REVIEW: Discovering Fingerstyle Ukulele Songbook by Colin Tribe

Colin Tribe’s new book offers new possibilities for ukulele players who aspire to fingerpick their way through thirty of the most popular songs of all time. These chord melody arrangements show a variety of ways the high G ukulele can be used for instrumental solo or duet (such as chord accompaniment and melodic fingerpicking) . Whether reading notation or tablature, fingerpicking is not for the faint-hearted. The book is well suited for intermediate and advanced players hungry for interesting arrangements that stretch the limits of the high G ukulele.

REVIEW: Ukulele Picking Tunes Classical Gems by Paul Mansell

This 40-page book is the latest contribution to the ukulele repertoire by the UK-based ukulele and guitar composer Paul Mansell. Guitarists who play the ukulele are few and far between, for many adult learners pick up the ukulele without knowing the guitar. Yet it takes a guitarist who understands the possibilities of the re-entrant tuned four string instrument to arrange what’s well-known to classical guitarists so that it’s both easy and enjoyable to play on the ukulele.

REVIEW: Modern Pieces for Ukulele by Paul Mansell

Paul Mansell, the multi-instrumentalist composer and arranger in England, is publishing new books for the ukulele every year. I had the pleasure of meeting him in person just before the pandemic lockdowns cascaded across the world in Spring 2020. I am a year late in my review and recording of the first three pieces from his book “Modern Pieces for Ukulele,” published in January 2021.

Chifuru Noda (3-29-1957 to 12-26-2018)

Chief Noda, as he was affectionately called, would be 64 years old on 29th March 2021. When he brought his Ubass for the Beatles’ Carpool Karaoke jam session on Thursday 12th July 2018, Chifuru Noda certainly wouldn’t have known that he’d not live to see his 64th, 63rd, or 62nd birthday. None of us knew any better at the time.

Join us to celebrate the music he loved so much. See the list of songs from Chief Noda’s Birthday Party Open Mic in Zoom.

When I’m 64 with Chief Noda

While Chief Noda was in the hospice in Milton, members of the Ukulele Union of Boston sang “Hey Chief” in Boston on the Thursday before Christmas (December 2018)

Three Chord Thursdays

Since lockdowns cascaded across Europe and America, I have been hosting an online, interactive song session called “Three Chord Thursdays.” Each Thursday, we ukulele enthusiasts (whether vocalists or instrumentalists) meet for an hour to share songs of a particular theme, category, or era. It’s entirely free to join by registering in advance for the login/password details. Volunteers submit their requests to perform in advance. We aim to fit up to 10 songs for the hour-long session in Zoom.

We welcome everybody everywhere in the world. Restated, that’s anybody anywhere in the world.

Review: Melodic Meditations by Daniel Ward

What a delight and a surprise to see the melodic counterpart to Daniel Ward’s first book “Arpeggio Meditations” — six of which serve as accompaniment to the pieces in his new book “Melodic Meditations.”  Like the previous book, each piece is carefully noted and represented in both notation, tablature, chord name (diagram), fingerings for right and left hands.

Bryan Tolentino workshop and concert in Boston

On a chilly wet spring evening, I fought the drizzle and the descending darkness to get to a church near the bust stop. Jamaica Plain, or JP for short, was dead quiet, save those going into the famous ice cream shop.

I intercepted a young woman in a fluffy pink dress carrying what looked like a ukulele case. Concerned that I might have missed the event entirely, I asked if Bryan Tolentino was still inside. She nodded and pointed at the entrance to the First Baptist Church on Centre Street.

Short courses for guitar and ukulele

Music education is one of the most expensive investments in time and resource. It requires a serious commitment to reap the benefits of individual music lessons taken over a long period of time (measured in years  not months or weeks). Is there another way to acquire musical skills and knowledge?

Review: Ukulele Ceilidh by Kevin Carroll

In the run up to St Patrick’s Day, I was looking for songs suitable for our “Fun with Ukulele” jam session at the local library in Dorchester, Massachusetts (part of Boston). St Patrick’s Day is celebrated like any other big holiday such as Christmas and Fourth of July in Boston. Coincidentally, Austin-based Kevin Carroll had just published “Ukulele Ceilidh: 18 Traditional Celtic Tunes arranged for Ukulele Session Playing.” The 67-page spiral-bound book is an amazing resource for the ukulele player.

Review: Ukulele School by Paul Mansell

The ukulele literature for children is entirely different from that for adults. A picture paints a thousand words. Children’s books have color and pictures. Big fonts. Pictures. Fewer words, Shorter words. Shorter sentences. Landscape orientation. Easier on the eye.

Such is the new book by Northampton-based Paul Mansell, whose youtube clips show his versatility on the ukulele and guitar. His latest book demonstrates his insight as a ukulele teacher.