June and July

Since the last blogs in May we had June and then… Microsoft sabotaged the group communication so we haven’t been in touch in the usual way but…

We have been busy. June was spent trying out normal repertoire (!) for an appearance by the group at the Linzee Road Street Party on 25 June. We were a little depleted in number but performed to an appreciative audience in trying conditions – it was very, very windy. Sheet music ended up flying and Paul had to tie his lightweight music stand (normally a great advantage) to the marquee leg we were performing under! Great fun was had by those who were there and the audience sang along with us, in fact often louder than we were!

Now it July and we’re rehearsing again for the u3a Summer Parties to be held on 18th and 26th of July. The playlist has been tweaked a bit but we are hoping for a good turnout and fun in glorious weather! The most difficult part of this process is deciding what to put in and what to leave out – as we don’t have unlimited time some favourites have to be left out. It is ironic that some of us think 45 minutes should be 30 minutes (even though Paul McCartney played 2 hours 40 minutes without a break at Glastonbury at the age of 80) and yet want to add more songs into the set.

The good thing is that focussing on a performance raises everyone’s game – as there is a purpose to what we do – to entertain – and that is so rewarding as any performer will tell you…

Break in August and then we go back to a more normal pattern for sessions from then onwards. Thinking caps on troops, what new numbers do we want to add!!!

May 10th and 24th

We’re starting to look at numbers from the point of view of inclusion in the set list for summer sessions and we only have one rehearsal day (at the moment) before the first. We might need to add in a set specific rehearsal if that’s OK with everyone.

The first May session started with Michael leading I Guess It Doesn’t Matter Anymore, this is one that should be included to my mind. This was followed by Me and Bobby McGee and then Lets Work Together.

Paul’s first three followed with A Teenager In Love, which we used to include in the sets before lockdown, followed by Blueberry Hill which could be a possibility and then When I’m Cleaning Windows. There is something about George Formby songs, they are designed for solo comic performance not group playing even though most of the public associate them with ukulele playing. Although the tuning is the same Formby actually played with a banjolele which has a quite different percussive sound.

Michael’s second set included Fields of Athenry, the End Of The Line and Bad Moon Rising. Of these Fields is a bit slow but End Of The Line is a possibility.

Paul’s second set of three started with I Wanna Be Like You, Sailor/Sailing and then Sloop John B. Our Medley of Sailor/Sailing could be good.

So no new songs at all, all old favourites or not so favourites with little technical challenge.

The second session, May 24th, was a bit more problematic. Michael started with I’m A Believer followed by Take Me Home Country Roads and then All I Have To Do Is Dream – of these Dream looks like a natural. Paul has problems with Country Roads as it has been adopted as a football chant by his team, Fulham, and it is difficult not to sing “Take me home, Al Fayed, take me home where I belong, Craven Cottage, by the river, take me home Al Fayed”…

Paul’s three started with Autumn Leaves followed by Singing The Blues and then, as a tribute to Bob Dylan’s 81st birthday the day before I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight. Singing the Blues is one we used to include. Autumn Leaves needs a bit of arranging, perhaps.

Michael then had a go at You Are My Sunshine, sounds like it should be quite upbeat but the verses are a bit depressing. This would have been followed by Wildwood Flower, the lovely folk song that Joan Baez featured on her first album and, unfortunately, other mangled. It seems to be a song that works with a guitar backing but doesn’t with Ukulele and the version we were trying was closer to the Seekers that Joan Baez… it was abandoned. Then Memories Are Made Of This – an old favourite.

Paul’s second three started with Act Naturally and then… car crash time. Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard – the original is performed at a very fast pace (according to my software 206bpm!!!) and in the key of A – great for a guitar but – not ukulele friendly in normal gCEA tuning. Michael asked us to bring the version in the key of C, but previously we had played it in the key of G. He admitted he had actually made a mistake and had intended to do the G version. We had fun singing it in both keys and only some of the ukes playing if they had the right key and then deciding which was preferred and the vote seemed to be for the version in C. Finally Sway finished the afternoon with a flourish – another possibility!

April 12th and 26th

This was the first session where a significant number of members were struck down by various things and so we decided that the content of April 12th would be repeated (sort of) on April 26th. That second session took place away from our usual venue because it was being used for election preparation but we were delighted to be invited to Sally’s patio, the sun shone (in parts) and we all had a great time with great cakes too!

