Laura Lee and a Ukulele

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Ukulele Tab

2015-12-19T00:42:00.000-06:00

Well, it's almost Christmas so now is the perfect time to post the tab I made for my favorite holiday song, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. This is my first ukulele tab so I apologize if it's not perfect, but I spent a good deal of time transposing the original sheet music, so hopefully this will be pretty close!Please click the link below to open the pdf in a new tab. Thanks for stopping by!
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy ukulele tab.

Silver Dagger The Staves Cover Chords

2014-02-18T16:11:00.002-06:00

This is not an original song by the Staves, but they definitely have a beautiful version. They also appear to play it slightly different from the traditional chords.

Chords used: C C7 F Bb Gm Dm

C7 F
Don't sing love songs, you'll wake my mother
C7 Dm
She's sleeping here right by my side
Bb Gm
And in her right hand a silver dagger,
Dm Bb C C7
She says that I can't be your bride.

C7 F
All men are false, says my mother,
C7 Dm
They'll tell you wicked, lovin' lies.
Bb Gm
The very next evening, they'll court another,
Dm Bb C C7
Leave you alone to pine and sigh.

C7 F
My daddy is a handsome devil
C7 Dm
He's got a chain five miles long,
Bb Gm
And on every link a heart does dangle
Dm Bb C C7
Of another maid he's loved and wronged.

(chords optional for last verse)

C7 F
Go court another tender maiden,
C7 Dm
In hopes that she will be your wife,
Bm Gm
For I've been warned, and I've decided
Dm Bb C
To sleep alone all of my life.

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2013-08-08T15:06:00.000-05:00

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The Lakes of Canada Sufjan Stevens

2012-11-24T14:56:00.000-06:00

This song is my latest obsession. It was originally written and performed by The Innocence Mission, but I first heard it as a Sufjan Stevens cover on the banjo. The lyrics and melody are simply lovely, and I think it makes for a good ukulele song.

Chords Used:

INTRO
Dm  F   C   G   x2

Dm

F                   C
Look for me another day
                    G
I feel that I could change,
                    Dm
I feel that I could change.
F                           C
There's a sudden joy that's like
                 G
A fish, a moving light;
                Dm
I thought I saw it
F                      C     G
Rowing on the lakes of Canada

CHORUS
           Dm          
Oh laughing man
              C
What have you won?
              Am             F
Don't tell me what cannot be done.
          Dm               C
My little mouth, my winter lungs
              Am             F
Don't tell me what cannot be done,
              Dm        F            C         G    (2x)   Dm
Cannot be done di-da-di-da de da da da de da de da-a

F                     C        
Walking in the cirlce of a flashlight
        G                       Dm
Someone starts to sing, to join in.
F                     C
Talk of loneliness in quiet voices
     G                     Dm
I am shy but you can reach me.
F                      C     G   
Rowing on the lakes of Canada
F                      C     G
Rowing on the lakes of Canada

CHORUS
           Dm          
Oh laughing man
              C
What have you won?
              Am             F
Don't tell me what cannot be done.
          Dm               C
My little mouth, my winter lungs
              Am             F
Don't tell me what cannot be done,
              Dm        F            C         G    (2x)   Dm
Cannot be done di-da-di-da de da da da de da de da-a



OUTRO
F                      C    G
Rowing on the lakes of Canada,
F                      C    G
Rowing on the lakes of Canada.

F                      C    G
Rowing on the lakes of Canada,
F                      C    G
Rowing on the lakes of Canada.

2011-08-14T15:23:00.000-05:00

You and I
Ingrid Michaelson

VERSE 1
C
Don't you worry there my honey
F/C
We might not have any money
Am/C F/C
But we've got our love to pay the bills
C
Maybe I think you're cute and funny
F/C
Maybe I wanna do what bunnies
Am/C F/C
Do with you if you know what I mean

CHORUS
C E7 F C
Oh lets get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of France
C E7 F G
Lets get rich and give everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance
C E7 F D
Lets get rich and build a house on a mountain making everybody look like ants
C F G C
From way up there, you and I, you and I

VERSE 2
C
Well you might be a bit confused
F/C
And you might be a little bit bruised
Am/C F/C
But baby how we spoon like no one else
C
So I will help you read those books
F/C
If you will soothe my worried looks
Am/C F/C
And we will put the lonesome on the shelf

CHORUS 2x

Hey Ya Outkast Obadiah Parker

2011-08-14T15:10:00.010-05:00

Hey Ya
Outkast/Obadiah Parker

Verse One

C             F
My baby don't mess around

Because she loves me so
    G              Am
And this I know for sho
C            F
But does she really wanna

But can't stand to see me
     G       Am
Walk out the door
C            F
Don't try to fight the feelin'
                                     G        Am
Because the thought alone is killing me right now
C             F
Thank god for mom and dad

For sticking two together
          G          Am
'Cause we don't know how

Chorus
C   F
Hey Yah
G   Am
Hey Yah
C   F
Hey Yah
G   Am
Hey Ya

Verse 2 
C               
You think you've got it
F
Ohh, you think you've got it

But got it just don't get it
              G          Am
Till' there's nothing at all
C
We get together
F
Ohh, we get together
                                          G        Am
But seperate's always better when there's feelings involved
C                   F
If what they say is "Nothing is forever"
G                Am
Then what makes, Then what makes, Then what makes
                                 C        F
Then what makes, Then what makes love the exception
C
So why you, why you
F
Why you, why you, why you are we so in denial
        G              Am
When we know we're not happy here


CHORUS

Bridge (optional-same chords)

CHORUS

Chord Fingerings

2011-08-13T20:20:00.001-05:00

I made a basic list of chord fingerings that I typically use. To find other fingerings, I would recommend EZ Folk Uke Chords.

