Xxcristiixx
Active member
Hotel California for beginners?
Song Help Request Hotel California
- Thread starter Xxcristiixx
- Start date
McX
Well-known member
Aldrine has a video: http://ukuleleunderground.com/2012/08/ukulele-whiteboard-request-hotel-california-by-the-eagles/
...or here are some tabs:
http://ukuleletab.net/e/eagles/hotel-california/
I think that's about as simple as it gets, and all those chords are good ones to learn. Might be challenging for a first-week player, but don't let me discourage you. It's cool to make the chords and hear how they give that song its special sound.
...or here are some tabs:
http://ukuleletab.net/e/eagles/hotel-california/
I think that's about as simple as it gets, and all those chords are good ones to learn. Might be challenging for a first-week player, but don't let me discourage you. It's cool to make the chords and hear how they give that song its special sound.
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McX
Well-known member
And just to be clear, the UU video is much more challenging than the tabs (it's in a tougher key and more detailed). Might be useful to get rhythm, etc., but I'd start with the tabs since those are much easier chords.
Xxcristiixx
Active member
Thanks I will try this song I guess when I'm more advance then
McX
Well-known member
Again, I don't want to discourage you. Here's an idea: Allocate part of your practice time each day or week to this song. Start with the first chord. Am is my all time favorite uke chord because a) it's super easy to play, and b) I like minor key songs (like Hotel CA). So practice that chord, and you'll have learned a very useful chord that appears in a lot of beginning uke music. Then work on the next chord: E7. This is also one of my favorite chords because a) it's not too hard--way easier than a regular E, and b) it sounds really good with Am (don't just take my word for it, Don Henley apparently thought so too 
).
Then work an playing Am-E7 in rhythm. Hotel CA sounds fine with a simple rapid up-down-up-down-up-down-etc. strum. You can use a more sophisticated strum later. Then sing the first line on top of your Am-E7. Pat yourself on the back. Whether it took minutes, days, or weeks to get here, you are making progress toward playing the song.
Then add in G, D, F, and C (the most common uke chord), then Dm. Each time you add two chords, you'll be able to sing another line. By the time you get to Dm, you'll revisit your friend E7 and you can sing a whole verse.
I think Hotel California is actually a great song for learning these chords as the changes are not complex (half of each stanza is one chord, the other half is another), and when played in Am it uses a lot of useful first position chords.
You won't be able to play along with the record in that key, but you'll be able to play it and if you want sing it just fine on your own.
).Then work an playing Am-E7 in rhythm. Hotel CA sounds fine with a simple rapid up-down-up-down-up-down-etc. strum. You can use a more sophisticated strum later. Then sing the first line on top of your Am-E7. Pat yourself on the back. Whether it took minutes, days, or weeks to get here, you are making progress toward playing the song.
Then add in G, D, F, and C (the most common uke chord), then Dm. Each time you add two chords, you'll be able to sing another line. By the time you get to Dm, you'll revisit your friend E7 and you can sing a whole verse.
I think Hotel California is actually a great song for learning these chords as the changes are not complex (half of each stanza is one chord, the other half is another), and when played in Am it uses a lot of useful first position chords.
You won't be able to play along with the record in that key, but you'll be able to play it and if you want sing it just fine on your own.
itsme
Well-known member
And that's because Don Henley (and Don Felder and Glenn Frey) did not write it in the key you're espousing....don't just take my word for it, Don Henley apparently thought so too
You won't be able to play along with the record in that key...
I have two uke versions, one in the easier Am and one in the original Bm. Both have seven chords.
There are a lot easier pieces out there to start on. There are plenty of songs that can be played with no more than C, G, Am and F. Here's a thread about it.
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?8683-C-G-Am-F
Work on getting those easy chords down pat and being able to play them in time with no hesitation between chord changes and a steady strum before you try to introduce more complex chords. Uncle Rod's Boot Camp shows the basic chords for various keys, and some are easier than others!
But playing everything in the same key all the time gets boring, and sometimes you might need to change the key to one that better suits your vocal range.
If there's a uke group near you, definitely go, even if you don't think you're ready. They're usually a friendly bunch and welcoming to beginners. Playing with others will help you a lot. Being able to keep up is important. If you don't know a chord, just mute the strings with you LH and keep strumming with the RH until a chord comes around that you do know, even if it's only C.
McX
Well-known member
And that's because Don Henley (and Don Felder and Glenn Frey) did not write it in the key you're espousing.
Yes, they wrote it in a different key, and for guitars, not ukes, and that's why I pointed out that the key was different. But the relationships between the chords remain the same when transposed to the easier to play first-position uke chords. And I said as much, so I'm not sure what your point is.
