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So far Paul has created 178 blog entries.
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How to play “Tango Till They’re Sore”

How to play Tango Till They’re Sore on ukulele
This is a great Tom Waits tune, and not too hard to play on ukulele.

chord and lyric sheet here

The song has some profoundly cool lyrics, and listening to Tom Waits sing it with his trademark gravelly voice is pretty thrilling:

Well, you play that tarantella, all the hounds will start to roar
The boys all go to hell and then the Cubans hit the floor
They drive along the pipeline, they tango ’til they’re sore
They take apart their nightmares and they leave them by the door
Let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or better on a blanket by the stairs
I’ll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
And send me off to bed for evermore

Make sure they play my theme song, I guess daisies will have to do
Just get me to New Orleans and paint shadows on the pews
Turn the spit on that pig and kick the drum and let me down
Put my clarinet beneath your bed till I get back in town
Let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or better on a blanket by the stairs
I’ll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
So send me off to bed for evermore

Just make sure she’s all in calico and […]

2021-04-03T11:53:43-04:00
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How to play Love Potion Number 9

How to play Love potion Number 9

“Love Potion No. 9” is a song written in 1959 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally performed by the Clovers, who took it to number 23 on the US as well as R&B charts that year. The song was recorded by the Searchers in 1964. Their version reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number two on Cash Box during the winter of 1965. The Coasters released a version in December 1971 with “D. W. Washburn” on the B-side. It reached No. 76 on the Billboard Pop chart.

The song describes a man seeking help to find love. He enlists the help of a gypsy who determines, by means of palmistry, that he needs “love potion number 9”. The potion, an aphrodisiac, causes him to fall in love with everything he sees, kissing whatever is in front of him, eventually kissing a policeman on the street corner, who breaks his bottle of love potion. In one recorded version of the ending of the song, the Clovers used the alternative lyrics:

I had so much fun that I’m going back again,
I wonder what’ll happen with Love Potion Number Ten?

The narrator describes himself as being “a flop with chicks … since 1956”; later recordings of the song have often changed the year to suit the year of recording […]

2022-06-07T08:34:49-04:00
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How to play “Saturday Night”

Download the chord and lyric sheet pdf

How to play “Saturday Night” by the Misfits on guitar. A simple 1/6/4/5 tune in 3/4 time with… well, you might say “cultural significance”. “Horror punk” was a genre I hadn’t heard of until a student asked for some help with this tune. It certainly fits a cultural niche, music-wise! “Saturday Night” is fun, and not too difficult to get under your hand if you are just starting out on guitar. It will be easier to play it in the key of C than C# though- the video demonstrates a version in C# and offers instruction in the friendly key of C.

2021-03-23T07:58:19-04:00
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radio garden

Ever wonder what kind of tunes radio stations all over the world are playing? Check out Radio Garden. This app is fascinating! Each of the dots on the globe represent a radio station and you can click on that and listen to what’s on the air. Got a yen to find out what on the radio in Reykjavík, Iceland? Travel the planet, one radio station at a time. Here’s a link to QUAY FM, 107.1, a station in Alderney, in the Bailiwick of Guernsey.  Enjoy!

2021-03-22T08:24:32-04:00
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how do I find the name of a chord?

chord namer chord namer can find the name of any chord shape

How do I find the name of any chord? Chord namer!

The chord namer will automatically name a chord shape (if a valid chord shape is supplied.) Simply select the circles on the fret board that correspond to where your fingers go and hit “Go”. A few things to watch out for:

Strings that aren’t strummed should be set to “Mute” and open strings should be set to zero.
Don’t enter your chord upside-down! The fretboard is shown with the lowest pitch string at the bottom and the highest pitch string at the top (unless you’ve tuned your instrument differently.)
If there is more than 1 way to name the chord you supplied, the chord namer will give you multiple results. They are all correct but which one you choose may depend on the context it is used in.  Visit chord namer here!

 

2024-03-03T12:35:44-05:00
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Blues for ukulele

Muddy Waters meets Tiny Tim… Ukulele Am Blues.

“Muddy Waters meets Tiny Tim”, as my friend and teacher John LaGreca said. This blues will be in Am. Using a 1/4/5 pattern, that gives us Am for the 1, D, for the 4 and E for the 5.

 

We can play a typical 12 bar blues pattern
like this:

1 | % | % | %
4 | % | 1 | %
5 | 4 | 1 | (5)

The 12th measure with the 5 chord is the “turnaround”.

We can use our pentatonic minor scale to play over the chords! The minor pentatonic scale uses the 1, b3, 4, 5 and b7 notes. for Am that would be A, C, D, E and G and that works great for the 1 and 4 chords. We can also use the “blue” note (b5) to make it sound cooler.


For the 5 chord, we’ll use the pentatonic for E. Again, 1, b3, 4, 5 and b7, o that will be E, G, A, B and D. The b5 in this scale is a Bb.

Looking for online ukulele lessons? First one is free!

Muddy Waters meets Tiny Tim… Ukulele Am Blues.

“Muddy Waters meets Tiny Tim”, as my friend and teacher John LaGreca said. This blues will be in Am. Using a 1/4/5 pattern, that gives us Am for the 1, D, for the 4 and E for the 5.

 

We can play a typical 12 bar blues pattern
like this:

1 | % | % | %
4 | % | 1 | %
5 | 4 | 1 | (5)

The 12th measure with the 5 chord is the “turnaround”.

We can use our pentatonic minor scale to play over the chords! The minor pentatonic scale uses the 1, b3, 4, 5 and b7 notes. for Am that would be A, C, D, E and G and that works great for the 1 and 4 chords. We can also use the “blue” note (b5) to make it sound cooler.


For the 5 chord, we’ll use the pentatonic for E. Again, 1, b3, 4, 5 and b7, o that will be E, G, A, B and D. The b5 in this scale is a Bb.

2022-05-25T22:20:19-04:00
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zoom or skype guitar lessons

Online zoom guitar lessons!

If you’re looking for online zoom or skype guitar lessons, I might be just the right teacher for you! I work with guitarists and ukulele players of all levels and abilities and I have students from all over!

zoom or skype online guitar or ukulele lessons Online students from across the country!

To make sure I am a good fit for you, I offer a free initial online lesson. No matter what level you are playing at now, I’m willing to bet my own time that you’ll benefit from online lessons with me- and you’ll discover that yourself at your first FREE lesson!

Free lesson!

Simply schedule your free lesson for yourself here. The online scheduling tool is quite easy to use; simply choose “First Free Lesson” from the lesson choices and select the day and time you are interested in. If you see a time listed in the scheduler, that time is available for us to meet. 

I’m looking forward to meeting you soon!

Paul 

zoom or skype online guitar lessons

 

2022-05-24T13:52:07-04:00
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How to play “Your Song”

 How to play “Your Song” Elton John – fingerstyle guitar. A beautiful song, and not too hard to get the melody right out of the chord shapes. 

2021-03-23T08:00:47-04:00
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