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339 posts
Chords 18: E7
Tamás GállE7 is a genuinely beautiful chord. It sounds excellent on the ukulele, and although the fingering may look strange the first time, the second attempt will already feel much easier. Compared with our usual hand position, we need to rotate the hand slightly. Turn the back of the hand a little toward t…
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Lanikai CDST-T Tenor
Tamás GállAbout two months ago I had the chance to try a very beautiful electro-acoustic Lanikai ukulele with a solid cedar top, the CDST-CET. This time its non-electronic counterpart, the CDST-T, stayed with me, and unsurprisingly it made a positive impression. There are two differences between the previousl…
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A Shared Ukulele Performance — Let's Play Together!
Tamás GállEncouraged by the success of our shared Christmas ukulele project at the end of last year, I am inviting all of you to another big group strum — unfortunately once again only in virtual form. Just like the "Ó, Gyönyörű Szép" project, I am asking you to send me videos of yourselves playing. I will co…
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Soprano, Concert or Tenor?
Tamás GállA minor religious war is slowly developing on both Hungarian and international forums over whether a beginner should choose a soprano or a concert ukulele as their first instrument. Or perhaps a tenor. I decided to make a blog post and video about the subject, explaining and showing in detail where…
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We Made Music Together for World Ukulele Day
Tamás GállOne week and one day ago, I asked you, dear ukulele players, to help celebrate World Ukulele Day together. I asked you to strum a total of 48 measures and, of course, record yourselves doing it. The past week was full of suspense as I kept watching my inbox... and not without reason. Slowly, your re…
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Chords 19: F7
Tamás GállF7 can be derived from two other chords in two different ways. The most logical starting point is probably F major, because we add only one note: place the ring finger on the third fret of the third string, giving us an Eb. If we want to find a relative in terms of the fingering shape, think of G mi…
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Rhythm and Strumming 2 — Muting the Strings
Tamás GállYou can never practice rhythm enough, and almost every day the internet offers new rhythmic patterns and techniques connected with the subject. If you would like to see the Rhythm and Strumming 1 blog post and video, click here . Most videos about rhythm focus primarily on the movement of the strumm…
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Lanikai MA-CET
Tamás GállI am always happy when I get the chance to try both the acoustic and electro-acoustic versions of the same model. It lets me compare two ukuleles that are roughly 90% identical and see whether there is any difference in playing feel or sound. That is what happened with Lanikai's mahogany tenor as we…
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Cort BWT
Tamás GállI am always excited to pick up a ukulele from a brand I have never tried before. I examine how its appearance, decoration and body construction differ from the instruments I already know, and I am curious what kind of sounds I can coax out of it. That was exactly how I felt about a Cort BWT tenor uk…
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Knockin' on Heaven's Door — Let's Play Together!
Tamás GállI am delighted that we have already been able to make music together in two shared productions, even if only virtually. Last December we played the song beginning "Ó, Gyönyörű Szép" , and for this year's World Ukulele Day we prepared a Brahms arrangement. Many of you asked when the next project woul…
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Ohana PKC70G
Tamás GállKati was kind enough to lend me a fantastic Ohana ukulele for a few days, a rather rare creature here in Hungary. That is not surprising: these are firmly high-end ukuleles and therefore not cheap. I was delighted to have the chance to try an Ohana with a pineapple-shaped concert-size body and a sol…
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Knockin' On Heaven's Door — our community performance
Tamás GállTwo weeks ago I posted a call asking you to play 16 lines — 64 bars — of Bob Dylan's well-known song and, if you felt like it, sing along as well. I wanted to put together another big community play-along video. I was eagerly waiting for your recordings, but a few days before the deadline I started…
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