Songs and arrangements
83 posts
Odds and Evens
Tamás GállIn an earlier post (All the Way, Boys!) I already wrote enthusiastically about how completely the films of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill captivated me as a child. Only recently did I realise that, alongside the obvious jokes, their films are full of subtle absurdities that viewers may or may not noti…
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Ó, Gyönyörű Szép — MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Tamás GállAs you could read in the previous post, I invited you, dear ukulele players, to take part in a shared Christmas ukulele performance. I asked anyone with the time and enthusiasm to play — and sing — the song beginning Ó, gyönyörű szép, then send me the recording so that I could make a video in which…
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Ó, Gyönyörű Szép — Let's Play Together!
Tamás GállI would like to invite you to make some Christmas ukulele music together. Unfortunately it can only happen in the virtual space, but I hope this shared "project" will still bring us a lot of joy. The final result would be a video in which everyone can be seen and heard: a ukulele choir playing, acco…
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Nemzeti dal — reloaded
Tamás GállYou could say this post is a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, since 15 March was already a few weeks ago — incidentally, the day my third child was born — and I am only now publishing a post about this song, which is literally a “National Song” . What happened was that onl…
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Nemzeti dal
Tamás GállFor 15 March, Hungary's national day commemorating the 1848 Revolution, we are going to learn the chords to Nemzeti dal (“National Song”). Petőfi wrote the poem on 13 March 1848, two days before the revolution began, originally for a public meeting planned by the young people of Pest for 19 March. N…
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Most múlik pontosan
Tamás GállQuimby's unusually atmospheric song "Most múlik pontosan" was released in 2005 on the band's album Kilégzés. Many theories have been proposed about the circumstances in which the song was written, but I do not want to go into those here. I think the lyrics should mean whatever each listener wants to…
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Money Heist
Tamás GállThe hugely successful series Money Heist — La casa de papel — swept me up as well. But that phase is over now , because only a few days ago we watched the final episode of season five at home. Some people praise or criticise the series season by season. Overall I enjoyed all five: it was exciting, f…
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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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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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Mendelssohn - Wedding March
Tamás GállFelix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was born in Hamburg in 1809. Despite his short life - he lived for only 38 years - he explored many musical genres and gave humanity a number of unforgettable melodies. Perhaps the best known is the Wedding March, composed as part of the incidental music for Shakespeare's…
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Már itt, e Földön...
Tamás GállLászló Komár left us yesterday for the eternal fields of rock 'n' roll. I am deeply sorry, because he was an excellent performer, and we will never again hear him tell us that he managed to buy a pair of patent-leather shoes last week. Or rather, of course we will. Fortunately the recordings remain…
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Let It Be
Tamás GállLet us begin learning chords with Let It Be! What is a chord? The shortest answer is: at least three notes sounding at the same time. A ukulele has four strings, so it can produce at most four notes simultaneously. (A piano, by contrast, can produce ten or even twelve if we use all our fingers and o…
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