Anyone Can Learn To Play The Uke

2011-07-12T15:13:00.000-05:00

I have been playing the ukulele for 7 months. I have regularly been playing my ukulele for 7 months. If you know my habits with learning to play instruments, this should surprise you.

Do I consider myself a musician? Yes. A good musician? Not typically (vocalist, perhaps). You see, I have a terrible tendency to give up on things that I can't master quickly, especially when it comes to music. I recently came to the realization that my ability to almost always sing whatever is thrown at me correctly is not normal, and that it is a gift. I've been able to sing well my entire life...it's always just been pretty easy. I like a challenge, vocally. It's fun to learn something tricky that I can't just do right away. When I get sick, and as I get older, I realize that voices don't normally just do whatever you want them to- they need to be trained, taken care of, and refined. I now value my ability to harmonize with pretty much anything, learn a song with only hearing it once or twice, and seldom sounding pitchy. The Lord blessed me with that gift. But since I didn't really see it as a gift when I was younger, I expected to be able to master anything musically when I was younger. When I couldn't play something well right away, I would just quit. I was not a fan of practicing. I regret that I didn't stick with stuff, but it did eventually lead me to the uke.

I like to say I play a little bit of everything. I know the basic chords of guitar, I can play piano somewhat decently (but ask me to use both my hands to play different rhythms isn't going to happen), I play the bass (but I don't practice, so I'm not that great), I used to play the clarinet, and I actually was pretty good at that (since I had to practice for school). But besides singing, I couldn't do anything well.

I have liked the ukulele for a long time, and really wanted to get one for some time, but I hadn't realized how cheap they were. I thought the uke would be relatively easy to stick with, since there are only 4 strings, so my fingers wouldn't have to do as many crazy things as they do when I play guitar, and they're just so fun-it would make practicing more enjoyable. As a graduation gift to myself, I bought a cheap, red, soprano ukulele. I'm happy to tell you that today there are only a few chords that I have yet to really master! I actually stuck with the instrument! Although you do have to practice if you want to get good, anyone can play the ukulele.

Even if you just strum the strings, you're playing a chord (Am7)! Since there are only 4 strings, some of the most frequently used chords only require using one finger (C, Am) or two (F, A). I could play songs (not perfectly, mind you) the very first day I bought my uke! Because you can quickly master some of the most frequently used chords, the uke is great for people who like to give up when they can't get something to sound good right away. People at all skill levels can pick up a uke for the first time and play something that sounds like actual music, and not just terrible noise.

You do need to practice, especially if you want to learn some of the harder chords (E, B, C#m), and strumming patterns can be tricky, but just knowing that you can play a few chords really well gives you more motivation to learn even more chords. When you're getting frustrated, just play C, Am, and F (and throw in a G if you want), get your confidence back up (and be soothed by the relaxing uke music), and then try again. When I was first starting out (and even now), I could find myself playing and practicing for 3 hours without even realizing it! Your fingers get sore, but not nearly as quickly as they do when playing guitar.

I'd recommend picking up a ukulele to pretty much anyone. You can get them for $30 (mine was $40), you can learn a handful of chords right away, and you can be guaranteed to have an instrument that doesn't make you want to quit playing after a few weeks. And now that the uke is once again gaining some mainstream popularity, it's a really great time to start learning!

If I can stick with it, you can.
Good luck!

So You Want To Put Your Music Online

2011-07-09T19:58:00.000-05:00

Hey there, readers!
Since this is my first post, I thought a good place to start would be where I started (well, not with playing music, but with promoting it)- the internet!
I, personally, was quite terrified of putting my music online. I was afraid of playing my stuff for friends, or even letting them read my lyrics! Besides church and the car, you would rarely hear me sing (legitimately). So, deciding to put myself, my work, and my dreams on the internet, with the possibility of epic failure in the form of YouTube slander, made me quite terrified, to say the least.

But when you have a dream- even just a pipe dream- you've gotta start somewhere, right?

I don't have any fancy recording equipment (heck, I don't even have a nice ukulele), but I decided to record some songs on the computer, just using a basic recording program. I've noticed a few websites where you can just record online and change a few of the audio settings, but I can't remember any specifically right now. Anyway, I was going to post a few songs on my (other) blog, so I looked up music hosting sites.
This led me to my first site: Soundcloud.

