Season 308 of the Ukulele

UkingViking

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Video first, text a bit later...

Remember, no videos before midnight Hawaii time!






























No, I didn't accidentially post the wrong video...
I don't do how-to videos, it just starts with a practical joke. :rolleyes:




So the theme is pretty simple:
A beverage must be a central element of the lyrics. It doesn't need to be in the title, allthough it probably often will be, but the more prominent in the song it is the better. The beverage may be hard or soft, hot or cold.
Searching through old seasons to see what had allready been taken, I found a theme about alcohol, and one about tea and coffey, but those were a long time ago, and this is a bit broader.
If you pick hard drinks, please pick songs with references to particular beverages, not just "alcohol".
Being inventive and picking beverages that are less common in songs will give bonus points. Off course the bonus points are not worth anything, but still.

The song limit is a bit stricter than usual:
I will make three playlists, and you may only make one entry for each:
- Covers
- Original songs
- Renditions or parodies of Kelis "Milkshake" :)

I figure that this is a light theme to write original songs for, and hopefully that will make more people explore songwriting. It doesn't need to be deep and thoughfull, a praise to your favorite beverage can easily be put to a common chord progression.

For those who like to do many songs I apologize for the strict limit, but I like to make it possible for as many seasonistas as possible to get through listening to them all. When not hosting I sometimes give up half way on busy weeks with lot of work and many entries, and I am not proud of that.
So listen to as many songs as you can!

Prizes:
The prizes will be ukulele novelty mugs to hold your favorite beverage!
I will make some shortlists based on random and unfair terms, and draw a winner from each. There will be 5 winners, so the shortlists might not follow the playlists. Or some might. It will be unfair!

Basic rules:
The usual rules apply.
Only new videos,
the must say that they are for this seasons,
ukulele must be a central instrument,
season starts January 8 th. Hawaii time and ends 8 days later.

Playlists:
Cover songs https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjGqiWnN3Jl_ZgQmIE9ay1SHT2uSc5rwq
Original songs https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjGqiWnN3Jl8AAdnqMy0J3OSOkuptSiB5
Milkshake! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjGqiWnN3Jl_be_uRxdzAFA4g0l-5oXDm
 
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Sounds like its time to wet our whistle!

Cheers to UkingViking :cheers:
 
One. Really? Last time one was the thing was before season 16 (when I started). Great theme- too bad we can’t run with it.
 
we can bring three

i would love to hear "milkshake", all cloverdaled up!


it's a great week to leap into making a homemade song, for anyone who hasn't done that before, or feels they can't or don't know how. i remember berni, mighty songwriter of the seasons, ran a season where he encouraged us to bring originals, i remember he had some great tips for starting writing songs, i will go look for that info, in the meantime, i would suggest trying...

1. pick 2 chords that sound nice together, eg. C and F, D and A, Em and D, gosh i could be here all day, you could do worse than write chord letters down and pick a couple out of a hat, if they don't sound good keep picking another til you find a combo that does sound nice... then have a little warble over the top. you can think in terms of just a simple tune, often you can just sing pretty much the same note over simple chord progressions. or you can start with some words that appeal - this week we have a prompt for the subject matter. lyrically things can be very very simple, some great songs have been written with very very simple lyrics, the only uke that matters did an amazing cover of a totally brilliant song, lyrically simple but amazingly powerful because of that simplicity...



2. pick a song you already like, maybe an easy to play one, and try changing the lyrics, you can play free and easy with the tune to make it even more your own. (new day rising could become, green tea brewing! or, pour me a.beer!)

3. work on a simple blues song structure. with 12 bar blues you play, say, AAAA, DDAA, EDAE, that first AAAA gives one line of the song "i got the need-a-cuppa-tea blues", DDAA is the second line, often a repeat lyrically of the first, and ADAE
is the third line of lyrics eg "give me a cupa, give me a cuppa tea, yeah"). this great webpage lists the blues progression for every key http://www.zebrakeys.com/lessons/beginner/chords/?id=11

ok i'm gonna go look for berni's post and tips now
 
<cough> ok either i dreamt about berni giving us great song writing tips, or i just can't find the post! if anyone else remembers this, and can find it, please post it, if berni swings by and remembers or wants to just add some top tips here, that would be brill, otherwise.................... um....................... i dunno!!!!!!!!
 
See? I was really pissed about one song. And there is BEV calling the first song that came to mind. I may have to bring my milkshake...but I promise none of you will ever be the same again.
Much love sister.
 
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Someone ordered a milkshake?


Sorry about the flicker. Building's damned water-pump does that to the flourescant overheads.
 
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Just in case anyone needs inspiration, I had this on my iTunes...

 
Here's one from The Killers.

 
Playlists are up now!

I am happy to see that the milkshake is allready on :cool:

As for songwriting:
Having only written three songs for the seasons (209, 218, 250), I am hardly an authority, but for what it is worth:
I have been told that professional hitmakers usually come up with the melody first, then write some words afterwards. But I don't. And I know others who don't either.
For a 12 bar blues, you can just look at the usual numbers of lines for a verse and write your own, play it in whatever key you thinks is easiest.
For the other songs I wrote, and started with the lyrics.
Decided if I wanted to start in major or minor, depending on the feel of the song.
Sang the first line along with different chords in either major or minor as decided, trying to find the key that sounded best.
Googled popular chords progressions starting in that key, and tried them untill I found one I liked.
This is probably not the pro's way to go, but it became a song.

For now, comments are on youtube, I might transfer them later.

Happy strumming!
 
FWIW, if I'm writing a song it's because there's something I want to sing about. So I'll almost always start with the lyrics. I'll normally sing them to myself without even having a how with me, get the feel for the song that way, maybe sing a riff as well and then slowly the main structure of the song will appear. I'll then pick up the uke and mess about with the riff to see if I can get right on there, and during that messing something else normally pops up. From there I tend to just use basic chord progressions around that, maybe chuck in some 7ths or sustained chords as needed.

I don't think it's an exact science.
 
See? I was really pissed about one song. And there is BEV calling the first song that came to mind. I may have to bring my milkshake...but I promise none of you will ever be the same again.
Much love sister.
i feel myself being drawn irresistably to your yard, even as we speak! :rock:


all riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight

homemade song

"i like a cup of coffee"

 
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