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339 posts
Virtual participation in the 2023 Shanghai Ukulele Festival
Tamás GállAs last year David Chen contacted me again this year and invited the Hungaria ukulele community to take part virtually in the 2023 Shanghai Ukulele Festival. Of course anyone can attend in person as well, but most of us are more likely to send a greeting video. If you do not know David: he is one of…
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Watch Out, We're Mad! – Dune Buggy
Tamás GállOver the past two or three years I have arranged several songs – not all of which have yet become blog posts – from the films of the outstanding Italian duo, films whose atmosphere is fundamentally shaped by their music. Whether they are handing out punches in the Wild West or in modern times, the a…
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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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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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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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…
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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…
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