Series: Easy Ukulele Tab Edition
Paperback: 104 pages
Publisher: Alfred Music; Pap/Com edition (April 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0739088688
ISBN-13: 978-0739088685
Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 9 x 12 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #129,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #18 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Songbooks > Mixed Collections #29 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Songbooks > Folk & Traditional #32 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Songbooks > Guitars & Fretted Instruments > Ukuleles
This is a very nice selection of roots music. It doesn't cover everything, but many of the tunes and songs are difficult to find online, and nowhere near the quality of the arrangements in this book. It has the chords, a single-note melody, and a solo arrangement for all but a couple of pure melody tunes. This means you can have a go at all the music at whatever level of playing you feel comfortable with.The solo versions are rich and sound very good for a solo uke. If I were to nitpick, I would point out that these arrangements are uke-friendly, and not always in the commonly played keys. I can't really complain, as trying to make them in fiddle, mandolin and banjo friendly keys would make them very difficult to play on uke. Just an FYI if you intend to jam with other, non-ukulele musicians.The disk is a nice addition, and is great listening on its own. I am quite pleased with the purchase.
This is a wonderful book with over 50 traditional tunes for soprano ukulele. Each tune clearly shows chords diagrams, a TAB for melody, a TAB for a uke solo, and the lyrics on one or two pages. A CD with the solos is included as well. Some songs feature a clawhammer technique. The tunes and arrangements are all great.
I bought a Lanikai spruce-top tenor ukulele about six months ago, along with Ukulele-for-Dummies and a digital tuner. I had some prior experience with guitar and mandolin in my younger years. I find the tenor uke with Aquila strings very mild and pleasant in tone and easier to play than the other instruments. After going methodically through the Dummies book, also excellent, I got American Roots. What a pleasure it has been...many, many hours of relaxing playing and singing, but also enough challenge to make me want to do better. I'm now starting Sheridan's Hallelujah Ukulele and have his Civil War Songs book waiting on the table. I plan to go back through these books again and again and get a little better with each pass. Thank you Dick Sheridan for sharing so well what is obviously a true love of your heart and soul. These old songs hearken America back to a simpler time in our history...they call us back to deep roots that we can rediscover when we yearn for relief from a new world of constant electronic badgering. Turn off your TV and cell phone, better yet, get rid of them and get this book.
This is the best book I have found for practicing clawhammer and fingerpicking on the ukulele. Among its 50 folk songs are many that are very familiar to me and the type of songs I am interested in playing. On each the melody is given in musical notation and tabs, and a uke solo version is also included. The uke solos are also on the CD to let the player know exactly how they should sound. I find the arrangements very well put together because they sound interesting but are not so difficult that they discourage an inexperienced player. Chord diagrams are included on each song sheet and there is a special more extensive chord section at the back of the book. I'm very glad to have purchased this book and highly recommend it.
The book and the songs are OK. The recorded songs on the CD, however, are not labeled with the song titles in the digital properties. Since I am not familiar with most of the songs, it is work to determine which tract playing relates to which song in the book. You have to go to the index in the book. The digital properties are only labeled "Sheridan 21", etc. So, it is a pain to play the CD and learn the songs. It's a lot of extra work that should have been done for me. If you are interested in instrumental roots songs, the book and CD are OK. As a learning tool, it could have been made a lot better.
I'm new to uke but play some fingerstyle guitar so this allowed me to play a good collection tunes quickly. The book provide no instruction on how to play so If you are new to playing ( eg, no prior experience reading tab) and want learn on the uke I would reccomend a different book and the put this next on the list.
Overall, this book is great if you have a little bit of experience. Not the best for young beginners. My boyfriend recently picked up the uke so I got him this since he loves roots music. At first, some of the tab seemed a bit intimidating, but with much practice, he is picking it up. It gives uke chords in the back of the book and a little instructional page on how to play the uke, but like I mentioned, it isn't the best if you want to learn fundamentals.
I gave this rating because it is well-deserved. Great selection of songs and easy to follow written music. This is a great investment for your music library.
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