NEW YEAR Y’ALL!
At some point I should probably write something self-reflective about the new decade, given that I’m full of thoughts and ideas and whatnot about it.
In the meantime, please accept this cover and chordsheet for the biggest grower from Taylor Swift’s most recent album: the titular track, Lover.
Read MoreYou read me right: Pigeon Street, the kids show from the late 70s/early 80s; the one with the absolutely banging theme tune.
It’s short, quite tricky on ukulele, and really, really fun to play. Come get the guitar/ukulele chords!
Read MoreWho’s looking and sounding their best? Not I.
(Probably you, though. You’re looking so pretty today!)
I'm exhausted after a long week, and still snuffly with cold, which is why (in the video) I'm all up in my PJs, ready for a cosy night watching movies in bed. But day 14's Winter Wonderland is done!
Read MoreSometimes my Kind-Eyed-Boy has to travel for work, and one of the things I tend to do when he's away is send him recordings of my hapless covers. He doesn't seem to mind.
This is one I sent to him last time he was away.
Herein you'll find some simple ukulele chords to cover this altogether pretty and and uplifting song by The Smashing Pumpkins – plus an imperfection project recording with some serious issues...
Read MoreRight now, I'm feeling fairly pleased with myself. It's Friday night, and I spent the evening figuring out some chords for this lovely song, did two (quietly holding back because it's past ten) takes into my phone, decided to run with the second one, and barrelled straight into writing this. I think the recording sounds pretty nice. Your mileage may vary...
Read MoreIt's Father's Day – a day that's really difficult if your dad has passed, as mine has. Social media is full of people who don't know what this feels like yet, and I hope they won't for a long time.
As always these days, I choose to meet my challenges head on – but facing down grief is no small task, even though the years render the crashing waves of loss fewer and further between. Somehow I managed to get through recording my imperfection project version of this song without full-on crying, so that's the take we're going to go with, okay? Good.
Read MoreLook, I know its not 'cool' but neither is playing the ukulele, or stopping drinking, or baring your lack of talent for folk to poke fun at in a steadfast exercise to grow as a person: Billy Joel is one of my favourite artists. Yeah. You heard me. I just really like his voice. His lyrics strike a chord with me. His vocal range and mine have a pleasing crossover. Some of his songs are pleasantly hard to play and have chord progressions that make me smile big. I'm resolutely uncool. And I am cool with it.
Read MoreAs a hopeless romantic at heart, I can't help but adore an earnest love song - and few contemporary artists do earnest quite like Hunter Hayes. Somebody's Heartbreak is a pretty song that's easy to play, has some nice stops and starts, and lends itself well to just you and a uke.
Read MoreA little while ago I wrote about how ukulele songbooks are often awful, and loftily pledged to publish songsheets for tunes I enjoy singing and playing. Since then I've been debating how to start the series. (Something easy, classic, or a lesser-known favourite?) I've settled on embracing the me, and now. It's a song I figured out this last week, and which nobody on the internet seems to have quite the right chords for: Halfway Home by Nerina Pallot.
Read MoreUnless you can read sheet music or tablature, you'll probably begin your musical journey playing songs from songsheets, or songbooks. They're created with good intentions, but kind of make me want to scream sometimes. Okay, okay. Most of the time. And this is where I sign myself up for loads of work with very little reward...
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