Michael’s three songs first, It’s A Heartache and then Let It Be. Heartache contains a nice embellishment involving G (0232) G7 (0212) Em7 (0202) and then G7 again (0212). The Em7 could also be described as a G6 which shows better how the changes work, I think everyone now gets this, it sounded good. Let It Be Includes a run down from F (2010) to Em (0432) to Dm (2210) to C (0003) which can be a bit tricky. An alternative is to play a single note picking out F (first fret E string) E (open E string) D (second fret on C string) and then E (open E string). Paul had provided a fingerboard chart which enables these notes to be found amongst many others. Then we tried a new song, again a Beatles number All Together Now – quite simple once the rhythm was mastered.

Paul’s three started with The Last Thing On My Mind and then Brown Eyed Girl, the Van Morrison classic. Whilst this is simple enough it does include a suggested melody line for an introduction, either using double stopping (this means playing two strings at the same time) or a single string melody. Again the fingerboard chart would help here as we start to grapple more with theory. On the 26th we were having such fun in the open air that we decided to postpone the theory to a later date. The last song in this three was The Young Ones.

Michael then took us through Something and Moonshadow, Something involving several run downs that we have covered before and Moonshadow a series of chord changes in quick succession where it is easy to get lost. Overall not too many problems. Then a break for tea, coffee and cakes followed before some sticky fingers attempted Stand By Me. Paul unleashed his ukulele bass for this number and all agreed it was a good addition to the sound. We would consider other numbers where that would work well.

Last three from Paul started with Leaving On A Jet Plane and Mack The Knife. Leaving is an old favourite but Mack The Knife is a recent addition to the repertoire. The sequence is quite straightforward – C6 (0000) to Dm (2210) to G7 (0212) to C6 (0000) then Am (2000) to Dm (2210) to G7 (0212) and then back to C6 (0000). The feeling is quite Weimar Republic in the original by Kurt Weill but many later versions have brightened up what is really a description of the criminal underworld which was adapted from The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay. The Bobby Darin version has each verse ascending by greater intervals into new key signatures – starting with a semitone rise to Db, then D and the further changes by larger intervals. Exciting but quite difficult without using some sophisticated chords. However we discussed, but did not attempt, changing the Key after the third verse which would have some flavour of this. C6 would become D6 (2222) Dm would become Em (0432) G7 would become A7 (0100) and then back to D6 (2222), Am would be Bm (4222), Dm again becomes Em, followed by G7 becoming A7 and back to D6. This demonstrates how a basic knowledge of theory can help brighten up a piece of music! On the 12th we played Delilah but although it is fun to sing the more you consider the lyrics of this murder ballad the more unacceptable it becomes! Could we change the words??? So we sang Peggy Sue instead. Nice bit of Buddy Holly. It does involve Eb which is not a Uke friendly chord but you can either play a voicing as (0331) muting the G string or (Paul’s favourite) (333x) muting the A string or even 3336!. It really depends on which voicing you find easiest. There are others further up the fingerboard. Again a demonstration of why you can’t ignore a bit of theory, otherwise you are just learning chord shapes without knowing why…

Thanks to Michael for the correction on the chord naming in that last paragraph – proving more haste does indeed lead to less speed – and silly errors!

March 8th and 22nd

Covid struck and so Michael found himself having to handle all the vocal duties.

The songs covered were –

Singing in the Rain

A Message To You, Rudy

This Land Is Your Land

All Around My Hat

Maggie May

Dream a little Dream Of Me

Mac The Knife

Autumn Leaves

Take Me Home Country Roads

Stand By Me

In reserve:

Dirty Old Town

Has Anybody Seen My Gal?

Maggie May and Mack The Knife were both new and we need to return to them when we are all together again.

The session on March 22nd was closer to full strength although Roger was away. Paul pointed out that it was a certainty that in summer we will be asked to perform at u3a and other functions and suggested that we start to think about what songs we currently do which could fit into a concert repertoire.

