Here’s a short piece that requires using the right hand thumb to fingerpick. Specifically, I’m asking the ukulele player to use a straight thumb to produce the so-called “rest stroke.” The thumb lands on the next string. The title “Thumb Through That” really means to use your right thumb to fingerpick.
Motivation
Before writing “Melody in the Mosaic,” I had written a short introduction which I didn’t get to use. There were other fragments I didn’t want to throw away or leave behind. That’s one motivation for writing “Thumb Through That.”
Another is my goal of writing really easy pieces, or at least, the notes and tabs look so easy that you can’t resist picking up the ukulele to play.
A third reason is that I cut my right index finger yesterday. It’s just a tiny scratch but enough to put on a small bandage and avoid using it. Such cuts are so common in cold and dry weather. If I accidentally cut my nails too short or scrape my fingers against something sharp, my fingers are out of commission.
Moveable chord shapes to slide and glide
The left hand fingers slide up and down the fretboard as much as possible with recognizable chord shapes as follows.
- A minor chord – only the G-string is pressed
- diminished 7th chord – only two adjacent frets are pressed with all four fingers in staggered fashion as shown in the above sample score
- other chord shapes
The ending
My ending might seem challenging. However, if you read the chords, it’s possible to reduce it to a simple Am – E7 – Am cadence.
Pick! Pluck! Play!
I would love to incluce “Thumb Through That” in the first level of the book “Pick! Pluck! Play!” but it may have to be the second level because of the different chord shapes.
The last page “Ukulele Chords” of the new book contains a table of ukulele chord diagrams ordered alphabetically for the chords used in the book.
I’m thrilled about releasing these two books as a precursors (prerequisite) to the 12 Chinese Zodiac Suite, which contains three skill levels.
I am recording all my new compositions in the 100 Days of Ukulele 2025 project. To me, this challenge means uploading a new video recording of a new piece each consecutive day from 1st March to 8th June 2025.
For other recent compositions and arrangements by Anne Ku, please visit the Daily Music Writing Project or scroll through the consecutive blog posts.
