Hi everyone,

I’d like to wish everybody a very Happy New Year for 2009~!

May everyone stay happy, healthy and improve on the ukulele~ Do make ‘improve on the ukulele’ as one of your new year’s resolutions, if there’s still space to squeeze into the list!

Just for your info, I’m still in Singapore, all the way until the Chinese New year. So we should be able to meet up for the third jamming session!

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you all with a nice video lesson by Aldrine Guerrero. It’s Alicia Key’s - Ain’t Got You. Very nice song. Hope you guys enjoy learning it, as much as I did. You can also visit his ukulele website at www.ukuleleunderground.com. Have fun~

I heard Jake’s version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller few weeks back, but it was in audio format. I’ve been waiting for a video version of it to come on YouTube. So here it is!

Jake’s an absolute genius!

I’d like to post a small shoutout to everyone~

I was playing my ukulele when I suddenly thought of the next Ukulabu meeting (I can’t wait to see everyone and other new folks too). The next thing which came to my mind was the jam session. It’ll be a good idea if we could start planning for the jam session, as in what songs we are going to play.

All in favour? I came across this song from Dominator’s site, and I hope we can jam to it. Dominator has got tabs for it as well. You can download it here. Although I have not gone through his tab, but I feel the rhythm of the songs should be quite manageable. There are lead parts and solos as well. I can take on those parts.

Here’s the video of the song. Do let me know how you all feel about it. Lyrics can be obtained here:

Please feel free to suggest any songs which you all wish to include in the next jam session.

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone has been well. Being close to the end of the year, there’s kinda lots of stuff to take care of. But of course, I have been playing the ukulele. Came across this video which teaches 4 strumming techniques. I myself use the first 3 techniques, but the 4th one is new to me. The 4th one gives a rather aggressive sound. Jake uses it in the fast part of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Anyway, I hope you all will find this video useful, and incorporate it into your playing as well. Good luck~

Hi everyone,

So far, when it comes to ukulele playing, James Hill has been absolutely amazing with getting different sounds out from an amplified ukulele. Check out his percussion-ukulele piece below:

PS: It does not sound ukulele at all, its either you like it, or you don’t!

As for Jake, less fancy, but amazing as well. Check out the mid interval of Me and Shirley T.

I so MUST get my ukulele amplified.

Jake plays a short version of his signature tune: While My Guitar Gently Weeps at an Australian Gameshow~

Hi folks,

Been rather busy with other activities recently. So I apologize for not posting up any playing/listening/tabbed material on ukulabu.com. However, I did do my usual YouTube surfing, and I found out that Mr Dominator has completed his Spruce Top Tenor ukulele, for his coming stage performance for 7th Annual Ukulele Festival in Southern California! Well done Dominator! Let’s give him a round of applause~

Check out his video below:

It sounds really great. Dominator has been making many quite a number of ukuleles for others and himself. I’d love to meet him to look at those ukuleles! For those of you who don’t know who Dominator is, check him out by looking through his tabs library here.

Good evening folks!

I’d like to introduce under an Ukulabu shoutout, an amazing guitar player, whom I’ve only got to know who he is today…. His name is Tommy Emmanuel from Australia. I was doing the usual surfing around YouTube, and I came across this great jam involving Jake Shimabukuro and Tommy Emmanuel. They were playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Jake was awesome, and Tommy totally matched his awesome-ness!

This is the first time I saw Tommy play, and I have to say, that when I was still playing guitar back in the past, I liked to play songs to which you can be like a “one man show” kinda thing. The ability to play the melody, backup and percussion, (while using only one instrument) always facinates me.

To better explain what I mean, check out Tommy’s video on the song Angelina:

Amazing isn’t it?
Do check out Tommy’s official website here.

I came across some young ukulele players while surfing around YouTube for ukulele players, and these 2 young players are definitely worth watching.

First up is young Ryan Imamura. He has also jammed with Jake Shimabukuro before. Here he is, playing Jake’s Me and Shirley T.

Next up is Ryo Natoyama. He is playing an improvised version of Jake’s song named Blue Roses Falling. His video had a lower quality sound, which I feel that it just doesn’t do him any justice!

Both are already playing at professional level! I really hope they make a name for themselves soon. The world needs such talent!

Ryan and Ryo, all the best to the both of you!

I was surfing around YouTube for the usual ukulele video watching, and I came across this nice video of James Hill playing a song named “One Note Samba”.

A very good performance by James, so I thought I’d share it with you all. Take some time to watch it below: