Ukulele & Languages

UK ukulele tour

For those of you looking for an alternative to Christmas ukulele music, I’ve decided to put up a post focusing on ukulele videos from the United-Kingdom.

The first video is performed by my friend Lou aka Bossarocker who really has a rich and soulful voice. I wish she’d make more videos and I really hope that her EP will come out soon.

Lou performs Bob Dylan‘s In My Time Of Dying on her new cigar box ukulele.

Al covers Bert Jansh‘s version of Davey Graham‘s Angi.

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Tab for Maelström, ukulele original

I was at the same time pleased and embarrassed when I was asked for the tab for my original tune Maelström. Pleased in the sense that it felt great to hear that a piece of music I had written was appreciated and embarrassed because I had never thought of ever tabbing Maelström, having but very little knowledge of music theory.

I have written Maelström completely ‘by ear’, relying only on how…

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Thomas Fersen, French language and ukulele

If you’ve been trying to learn French lately and have used the following method, well… you might have found it dead easy too.

I am however not convinced that you have managed to impress any French speakers.

All right, don’t look so miserable, I do sympathize. Let me try and suggest an alternative method for improving your French vocabulary. An alternative method involving our favourite instrument, the ukulele.

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A memorable one-weekend ukulele trio

The last weekend of October has been a very memorable weekend where Flamby1er from the COULE came to visit and joined my friend Guillaume and I for an intensive 2-day-ukulele and guitar session.

The three of us hadn’t played together for over a year and it was great to find out and share what we had learnt in that time frame.

We focused on a handful of songs, trying to get them to sound as right as possible with different combinations of ukes (Fluke, Flea, Koaloha Concert Pikake, Pono Baritone) and guitar (Lâg 4 Seasons).

Here is a recording of our cover of the Pirate’ Gospel by Alela Diane on guitar, Flea and Koaloha concert Pikake. This was a fun song to cover as all three of us could sing the chorus together while playing.

And here is our take on Paint It Black

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Siri Nilsen, ukulele and Norwegian

Norwegian singer and ukulele player Siri Nilsen has just released a new album, Alle Snakker Sant (Everybody is telling the truth). Those of you looking to learn or pratise Norwegian will definitely appreciate her lovely voice and very clear lyrics together with her ukulele fingerpicking.

[Update of the 16.11.2011 : Lillebjørn Nilsen, who is a renowned Norwegian singer and songwriter and also Siri's father sent me the link to a performance of  'Alle Snakker Sant' Siri and himself gave a few days ago during a TV show. It is the first time I see Lillebjørn perform on the uke, the guitar being his instrument of choice. The complicity between father and daughter is obvious in the video which you can view here (after a short ad).]

Here is a live version of the title song of the album, Alle Snakker Sant (Hvor skal du gå?)

And here is the studio version of the same song:

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