Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Gary Kubota || I'm Coming Home To Maui (Original Folk)
This has an interesting contrast of a dark silhouette against a bright sky...
Hialoakapua || The Grand Canyon Trail
Seems like there are some country gems being played on the Bari-Uke. This one is Sid Hausman with a beautiful Martin baritone in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Nicely performed, Yee-haw!
manriq47 || The Cowboy Blues (Hank Williams Cover) on Baritone Ukulele
Mark writes...
"The Cowboy Blues was co-written by Country Music Hall of Famers Cindy Walker and Gene Autry in 1947 and used in Gene's movie, The Trail to San Antone. While most folks know Gene, many are not that familiar with Cindy. Her songs, however, have been recorded by the likes of Bing Crosby, Ray Charles, Eddy Arnold, Roy Orbison, The Byrds, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Elvis, and many, many others. Cindy's, You Don't Know Me, topped the charts in both the U.S. and Canada in 1981. Although You Don't Know Me was more of a country cross-over pop hit, her Cowboy Blues helped keep the western in country/western music alive and well at the time. Thanks Cindy! We need more like it.I took a little liberty with the lyrics and changed the line in the chorus that should have been "I've got a long gone lonesome feeling" to "I've got a dadgummed lonesome feeling" as a tip of the hat to one of my favorite TV commercials. It's the one in which Peggy, the Siberian based call center operator, is listening to former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden complain about some "dadgummed" questionable charges on his credit card. Hilarious!"
And then as a response to a comment he says...
"Yeah, those little baritone ukes are a kick to play"
manriq47 || Jambalaya (Hank Williams Cover) on Baritone Ukulele
As I look at the Stat Counter stats this seems to be a most popular post but for some reason it is not showing up in the list at the bottom right. So I am going to post it again to see how things are working.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Todd Baio || Walk That Lonesome Valley (Bari-Folk-Gospel)
Todd has so many great songs posted here on YouTube. He has so much warmth in music and gratitude in spirit that I wish he was on that touring ukulele teaching circuit. I would love to see him up in Santa Cruz and Berkeley.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Humble Uker Mea Culpa
There are times when we write or say something in an unskillful way. I am feeling a bit of melancholy because I wrote something in an e-mail to one of my favorite sites that they took great offense to and as I look back at the words carefully I see the errors of my wording. The internet gives a great privilege to communicate with a great diversity of people. But lacks the warmth of face to face contact. I often assume that my normal manner of goodwill to others will be recognized and taken into consideration but I guess I am too naive.
There are times when I just like to share what I find, perhaps with a minimal comment because I am not a critic, I am merely a humble uker and I like to celebrate what other people have to offer in their videos, websites, or books. So I offer this mea culpa up for I am sure to make more mistakes -- and I do take them seriously.
Humble Uker, Jeff
Belinda || Humane Society Performance
Belinda just sent me an e-mail with a video of hers that I hadn't posted and it had something new for me -- Bass Pedals -- didn't now they existed. This is Belinda's Humane Society performance of animal and earth songs.
PHOTO: Scott Miller aka Paul Pennyfeather
The truth is that YouTube's search engine doesn't really help me search out videos that well. I normally just type in "Baritone Ukulele" and "Recently Uploaded" but I have found many gems by adding other "random" third key words. Scott aka Paul Pennyfeather was one of those recent finds and although he just posts a single photo in his videos I have been able to make contact. Above is Scott playing a Lanikai baritone ukulele. And below is one of those triangular shaped bari's that I regularly ignore on eBay.
Scott says that the sound is so-so, but has really glorified this one with a mess of stickers. Click on the photo to enlarge. He says he calls this one "Isosceles" (for obvious reasons). Thanks to Scott for sharing.Here's Scott Miller's Band Camp and his song: Ashes Good, Dust Bad
Andrew Skelton || Colors (Cover)
I see Andrew has the f-hole bari. It does have a good sound. Andrew when you read this I would appreciate some comments on how you like this bari to share with others. They seem to be quite reasonably priced, are only slightly smaller than a standard bari-uke, and have a unique look. How was the string height set up when you first got it?
