Single Jig Hag at the Churn on Baritone Ukulele

I hadn't played the Irish jig Hag At the Churn in quite some time, but it came back to me tonight. I did glance at the music to clear up some fuzzy parts. After playing it a few times on tenor banjo I got out the baritone uke to see if I could find those same notes on that rarely played instrument and there they were!

Hag At the Churn is one of the few tunes I've played so far that feels good under the fingers in the DGBE tuning.  Since I couldn't believe that I was playing it quite effortlessly on the baritone uke, I had to make a recording.  Here it is with the music below.

The music/tab comes from Don Julin's Mandolin for Dummies book.  I'm basically playing those exact notes on the baritone uke, as far as I can tell.  Very basic, but what a cool sounding single jig!

Fun with Ukulele - St. Thomas basic melody (Sonny Rollins)

My no name baritone uke

Thanks to John Gonzales del Solar at Fan Guitar and Ukulele I've had a baritone ukulele strung up for about a week and a half now.  It's just a cheap, thrift store, no name baritone uke but it's got a good sound to it.  I've been messing around on it and the first tune I picked out by ear was Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Playing ukulele is good complement to my study of tenor banjo because it use a different tuning.  The 4-string banjo is tuned in 5ths like a mandolin or cello - GDAE from the lowest to highest strings.  The 4-strings of the baritone uke are tuned DGBE from lowest to highest, like the 4 highest strings on a guitar.  The different tuning of the uke helps reinforce ear training interval recognition.

I'm finding that the ukulele also has its own benefits.  The uke tuning offers a better "chord" sound than a 5ths tuning of a mandolin or tenor banjo, potentially making it easier to hear chord changes and making the uke more suited to strumming and singing songs.  In addition, classic melodies that don't have a wide interval between the lowest and highest notes are very conducive to playing on the ukulele.
 
Due to the way the uke is tuned, you can easily play these melodies in a closed position, never having to utilize open strings like I have to do on tenor banjo due to the longer stretches.  Because you don't need to use any open strings when playing a melody on the baritone ukulele, it means that it's a no-brainer to transpose that melody to almost any other key.

Today I learned the basic melody to the tune St. Thomas by Sonny Rollins.  The recording below is in the key of C, but on ukulele I could instantly change it to another key by simply retaining the same pattern up the neck.  It would take me a lot longer to transpose it on tenor banjo.



St. Thomas is a jazz tune, so you're supposed to improvise after introducing the main theme.  I haven't gotten to the improvisation part yet, but one thing at a time, right?

Christmas Songs Are Great for Developing Your Ear

The ear training study continues.  I've only been at it a few days, but I'm already seeing results.  Last night before going to bed I decided I would try to pluck out Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas on tenor banjo. It actually came to me quite easily and I went to sleep feeling like I had it under the fingers.

This morning when I woke up I got out my recently strung up baritone ukulele, which I don't yet know how to play and which is tuned differently than the tenor banjo, and worked on picking the same melody in the same key (A) on the baritone uke.  As I was figuring it out on my lefty baritone uke, Laura got out her baritone uke and started to add chords behind the melody I was playing.  Just as we were starting to get it (or maybe a tad bit before) I clicked Record on an iPad app to capture it while it was still fresh.  Below is the recording.

As soon as I get done typing this I'm going to practice singing the solfege syllables along with the melody as I play it.  I started with the note "A" when playing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas on tenor banjo, so I continued with playing it in A when switching to baritone uke.  Here are those solfege syllables as I hear them:

Have (doh) your (mee) self (soh) a (doh)
Mer (soh) ry (fah) lit (mee) tle (ray) Christ (doh) mas (ray)
Let (doh) your (mee) heart (soh) be (doh) gay (soh)
From (doh) now (mee) on (soh) our (doh)
Troub (mee) les (ray) will (doh) be (tee)
Miles (lah) a (tee) way (doh).

I could have that wrong since I played it by  ear and haven't looked up the notation.  In case you're wondering, the "doh-ray-mee-fah-soh-lah-tee-doh" for the key of A-major is A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A.  Singing these syllables as you're playing the melody is great practice.  You can do it with any melody you hear or play.

Ron Gentry's Ukulele Jamming Tips (applicable to all types of music jams)

The River City Ukulele Society is a ukulele enthusiast organization in Richmond, VA.  They hold open jam sessions at The Cultural Arts Center At Glen Allen on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.  Jam Leader Ron Gentry has distributed a list of ukulele jamming tips that actually can apply to all types of music jams regardless of whether it’s a ukulele jam or some other kind of music.  These "Tips" are just that...tips.  They are intended as helpful hints to making jamming more enjoyable for all. 