The songs covered today were

Travelln’ Light

Frankie & Johnny

Jolene

Blue Bayou

And I Love Her

Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay

Dance The Night Away

Sailor / Sailing

Rocking All Over The World (postponed)

Waterloo Sunset

Blue Skies

Island In The Sun

Paul also suggested Jamaica Farewell which was played on Desert Island Discs a couple of weeks ago. Everyone enjoyed playing it immediately and agreed that it should be considered. From this week’s selection we also thought that Travellin’ Light could work well, maybe Jolene, but surprisingly Blue Bayou seemed to go well despite the tricky chords changes. It moves from Bb (3211) to Bbm (3111), as so many popular songs do but this is not a favourite with the group. It is a legacy of avoiding “moveable” chord shapes which is very easy to do for beginners but limiting as you try to develop. There are a number of ways of moving between the two chord shapes with minimum fuss and the group needs to find solutions that work for each player. One thing that helps is keeping the thumb behind the keyboard rather than handing over the top.

The number that followed this , bar one, was Sitting on the Dock of the Bay which shows how useful the moveable chord shape can be as it moves from G (0232) to B (4322) to C (5433) and then chromatically down to A – so C (5433), B (4322), Bb (3211) to A (2100) – the same shape just moved up or down one fret at a time.

In the middle was And I Love Her – again a possibility for the repertoire.

Dance the Night Away was liked – very simple of course – which puts more emphasis on group singing.

Sailor/Sailing is an old favourite and certainly should be in the running and probably Michael’s final three as well, Waterloo Sunset, Blue Skies (really starting to work well) and Island in the Sun.

A good session, performance to aim at as well, and a new number to boot!

February 8th and 22nd – sessions 45 & 46

First time I forgot to write up a session! So today you get two in one!

February 8th started with Paul doing three, as usual. Dirty Old Town was first up followed by All Of Me and then Me and Bobby McGee.

Michael then introduced the first of his first three – a request – La Vie En Rose, a really lovely ballad. This starts with a G (0232) then Gmaj7 (0222) and then G6 (0202) – another of the melancholic descending melodies. There are a number of ways that you can play the transition between G and Gmaj7, using a bar with the index finger at the second fret, or a normal shape but lifting the ring finger and flattening the index finger on the C and the E strings. It really is a question of what position is most comfortable for each player, how it is done is immaterial. The same is true of the Cmin6 (2333). It also includes a Bbdim (0101) but that is much more straight forward. This was followed by The End Of The Line and then another descending special – Something.

In a new format this was followed by two songs – Midnight Special and then Jolene – both quite well known to us now. Followed by two more starting with The Glory Of Love – a standard from the American Songbook. These songs often have a change from major to minor (how strange) and this was no exception. The song was in G and it is usually the fourth chord, in this case C (0003) becoming Cm (0333). Again there are a number of ways of moving between those two chords. Then we had a go at the Monkees I’m A Believer.

We then had two in reserve and just time to do them, Frankie and Johnny and then Island In The Sun – both old favourites.

February 22nd also followed the new format. Michael started with Fields Of Athenry – followed by Memories Are Made Of This with the counterpoint vocal that we missed in lockdown on Zoom. Then a stab at a song requested, The Swimming Song – written by Loudon Wainwright III but the version that everyone liked was by his ex-wife and sister-in-law the McGarrigles, Kate and Ann. Straightforward chords but a song that you need to be familiar with to sing well. We tried in G (although that was the Loudon version, which he recorded in A and Jim in Oz suggests playing with a capo at the second fret to play along. However the version in C which is the same as the McGarrigle’s version was, we felt, far better and simpler to practice along with.

Then Paul took us through Things (again a counterpart song) and then Three Little Birds – a simple Bob Marley song, set in C, even though Marley plays it in A. It has only three chords C (0003) the first, F (2010) the fourth and G (0232) the fifth. We discussed how easy it would be to set it in A (2100) which would be the first then D (2220) or (2225), the fourth degree of the scale [A,B,C,D] and then trickier E (4447), just moving the alternative D shape up two frets. Michael suggested some alternative fingerings of E and Jacki found one on the Ukemaster app which looked impossible! We also talked about the three chord trick pattern, first, fourth and fifth in different keys (just count up) and then the four chord trick variayion that brings in the sixth, but usually in a minor key. A very common pattern C to Am to F and then to G, first to minor sixth to the fourth to the fifth. We may need to look at this again next time! Lastly Blueberry Hill and the lovely rhythmic changes it involves in the bridge section.

Michael then reprised  La Vie En Rose as mentioned before and Singing the Blues. Paul then introduced Eight Days a Week and I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight. Time was pressing so no room for Singing In The Rain so Paul was stuck with Knocking On Heaven’s Door – two Bob numbers in a row!