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Maya Avery Graham || Toddlers and Sound
I got an $8 soprano ukulele from the Flea Market a couple of months ago. I keep it for my granddaughter Maya Avery Graham to play with each week when we get the pleasure of her company. She is precisely 9 months old now and our treasure. We have a ritual of going upstairs to Grandpa's music room and sitting, picking and pounding out sounds. She understands that the strings make sounds and I give her mini-ovations whenever she gets her picking going. My ovations bewilder her a bit but she enjoys making sounds. Seems like she's past the stage of always wanting to taste the ukulele.
Does anyone have experience with real small children and music?
RECOMMENDATION: www.ezfolk.com
I was a member of EZFOLK a few years back and then wandered into other areas for a while. Richard Hefner runs the site and has weathered a devastating "hack" which destroyed so many hours of his generous efforts. My working on blogs and other life adventures have kept me pretty busy but at the urging of R. Ruthen of pdf-Minstrel I have signed up again to give it a perusal.
Within moments of signing in I went to the ukulele section and someone has provided a nice arrangement of "The Water is Wide." You will need to get signed in to be a part of the community but there are definitely a few nice sources for the bari-uke player.
WeekendWasteMonster || Dreams are Loud
This music has been altered electronically but the YT notes say that there is a Baritone Ukulele in here.
Hatchetmen || Hurt Johnny Cash Style
Recorded on May 1, 2011 @ Starving Artist Cafe, City Island, NY. Mark Dunn vocals, Benjamin Holmes on Baritone Ukulele.
Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters
Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters
Mark & Jane || Into My Arms
Mark & Jane perform at the Royal Exchange in Newcastle - Nick Cave's Into My Arms. Mark is on the tenor ukulele, Jane is on the baritone ukulele. Quite a pleasant tune.
B, U, Jane
Lew Dite || Puff the Magic Dragon
Lew Dite shows off his video skills in this creation. Take a trip on the wild side.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Corley & Josh || The Rainbow Connection (Bari-Uke)
Corley spreads the sweetness and Josh makes the bari sing too...
Sara Bareilles || Nice Dream
Not the best video but... (skip to the 3:00 minute mark and it gets better)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Molly (SweetAfton23) || Peep Fight
Molly presents us with an example of a non-classical contemporary heavy metal composition that I don't really like for its stand-alone musical quality. Molly has some notations and disclaimers at the end of the video that are quite funny. (Some people like to write junk about videos -- and it says more about themselves.) BUT this was a test, a project, and in that way how can it be anything other than a success? So I love it as a way of exploring -- a heavy metal noodling of sorts.
HumbleUker likes to find a diversity of music: every genre I can find and every performer that I can find will have a chance for atleast one video to be posted. I guess I should note that I do have some limitations for posting a video:
1) Videos with dark lighting usually don't get posted.
2) Videos with long rambling unrelated intros or exitos don't get posted.
3) Videos with swearing will most likely not get posted.
4) Videos that are in dorm rooms or garages with large piles of clothes, tools or boxes in the background don't either, usually.
Disclaimer of my own -- I do own a "where's my peeps?" T-shirt used exclusively for club meetings.
pdf-Minstrel || Here's a Bit O' Bari News
Roger Ruthen, who has created the site pdf-Minstrel, has recently dedicated himself to the sole pursuit of creating TAB arrangements for the Baritone Ukulele. In past few days he has posted 35 more TABs. Roger has been a classical guitarist for over 50 years and has created a nice library of pieces in which everyone is sure to find a few favorites.
For those of us who enjoy classical finger style mixed in with our other likes, check out this arrangement for Larghetto Expressivo. Searching for tablature of any kind for the Bari-Uke can be quite challenging so Roger's generous efforts are greatly appreciated. Take a look at his site for some information on the Renaissance Bari and his new "Treble Guitar."
[The only other source for medieval arrangements that I am aware of come from Michael Parmenter on his site... http://ukeclassicaltabs.blogspot.com/.]
Well it looks like it's time for a new logo.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Brett Marynn Wulfson || Between (Original on Baritone Ukulele) Live Performance
New song she wrote a week ago and played it at Terminal bar's (Minneapolis MN) open mic night last night (5-23-2011).
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Phreddcatt || This is an Old Old Song
From March 2008, over 3 years ago, let's give it another go...
Cheryl "Rockettedog" || Gravity
Cheryl has amazing instrument and a nice bari-uke too. And her song selection is fantastic. She contributed this drawing of herself with her bari-uke several months ago and I decided that it's time to share it again. Thanks Cheryl for giving so much of yourself in every song. HU / Jeff
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Humble Uker || Five Pounds of Possum
Well the moment has FINALLY arrived. Here I am in all of my Humble Ukin' glory. I started playing the uke about 5 years ago and have enjoyed creating music and hanging out with many good people. This IS about as good as it gets for me.
