The idea of writing an instrumental piece that uses only one finger at a time is idealistic. After penning “One Finger at a Time,” I noticed it didn’t sound right. Reusing the same opening, I rewrote the piece. Like the harmony of moving from a minor key to its relative major and then to its parallel major, sometimes we live relative lives in a parallel universe.
The title of this piece is named after the harmonic movement. Starting in A minor, it moves to its relative key of C major. After returning to A minor, the piece moves to the parallel major of A major. Then it repeats.
I couldn’t stick to the “one finger at a time” on the left hand. Section B is where I depart and abandon the “one finger at a time” idea.
Don’t let the fret numbers frighten you. In the second bar of this section, the chord shape is G shape, followed by B7 shape. The next measure uses the D shape and G shape. The last bar shown above uses the D shape.
This chord shape thinking helps in simplifying notes on higher fret numbers.
Pick! Pluck! Play!
I am including “Relative Lives in Parallel Universe” in the first or second level of the book “Pick! Pluck! Play!”
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.