January 25th session 44

Back in the Transmitter Hall again we overran our allotted time. Sometimes we race through them sometimes we don’t and this was don’t!

Michael started with And I Love Her the Beatles classic. The lyric sheet says it is in Dm but actually it is in C (or you could say Am which the relative minor to C). We discussed the use of Am/C (2003). A regular Am chord (2000) is ACEA – A is the root, C is the minor third and E is the 5th. Am/C on a guitar or a piano would mean playing an Am chord with the note C on the bottom of the voicing. To a bass player it also indicates a possible note C that can be played against a Am chord. On a ukulele it is slightly different as the additional C note is normally not able to be played as the lowest note because we only have four strings and we use re-entrant tuning gCEA. So we play Am/C as (2003) which is ACEC – A is still the root, C the minor third but now it is doubled up, the E is still the 5th but now we play C on the first string rather than A. It does sound subtly different which is why it is used. We also discussed the melodic variation in the introduction which involves playing the following notes in sequence on the first string – open string A, then C at the third fret, B at the second fret and then A as part of the chord Dm (2210 – ADFA). It is a nice simple touch.

Then we turned to Something – another Beatles classic with the melodic run down of the melody incorporated into the chords. The melody line is C, B, Bb and A played as part of the chords C(0003 -gCEC), Cmaj7 (0002 gCEB) C7 (0001 gCEBb) and then F (2010 aCFA). A similar run down is Am (2000) to AmMaj7 (0001) to Am7 (0000) and then D7 alt (2020). The note that runs down here is A (on the 4th g string) then Ab on that same string, G on that same string and then… we find the Gb note as part of D7alt (2020 – aCGbA) . And of course the chorus has a similar feature as well.

Michael then bravely added a new number held over from the last session – You’ve Got Your Troubles I’ve Got Mine – a hit for the Fortunes back in the day. Mercifully simpler than the last two it still needs practice and perhaps listening to the original. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5fNzqQm_ms

Paul had three numbers to follow, Old Time Rock And Roll (Bob Segar and the Silver Bullet Band) first – fairly straight forward three chord trick – but in F – so F(2010) Bb (3211) and then C (either 0003 or 5433). The alternative C is holding the Bb shape and simply sliding it up by two frets. Then He’ll Have To Go – here it is the four chord trick – F (2010) Bb (3211) Dm (2210) and C (0003). Because it sounds nice we put in the movement from Bb (3211) to Bbm (3111). This still causes trouble and needs attention. Keeping your thumb in opposition to the fingers forming the chord by keeping it behind the neck is the best way to make a clean sounding Bb. You should be able to hold the uke in one hand by the neck alone if you are doing this right. However you don’t want to overdo it – if you hold it too forcibly you won’t be able to make the change. The question is how lightly can you hold the uke whilst playing the chord?

Last in the trio was Hotel California – Paul had brought up a mandolin which was tuned in the same way as a Ukulele gCEA for Roger to examine. He thought he’d have a go at Hotel California with this beast but the metal strings are very unforgiving so he switched to the regular uke to finish the tune. This tune descends in a different way to the others – so for each line it starts on Am and goes to E7, next line then to G and then to D, next line to F and C. The fourth line then goes to the Dm, up to E7 before returning back to Am for the next set of four lines. This is sometimes referred to as the cycle of 5ths.

Michael next with Down By The Riverside – three chord trick in D so D, A and G. We pointed out that this three (and indeed four) chord structure was so common in popular song that we ought to know the chords involved in every key. Seems simple but look at the chords involved…

You can see that although this sounds like a simple proposition it is not simple in every key. Quite often you will need to use one or more of the dreaded ‘moveable’ chords – consider the three chord trick in Eb for example. We rarely come across many of the more obscure keys because uke players and tutors tend to try to simplify where possible and avoid the more complex chords. The V chord will often be played as a 7th, so E7 which we do often encounter. The VI chord is mainly played as a minor chord in the type of construction. Have a look and see why C D G and G are such common chords for ukulele songs…

On to Waterloo Sunset which we tried last time as well. Starting to sound a lot better than when we tried it online. Returning to live practice is good without a doubt. Lastly in this group Daydream. This starts with a chord to each bar but then in chorus becomes two chords in each bar – not difficult in itself but practice should be combined with thinking about how to move between the chords employed F (2010) to D7 (use 2020) then C(0003) to A7 (0100). Logic dictates using your ring finger to fret the C chord rather than your first finger, this keeps your hand in what might be called the first position rather than having to move it to a different position.

