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339 posts
Kala KA-S
Tamás GállThis ukulele is made of mahogany and has a fairly light brown colour, with an attractive white binding around the outline of the body. Tuning should be no problem because it is fitted with good-quality geared tuning machines. When you pick it up, the chords almost seem to play themselves. That is an…
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Lanikai LU-21C
Tamás GállThis Lanikai model number may be familiar to many people, since one of the most popular Lanikai soprano models is the LU-21, which I managed to photograph and write about during a very successful barbecue. I have also had the LU-21CE here, a concert-size electro-acoustic model. From that you can pro…
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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…
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Risa CWS - A Walnut Ukulele
Tamás GállWe ended the old year by presenting a banjolele, and we begin the new one with a ukulele review. I can wholeheartedly recommend Risa's concert-size ukulele to anyone: both to someone who does not yet own a uke and wants an instrument that is beautiful in both appearance and sound, and to someone who…
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Kala Soprano Banjolele
Tamás GállIn this blog post we take a look at Kala's banjolele, officially designated the Kala KA-BNJ-BK-S. I did not dare put that full model name in the title of the post in case it frightened anyone away . Not long after the blog started, I already wrote a post about the banjolele, but at the time I could…
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Three Years of Outtakes
Tamás GállAs the end of the year approaches, besides football my other favourite kind of sports programme starts appearing on television: the compilation of funny sporting moments collected throughout the year, shown on Eurosport under the title WATTS. The Ukulele Blog will be three years old in a few days, a…
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Dream a Little Dream of Me - How to Play It
Tamás GállHere, then, is the video intended to help you learn how to play Dream a Little Dream of Me on the ukulele. What I wrote earlier about Mennyből az angyal also applies to this arrangement: naturally, this is not the one and only correct way to play the song. Everyone can adapt it to their own taste. O…
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Dream a Little Dream of Me
Tamás GállDream a Little Dream of Me was written by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt in 1931. This brilliant song achieved its greatest success in 1968 in a version by The Mamas & the Papas. The quality of the song is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that at least sixty "official" recordings are known, i…
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Mennyből az angyal - How to Play It
Tamás GállIn the previous postI promised to show you how Mennyből az angyal can be played on the ukulele. Naturally, the way I play it is not "scripture"; it is simply one arrangement, and everyone is free to shape and change it as they like. Even so, I hope many of you will enjoy this version and learn it!
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Mennyből az angyal - Hungarian Christmas Carol
Tamás GállHere is a lovely and popular Hungarian Christmas carol. If you learn it on the ukulele and play it at Christmas, you are guaranteed to create a magical atmosphere. For now, here is the song itself - this is how it can sound (or much better than this): The proper background would be a snowy garden, b…
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Blues for Ukulele and Piano
Tamás GállToday my twin brother and I recorded the raw footage for two videos, which we are still cutting and editing. After the serious studio work came some free time, so we played a little blues. In this video the ukulele only provides the accompaniment: Sharp-eared listeners will immediately notice quite…
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If Freddie Mercury Had Owned a Ukulele...
Tamás GállYesterday afternoon I was excitedly waiting for Bea, Sanyi and Imi so that we could spend a few hours under the spell of a total of sixteen strings. The intercom rang, and moments later I was sitting in a circle with three friendly, enthusiastic ukulele players. After a quick tuning we started playi…
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