When we transpose Herb Ohta’s Body Surfing in the original key of G minor to A minor, we can now play the entire piece on a high G ukulele an octave lower and with more familiar chords. Easy ukulele means easier to play. Often we transpose a piece so it’s easier to play and/or sing.
To transpose means to change the key.
Transposing from G minor to A minor means moving all individual notes and chords a whole step higher. Each fret on the ukulele represents a half-step. Moving from G minor to A minor means moving up two frets.
Recall in my previous blog post on this piece, the lowest melodic note is the Bb below middle C. By transposing it up a whole step, the lowest note is now the middle C.
The equivalent four chords in the Andalusian Cadence in A minor are more familiar to most ukulele players. However, the remaining chords, especially the dreaded E major chord, present some difficulty.
Personally, I wouldn’t say that the chords in the key of A minor are easier to play than in G minor. What do you think?
Exercises
Body Surfing is an instrumental piece that can be played as a solo or duet or even as an ensemble. It’s an excellent example of the four chord Andalusian Cadence (a common chord progression). Consider the following exercises.
Transposition
Transposing to nearby keys is easier than those farther away. A related activity is modulation (changing keys within a piece), often used in the last verse to add variety. Being able to change keys by ear or at sight is a skill.
In the chord table shown below, the chords in the original key of G minor and transposed key of A minor are given, as are the chord names in the key of F minor. Can you figure out the chords which do not have chord diagrams? What are the equivalent chords if we transpose to the key of E minor?
Improvisation
Body Surfing is intended for the performer to improvise. Given the chords, make up your own riffs. Hint: use notes in the chord and scale.
Practice suggestions
Identify the most difficult to finger chord. Practice more times than all other chords combined.
Familiarize with the chord transitions. In this case, switch between the chords in the Andalusian cadence as well as occurrences elsewhere in the piece.
More information
Get access to the sheet music, notification of new work, and table of contents of this Daily Music Writing Project.