Ukulele Jamming Tips

By Ron Gentry

Basic Tips
Be in tune before starting. Whenever in doubt use an electronic tuner.

Be on the right chord.
Learn the chord changes as quickly as possible.
As necessary, watch the left hand of someone who knows the chords.

Stay with the beat. Don’t rush, drag, or lose your place in the song

Watch your volume (No amplified instruments, except a U-Bass).
Allow the singer or person taking a “break” to be easily heard. If you can’t hear him/her, play quieter.
When it’s your turn, make sure you are heard.
Be aware that your instrument (especially banjo ukes) may not seem as loud to you as to someone in front of you.

When you lead a song, know the song “key” and all of the verses and chords.

When performing:
Keep your music stand as flat and low as possible.
Look up from your music as often as you can.
Smile and make eye contact with the audience.

Play songs out of the two River City Ukulele All Stars Tune Books or provide handout copies of the song(s) you are leading.

If you aren’t providing copies of the music, suggest songs easy enough for everyone to follow (4 chord limit).

Be aware of the common denominator of ability when picking tunes and tempos.

Whomever kicks off a song determines the key, tempo, and leads the group through the song, signaling who takes a “break” and when to end.

The person leading the song may sing it differently from the way you remember the song. You must listen and follow the leader…do not try to impose your version of the song.

If a vocal or an instrumental “break” starts late, listen for whether it is starting from the top, or from a later point in the song.

If players realize they are at different points in the song try to resolve it quickly, usually by falling in with the soloists even if he/she is mistaken.

If everyone but you gets lost, follow those who are lost.

When a singer doesn’t start a verse on time, keep playing the root or “I” chord and wait until the singer starts before going to the chord changes.

Use signals to help everyone end together; foot up, hold up instrument, end after one last chorus, or repeat of last line, or someone says “last time” or “turn it around”.  Listen for instrumental “licks” that signal ending, i.e. “shave and a haircut” lick.

Etiquette Stuff
When re-tuning or checking your tuning, wait your turn.
If someone is tuning, avoid any playing.
When everyone is finished playing, you shouldn’t play any notes you have left.
Refrain from noodling around on a tune between songs.

Thanks Ron!

UkeFest Virginia - This Weekend! (Nov. 1 and 2, 2013)

This weekend is the 2^nd annual UkeFest Virginia - a festival in Richmond, VA celebrating the ukulele.  It takes place November 1^st and 2^nd at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen.

There are some interesting looking workshops on the schedule, such as “Early Jazz/Ragtime for Uke”, being taught by members of the Bumper Jacksons, and “Kentucky Old Time Style Uke” – also by the Bumper Jacksons, as well as “Advanced Chords for Uke” and “Arranging Music for the Uke”, both of which are being taught by Josh Kekoa.  Workshop tickets are only $15 each.

There will also be concerts throughout the weekend featuring the aforementioned Bumper Jacksons and Josh Kekoa.  The Aloha Boys, Jim and Liz Beloff, Ken Middleton, and local duo Sweet Fern will also perform.  In addition, UkeFest participants will have plenty of opportunities to jam!  What a great way to gain musical knowledge and inspiration, and meet other ukulele aficionados.

Carnaval En Margarita by Lionel Belasco

Lionel Belasco

I thought I'd share this recording Laura and I made earlier this evening of Carnaval En Margarita by Lionel Belasco.  That's me on tenor banjo and Laura on baritone uke.  We got the tune from the Etcetera String Band, who did a whole album of early Creole/Caribbean dance music called Bonne Humeur.

According to the liner notes in Bonne Humeur, Lionel "Lanky" Belasco was probably born in Caracas, Venezuela in about 1882 and grew up in Venezuela and Trinidad.  He was classically trained, but preferred playing indigenous music.

He formed a string band which played Venezuelan waltzes, joropos, paseos and danzas, many of which he composed himself.  Carnaval En Margarita is a paseo that Belasco wrote.  Margarita is an island off the Venezuelan coast which Belasco visited.



More to come soon!  Maybe even a rag or two.

Say old man, is that a tenor guitar or a baritone ukulele?

Tenor Guitar (L), Baritone Ukulele (R)

I have a tenor guitar.  My wife has a baritone ukulele.  Both instruments look very similar.  When we’re playing them, like at an oldtime jam or something, people often ask, “Are those the same instrument?”  Despite the similarities (scale length, body size/shape, number of strings) there are some key differences.