For those of you that are just starting out it takes a several times of getting up there and feeling a bit nervous each time. There is no better place to go than your local uke club for support. I have had my share of duds and flub ups. But there have been a few moments of music making bliss as well. You will notice that I couldn't hear myself very well -- I just had to mosey up close to the mics with my uke and voice. Yes, and sometimes you get up there and screw up -- just let it flow as best you can. Have some fun.
I would also like to tell you uke travelers that there have been numerous people from all around the United States and World that have dropped in for a uke club experience in Berkeley or Santa Cruz. Visitors are welcome and don't be shy if you have a song to share. One of my favorite ukulele experiences is the Burning Uke camp out for 4 days along the Big Sur Plaskett Creek campgrounds and shoreline. It is mid-September each year. (I'll be posting more info as it comes up.) Jeff
[Here's clips of everybody that participated in the open mic night, Part 1 and Part 2. Don't Be Cruel was performed by The UkeAholics live at the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz on April 15, 2010. The band includes Sandor "Ukulele Elvis" Nagyszalanczy, Ukulele Dick and Eric Conly, No pelves were injured during the performance. Sandor puts these snippets together.]
Josh from Bend || Some Baritone Variations
Josh is a student in Oregon...
Mini-Capoed-Bari-Uke Jam
M. Seedy - SOBA
Folsom Prison Blues
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Cayleigh Sings || Clear (Miley Cyrus Cover
You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift Cover)
Must Get Out (Maroon 5 Cover)
Belinda || Longing (Original) 5-10-2011 Live Performance
Belinda performs her original songs for the Thursday Songwriter Roundup at Artichoke Music in Portland, OR. More at Belinda Underwood
It's All About the Gold, Oct. 2010
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Mojo Twanger || Sweet Carolina & Ray of Sunshine
Definitely skillful hands here.
Be sure to check out the links below.
I added "learn the ukulele" to my blogs list -- I think it's all Bari!
Otterbeone || Buckets of Rain (Bob Dylan cover on a Reso-Cigar-Box Bari-Uke)
It started to rain real heavy on the roof above me, but it just lasted a moment. Inspired me to use "rain" as YT search keyword. I have been enjoying playing this song for a few weeks now. Looks real sweet, doesn't it!
Kim Jorgensen || I've Heard It Said (Original)
Kim has a jazzy style of his own, reaching back to another jazzy time. He's playing a Bushman bari-uke in a dark room with shades. Kim is a friend of mine and we get together at the Berkeley Ukulele Club inside Michael DaSilva's ukemaker lair.
University of Maine at Machias Folk Group || It Don't Come Easy
Ode to Billie Joe (without bari but I liked the band!)
Ian Chadwick || I Ain't Lazy, I'm Just Dreamin'
Some cool effects in this video. I like the sketching feature. Enjoy the vintage 1934 music...
Zhou (Singapore) || Meadowlark
Zhou writes what so many ukulele players feel when they first attempt the bari-uke...
"... I got a new Kala baritone ukulele on Sunday and I'm having some difficulties trying to learn the new chords (or rather - not confuse them with the soprano ones. C becomes G, G becomes D, Bb becomes F... urgh), and also to stretch my fingers a little wider because the frets are further apart. But I really love how rich and mellow it sounds :)"
ZhouDynasty
Monday, May 16, 2011
BOOKS || Best of Antonio Carlos Jobim (Hal Leonard Easy Guitar Books)
Here's another one of my finds from Hal Leonard Music Books, US$12.95. There are 14 songs and as usual some songs are not tabbed perfectly for bari-uke. But Brazilian bossa music uses some of the greatest sounding chord combinations. The following 7 songs are pretty much ready for bari:
Aqua de Beber
Dindi [the English pronounciation is "Gin-Gee"]
A Felicidade
Insensatez (How Insensative)
Amor em Paz (Love in Peace)
Corcovado (Quiet Nights & Quiet Stars)
So Danco Samba
Unfortunately, my favorite Garota de Ipanema will require some adjustment to work. The songs are a blend of single notes, double tones, 3-note-chords and full chords. The arrangements are the high quality that you come to expect from Hal Leonard.
