I found another great Ukulele songbook (in pdf format) and apparently I asked the fellow if it would be alright if I were to link to it. I honestly don't remember that, so it must have been some months ago. Well, Stewart finally got back to me and he's cool with it. So, check out his great songbook at stewartgreenhill.com/blog/ukulele/. There are 48 pages of Ukulele tab goodness here, so it's definitely worth your while. Two songs that immediate jumped out were "Elanor Rigby" by the Beatles and "Turning Japanese" by the Vapors!
Honestly, what Ukulele play could resist a chance to play an early 80s proto-ska song about masturbation, right? It's practically MADE for ukulele. 😉
Tag: ukulele songbook
Some more FREE Uke Tabs
So, everyone was so psyched by that Ukulele Beatles site that I figured I'd try to find some more free ukulele tabs. It didn't take too long before I found The Big Muffin Serious Band. These guys are a busking band from New Zealand and they have two ukuleles in the band. They've been around since 1983?!
Well, anyway, they have a section on their site with over 100 pdf files of ukulele songs. Here are some of the highlights:
- Apache
- Benny Hill Theme
- Blackbird - The Beatles
- Hot Rod Lincoln - Commander Cody
- Mama Mia - Abba
- Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
Alright, now you know what to do, right? Get to work! 😉
Beatles Ukulele Songs (Fun and Easy)
So, I think I tweeted this link before but I wanted it on the site as well so folks could find it. The site is called Ukulele Beatles Fun! and it's basically a bunch of (64!) flash pages for different Beatles songs. What's great is that it plays a version of the song and then shows you chord shapes while the song is playing. You can stop it, rewind, etc. Heck, you can even tune your ukulele and check out all the lyrics. Basically, it rules.
I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for The Beatles and also this site because it was the first page I found after I got my first ukulele (a Lanikai CK-TEQ). In fact, I used this site to learn my first song on Ukulele, "She came in through the bathroom window". But, in case you too are just starting out, I wouldn't recommend that song, it has some pretty tricky chord shapes and moves. But, I guess it's a testament to learning songs in this way that I was eventually able to stumble through it.
Anyway, best of luck to ya! Now, get out there and learn some Beatles!
Six Free Ukulele Songbooks! (Thanks Taunton Ukulele Strummers Club!)
Well, once again Steve Berryman (steveberryman on twitter) hooks a brother up with some free Ukulele Songbooks. As you might remember, last time Steve pointed us in the direction of London Uke Festival's Songbook. This time it's SIX (count em, six!) ukulele songbooks from the Taunton Ukulele Strummers Club. This fun-loving bunch hails from Somerset (in the UK) and if you want to hear some recordings of them performing some of these choice numbers, then check out the music section of their site.
EDIT: Unfortunately their site is no longer working. Doh!
I've give you the links and brief summary of each of the books.
- Book One is 14 pages and it has a wide variety of songs. There are old standards like "Sweet Georgia Brown" and classic favorites like "In the Summertime" by Mungo Jerry. There are also some modern tunes by Coldplay and George Michael, so it's a pretty diverse mix.
- Book Two is 28 pages of goodness as well. There are some songs from "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?", some Duran Duran, some Donovan, "King of the Road" and even "I wanna be like you" from the Jungle Book.
- Book Three is 13 pages and the emphasis is the 60s. So, you've got The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Dusty Springfield and more.
- Book Four is a whopping 36 pages of variety. There's some Jack Johnson in here, some Elvis, "Dizzy" by Tommy Roe, Abba, Bananarama and even the Spin Doctors. (Although I could have done without that last one.. heh).
- Book Five is 44 freaking pages! That's enough pages to have at least three Bon Jovi songs! There's also some INXS, Madonna and even "500 Miles" by The Proclaimers.
- Book Six is just in time for the season. Ukulele Christmas Songs! Classics like "Frosty the Snowman" and "Let it snow" sit right alongside of "Blue Christmas" and "Do they know it's Christmas".
I know what you're thinking. How much will I have to pay for these six songbook collection? $29.99? $39.99? What if I told you that you could have it all for 3 easy payments of nothing? Yup. It's all free. Enjoy!
NOTE: Since their website isn't active anymore, I've decided to post the songbooks on my site until they are up and running again. If you are affiliated with the Taunton Ukulele Strummers Club, please contact me if you don't approve.
London Uke Festival Songbook (FREE!)
So, chatting with Steve Berryman (steveberryman on twitter) a few weeks back and he mentioned something about rehearsal with the London Uke Festival. I'm pretty sure that beer was mentioned as well, so it sounded like a pretty great festival. Anyway, they have a pretty exhaustive songbook that they are working from and Steve suggested that I ask the festival coordinator if I could share the songbook with all of my uke friends. Good news! They said yes!
Make sure you check out the London Uke Festival as well! I mean, look at this picture! What a fun festival this must be.
Anyhoo, without further ado, check out the London Uke Festival's Songbook!