The Beatles – Let It Be, reloaded
I do not think there is a person on Earth who has never heard this song at least once. Perhaps the indigenous people who shot arrows at a helicopter have not, but anyone who has ever had anything to do with twentieth-century Western popular music certainly knows The Beatles' Let It Be. It was no accident that I chose this song more than eight years agowhen I made my first video about accompanying a song with chords. Everyone already has the melody in their ears, it is not too fast, it is easy to follow and it can be accompanied using basic chords. Back then I had no idea what “uksi.blog.hu” would eventually grow into. A great deal has changed since that recording was made – and by coincidence I became another year older today too . Sometimes I think about deleting or deactivating my old posts, or at least the videos, because after so many years of experience, learning and practice I can see the mistakes when I watch them again and occasionally think, “I should have done that differently.” The old Let It Be post belongs to that group. But then I realise I would rather leave it there because it has become part of the site's history. It would actually be sadder if, after all these years, I did not feel that persistent practice had slowly produced results.
Sorry, I wandered off topic a little. A lot really has happened since the blog began. Returning to Let It Be: in the earlier post from 2011 we learned the chord accompaniment. Now I would like to show a solo-ukulele arrangement, meaning the way I play the song's chords and melody at the same time.
The following video is also an excellent example of why Ido notchoose a soprano-size instrument for solo-ukulele performance. I used one this time because I was curious how easily I could transfer something practised on a tenor to a soprano. My answer is clear: with difficulty. Naturally, this too is a matter of habit and practice. I play tenor ukuleles most of the time, so my hands are not accustomed to the tight space available in the higher register of a soprano. With Let It Be the problem is not especially dramatic, but another blog post is coming soon about a different song that I also play on a soprano. In that recording it is obvious how much I struggle with barre chords on the frets close to the body. Why? The answer is simple: I have to squeeze three or four fingers into a much smaller space at once, and on very narrow frets it is difficult to place them accurately enough for the shortened strings to ring cleanly. So please enjoy Let It Be:
