While the 'ukulele is enjoying a well-deserved renaissance on the mainland, in the land of its birth, it has never gone out of style. Hawaiians took to the jumping flea right from the start, creating music of stunning beauty and versatility. Now intermediate players can learn to play lovely finger style solo arrangements of classic Hawaiian songs, folk songs, standards–even a few pieces from the classical guitar repertoire.The book offers 27 arrangements from around the world written in standard notation and tablature playable on any 'ukulele. Songs are grouped according to level of difficulty, starting with simple arrangements well within the grasp of dedicated beginners and intermediate players and leading through more challenging songs featuring unusual chord voicings, inversions up the neck, tricky fingerings and all the fun stuff the author could muster. to aid the student, the companion CD includes all of the songs taught. Includes chord charts, inversion studies, introductory material on finger-picking and making the transition from strumming to melodic playing.

Want to play beautiful Hawaiian melodies on your 'ukulele? Now you can! Learn to Play Slack Key Style 'Ukulele is a comprehensive instruction into the art of playing great solo 'ukulele…slack key style. Slack Key–Ho `alu–is a melodic, finger-picked guitar style created by Hawaiian paniolo in the mid-19th century, known as “Hawaiian soul music”. It is only natural that some 'ukulele players in Hawaii would re-tune their instruments and play slack key style. Nothing sounds so sweet. No matter if you are a dedicated beginner wanting to expand your playing or an advanced uke-a-banger looking for a new challenge, you will find music to delight your fingers and stimulate your ear. Learn to Play Slack Key Style 'Ukulele is both a course of study and a collection of great solo arrangements that start out easy and increase in difficulty. Includes access to online audio. • Tablature and standard notation • Notes on the tunings, reading music and reading TAB • Guided lessons help you develop your style • Graded arrangements from easy to advanced • Over 30 great arrangements • Learn how to create your own slack key style arrangements of classic Hawaiian songs • Playable on any ‘ukulele with a low G string • Downloadable musical examples of all songs

There are many ways to play the ukulele. All are valid, particularly if the result is music that is clear, rhythmic and inspired. Holly's Ukulele Method(tm) helps you do all of this and much more! The most comprehensive manual for learning and teaching ukulele, Holly developed the playing techniques in Holly's Ukulele Method(tm) over ten years of teaching beginners from grade school to grad school. If you have a fire in your belly to make music, plus make a commitment to practice a minimum of 20 minutes 5-days a week with this book, you will be on the road to becoming a ukulele musician, not simply a ukulele player. This detailed, information-packed guide transforms your ukulele into a tool to teach you the basics of musicianship... skills that can be applied to any other instrument. Perfect for both private or classroom study, Holly's Ukulele Method(tm) is organized as a six-lesson course in reading music to encourage ukulele players to learn more than chords and songs. The ability to read music enables you to sight-read music you have never heard; listen to new music then play the notes and chords "by ear" while recognizing their names and rhythms; write new music, and much, much more. YOU WILL LEARN TO... Read music and tablature in the key of C so you can pick up any piece of music and play it Play melody lines Play chords to accompany yourself and others Combine both melody and chords for dynamite solo playing Fingerpick and strum for a professional sound LESSONS INCLUDE... String-by-string music reading Over 86 musical exercises and songs to master the techniques in the book Free downloadable music instruction MP3s for all of the exercises and songs at www.ukelesson.com Clear descriptions Easy-to-follow photos and drawings Songs and chords Strumming and fingerpicking technique Finger exercises Music writing

The Hawaiian word for slack key guitar, kī hō‛alu, means to “loosen the key” or retune some of the strings to create a harmonious sound with an open or alternate tuning. Slack key is a fingerpicking style characterized by strong alternating bass lines played with the thumb. While slack key can be played on any guitar, most players prefer a nylon- or steel-stringed acoustic instrument. This book presents 25 intermediate to advanced traditional and original tunes in the Hawaiian slack key style. Melodies are often harmonized in sixths or thirds played with or without double stops. Techniques like syncopated bass lines, hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, and harmonics are tastefully employed to evoke the images of ocean breezes, swaying palms, hula dancers and white sandy beaches. The author writes, “Unless you grew up playing slack key, it’s hard to get from the material presented in most books and DVDs to a fluid, play-it-your-own-way style.” This book seeks to reveal the insights the author has gleaned from studying and jamming with some of the giants of the slack key style, and help you develop a style all your own. Includes access to online audio tracks of all 25 relaxing but challenging Hawaiian slack key tunes.

With over 1,000 chord diagrams and 37 full-sized fingerboard charts, Mastering Ukulele Chord Inversions is the most comprehensive and useful ukulele chord book ever published. It includes all the chords you will need for fingerstyle and chord melody arrangements, complex styles like jazz and bossa nova, or simply for tickling your fingers and exercising your brain. This book can help you find any chord, but will also greatly enhance your understanding of how chords work, enabling you to become a better musician. Included are three full-sized fingerboard diagrams showing all of the practical chord intervals for major, dominant and minor chords in every key. These will help you visualize how intervals relate to each other. They will also help you play scales and arpeggios and find alternate fingerings for common chords. Rather than list all the chords of a given type in 12 keys on one page, chords are grouped together by how they are used in a particular key. If you are looking for a G7 chord, you'll find it alongside other dominant chords like G9, G7b9 and G7#5. Chords which serve similar musical roles are grouped together. Likewise, all the various flavors of major chords (6, 6/9, M7, add 2) and minor chords appear together in one convenient place. The chord diagrams have the familiar fretboard grid, with the lowest fret clearly marked. In addition, each note in the chord is labeled to aid you in your study. Each chord appears in several forms that move up the neck. The ukulele's re-entrant tuning requires either doubling or leaving out certain chord notes to accommodate the instrument's four strings. This means chord shapes are not inversions, strictly speaking, but the word is as good as any. Practicing inversions as they move up and down the neck is essential to mastering your ukulele. Alternate fingerings for chords at the lowest position of the neck have also been added.

From the author of Mel Bay's best-selling book, Learn to Play Fingerstyle Solos for Ukulele, we are proud to present, Favorite Fingerstyle Solos for Ukulele. This book and accompanying audio available for download online offer a variety of fingerstyle solos for the ukulele. The music stretches across several styles, including Hawaiian, ragtime, bossa nova, and classical. The solos progress in difficulty, and tips on technique areincluded along the way. More advanced arrangements introduce chord inversions and different rhythmic approaches for the right hand. Thirty-three arrangements are presented in standard notation and tablature. Transposition charts are included for baritone ukulele

While other books get caught up in the novelty of the ukulele-how to accessorize them, who the best ukulele players are, etc.-this book covers in crystal clear detail everything beginners need to know to enjoy playing this tiny, four-stringed instrument. From strumming and finger picking to playing different genres and playing as part of a group, this book covers all the bases. And it includes a rich audio CD complete with music samples and ukulele exercises.