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Stories and interviews

*(l)ele

Tamás Gáll

I watch with admiration these inventive and highly skilled people who make instruments for themselves out of all sorts of objects. From shoeboxes and bedpans to tennis rackets, they stretch four strings across almost anything and there you have it: an instrument. Some of them sound surprisingly good…

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Stories and interviews

Farewell to Bill Tapia

Tamás Gáll

Bill Tapia, one of the world's oldest active musicians and a man famous for his ukulele playing, has died at the age of 103. (He played other instruments as well.) He was born on 1 January 1908, so he was only a few weeks short of his 104th birthday. He received his first ukulele at the age of seven…

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Songs and arrangements

Silent Night

Tamás Gáll

The German lyrics of the Christmas carol Silent Night were written by the Austrian priest Josef Mohr under the title Stille Nacht, and the melody was composed by Franz X. Gruber in 1818. The melody commonly sung today differs slightly from Gruber's original, especially towards the end. The song was…

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Stories and interviews

One Year...

Tamás Gáll

Dear Readers and Dear Ukulele Fans! The blog turned one year old today. Thank you all for the comments, likes, emails and encouragement. Together we have achieved far more than I ever expected. I was delighted that in its very first year the blog made it into the top 10 of the expert category in the…

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Stories and interviews

Film Music

Tamás Gáll

I have not disappeared. If I had my way I would be making ukulele videos continuously, but I have been busy with a few urgent and important things, primarily this website:www.torvenyfigyelo.hu- this is where the shameless advertisement goes , so unfortunately I have not managed to make any new tutor…

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Songs and arrangements

3 Non Blondes — What's Up Cover

Tamás Gáll

Although the excellent 4 Non Blondes song is built on only three chords, its melody, arrangement and superb construction created something truly unforgettable. Sometimes I wonder where compositions this good have gone; fewer gems like this seem to appear nowadays — or at least they pass me by. It is…

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Songs and arrangements

What's Up Chords

Tamás Gáll

Thank 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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Stories and interviews

Something

Tamás Gáll

At his concerts over the past decade, Paul McCartney has always performed Something with just a ukulele - or at least he begins it that way. It is his tribute to the memory of the song's writer and his fellow musician George Harrison. Something appeared on the album Abbey Road and is generally regar…

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Songs and arrangements

Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

Tamás Gáll

In another video we are going to work through Creedence Clearwater Revival's Have You Ever Seen The Rain. The band's name may not mean much to everyone, but I am certain almost everybody has heard some of their songs. The group was at its peak in the late 1960s and the 1970s. One musician stands out…

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Stories and interviews

The Guest from Portland

Tamás Gáll

In August, a ukulele player from Portland, Michael Kolibaba, visited Hungary. We arranged to meet and spent a delightful afternoon playing ukulele. We understood one another very well because, besides English, music was the common language we both spoke. Mike told me that the ukulele is extremely po…

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