Ave Maria is a popular and much-recorded setting of the Latin text Ave Maria, originally published in 1853 as Méditation sur le Premier Prélude de Piano de S. Bach. The piece consists of a melody by the French Romantic composer Charles Gounod especially designed to be superimposed over the Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of J.S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, written some 137 years earlier.
Ukulele Mike Lynch has transposed this piece from the original Key of Cmaj to allow for a more practical fingering for standard GCEA ukulele tuning. By the way, this was arranged for standard High G Tuning. He’s broken away from the original 8th note figures that Bach utilized for his original Prelude in C maj and instead uses a rhythmic figure identical to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. . . It’s in 4/4 time with 4 triplet 8th note figures in each measure. It’s a techniqhe that Ukulele Mike has chosen numerous times in such pieces as his Paris Nocturne Cherry Blossoms and in the French love song: Plaisir d’amour. Since the ukulele typically has very little sustain, by using this triplet figure it allows the chordal accompaniment to ring out longer and continue to sustain more consistently underneath the melody that rides on top. In most cases the Gounod melody is found on the first and second strings with just a few cases of the melody jumping over to the third or fourth string. Since this arrangement was writeen with a High G tuning the 4th string notes are crucial so don’t come off all that well with a Low G tuning. Sorry all of those you have ukes with Low G. . . That does bring up a point though, that it’s really important to consider having 2 ukes at hand. One with Low G, one with High G. Both tunings do have their strong points so having both at hand gives the player much more flexibility.
There are several right hand fingering patterns that are suggested in this arrangement.
p – Thumb
I – Index Finger
M – Middle Finger
Thumb plays 4th and 3rd strings
Index plays 2nd string
Middle finger plays 1st string
There are only a few minor times that this rule is broken in this piece.
So here are several of those fingerings used in this arrangement.
M P I M P I M P I M P I
M I P M I P M I P M I P
P I M P I M P I M P I M
This arrangement comes in both tablature as well as standard treble clef notation. Here is a small example from page one:
Here is a video performance by Ukulele Mike with voice over commentary:
AVE MARIA – Arranged by Ukulele Mike with voice over commentary
Tablature is available for purchase $5.39 by simply paying through the paypal donate button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com Once purchased it will be emailed to you within the day.
Note: We also have available the UKULELE SOLO INSTRUMENTAL eBook 2013 Enlarged edition: $28.95 as well as several separate solo ukulele instrumentals: AKAKA FALLS, PLAISIR D’AMOUR available for purchase.
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Feb 2, 2013 Third Annual WORLD UKULELE DAY
Yes, Saturday Feb 2, 2013 is the THIRD ANNUAL WORLD UKULELE DAY and people around
the world are preparing to celebrate. . .
Take a look at this poster announcing WORLD UKULELE DAY in Poland
What will you be doing to celebrate the day? Post some videos on You Tube on or around the day to let us know what you will be doing or drop a note on the Michael Lynch, UKULELE MIKE Facebook page. Let us know what you are doing.
Everyone get your ukes out and CELEBRATE!!!!!
HAPPY STRUMMING – UKULELE MIKE LYNCH
UKULELE at the PANAMA PACIFIC EXPOSITION 1915
In 1915 San Francisco was host to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. This year was specifically chosen by the city to celebrate 2 significant events: The opening of the Panama Canal and the resurrection of the city out of the ashes of the great earthquake. San Francisco was teeming with pride and enthusiasm and wanted to share that with the entire world and specifically the Pacific Rim region.
The governing body of the Territory of Hawaii appropriated a large some of money to construct a pavilion to promote Hawaiian products and tourism. One of the most memorable attractions of the Hawaiian pavilion was a show which featured Hula dancers in grass skirts playing the ukuleles. One song that was featured at the pavilion was called “On The Beach At Waikiki” which can be heard in the movie “Cheaper By The Dozen”. Tourists could purchase these new little novel ukuleles to take home as souvenirs. As a result the ukulele was introduced to thousands of people throughout the US and abroad. Songwriters from Tin Pan Alley began writing songs referring to the ukulele and Hawaii and In homes and college campuses throughout the US people everywhere were strumming all of the new songs to the enchanting sound of the ukulele. Typically any song that was published during this time would always have the uke tuning and uke chords notated on the sheet music. Being a portable and social instrument the ukulele easily found itself within groups of people everywhere. My wife’s grandmother got her first and only uke around 1917 and her leading of the family at parties and holiday gatherings was an element that enriched all our lives. We treasure that little ukulele in our home to this day.
The SONGS OF YESTERYEAR collection features 39 songs of that era. Each song has been carefully arranged in ukulele friendly keys. I’ve included chord grids and strumming suggestions for each song. I’ve also included the starting vocal note for each song. I have so many fond memories of Grandma Kaufer strumming these endearing and lasting songs on her little soprano uke. It is my hope that this collection will allow others to enjoy the richness of this American musical legacy. People such as Ian Whitcomb have contributed so much to preserving the legacy of these songs. Make a point to check out all of Ian Whitcomb’s publications and songbooks.
