Play along with Aldrine on the PLAY-ALONG!
Got a question? Join the discussion about this song here.

Hey UUers!

The summer has come and passed & we’re now headed headlong into fall! September is here and with it, a brand new episode of Uke Lessons – this time it’s Green Day’s “Good Riddance” (aka “Time of Your Life). It’s a pretty simple one, with an easy picking pattern that you can play throughout the song, so try it out and have fun with it!

Special THANKS to UU’s own UCB, who helped us out with some last minute videos that really made the Play-Along awesome. If you haven’t seen Green Day’s original music video for “Good Riddance”, watch it first (and you’ll understand why the Play-Along was done the way it was ). For more crazy ukulele videos from the UCB, check out their channel: www.youtube.com/ukecrazybitches.

Also, registration just opened for Aldrine’s first ever Seminar on Ukulele Underground University called “How to Figure out Songs on the Ukulele”! More info coming soon, but if you’d like to save your spot already, CLICK HERE!

No live lesson today because Aldrine is in California for the next week – be sure to check out “Good Riddance” and keep a busy uke until he gets back! Hope your Wednesday is wonderful.

Aloha,
-UU Staff

Hey UUers!

Over the past few years, the ukulele has been popping up more and more in the bluegrass scene – with it’s high, twangy strings, it’s a perfect addition to round out any bluegrass song. In this week’s episode of Uke Minutes, Aldrine shows you a quick little strumming technique to add that bluegrass-y feel to your songs. Check it out and get it on!

Hope your Saturday is wonderful and filled with uke freshness. Keep that ukulele out and play it every chance you get!

Aloha,
-UU Staff

Join us again for another FREE ukulele lesson with Aldrine. 2pm HST, 5pm PST, 8pm EST. See you there!

Ukulele lessons with Aldrine Guerrero

Hey UUers!

This week’s member video of the week goes to Two Blokes who have been ukein’ online for two whole years now! 2 blokes, 2 ukes, 2 years! That’s gotta be something lucky, right?? (For a full list of the videos they’ve posted within two years’ time, click HERE). In all of their videos, these guys show complete disregard for what anyone might consider “serious” musicianship, but they are having so much fun that you can’t help but smile and sing along . This is what the ukulele is all about – having fun, finding a real connection with the music you love, and sharing that joy with others. Take a look, Subscribe to their channel, and request a song for them to cover (in the boldest, most amusing, sing-along style you can imagine).

As the summer winds down and we head off towards the holiday season, we hope you spent a little time frolicking around in the summer air with you uke at the ready, eagerly awaiting any opportunity to sing loudly with friends (and provide insanely high harmonies, when needed). Keep strummin’ and spreading the uke love, UUers!

Aloha,
-UU Staff

Hey UUers!

Have you ever wanted to figure out the chords for a song? Or maybe just the key that the song is in, so you know what scale to solo in? In this week’s episode of Uke Minutes, Aldrine shows you the first few steps to figuring out simple songs – starting with finding the key of a song. Try it out on your favorite songs and let us know what you think!

Here are a few Uke Minutes that may help with this process:
Uke Minutes 8 – Major Scales
Uke Minutes 18 – Chord Families

And if you really want to know how to figure out songs on your ukulele, Aldrine will be doing a live online seminar on “How to Figure out Songs on the Ukulele” very, very soon! Stay tuned for more information

Hope you’re kickin’ off your weekend with a little uke shreddage – strum hard, play loud, and if the neighbors start singing along, you know you’re doing something right!

Aloha,
-UU Staff

Join us again for another free ukulele lesson with Aldrine Guerrero. 2pm HST, 5pm PST 8pm EST.  Click the link below to attend.

Free Ukulele lessons

Hey UUers!

Hey have you heard of Jake Loew? Whaaat?? (We hadn’t either until he started hanging out in the Underground ). But check out this week’s Member Video of the Week and it’ll make you think maybe you should have! He’s already released two albums and a demo of uke music, and while one might easily dismiss Jake at first glance as just “another video of a guy playing ukulele,” listen closer and you’ll realize he’s taking this ukulele thing pretty seriously.

So check it out, bump up those views, and sub the heck out of his YouTube channel, so he makes more cool experimental uke music for our ears to hear.

Hope your week has started out spectacular (and if not, strum a little uke and watch the pain dissolve like chalk in the rain)! Rock.

Aloha,
-UU Staff

Join the discussion about the Eleuke winners HERE!

Hey UUers!

So last month (July 2010) we held the Eleuke “Uke Rock!” Ukulele Contest where we asked you to submit a video of any rock-related song played on the ukulele for a chance to win one of FOUR Eleuke Ukuleles!

The judges from EleukeUSA and UU watched, debated, and watched again all of the amazingly sweet entries to the contest and have finally decided on the winners. Watch the odd, yet entertainingly creative, video that the kind people at EleukeUSA put together to announce the winners and give a hearty round of applause to everyone who entered!

If you’d like to see all the video entries, swing on by the Official Eleuke “Uke Rock!” Thread. Or to see the four main winners, click on the links below:

1st: TumnusLOVE (Tenor Solid-Body Eleuke)
2nd: thiedebrothers (Concert Solid-Body Pineapple Eleuke)
3rd: Adie227 (Standard Eleuke w/ inlays)
4th: ukeADDICTx (Standard Eleuke)

Also check out the end of the video where EleukeUSA doles out some extra-special prizes to some very lucky UUers! Congrats to all the winners & to everyone who entered. Stay tuned to UU for more free ukulele lessons, ukulele videos, and chances to win more ukes!

Have a great day & rock out on that uke!

Aloha,
-UU Staff

Join us again for another week of free live streaming ukulele lessons at 2pm HST (5pm PST, 8pm EST) with Aldrine Guerrero

Watch Free Ukulele Lessons

So there I was, sipping on my MONDAY coffee and decided to check out what was on UU. Went to the video section to start my week off with some ukin and clicked on a thread linking to the video above. Next thing I knew, I no longer had a face to sip my coffee because it just completely melted off upon watching this video. After cleaning up the spill, I figured it’d be a perfect time to announce this week’s Member Video Of the Week.

Member Adrien starts off this cover of Steve Vai’s “For the love of God” with some impressive Vai arpeggios then follows it up with some acoustic picking and ends it with some crazy-intense-rockin-out-of-this-world distortion and drum work. All of that madness in an electric four string. Oh yeah. Score one for ukulele players everywhere! Hit the subscribe button and raise that awesome number HERE.

So start off YOUR week with this intense video and hopefully people still recognize you with your melted face. Keep on rockin in the free world!

-UU Staff