A Couple Reels on Tenor Ukulele

[Lorenzo]

My cousin brought over a tenor ukulele he just made and asked me what I thought. I said - ya mind if I drop the low string down a couple notes? He said fine, and this is what happened...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ysD2htihD8




Edit Note: changed title after getting the name of the tune wrong

[fearfaoin]

Nifty!!!! Did he make it lefty, or is the
video reversed? Your strumming style
sounds almost banjo-y. Is that different
from the usual uke way of doing things,
or just a variation?

[Lorenzo]

I forgot to flip the screen view, but thought it added to the craziness, so I left it (no pun intended). That strumming stye for playing individual notes on a 4-string instrument is the only thing that really works...and you're right, it does sound a lot like claw hammer banjo.

[Tim2723]

That's really sweet, Lorenzo, but give us the details. How exactly is it tuned?? Tons of guys have done fifths ukuleles, and a few of them call them Celtic, but what did you do?

[Lorenzo]

Standard tuning is gCEA. All I did Tim was lower the C down to an A. So now it's gAEA. When you hear the open strings being strummed, at the begining and end of the set, it's the g that's giving it the minor 7th chord.

[brewerpaul]

Very nicely done. Nice Uke too.
Anyone here who hasn't tried playing Uke should give it a whirl. There are some very nice, playable ones available quite inexpensively. Great travel instrument.

[Corgicrazed]

Wow! Nice Job! I like your Uke.

[benhall.1]

Nice sound. So, the first tune's The Old Bush (or, as I had it originally Captain Rock) and I don't know if I know the second one, though it sounds like a few I know. Where does The Dublin Reel come into it?

[Lorenzo]

Thanks for the correct name of the tune. The Dublin Reel came into play through a fading memory of such things as names of old traditional tunes I use to play on the pipes.

The second tune has another problem closely related to the first: I simply don't know.

[benhall.1]

Ah, right. Don't suppose you have the name of the second one? It's got something of My Love is in America about it ... but I couldn't quite make that fit ...

... oh, thinking about it, now I can.

[Lorenzo]

No, I don't have the name of the second tune. But, I can't believe I forgot the first one either, as I've played it for years on the uilleann pipes, and never really learned the Dublin Reel very well.

I changed the tilte of the thread to cover my loss of memory. LOL

[Nanohedron]

Don't suppose you have the name of the second one? It's got something of My Love is in America about it ... but I couldn't quite make that fit ...

It's definitely My Love Is In America, to me.

[benhall.1]

That's why I added:

... oh, thinking about it, now I can.

[Lorenzo]

I'm happy to know the name of the second tune! I've known the title, and I've listened to it played some I guess. Tunes stick in our heads, and come out again much later, sometimes close enough for recognition, and we never pay much attention to the name. Nice to know this one was close. I'll go learn it right...now that I know!

[Nanohedron]

That's why I added:

... oh, thinking about it, now I can.

Errrm....right. Somehow I missed that part. Oops. Oh, well. Anyway, great minds, and all that.