Below is a YouTube video describing the contents of my SONGS OF YESTERYEAR eBook collection.
UKUELE MIKE LYNCH
Announcing the new 2013 Edition of my UKULELE SOLO INSTRUMENTALS eBook.
Contains even more pieces then before . . . The entire table of contents is listed below
Amazing Grace
Aura Lea
Blackbird
Cherry Blossoms
Crazy G Part 1 & 2
Del Sol
Edelweiss
Finlandia
Freight Train
Going Home
Greensleeves
Here Comes The Sun
Here There & Everywhere
Keyport Rag
Kona Breeze
Lord Of All Hopefulness
Ode To Joy
Panis Angelicus
Paris Nocturne
River Of Dreams
The Rose Garden Serenade
Simple Gifts
Stairway To Heaven
Tammy
The Pink Panther
This Little Light Of Mine
Tiki Dance
Arirang
Bella Toscana
Baby’s Breath
Can’t Help Falling In Love
Etude in Dminor
I Dreamed A Dream
Beethoven Pathetique Sonata
Theme From Forrest Gump
Till There Was You
All pieces are arranged by Mike Lynch Aka: Ukulele Mike and are formatted in tablature. The eBook is available for purchase for $28.95 and can be purchased by paying thru the PayPal donate button on the UKULELE MIKE website: www.ukulelemikelynch.com Once purchased it will be emailed to you within the day. Happy Strumming – UKULELE MIKE
P.S.I’ve made an extraordinary effort to make these arrangement accesible to many ukulele players of all levels. Many can be learned fairly easily for even newer players. Other pieces, of course, will be something one can grow into as more skills are developed. So often,I’ve found solo instrumental arrangements that are available in published form to be, for the most part, WAY beyond the abilities of most casual players. It is my sincere hope that this collection will help players become adept at performing instrumental solos and feel a sense of true accompishment. . . .”HAPPY STRUMMING” – Mike Lynch
“LIFE IS GOOD” an Audio CD from UKULELE MIKE LYNCH
“LIFE IS GOOD” an Audio CD from UKULELE MIKE LYNCH
Finally by popular demand I’m pleased to announce the release of my very first audio CD “LIFE IS GOOD” 23 tracks of solo instrumental ukulele compositions.
Designed for listening pleasure, this CD represents
my ongoing effort to explore the vast possibilities of this humble 4 string instrument.
These pieces, first heard by thousands around the world through my You Tube channels, can now provide hours of musical enjoyment in your home, your car, your school, wherever you want to hear and be moved by the spirit of the ukulele.
In this CD I offer you the following songs:
Bella Toscana
Arirang
Freight Train
Going Home
I Dreamed A Dream
Kona Breeze
River Of Dreams
Simple Gifts
Fiona Rag
Tammy
The Keyport Rag
Tiki Dance
Paris Nocturne
Amazing Grace
The Rose Garden Serenade
Aura Lea
Baby’s Breath
Can’t Help Falling In Love
Cherry Blossoms
Del Sol
El Condor Pasa
Finlandia
Forrest Gump Theme
“LIFE IS GOOD” – $18.95 plus $3.00 shipping in the US . . $7.00 outside
can be purchased by paying thru the paypal
Donate button on the Ukulele Mike website:
Theme from “FORREST GUMP” – Arranged for ukulele by UKULELE MIKE LYNCH
I think this is possibly the very best Tom Hanks movie ever. . . On so many levels it succeeds. . . Alan Silvestri did the wonderful soundtrack and the theme is such a simple let so very elegant melody. . . .This arrangement is in the key of G which I believe is the original them for the track. It involves a bit of barring so it’s a great piece to work on that technique
Click here to play the video – - – 45807932.
Tablature is available for purchase: $5.39 and can be purchased thru the paypal donate button on the UKULELE MIKE website: www.ukulelemikelynch.com
THERE’S A KIND OF HUSH by Herman’s Hermits – Ukulele tutorial by UKULELE MIKE
In performing this classic Peter Noone classic, I’m using the Calypso strum:
DOWN DOWN UP UP DOWN UP. . . . In this performance I’m playing the down strokes with the flesh of the thumb . . . The up strokes with the flesh of the index finger. It can be played equally well with simply the nail of the index finger going down and the flesh going up but I kind of like using the flesh of the thumb for the down strokes as it seems to render a mellower, rounder, fuller sound.
Click here to play the video tutorial >THERE’S A KIND OF HUSH
I also like to play up on the finger board to enhance the warmness. I’ve been inspired by Kimo Hussy in using this type of strum technique. . . Check out my blog on Kimo and you’ll see a couple of his performances in which he uses this technique.
In this performance I’m also using the newly released Oscar Schmidt “WILLIE K” signature tenor. I love the tone of this uke. . . Oscar Schmidt really hit it out of the park on this one. If you notice it also has “FIVE” strings not FOUR. What they’ve done is to make the 4 string doubled as a High G and a Low G. It gives the best of both worlds and gives added richness and depth to the sound of the ukulele.
Here is the LYRIC / CHORD sheet for this song . . Chord grids are found at the end of the video tutorial.