University of Maine at Machias Folk Group || Crawdad
"Spring 2011 Semester doing Cawdad: Alan Cook: Instructor, guitar, fiddle, vocals. E. J. Hampson: percussion, vocal. Duane Ingalls: Ukulele, Percussion, vocal. Lauren Koss: baritone ukulele, percussion, vocal. Ryan Martin: banjo. Craig Oster: washboard, eggs, vocal. Ryan Sprague: Bass. Recorded Live at UMM Performing Arts Center May 2, 2011"
Ukulele Boudoir || The House of the Rising Sun avec Baryton Ukulele
Ukulele ZiZi says that Ukulele Boudoir has Soprano & Baritone tabs, here.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Lucas Biespiel || 16 Tons
Polished busking on the streets... (Hot stuff here!)
Here's a prior 2010 version without traffic noise...
Cho Happy Bear || You'll Never Know
Cho plays a lot of Korean songs on his bari and regularly uses a pick. I like the softness of this fingerstyle performance and the distorted black and white movie images.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Stu & Gary Stein || Moondance
They are the Mighty Uke Tones
Moondance
Medley
(Blue Skies, Sweet Georgia Brown, Puttin' on the Ritz, Hit the Road Jack)
Something
Moondance
Medley
(Blue Skies, Sweet Georgia Brown, Puttin' on the Ritz, Hit the Road Jack)
Something
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Dillon Crye || First Bari-Uke Video
Please bring the YT cursor to the 2:00 minute mark and start listening. Then if you're so inspired go back to the start and listen to his comments. I think that Dillon expresses the same doubts and concerns about his playing and singing that 90% of us have. I think it's a great start and I am happy to see him doing it on a bari of course! [Yes, the video quality is crappy.]
Monday, May 9, 2011
Alex Emmer || House of the Rising Scientist
Alex has just posted two videos in his YouTube vault: both feature the bari-uke.
Rhan Wilson || Last Time (Ukulele Dick's Throwing Stones Show at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz)
Last Time performed by Rhan Wilson on baritone ukulele at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz, CA on May 7th, 2011 as part of the "Throwing Stones" show produced by Ukulele Dick. Members of the tribe included Pete Coates on Sax, Greg Stone on bass, Olaf Schiappacasse on drums, Dan Flnn on Didgeridoo, and dancer Roxanne Ukahri Rivas.
Friday, May 6, 2011
WEEK FOCUS #11 || Olivia Quillio
Go ahead click on the pic!
Olivia Quillio. I like the geometry of her name: circles and lines. Olivia graciously shared this photo with all of us that travel along with Humble Baritonics and enjoy playing the baritone ukulele. She's a singer and a multi-instrumentalist that has a special affection for bari and the way that it plays sweetly with her voice. I think this image of her on a New York City rooftop would make an excellent album cover and like I said on the teaser photo -- it's sure to be a downloader's fav.
I have been delaying putting together a WEEK FOCUS for a few days because my clients have had a harmonic convergence and they all needed something completed by me this week. I have some good OQ stuff to share and several videos but for now this is still just another teaser, albeit with a juicy photo, until I can break out a larger chunk of time.
Please stay tuned... (plenty more on the way.)
I asked Olivia to share a bit of her musical background,
“As far as my music goes, I've been writing songs for about 4 years now. I started on piano, then moved on to the Ukulele a year or so later. Six months after my first uke I bought my Baritone. That was a year and half ago, and while I do play a little guitar, mandolin and banjo, my main instruments are my voice and my baritone. (His name is "Bari") I play with a full piece band when I get a chance, but I mostly play as a duo. I've done a lot of performing with upright bass, and now am expanding to doing a group with myself and an electric guitarist. I play all around New York State, I've also played some shows in Portland, OR. This summer I am planning a tour down the east coast and into the Midwest. This is my life, other than maintaining my job at a local coffee shop. I left college a year back and abandoned my degree aspirations to pursue my music whole heartedly. I couldn't be happier with the place I'm in now as far as my life with music is going. I owe a lot of that to my baritone.”
