UKULELE MIKE LYNCH – All things UKULELE

“What a Wonderful World” is a song written by Bob Thiele (as “George Douglas”) and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1967. Thiele and Weiss were both prominent in the music world (Thiele as a producer and Weiss as a composer/performer). Armstrong’s recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The publishing for this song is controlled by Memory Lane Music Group, Carlin Music Corp., and Bug Music, Inc.

I really enjoyed arranging this piece for solo ukulele. I chose the Key of F as it is one of friendliest keys for solo ukulele compositions. Having said that, I must mention that one chord that is fairly essential for the Key of F is the Bb chord and this piece certainly has a lot of them. Since F is so important for ukulele playing its vitally important…

“Arirang” (Korean: “아리랑”) is a Korean folk song, often considered the unofficial national anthem of Korea
Many versions of the song open by describing the travails the subject of the song encounters while crossing a mountain pass. “Arirang” is one name for the pass and hence the title of the song. Some versions of “Arirang” mention Mungyeong Saejae, which is the main mountain pass on the ancient Joseon Dynasty road between Seoul and southeastern Gyeongsang Province.
In December 2012, the song was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity programme by UNESCO. This was followed by an announcement by the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea of a five-year plan to promote and preserve the song. The plan is aim to support “Arirang” festivals by regional organizations, as well as building an…

Click below to audition VIMEO video of I’LL BE SEEING YOU

I’ll Be Seeing You – Ukulele Solo Arrangement by Ukulele Mike Lynch

“I’ll Be Seeing You” is a popular song, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kahal. Published in 1938, the song was inserted into the Broadway musical Right This Way, which closed after fifteen performances. In the musical, it was performed by the singer Tamara Drasin, who had a few years earlier introduced Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. The song is a jazz standard, and has been covered by many musicians. The musical theme has emotional power, and was much loved during World War II, when it became an anthem for those serving overseas (both British and American soldiers).

Once again, I decided to arrange this piece as a Chord/Melody piece. I also chose the key of F since that key works so well for…

Well first and foremost congratulate yourself on acquiring one of music world’s most awesome instruments. This small little instrument is packed with a whole lot of music. . . And you are about to embark on a life long journey of love with this instrument to guide you there. You may or may not know that this instrument has incredible potential and that potential will reveal itself everytime you pick it up to play. . . . I designed a DVD called UKULELE BASICS that contains a full range of video tutorials bound to give you the proper tools and techniques to get the most out of your ukulele. . . provided, of course, that you are willing to dedicate daily time to practicing and following the tutorials. Below is a You Tube video I did prior…

“CHERRY BLOSSOMS” is the second part of my 3 part composition: DREAMSCAPE TRILOGY. First part being Paris Nocturne and the 3rd part being River Of Dreams. All three parts have a similar feel and similar right hand fingering technique. Below is a short clip in Finale format from CHERRY BLOSSOMS.

The recurring right hand figure throughout the piece is
m p i m p i m p i m p i
Where: m is Middle finger p is thumb and i is index finger

Middle finger always plays the 1st string.
Index finger always plays the 2nd string.
Thumb plays the 4th and 3rd strings.

Enjoy all of the open strings in this piece. They are the ones with a zero on them. They are played but no left hand fingering applied to them.

“CHERRY BLOSSOMS” needs to be played gently with a smooth flowing triplet feel. . . accenting…

The “Pachelbel Canon” arranged for solo ukulele by Ukulele Mike Lynch

In part we find from WIKIPEDIA that Pachelbel’s Canon is the name commonly given to a canon by the German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel in his Canon and Gigue for 3 violins and basso continuo (German: Kanon und Gigue für 3 Violinen mit Generalbaß) (PWC 37, T. 337, PC 358). It is his most famous composition. It was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue. Both movements are in the key of D major.
Like most other works by Pachelbel and other pre-1700 composers, the Canon remained forgotten for centuries and was rediscovered only in the 20th century. Several decades after it was first published in 1919 the piece became extremely popular. The piece was particularly prevalent in the pop charts of the 1990s, being sampled and appropriated in numerous commercial hits such…