ZWEIBACK DUDE

I like this Zweiback Dude because he has posted several ukulele tabs that have entertained my fingers with his crazy dawg (o)==:: songs. (See the ukulinkies, to the right)

http://www.youtube.com/zwiebackdude#p/

PERSONAL SONG STUDY: Killing Me Softly

What a haunting song this is by Roberta Flack and so gracefully sung. As a teenager I wasn't very fond of this song. But is a song that once heard is stuck within your heart somewhere. The hurt and pain and emotion runs so deep. I know I have mentioned this song previously but I have taken on commiting it to memory. CRAZY DAWG (0)==:: [or is it ::==(0)] has put together a sodoku finger puzzle tablature that I find graceful yet easy enough for my fingers. I have been using my focused music study much like a meditation. To sharpen and focus the mind, the fingers and the ears.

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In my meditation / practice I am using my best recollection of Hiram Bell's training when learning a new song. Play is slowly and correctly. Memorize a the first bar, play it accurately and go as slow as possible to keep it accurate. Visualize those finger / chord movements. Do it successfully without looking 3 times. Then add bar 2 or a couple more notes. Start from the beginning and go slowly learn it correctly. It takes more time and headache if you learn it wrong -- reinforce the correct tune / correct muscle memory. Close your eyes and feel it.
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In Crazy Dawg's arrangement the measures aren't marked out so I use the phrases of the song as markers. Certain parts of the song have distinct finger movements in groups of 4 or 5 and it makes sense to remember these groupings. And perhaps the 2 notes prior and subsequent to piece it into your memory banks.
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Here's another YT video of Roberta with words to sing along with...

Here's Crazy Dawg's link to the fingerstyle arrangement (Thank you Crazy Dawg, have I mentioned you enough in this post? Actually, I've never made contact with him. If you know him let him know about this post, perhaps he'll give me a Yo Howdy or a Guten Tag.)

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http://home.arcor.de/crazydawg/ukulele/killing_me_softly.txt

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Here's a CHORDIE arrangement in Dm. (I haven't fully studied it yet but I'm keeping it here as a record.)...

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http://www.chordie.com/chord.pere/www.lindesign.se/uwp/guitar/f/roberta_flack/killing_me_softly.crd?1944-06-06=always&transpose=-2&tuning=GCEA

TABLATURE CHALLENGE

Think of it as SODUKO for your ukulele fingers. So you haven't tried tablature? I have found two songs that will be more familiar to the over 40 reader. Crazy Dawg has posted some very generic looking tablatures and I have chosen two of the simplest and that I found sweet sounding. You'll have to have the melody in your head first. I hope you take the challenge and enjoy these two. Crazy Dawg's TAB's are in the UKULINKIES at the right.

KILLING ME SOFTLY (KMS)
http://home.arcor.de/crazydawg/ukulele/killing_me_softly.txt

AUTUMN LEAVES (Check out the video on the Crazy Dog link)
http://home.arcor.de/crazydawg/ukulele/autumn_leaves.txt

Compare this simple version of KMS to Ledward Ka'apana's a couple of posts ago. I find it amazing that I came across this song again so quickly. I remember being about 10 years old listening to an old white boxy plastic zenith radio and it was raining outside my window. I was cleaning my Lincoln pennies for my collection. At 10, this song was KILLING me, softly. (ca. 1971)

e-mail COMMENT 7-30-09: Good starting place, says my buddy, Larry Martin "but, I think it would help if the names of the chords were written on the sheet. For many I think the words would also be a big help, as you said it would be a good place to start but, it would take some changes to make this a good teaching tool. I also went through several other songs (on Crazy Dawg), and was impressed."

I wanted to keep the beginner's eye's limited in distractions to start - but Larry, as always, is Right.