All blog posts
339 posts
You Played Ukulele, M'Lord?
Tamás GállWho has not heard of theYou Rang, M'Lord? television series, which is both wonderfully charming and very funny. (If by chance you have never seen it, catch up — you will not regret it!) There is a reason I am writing a few lines about it here: in episode 11, one of the scenes shared by Mr Twelvetree…
Read more
Working out songs on your own
Tamás GállAfter the instrument reviews, let us move on to an interesting and exciting blog post. I was certainly excited about making it, because I had only one chance to record the video with the particular song involved. From time to time I see questions on forums and Facebook – and I receive emails asking…
Read more
With a strap or without?
Tamás GállOne of the eternal questions among ukulele players is whether you may, can, should, ought to — and so on — attach a strap to a ukulele. There may be no single correct answer, and that is perfectly fine: everyone can decide how they prefer to hold their instrument. The earliest ukuleles had no strap…
Read more
With a pick or without?
Tamás GállOne of the eternal—almost religious—questions among ukulele players is whether you are “allowed” to use a pick. In the video below I explore the subject a little, but if you do not want to watch it, I will give away the answer: yes, you are. Who could forbid it ? Of course, it is another matter what…
Read more
Why use a capo?
Tamás GállThe main purpose of a capo is to change the ukulele's effective tuning in a single movement. Clip it onto the neck and every string immediately sounds higher. This is useful because if we have learned a particular chord progression or song accompaniment – perhaps one involving complicated finger mov…
Read more
Why Learn Music and Play an Instrument?
Tamás GállIn earlier posts (for example, "Why Is It Good to Learn the Ukulele?", "On Listening to Music") I have written a lot about how it is never too late to start learning music or to pick up any musical instrument. When I hear someone say, "I'm too old for that" or "I never got top marks in music at scho…
Read more
Why Is It Worth Learning to Play the Ukulele?
Tamás GállThis is a very interesting question, and the answer is not limited to the ukulele. In my view, musical instruments are among the most wonderful creations of humankind. They complement and accompany the singing voice, and playing them — producing sound in a controlled way — can connect people of any…
Read more
Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure — Movin' Cruisin'
Tamás GállIn the second half of the 1980s, one of my first big cinema experiences was a Bud Spencer–Terence Hill film that I watched with my parents. I remember walking down the street afterwards, bouncing around in front of them and insisting on having a fight, while they laughed and dodged my right jabs and…
Read more
When the Saints Go Marching In
Tamás GállI would like to teach you another popular song that practically everyone knows. The origins of When the Saints Go Marching In are lost in the distant mists of time and will probably remain an eternal mystery, which is why official sources also describe it simply as "traditional". The earliest known…
Read more
What's Up Chords
Tamás GállThank you for all the feedback on 3 Non Blondes; I am glad so many people liked it. Several people asked me to show the chords and the guitar part close up as well. The song consists of three chords, so it is not terribly difficult to learn. For completeness, I should mention that the studio recordi…
Read more
We Went to a Tommy Emmanuel Concert
Tamás GállI am surely not the first or the last person to struggle for words while praising this genius to the skies . For anyone who does not know him, we are talking about one of the world's finest acoustic guitarists, who returned to Hungary after five years and dazzled everyone with his playing. At times…
Read more
We Welcomed Autumn with a Ukulele Workshop
Tamás GállI started last Saturday's workshop with my usual "warning": I always tell everyone that I hardly take any breaks. And sure enough, we only managed one tiny break in the morning and another in the afternoon (plus a lunch break, of course ), since we covered and tried out so many things, and I think w…
Read more