Soundcloud is great! There are a ton of options for posting, sharing, and discovering music. There's also quite a large range of users- from complete novices (like me), to really talented artists who are much more well known, but not necessarily mainstream (like a great band from London- The Staves). As far as I know, you can only upload audio (no video), but they accept nearly any audio format you can throw at them. The site is also quite easy to use. I don't use it that much anymore (I took most of my songs down because I didn't care for my recordings), since I would rather post higher quality music, but I would still highly recommend it.

About a month after I first started posting my music online, I decided to take the plunge and play at a local open mic night. I had a few songs to choose from, and I wanted the opinion of some friends on which ones I should pick. I also wanted to record videos, because I figured playing in front of a camera would be good practice. My next logical step, of course, was to then post my music on YouTube. YouTube doesn't need much explanation, since pretty much everyone knows about it at this point, but I do have some thoughts.
I like YouTube, and it's the site that I would hope to get the most hits on, but now that they've changed the way they promote music, it's really hard to get noticed without being active. The most views I currently have is, I believe, a little over 400 (in 9 weeks). All I did to promote that specific video was to add it as a video response on the original song I was covering. Let me say this- if you are covering a song, and there is a video on YouTube of the original song, POST YOUR VIDEO AS A RESPONSE! Most of my views on my cover songs come from posting my videos as a video response. Another way to be active is to get involved (at least somewhat) in the community. Don't just add friends and subscribe to channels for numbers, actually find people you like. If they like you, they may help promote you. Just don't spam. No one likes it. More could be said about YouTube, but let's move on.

Actually, it was on YouTube that I found out about this next site: Limebooth. They found me on YouTube, so I checked out their site. It's essentially YouTube for musicians only (actually, they have dancers and fans as well). It's pretty new, starting back in November 2010, and has only a couple thousand users (I think), but that's actually part of what makes it great. Limebooth has been my favorite site so far in my experience. Because they're new, you have a voice, and can help suggest ways to improve the site. The people there are very friendly, helpful, and supportive, and are great at giving feedback. You can easily import your videos from YouTube, or upload them from your computer (though they need to be smaller in size if you go that route).
Limebooth has a unique point system. You have to have so many points before being able to upload more videos. This can be frustrating at first, but if you have some talent, or people really just like you and follow you, or you comment and follow others like there's no tomorrow, you'll get points in no time. I haven't uploaded as many videos as I could with my points, but it's nice to know I have room to easily add 10 more videos anytime I want to. The nice part about the point system is that it encourages you to be active in the community, but it also is a form of constructive criticism in itself, since usually if you're good, you'll get more points. If you get more points, you can post more videos. This way, you can (I hate to say it) avoid having to watch a lot of really bad music from the same person, since they probably wont get a lot of points right away.
But I do have to say, sometimes the Limebooth crowd can be a little too nice. I think it's just so small that no one wants to say anything bad. There's nothing wrong with that, but it makes me take the more positive comments lightly.
But I do love the feedback and the community. The support I get is just awesome! It's great to have strangers become actual fans! This can be seen and felt much more on Limebooth than on YouTube. It's also much easier to see how your music ranks, since they have charts. I was number 4 on the Original Songs chart for a while! I really appreciate Limebooth promoting my music on twitter and facebook- they even wished me a happy birthday on twitter! If you want a supportive community, a place to collaborate with other musicians, or just want to discover some new music, you should head straight to Limebooth.

Another website that I found through YouTube is MusiciansTogether. They're a lot like Limebooth- same premise, similar feel and design, and also just starting out- but I haven't felt the same sense of community as I have on Limebooth. One aspect that I really like about MT is their online magazine that they just launched. It has great articles from pros, fun articles just because, and a site blog. It's not as easy to use, in my opinion, since you can't upload from youtube, but there isn't a point system. I've found more experienced users on MT who are happy to promote new music, but I just haven't been able to network and connect with others as well. I think it may have something to do with the layout and functionality of the site...I can't put my finger on it. Anyway, it's still good, and I'd suggest starting up an account.

Finally, a few weeks ago, I decided to do something a little silly and create a Facebook Fan Page. I currently have 34 fans, and 6 of them are strangers, so that's pretty cool. Even though it hasn't taken off (I think you need a solid fan base on other sites before they like you enough to like you on Facebook), if you have people who are interested, feel like you're making progress with your music and promoting it, and have a little spare time to dedicate, I think creating a fan page is a good idea. I hope to get more fans eventually, but I need to keep building my fan base on other sites in the meantime.

I've been invited to a couple other sites with similar goals, but haven't joined them. They just don't flow as well or feel as welcoming and promising. Even though I'm still new on the music scene, I'm making some progress, and that's due mostly to the above sites. I'd recommend checking them out, if you haven't, and joining- even if you're just a fan. And, as you will have noticed if you clicked on the links, you can follow me on all of these sites! So please do, if you like my music :)

If you have any tips for posting your music online and gaining more fans, please let me know! I'd love to hear your advice and experiences.

Wow, that was quite a long first post!