CRAZY G – FASTER, FASTER, FASTER with “UKULELE MIKE”

PLEASE NOTE: My UKULELE BASICS DVD is now available for purchase . . . For more info email me at mike@ukulelemikelynch.com

CRAZY G SECTION ONE

CRAZY G SECTION TWO

I first heard this tune when Jake Shimabukuro appeared here in Seattle 4 years ago at a decades old Jazz club called Jazz Alley. . . . He had 2 concerts back to back at the club and admitted that he was suffering from a bout of flu, but I tell you it DID NOT slow him down one bit.  His concert program was fantastic!!!. . . I was so struck by not only his facility and technique but his very wide array of musical genres and styles.  Everything from rock to jazz to classical.  Crazy G has served to be his big finale piece at most of his concerts and I heard him do it again last spring when he appeared in an auditorium very near my home in Edmonds, Washington.  After the concert I had a delightful short conversation with him and we spoke a bit about the current renaissance of the ukulele. . . A nice sharing to be sure.

I took this song down to Dallas for the Lone Star Uke Fest last April and presented to a wonderful group in my Tablature Workshop. . . We had a ball . . . In putting together the tutorial lesson for this piece I have broken it down into it’s basic chords . . . I continually emphasize to my students to break things down into small pieces and practice those repeatedly until they are perfected . . . I council my students to not try to put everything together at one time.

The best way to approach Crazy G is to practice each chord pattern one at a time.  In the 2 videos above you have both the Intro or Section One part as well as Secition Two which is the section that Jake repeats over and over and over as the audience yells  Faster and FASTER AND FAAAAASTER!!!!. . . . The strumming patterns of the right hand should be improvisational to a point. . . The chord changes do not change on the beat as you might expect so trying to do a consistent repetitive strum pattern just won’t work with Crazy G.

If it would help and you have some expertise in reading Tablature notation I do have the complete chordal structures available in that form.  They can be purchased by going to my website:  www.ukulelemikelynch.com and paying $5.00 thru the PayPal donate button.  Be sure to indicate it’s not a donation but rather to purchase the Tablature for Crazy G.

Thanks to all who have subscribed to my blog site . . . If you haven’t I would encourage you to as you will then get instant email alerts to all of my blogs.

“HAPPY STRUMMING” – UKULELE MIKE