By the time we got to this point it was already almost 4 o’clock so it was fortunate that the next song in the final set was Leaving On A Jet Plane – and then The Last Thing On My Mind – both very straight forward three chord tricks in C. We didn’t have time for Dolly’s Jolene. Next time perhaps.

January 11 2022 – session 43

Back in the Transmission Hall again after a cautionary session on Zoom.

The first three were Paul’s – All My Loving – the Beatles classic first. The only tricky bit is the descending figure in the bridge starting on Am/C (2003) which becomes Caug (1003) and then just C (0003). Complicated chord names but simple enough in practice. Being in the Transmission Hall helped as Paul could make sure everyone got the descent. Then The Young Ones – Cliff and the Shadows being responsible for this one. A variation of the four chord trick pattern which would go G (0232) to Em (0432) to C (0003) the four in the sequence and then D7 (2020) the five in the sequence this substitutes the two for the four so G to Em to Am7 (0000) to D7. Finally in the first section Blueberry Hill – the Fats Domino classic. This contains another descent, C (0003) to Cmaj7 (0002) to C7 (0001). The other thing to watch is that in the bridge section the chords change quickly between F (2010) and C (0003) and then on to B (4322) and Em (0432). One possibility in the change between C (0003) to B (4322) is to substitute an alternative voicing of C (5433) for the final C chord in this passage and then slide the shape back one fret to B (4322). B7 could be substituted as well, using the alternative voicing of B7 (4320) so that the same shape could be employed in switching between that and Em (0432) rather than the traditional voicing of B7 (2322) shown in most chord charts. Whatever works best for you should guide your choice of voicing.

Michael’s first three started with Waterloo Sunset, the Kinks’ song, pitched in the key of C. Simple enough chords but quite a few of them! Then The Leaving Of Liverpool – a traditional song and they are plagued by different versions having different words, slightly different tunes or even both! Then Blue Skies – another standard with descending patterns. When you encounter a descending pattern in a song it looks fearsome but usually it is a very simple modulation involving moving one finger at a time. When you look along the first line and see Em to EmM7 (Eminor major7) to Em7 to A9 it looks impossible until you realise you could play the following starting with an alternative voicing to Em, which we usually play as (0432) but could also be voiced (0403). The notes sounded on a Uke in gCEA (standard) tuning on the normal voicing (0432) are GEGB, E is the root, G is the minor third and B is the fifth. The note G is the minor third of E which makes the chord Em. Using the alternative voicing the notes sounded are GEEB, the root is the E, the third is G and the fifth is B – so the same notes are being played but it is the E which is played on both the C and the E strings which is doubled instead of the G played on the g and the E strings. Then the chord pattern becomes Em (0402) then EmM7 (0302) then Em7 (0202) and then A9 (0102) which can also be Cm6. The other technical change that needs to be looked at is in the bridge, ‘never saw the sun’ etc which switches between G (0232) and Cm (0333). Standard chord charts show this as a bridge across all three strings using the first finger but this involves moving fretting hand from the first position (0232) to a second position one fret higher. This could also be played by using the fingering for G which involves bridging the three strings on the second fret (0222) with the index finger but then fretting the G on the third fret with the middle finger. That is the G chord (0232) and you could now move the shape up one fret and remove the middle finger to give Cm (0333). An alternative is to finger the G chord shape as normal (0232) but then use the ring finger to make the bridge (0333). The advantage of this is that the hand can be kept in the same position, the disadvantage is that the use of ringer finger bridges is something that is more familiar to guitar players and their ring finger will be stronger as a result. Again, find the alternative that works best for you.

