It is entirely possible to play the same tablature written for low G ukulele on the high G ukulele. It will sound different. It is not wrong. In this blog post, I show an example. Then I transpose the popular “Happy Birthday” tune into another key and show new possibilities.
In my previous blog post, I showed Happy Birthday in the key of F for low G ukulele. If you follow the tabs and play it on the high G ukulele, you will hear it sound as written in the score above.
By tranposing the key to C major, we can take advantage of the open strings of G, C, and E, all present in the C major chord. In fact, these three notes define the C major chord. Furthermore, the open G string can be used in the G and G7 chords.
Happy Birthday as a gift
Besides wishing someone a happy birthday, you can sing and play the Happy Birthday song. Even better, personalize it. I showed different ways to introduce the song, jazz it up, change the time signature and tempo, and much more in my workshops.
Happy Birthday’s common chord progression
The order of chords used in Happy Birthday is also used in “Charlie and the MTA” and “Banks of the Ohio,” to name a few. This is the principle of “common chord progressions” the subject of one of my new Ukulele Exercise Books and workshops.
Workshop Announcement
I’ll be giving an in-person workshop in a lovely coastal town of Cohasset, Massachusetts on Sunday 9th February 2025 from 2 to 4 PM EST (details). Free to participate.
Practice suggestions
Which right hand fingers are most natural for you to fingerpick? Here are the progressive steps.
- Thumb only, also known as p
- Thumb and index fingers only, , also known as pi
- Thumb, index, and middle fingers only, also known as pim
- Thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers, , also known as pima
Access to the sheet music
- The song sheets (lyrics and chords) and the instrumental interludes will eventually be combined and made available as a bundle to include different keys, arrangements, skill levels, for low and high G ukulele.
- 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.
- Use the ORDER FORM for arrangements, exercises, and other work by Anne Ku.
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. The “day” column refers to the day in the project, starting on the 1st day of 2025. As you can see, I am several days ahead.
| 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 |
| 9 | Accompaniment exercises in 3/4 Time | Am | Low G ukulele | sample scores |
| 10 | Strum & Fingerpick Exercise in 3/4 Time | C | high or low G ukulele | sample scores |
| 11 | Exercise for Waltz Accompaniment | C | high or low G ukulele | sample scores |
| 12 | Oh Susanna! | C | high or low G ukulele | sample scores |
| 13 | Travis Picking exercises | C | high and low G ukulele | sample scores |
| 14 | Puff the Magic Dragon 7 Travis Picking variations | C | high and low G ukulele | sample scores |
| 15 | We Shall Overcome | C | high and low G ukulele | sample scores |
| 16 | Can’t Help Falling in Love | C, F | high and low G ukulele | download lead sheet |
| 17 | Friday I’m in Love | F, G | high G ukulele | scores, play along videos |
| 18 | Happy Birthday for ukulele | F | high & low G ukulele | lead sheets, chord melody, score |
| 19 | Happy Birthday for high G ukulele | F, C | high G ukulele | chord melody scores |