Hi Ukulele fanatics,

I almost don't dare to wish you a Happy New Year after the crappy year we had last year. But I do wish you all the best and hope that you are doing OK wherever you are.

Here is my news from December and this month so far:

New videos for your delectation:

Turkey in the Straw. This is an old-time fiddle tune from the States. It has a slightly checkered history but the tune is a real foot tapper. All campanella picking.

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/_FD9QV-Ose8

The Dark Isle. This tune comes from the Outer Hebrides. I've arranged it for two ukuleles, it has a nice harpy feel to it.

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/Wg6BPa0e4ls

Spanish Pavan. Duet with an old friend who plays vihuela, an early guitar that sounds like a lute. It's a simple tune to which I added some "diminution" - extra notes to make a simple tune sound more sophisticated. This technique was often improvised in renaissance music, but I had to sit down and come up with something that didn't sound too dodgy (which is what happens when I improvise).

watch it here: https://youtu.be/aEA6Rc9bCP8

The Ketchup Song. Just for fun. But for a trashy Europop hit, there's more going on than the usual four chord pop songs we get a lot of these days. For a start, it begins with a chromatic run in the melody, then there's an interesting chord change from F to Fm just before the chorus and the chorus uses a classic flamenco chord progression Am / G / F / E7. My arrangement is chord melody with a tiny bit of campanella thrown in for good measure.

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/I4wmGtd1Xh8

Lessons and Tabs

Sweeney's Buttermilk. One of my favourite Irish tunes, I've made a walk-through tutorial which is exclusively available to patrons. The video lesson will give you some insights into how I approach arranging tunes in the campanella style.

House of the Rising Sun. Of course you can already play this one, everyone can. But I've arranged it for fingerstyle ukulele and it uses natural and artificial harmonics to play the high notes while still holding down chords in the first position. I teach it to Dave in the video lesson on Patreon.

Arpeggios from Heaven. I received the guitar tabs for this speed metal piece by Yngwie Malmsteen and of course I didn't have a cat in hell's chance of playing it on the ukulele. So I took a lick from the opening bars and turned it into a baroque sounding piece for fingerstyle ukulele. The tabs are on Patreon but are free for everyone, not just subscribers, so give your fingers a good workout!

Well that was quite a lot considering the day job kept me chained to my computer for most of December and January.

For tabs and tutorials, head over to Patreon!

Your continuing support is much appreciated, with your help I'll be able to keep making videos and tabs.

All the best,

Jon

Click for Tabs and Tutorials

Jon's Ukulele: End of Gumroad Free Downloads (and where to get them from now on)

Same Name, Two Different Tunes - which one do you prefer? - Jon's Ukulele

Jon's Ukulele: Summer Morris Dance Tunes and More!

Jon's Ukulele: New Medieval Tune! Plus loads more tunes to learn!

Jon's Ukulele: New Irish Jig! Plus loads more tunes to learn!

See all posts from Jonathan Lewis