All blog posts
339 posts
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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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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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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Pachelbel's Canon in D
Tamás GállPachelbel's name may not be familiar to everyone, but there are very few people who have never heard the chords of his Canon in D. This great Baroque composer created a chord progression that went on to inspire countless other composers and popular-song writers. The progression is catchy in the best…
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Pachelbel's Canon in D - How to Play It
Tamás GállThe Pachelbel Brothers are on a world tour, but before they left we managed to persuade their ukulele player to reveal the secret recipe behind their canon . The piece is worth learning not only because wedding planners will be demanding our services from now on, but also because it makes an excelle…
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Size Doesn't Matter II
Tamás GállLast year I already posted a similar article with two videos. Now here is another unmissable recording featuring a mini ukulele about the size of a matchbox and the enormous, roughly concert-to-tenor-sized ukulele accompanying it :). A barre covering all four strings can be held with roughly one to…
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Strumming Techniques for Beginners
Tamás GállI have received several messages asking, "Okay, I can hold the chord, but what rhythm should I strum?" If I wanted to give the simple but not very helpful answer, I would say: strum in whatever way the particular song or musical style requires. That is actually true. The more music we listen to - es…
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Kala KA-MC
Tamás GállNo, Kala has not teamed up with MasterCard - the letters MC stand for something else :). The beautiful body of this ukulele is made of mango wood (M), and it is concert size (C). I have been playing this Kala in several of the previous videos, so you can hear it in Pachelbel's Canon (and the how-to-…
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The Youngest Padawan
Tamás GállDear Ukulele Players! A new love entered my life a few days ago, which is why I have not been able to make fresh posts or videos. My little daughter was born. She has no idea yet how much fun playing the ukulele is, but I hope she will find out soon! I did not put her hand there - it happened comple…
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Cigar Box Ukulele
Tamás GállWhen I wrote the post called *(l)ele a few years ago, I never thought I would soon have the chance to hold a ukulele made from a cigar box in my own hands. A few weeks ago I received a nice message from Dávid, asking whether I would like to try a ukulele made from a cigar box - one that he had built…
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The Champs – Tequila
Tamás GállI think everyone knows this oldie. Thanks to its easy-to-remember lyrics, we do not have to spend much time memorising lines: one emphatic shout of “Tequila!” takes care of the “singing”. The song – recorded by The Champs in 1958 and rewarded with a Grammy in 1959 – is simplicity itself, yet that pr…
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Pink Martini
Tamás GállThis unusually named band is twenty years old this year, and I am sorry that I discovered them only recently. (In an earlier ukulele test post — KALA KA-S — I strum along to one of their best-known songs.) The group was founded in 1994 by a rather over-animated pianist, and they have been performing…
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