Paul’s second three started with Sway – Paul plays this with what might be regarded as a cheat but it works and simplifies a problem. The song is in the key of Am and starts by alternating between E7 (1202), which is the five, and then Am (2000). In the bridge section it reaches a climax by moving between the G7 (0212), the seventh chord in the sequence, then to C (0003) which is the relative major chord to Am, then to the five, E7 (1202) and a common climax device raising the five by a semitone, the sharp five or flat six which is this sequence is F (2010) and then back to the five for a dramatic stop! The problem is that the F (2010) fingering sounds LOWER than than the E7 (1202) even though it is harmonically higher. So the cheat… we only need three notes to make a basic chord so if we move the E7(1202) shape up one fret to 2303 that will sound climatic and then can be moved back to E7 for the dramatic stop. Why is this a cheat? 2313 would be an alternative voicing of F7 but moving from E7 (1202) to F7 (2313) is too difficult. But if we play (2303) our ears won’t hear the discordant E note, they will hear this as an F chord, or even Fmaj7! However it is an F chord without an F. Shock, horror, I hear you cry. Consider our Hawaaian D7 (2020), used instead of the classic D7 (2223). The notes in the Hawaaian D7 are A, the five, C which is the dominant seven, F# which is the major third and A which is the five again. Our Hawaaian D7 doesn’t contain the root note of D but sounds fine. This is then an F chord which doesn’t have an F but sounds OK. Sometimes we cheat!

After Sway came Make You Feel My Love – the Bob Dylan classic made famous by Adele’s version, this was in C. The sequence starts with C (0003), then G (0232) and then… Paul prefers Gm (0231) but Michael prefers Bb (3211). Now Gm is the relative minor of Bb and so could it could be considered that one is a valid substitute for the other. Will they ever agree? Watch this space…

Then Teenager In Love, the standard four chord trick, C to Am to F to G7. Root to relative minor then four to five, the basis of so many songs, so many, many songs.

Michael had intended to try out a new song, You’ve Got Your Troubles I’ve Got Mine but as there wasn’t time this is deferred. Then Will You Love Me Tomorrow – and it is the four chord trick again – F to Dm to Bb to C7. Root to relative minor to four to five, just in a different key. It is so common that it is worth becoming familiar with those changes in every key. What would be the pattern in A? See if you can work it out…

Last song Ain’t No Pleasing You, Chas and Dave or There Ain’t No Pleasing You as Joe Brown titled it. Chas and Dave wrote it so I file it under A for Ain’t! Phew!

Another session over and it was suggested that we request songs a week in advance so that in future we’ll have the opportunity to get in a bit of advance practice – be warned!

December 21st – session 42

Hell – we’re back on Zoom… after some enjoyable sessions in the Transmission Hall we’re locked up again, even if not locked down!

As we were so near to Xmas a seasonal selection was included. Michael started with It’s A Heartache and the nice embellishment from G (0232) to G7 (0212) to G6 or Em7 (0202) back to G7 (0212). Then we had a go at the first Xmas song – Feliz Navidad – set in the key of D. Members had seen an online video from Cynthia Lim which featured a simplified version set in an easier key. Last in the first section was End Of The Line, the Travelling Wilbury’s song.

Paul’s first three started with All Of Me, following the Phil Doleman chord chart. A classic song with some classic chord changes that are worth paying carful attention to. Then Silent Night, and then Things.

Michael next with Fields Of Athenry – usually we sing this in G but today we tried it in C. That was followed by Daydream from the Loving Spoonful and then White Christmas. This includes a change from C to Cminor, the famous line of Ella’s springs to mind, “how strange the change from major to minor”, strange but very common. We have encountered B to Bminor and Bb to Bbminor. C is 0003 and changing to Cminor – 0333 – can be achieved in a number of ways depending on the chords that precede and follow the change. An alternative voicing would be C (5433) to Cminor (5333).

Paul’s last three (of the year too!) started with Elvis’s Blue Christmas an old favourite of his carol singing group. This used to be organised by Sue Jeffreys and her brother (now sadly dead) Stephen Jeffreys who acted as the catalyst for a very disparate group of people who just liked singing carols. Carol singers who collect for charity need a licence (little known fact) and Sue went to Hornsey Police Station to get the licence. The form asked for the name of the group so she put ‘Latin With Attitude’! This was followed by Delilah and then Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Like All Of Me this includes a common sequence C (0003) to Am (2000) to Dm (2210) to G7 (0212) as the turnaround.