My tenor guitar is strung GDAE, from low to high.  This is the same as standard tuning on a violin or mandolin, just one octave lower.  So, my tenor guitar is not really a “guitar” at all, but more like an octave mandolin. When I pick a melody it I'm pretty much playing mandolin.

On the other hand, Laura’s baritone uke is strung DGBE, from low to high.  This is the same as a regular 6-string guitar, minus the 2 lowest strings.  So, her baritone ukulele is not really a “ukulele” at all, but more like a guitar with only 4 strings.  When she strums chords she's pretty much playing guitar.

By that logic, the instrument that should have the word guitar in the title is the baritone ukulele.  To the contrary, my experience playing tenor guitar tuned GDAE does not help me play a regular guitar, if at all, but I can pick up a left-handed mandolin and know what to do.  Go figure.

The Baritone Uke: The Baa Baa Black Sheep of the Ukulele Family

With uke fests and ukulele clubs popping up all across the nation, there's no doubt that the "jumping flea" is seeing a resurgence.  Or, at least the three smallest size ukuleles - soprano, concert and tenor - are making another comeback.  But what about the the biggest of all ukes - the baritone?

About the size of a small body tenor guitar, the baritone is sort of the black sheep of the ukulele family.  Unlike the three smaller sizes, which are tuned gCEA, the baritone uke is DGBE.  This means a C chord on a regular uke is a G chord on a baritone.  For beginners just starting to go to group ukulele jams, the extra thinking and transposing required to play along with the others can make one's brain hurt.  It's easier to just use what everyone else is using.

On the flipside, the baritone is often the ukulele of choice for guitar players, because the DGBE tuning (sometimes called Chicago tuning) is the same as the 4 highest strings of a guitar.  I've seen guitar players light up when they discover this about the baritone uke.  Its large size probably feels more guitar like to them too.  But then again, guitar lovers can have a habit of seeing the ukulele as an inferior, novelty instrument, thinking why would I play uke when I can already play guitar?

About 5 weeks ago a guy brought a baritone uke to our Ashland jam session.  My wife Laura, a novice/intermediate bodhrán player with very little experience on stringed instruments, picked it up.  After someone showed her the chords G, C and D she was strumming right along to a G tune.  Surprised by its tone - deeper and more mournful than the sound she associated with ukulele - she instantly fell in love with the baritone.

When we got home from the jam we got in touch with a contact we had made at Augusta Irish Week who works at an instrument repair store in Pennsylvania.  As luck would have it, he had just gotten in a no name but otherwise playable baritone uke and sold it to us for super cheap. I happened to already have an extra set of Grover geared ukulele tuners, so when it arrived I took the bari to a local guy who has done some work on my banjo and he replaced the old friction tuners.  With these new geared tuners and a new set of Aquila strings, this generic instrument is sounding pretty good!

Meanwhile, some folks on the Ukulele Underground discussion forum had directed me to a new Pono MB Mahogany Baritone uke on eBay for the (low for it) price of $259.  They said the Pono - with its all solid mahogany body and truss rod - was one of the best ukes available short of a LoPrinzi, which can cost more than twice as much.  So, I made an impulse buy and snatched up the Pono at the last minute.  Long story short, Laura now has two baritone ukes within 5 weeks of playing the one for the first time at the Ashland jam!  Too much too fast?  See picture below.

"No Name" bari uke on left, Pono MB Baritone on right

The baritone uke gives Laura a nice, unobtrusive rhythm option for the types of Irish and old-time tunes we like to play.  These tunes reside primarily in the keys of D, G and A - all three of which are very accessible to the baritone uke player in the DGBE tuning because of the chord shapes required.  The key of G is especially comfortable, since it's like playing in the key of C on a regular uke (the easiest key).  Because of its longer scale, the baritone uke is capo-friendly, so if you were feeling lazy you could capo at the 2nd fret to play in A while making the same chord shapes for G.

The baritone uke is also good for strumming and singing those good old John Prine, Grateful Dead and other campfire folk songs we've been ignoring due to my obsession with instrumental tunes.  I suppose it's good to have a balanced musical diet!  I'm a lefty, and one of the bad things about being a left-handed musician is you don't have the luxury of playing and trying out other people's right handed instruments.  But, since Laura now has two baritone ukes, maybe she'll let me string up one of them as a lefty?!