Book: Jumpin’ Jim’s ’60s Uke-In

This was one of the first Ukulele songbooks I ever bought.  Up until this point I was searching on Youtube and Google and whatnot trying to find guitar tabs and then translating the fingering to learn fun songs.  While that was certainly educational, it was also a bit of a hassle.  So, I decided that I needed a good book and I wanted one with fun songs (especially Tiptoe Through the Tulips, by Tiny Tim).  Then I found Jumpin' Jim's '60s Uke-In: Ukulele Solo (Paperback).

Jumpin Jims 60s Uke-In: Ukulele Solo (Paperback)
Jumpin' Jim's '60s Uke-In: Ukulele Solo (Paperback)

Check out the songs you can learn (from the description on Amazon):

Jumpin' Jim's '60s Uke-In is a collection of 25 fab songs from the 1960s arranged for the very first time for ukulele. It includes lots of big Beatles hits (All My Loving * Eight Days a Week * Here Comes the Sun * Michelle * Penny Lane * Something * When I'm Sixty-Four * Yellow Submarine * and more) as well as other classic '60s tunes, such as: Daydream Believer * Georgy Girl * Happy Together * Moon River * Those Were the Days * and more. Features an appreciation by George Harrison, a foreword by Jumpin' Jim, a chord chart, and a groovy, psychedelic cover.

This thing normally sells for $14.95 (and I find some at Amazon for that price) but then I found it listed for $10.17.  That's a great deal!

Mel Bay Learn To Play Fingerstyle Solos for Ukulele

@steveberryman, on Twitter, asked me the following:

any recommendations for uke tabs with some easyish, but nice sounding picking songs?

So, I did a little bit of digging and I think I might have found the best option, for a book anyway.  I've been trying to pick up some different strumming patterns on Youtube, but I've also wanted to find a source for some advanced picking styles as well.  I think I might buy this and then I can give it an in-depth review.

Mel Bay Learn To Play Fingerstyle Solos for Ukulele (Paperback)
Mel Bay Learn To Play Fingerstyle Solos for Ukulele (Paperback)

There are a total of 7 reviews and 6 of them are the full 5 stars.  The 7th review is 4 stars, so that seems like a pretty decent recommendation in itself.  I own quite a few Mel Bay books for guitar and I've always found them very clear and straightforward, so hopefully that's the case for his Uke books.


Free Ukulele Songbook

So, I stumbled across a blog post entitled, "Ukulele Songbook MP3s are available in Files section" and instantly I was excited.  After reading the article, it looks like folks from Ukulele Hall of Fame created the Fleabag Music songbook so that uke players, when we meet each other, can have a starting off point for playing together.  Basically it's sheet music and mp3s for a bunch of public domain songs that are popular on the Ukulele.  What's better, it's free!

The sheet music is really complete, but don't worry it also shows the fingerings for all the chords and you could just strum the chords.  Anyway, for a free resource, it's incredible!  Here are the direct links to the material (but I encourage you to check out the ukuleletonya.com blog as well):