Sunday, June 7, 2009

Jiminy Kokopo's Ukulele Strum & Sing Fun Book



This book is an Alligator Boogaloo production by Jerrold Connors. It is about the size of an average children's coloring book but a much higher quality of paper and it will be fun for adults as well as entertaining and enjoyable for youngsters. It goes over basics as well as some things that add some flair:
0- music basics of note and rest durations
0- explains the C scale starting for the C string and starting from the A string
0- single note melodies,
0- harmony playing (simple chord melodies)
0- chord melodies
0- rhythm & strumming
0- chord families for C, F, D, G, A, B & E
0- introductions, endings & flourishes
0- tips on showmanship & improsing melodies
0- there are also some simple puzzles
This is quite a lot to be found in about 50 pages. Jerrold's professional cartoons are on nearly every page and has somewhat of the feel of the comics in the borders of a Mad magazine, although quite a bit larger. I think that this is perhaps one of the most detailed and playful ukulele books around.
I met Jerrold at the Temple Bar in Berkeley, CA. just a few times. He and his wife just recently had had a newborn. Jerrold started the Ukulele Boogaloo song site. I did not get many chances to talk with him. The few times I did he was extremely friendly and willing to share his knowledge. He played a very humble, but great sounding Lanikai soprano ukulele - Aguila strings make a big upgrade in sounds on many lower end ukuleles (like my old harmony)
These copies may be hard to come by but I found a few copies on Amazon.com. I also think I saw a box of these in Mike DaSilva's workshop. Here's a link to Amazon, $9.95.

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