So far in my daily music writing project I have arranged two pieces in 3/4 time. Both pieces are in minor keys. Both can be accompanied as a waltz or lullaby or ballad. What does this mean for playing on high G ukulele?
As a pianist, I like to move my fingers all the time. Each finger is independent of each other. Having to count and wait takes patience. Translating this to playing fingerstyle ukulele means exercising my fingerpicking fingers to produce sound at every opportunity.
Take the first four measures of “Feed the Birds” in A minor.
As Elizabeth Barrett Browning famously penned, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
How many different ways can I play the A minor chord?
How many different permutations can I sequence these chords and still sound okay?
The A minor chord is very interesting. As such, I devoted 16 bars, covering an entire page, to different ways to play this chord, including the transitions of A minor (add 9) which contains the C major 7 chord.
Coming out of the reverie of the A minor chord, I decided to experiment with other related chords. D minor and D minor 7 are very similar, as are Dm7 and G7sus4. In my finger flexibility (or chord switching) exercises, I often put G7 and E7 side by side. There’s no need to remove your left hand (LH) middle and ring fingers when you switch between these two chords. Just move your left index finger.
Is there a name for this accompaniment? It’s clearly 3/4 time and not 6/8 time. Is it a ballad or a lullaby?
How would the exercise sound when played on a low G ukulele? Would I need to change notes?
Let’s take a look in the next blog post.
Practice suggestions
These measures are intended to be repeated. Repetition is important. Repeat each bar. Practice at different tempos (tempi). Repeat each section.
Access to the sheet music
- The fingerstyle ukulele exercises are laid out in sections (with rehearsal marks) on three pages. The pdfs will be e-mailed to all those who registered and paid for the 8-week Ukulele Winter 2025 course. See the Classes Webpage for further details.
- Annual subscribers to 3 Chord Thursday 2025 may request and receive these new arrangements as part of their package, for supporting the thematic song sessions for 2025.
- In due course, these arrangements will be available for purchase.
Notification of new and updated work
There is no ONE way to find out. The best way is ALL the ways.
- Sign up for the celebrated Ukulele Enthusiast e-blast (newsletter) to get on the mailing list for notification of such new arrangements. Use the Google Form.
- Subscribe to this website to get instant notification of these daily tabs. Use the form at the top right hand corner of any webpage.
- Subscribe to the YouTube Channel to get notification of new livestreams and uploads. It’s my intention to record my new work within a week of publishing on this website.
Catalog of new music by Anne Ku
Below is what I know and have done so far and what I plan to do for this week. Each piece is followed by exercises to prepare and support that piece.
| Day | Title / Topic | Keys | Type | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greensleeves / What Child Is This | Em, Fm, Gm, Am | Lead Sheet Chord Melody | sample score, video |
| 2 | Andalusian Cadence | Am, Gm | Arpeggio Accompaniment | sample score |
| 3 | Auld Lang Syne for high G ukulele | F, G | Lead Sheet Chord Melody | sample score, playalong video |
| 4 | Left Hand Techniques | G | Lead Sheet | definition, sample score |
| 5 | On Top of Spaghetti | C | Chord Melody | playalong video |
| 6 | Auld Lang Syne in F for low G ukulele | F, C | Chord Melody | playalong video |
| 7 | Feed the Birds | Em, Am | Lead Sheet, Chord Melody | sample scores |
| 8 | Accompaniment in 3/4 Time | Am | High G ukulele | sample scores |