Be sure to stop by right here today at 3pm Hawaii time for another awesome open mic! For those of you who are playing (UkuleleHill, UkuleleD, CoLmes, thejumpingflea, mctrmt, thejumpingflea’s friend, CitizenSnips, Pat Rock, GrumpyCoyote, bornagainjeeper and anyone who wants to jump in!) check in starts at 2pm. (If you wanna watch, show starts at 3pm)
Another episode of UKE GOT MAIL is upon us. This time we learn about long neck concerts and which strings to use if you want a low G ukulele.
REMINDER:
This SATURDAY May 30th is the UU open mic. Make sure you check out THIS THREAD for more info. Perhaps even SIGN UP and participate in the open mic. We had a lot of fun the last time and we’ll have some fun again this Saturday (we’ll try and record the beginning… we promise )
Alright guys, it’s waaay overdue, but we have it right here! The Winner of the Ukulele Underground “All Things Reggae” ukulele give-away video contest … sponsored by Mainland Ukes … and winner of the brand new Concert Mahogany Mainland Ukulele (+ hardshell tweed case) is …
Congrats! Be sure to congratulate the winners the next time you see them! A gigantic MAHALO to the over 100 contestants who submitted more than 150 absolutely amazing entries for this contest. There were so many uke players that the uke could have easily been awarded to, but unfortunately, there can only be one video winner. (Seriously, if we could give all of the contestants a uke, we definitely would).
If you didn’t win this time, don’t fret – we’ve got many more ukulele give-away contests to come! Keep strummin’ UUers. The world is a big place, and we’ve still got a lot of ukulele love to spread around.
This week’s MVOW is brought to us by BornAgainJeeper. Small samples of his whole live set at the Winery is a welcomed addition to all of our ukulele video libraries. Check out his finale and hear a “Boo” and a “Whoooo” within seconds of each other. He also assures them that there are more than SIX ukulele players on this website.
It takes a lot to play in front of people. It’s one thing to make a video of yourself but it’s also another to go up on a stage and perform live. We salute all the ukulele players who make videos and perform in public. You’re taking that ukulele love and spreading it around like a modern day Johnny Appleseed.
IN OTHER NEWS! We got a winner for the all things reggae contest! STAY TUNED for that announcement later on this week. We know you’ve been waiting a while and we apologize for the wait.
Got questions about Bending or Pre-Bending? Post them HERE.
Hey Everybody!
Do you smell that!? The warm Saturday breeze is blowing down the lane and around the bend to bring you the fresh scent of UKE MINUTES through the holes in your internet machine! This week’s episode: “How to Bend a Note” (AKA Bends & Pre-bends)! So grab your mini axe and get strapped – we’re about to get bendy.
Check out the video to learn some bends and pre-bends, as well as a nifty little trick that will help you to do bends a whole lot easier. Try it out and as always, let us know what you think!
*NEWS* 1. We finally found out the winner for the “All Things Reggae” Contest. We’ll announce it first thing tomorrow. 2. Sadly, the UU Shirt price will increase on June 1st, to cover the new postage rates and rising garment prices. Check out the UU Store now and lock in the current low prices while they’re still around! 3. Sign up for the Ukulele Underground Internet Open Mic going down right here on Saturday, May 30th! Be sure post your name in the Official thread. To watch and cheer on the brave UUers, be here on Saturday for a good new fashioned Open Mic!
Hope you guys have an awesome weekend! Keep on keepin’ on.
Got questions/comments about this lesson? Post them HERE!
Hey UUers from across the land!
This new Saturday brings yet another exciting episode of Uke Minutes! We’ve been quite a few emails lately asking about barre chords (or “bar chords“, depending on your pronunciation of the word “tomato”) and how to hold them. The term barre chord refers to a chord fingering where the ukulele player presses one or more fingers across multiple strings – most often the index finger, across all four strings.
If you think that bar chords totally suck, you’re not alone. Many people have difficulty with barre chords – but this can be easily remedied once you learn to change the placement of your thumb. Effectively moving the position of your thumb is critical to your barre-chord-holding success.
For straight chords, the neck of the ukulele is typically placed in the crook of your palm, between the index finger and thumb, leaving your thumb hanging over the top edge of the neck, waving like the queen of the parade. But for barre chords, the thumb must be moved to a supporting character role, holding down the fort on the backside of the neck (See video above for clarification and animal analogy). Try it out and you’ll be barring up a storm in no time!
Check out the video, practice changing quickly from straight chords to barre chords, and tell us all about it in the Forum. Hope your Saturday is amazingly awesome! Happy barring!
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