So the last meeting of the year came to an end and the first meeting of the new year, 2022, was set as January 11th, possibly the day after the possible post Xmas lockdown. We shall see. Hopefully we will be back to personal meetings at the Transmission Hall, if not we’ll be on Zoom, either way – Keep on Strummin’…

November 23rd – session 41

Hell – I forgot to write up the blog! My apologies…

All Around My Hat, Banks Of The Ohio and Don’t Worry, Be Happy were Michael’s first three

Me and Bobby McGee was Paul’s first followed by Sailor / Sailing – this is our mash-up, as the kids say, of The Petula Clark 1950’s ballad with Rod Stewart’s anthem Sailing – always fun and works quite well. This was followed by The Last Thing On My Mind, Tom Paxton of course.

All I Have To Do Is Dream was Michael’s next together with The Everly Brothers Bye Bye Love and then Bob Dylan’s You Ain’t Going Nowhere. We have performed this one before in C but this we had a go in G. There are some strange Bob Dylan versions but we followed the Byrds version which follows the Basement Tapes version recorded by Bob and The Band in 1967.

Old Time Rock and Roll, a rocker from Bob Segar and the Silver Bullet Band was the only new song we attempted this week – very straight forward three chord trick. This was followed by another – Rocking All Over The World from Status Quo and then Jolene.

Next time we need to bit more ambitious???

November 9th – Session 40

Although we are now meeting in person I’m keeping the blog going, albeit in shorter form, as a record of what we did.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the live session in the Transmission Room and the sound is OK too. Michael led off with a session on the essentials of strumming. It was only after a while that I realised that I was doing it without thinking about it which is why, whenever I’m asked what the strumming pattern is, I genuinely don’t know. Michael has a background in percussion and I think this is why he is able to analyse and present and get over the essentials of good practice as far as strumming goes. He’s going to follow this up with a video which will also prove instructive.

Then we moved on to this sessions blend of requests, favourites and new tunes – featuring Hank Williams Jr as well.

First up in Michael’s session was Hey, Good Lookin’ – a Hank song with a simple structure in C, the verses are on a 1-2-5 pattern C is the one, D7 the two (the second note in the scale of C) and then the five – G7. The bridge introduces the 4, the F chord to complete the normal complement for C&W songs. Recognising these chord patterns makes it easier to pick up songs by just listening which adds greatly to enjoyment and facilitates playing along.

Then came Ain’t No Pleasing You, the Chas and Dave song. The tricky change here is going from C to B7. One possibility is using the voicing of B7 which is 4320. Another would be to use the alternative C chord (5433) and then slide back to B7 (2322), maybe using a barre on the C chord so apart from the slide only one finger would need to be raised.

Last in the first section the Beatles number And I Love Her. This demonstrates the sophistication of their songwriting as although the verses centre around Dm and Am the song is actually in C, even though Jim’s version claims it is in Dm! Michael showed a simple tab pattern that can decorate the beginning of the song.

It is also possible to fake this by ignoring the first note, playing the chord instead and just using the little finger to play the partial melody…

These can then be played with the Am chord – very pretty.

Next up Paul’s first three – starting with Act Naturally, a Buck Owens song made popular with “younger” audiences by the Beatles again. Then we had a go at Ain’t Misbehavin’ following the chord chart first and then trying it with the song. We haven’t done this for a long time and it needs a bit more polishing, this is a song written in what is sometimes called functional harmony, and Roger had distributed a table of the functional harmonic relationships in all keys without realising that we were going to attempt this one. Functional harmony usually means a song with an AABA or similar structure of verse and bridge or verse chorus bridge (AABAC etc) and chords moving through changes – F (2010) to D7 (2020) then Gm7 (0211) and then C7 (0001) followed by F to A7 (0100) then the change that everyone dreads it seems, major to minor, Bb (3211) to Bbm (3111) and so on with melodic variation.

Lastly Your Cheatin’ Heart, the second new song and another by Hank. The simple three chord trick structure was a welcome relief.

The Michael’s second three, starting with Yes Sir That’s My Baby and the embellishment of alternating from C to C6 (0000), G to G sus 2 (0230) and G7 to G7sus2 (0210). Then the rather haunting Roy Orbison Blue Bayou – this throws in a passing chord of F to Faug (2110) or (2014). This is not an easy chord to finger or indeed listen to on a ukulele unless it has a low G stringing. Then our Buddy Holly Medley and this is going to be expanded so we do all three songs separately.

Finally we just managed to squeeze in Paul’s final three – Frankie and Johnny, then Happy Together, the Turtles song which is not as easy to sing as to play! Lastly I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight, the Bob Dylan classic.