Here's Olivia giving a radio station introduction followed by an interview on a local New York public radio station WMHT, Link. Her intro song is her "Easy Killer" performance with song professional recording, then you can hear Olivia's story in her own words.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Grumpy Coyote Tunes || Buckets of Rain (Challenged & Won)
Grumpy Coyote took me up on the challenge to play Bob Dylan's Buckets of Rain on the Baritone Ukulele. I was trying to come up arrangement through studying the various guitar tutorials. But he has put together an awesome version in a very short period of time. The guitar tutorials that I sited in a previous post were in "Dropped D Tuning" and the Bari would've ended up D-F#-A-D but Grumpy has worked out his arrangement in another tuning: Open E = E-G#-B-E which is two steps higher. Thanks GC! (Dropped D / Open E uh-oh!)
His DonMo resonator baritone ukulele is a beauty. It seems the explosion of musicality that has come from the ukulele's popularity is opening up a variety of music and experimentation with other instruments. Who could have imagined a reso-bari-uke ten years ago? Check out these photos of a sold DMRBU from Elderly Instruments. It was listed at US$925.
Grumpy says he's only worked on the song for a short while but it sounds great. The more I listen to experienced players the more I feel that I've got a long way to go. Luckily, the there's a lot of fun strumming along the way. In the meantime, I will be studying Grumpy's video and see what knowledge I can glean from it.
SONG || Buckets of Rain (Bob Dylan)
Here is a strummer's version with BARI-CHORDs:
=============================================================
[G6] = 0000, [D] = 0232, [G] = 0003,
[A] = 2220, [F#m] = 4222, [A7/E] = 2020
=============================================================
[G6] Buckets of [D] rain, [G6] buckets of [D] tears,
[G6] got all them [D] buckets [G6] comin' out of my [D] ears.
[G] Buckets of moonbeams in my [D] hand,
[A] You got all the [G] love, [F#m] honey baby, [A7] I can [D] stand.
HERE'S A LINK FOR THE FULL LYRICS on ULTIMATE GUITAR DOT COM
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
3 O'Clock Potluck || Kelly on Baritone Ukulele
Using my secret method... I found another baritone player
'setup'
PHOTO: Joe "Gramps" Tate
Here's Joe posing with his beautiful Martin baritone ukulele. I met Joe last fall at the Wine Country Ukulele Festival up in the Napa Valley of California. Joe's another lifelong multi- instrumentalist and he performs regularly in Mill Valley just across the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco. He sends me flyers on his weekly shows and occassionally I snatch a bari-uke shot when he posts himself with bari.
When I met Joe he was sitting at a small table with a pile of his books and his Martin bari in his hands. What is his book you ask? It is called "Ukulele Baby" Song Book and has 18 songs arranged for baritone (DGBE) and tenor ukulele (GCEA) . It is a thin, spiral bound, lays-flat book, and it includes a play-along CD. Here's my September 2010 post with more information, if should want a copy.
Here's the NEW Ukulele Baby Song Book link.
Joe asked me to put this Don't Think Twice video here too...
CHALLENGE || Buckets of Rain on Bari (Bob Dylan)
Here's a guitar version... Can we derive a good version for our buddy Bari?
Jim Lowden's 4 part Guitar Tutorial (Open D Tuning)
Monday, May 2, 2011
PHOTO: Rhan Wilson avec l'ukulele, mon ami!
Friday Night at Club Uke
Rhan has a vintage Kent Carmenita Bari.
Rhanbo also puts together the UKELIST which
tells about musical events in the Santa Cruz,
California area.
Honey Pie Music || Danny's Song
It's nice to see the Honey Pie Dynamic Duo back in action. Hannah's playing a Kala U-Bass and Heidi Riptide baritone ukulele.
Jenni Bluffho || Basic Tutorial for "You Don't Know Me"
Jenni has a lovely voice and a very natural one-on-one training style. She often posts these arrangements on her website. If you like her tutorial style you can see more of her lessons by clicking the TUTOR tab above and scroll down.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Jonathon Mann || And Then I'm Gone (Song A Day #851)
These are NOT Jonathon's best vocals but I really like him and his creative process for his 1,000 songs in 1,000 days project. This baritone has been broken, beaten and taped -- but Jonathon has gotten much out of it. He has another major project coming up and I need to tell you more about it...
Grumpy Coyote Tunes || Soy Como Soy (Reso-Bari-Uke)
Grumpy's original tune. He has posted chords and lyrics if you want to check the YT comments for this song.
Jesper || Roving Gambler Bari in Open G
Jesper has this tagged Old-Time, Appalachian, American Folk song played 3-finger style...
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