. Next is the F chord. Leave the middle finger where it is when you’re forming the A minor chord, and add your index finger on the first fret of the second string. Strum all the strings and you’re now playing the F chord.

First Steps 2Index

Middle Ring

Pinky

The “Doo-Wop” SequenceIf we were to play the four chords we now know in the order C - Am - F - G, it would sound quite familiar. It’s a well-used sequence of chords, and was particularly popular during the 1950s. We’re going to spend the next few weeks just playing these four chords, really getting to know them

and trying to become confident at sounding them. Practise playing the chords over and over, and take note of how your fingers move from one chord to the next: when moving from A minor to F, your second finger will remain where it is; when moving from F to G, your first finger will remain where it is.

There are loads of songs which use just these chords, and we’ll be trying a few out of the next while. Forming the chords can be tricky at first, and changing from one to the other equally so. However, the more you practise, the easier they become. The next stage is to work on our strumming, and we’ll be doing just that, using the four choirds we’ve learned. Keep enjoying your music.

Ukulele First Steps 2 - Two More Chords

Theory and Application

El Condor Pasa

El Condor Pasa (Robles/Simon)

A worldwide hit for the singing duo Paul Simon and Art

Garfunkle, El Condor Pasa was originally composed in 1913 by Peruvian Daniel Alomia Robles

based on traditional Andean folk music. Paul Simon added English

lyrics for their album “Bridge Over Troubled Water’ in 1970.

The Seventies Collection

Strumm

ing PatternsUkulele First Steps 3 - Strumming Patterns

Theory and Application

Dream

(All I Have to Do Is) Dream (F & B Bryant)

A worldwide hit for the Everly Brothers in 1958, the song was composed by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, who wrote many hit songs including Bye Bye Love, Wake

Up Little Susie and Love Hurts.

The Fifties Collection

King of the R

oadKing of the Road (Roger Miller)

The Collection

The CollectionYou A

re My Sunshine

You Are My Sunshine (Davis/Mitchell)

Mairi’s W

eddingMairi’s Wedding (traditional/Roberton)

Nigel Gatherer’s Scottish Collection

Jeely Piece SongThe Jeely Piece Song (Adam MacNaughtan)

Nigel Gatherer’s Scottish Collection

The Old-Time CollectionTennessee W

altzThe Tennessee Waltz (Redd Stewart/Pee Wee King)

The Beatles CollectionLet It Be

Let it Be (Lennon/McCartney)

Written by Paul McCartney after he’d had a dream about

his mother (Mary). It was first recorded by The Beatles

in January 1969, but wasn’t released until March 1970.

Leaving On a Jet Plane

Written by John Denver in 1966, this song was a hit first

by Peter, Paul & Mary.

Leaving On a Jet Plane (John Denver)

The Sixties Collection

Old Folks A

t Hom

eThe Old Folks at Home (Stephen Foster)

A hugely popular song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. In

spite of the fact that Foster had never seen the Suwannee river - or

indeed never even visited Florida - it was chosen as Florida’s state

song in the 1930s. The setting above is based on the way Todd Baio sings

the song on YouTube.

The Folksong Collection