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339 posts
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Studio and the Ukulele
Tamás GállTo be honest, I used to watch with a little envy those videos where musicians speak or sing into professional microphones and their instruments sound great as well. I had wanted for a long time to make recordings with genuinely excellent sound quality, and I think I finally found the right path. I a…
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Folsom Prison Blues
Tamás GállI have been planning for a long time to write a blog post about Johnny Cash and arrange one of his songs — and perhaps I will eventually do several. In my view he is one of those songwriters and performers everyone must have heard of, whether they like his music or not. His life would deserve a sepa…
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For New Ukulele Owners I - Holding and Strumming the Instrument
Tamás GállSince the blog began I have received many kind and complimentary messages (thankyouthankyouthankyou!), and at least as many questions, mainly from beginners who find the first obstacles in learning the ukulele difficult to overcome. With them in mind I made a two-part summary video that helps you ge…
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For New Ukulele Owners II - Your First Chords
Tamás GállI could just as well have called this post "the first steps", because learning to fret and sound chords is when the little masterpiece we call a ukulele truly becomes a musical instrument in our hands. Learning chords is a long process. Week after week and month after month we will encounter new one…
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Four Strings, Five Years
Tamás GállDear Ukulele Players! Please allow me a little nostalgia in this year's final blog post, because exactly five years ago, on 30 December 2010, the Hungaria Ukulele Blog was launched. Happy fifth birthday! :) :) Five years may not be long enough for truly monumental nostalgia, but it is still a milest…
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From Balatonlelle to Szigetvár (Route 67)
Tamás GállWith Republic's song 67-es út (“Route 67”), which made the podium in our previous poll, we will learn three new chords and revise G major, which we already memorised for Let It Be. The three new chords are D major, A major and B minor. Important: if a chord has no additional marking — just a letter…
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From Me To You, Egérkém!
Tamás GállAfter a break of more than a month, the blog is finally being updated again. The move and unpacking are behind us, although more big tasks lie ahead. In any case I finally managed to record raw material for several tutorial videos. First up is the excellent Beatles song From Me To You, presented in…
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Fyodor M. Dostoevsky and the Devil
Tamás GállFor a long time I have had the thought that it would be worth arranging something by Tamás Cseh — and making a video about it — because his guitar-and-vocal format, even though many songs later add further instruments and sometimes a whole band, seems naturally suited to ukulele and voice as well. I…
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Getting Ready for Ukulele Meetup II
Tamás GállIn just under two weeks, on Wednesday, September 4, we will be holding Ukulele Meetup II, and we are excitedly preparing for it. We hope you are looking forward to it at least as much as we are. I am delighted to see the registrations coming in nicely . If you have not yet registered for the event,…
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Getting to Know the Ukulele I
Tamás GállParts of the ukulele and tuning The picture below shows the parts of a ukulele. Because of its close relationship with the guitar, their names are exactly the same as the corresponding parts of a guitar (and a given part may have more than one accepted name): This is not of enormous practical import…
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Getting to Know the Ukulele II
Tamás GállHolding the ukulele When we search YouTube for videos of professional ukulele players, naturally we pay most attention to the music itself and watch the musician's fingers on both hands. What may not even occur to us — because it is not especially spectacular — is that simply holding the instrument…
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Give Peace a Chance
Tamás GállThis song has a sadly topical relevance. I hope the war between Ukraine and Russia ends as soon as possible — a war that perhaps no one truly believed would happen . According to Wikipedia, “Give Peace a Chance” is one of John Lennon's best-known songs. It was recorded on 31 May 1969 in room 1742 of…
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