Kobayashi arrangements

pluck · Mar 23, 2016

I've seen several Kobayashi arrangements performed on youtube. They have mostly been played by one person who uses Low G a lot. So, my question is: are most Kobayashi arrangements in Low G?

BTW, you can see some Kobayashi performances on the kiwayavision youtube channel if you are interested.

jjjj · Mar 23, 2016

My brief survey of people playing Kiyoshi Kobayashi arrangements seems to indicate that they are G-agnostic. The melody occurs mostly on the A string (maybe a couple of notes on the E and C), and the G is used only in chords.

High or low G word certainly produce different sounds, but the melodies would be preserved.

This is only from watching videos, someone with a copy of the sheet music could answer more accurately.

FinnP · Mar 23, 2016

I just bought two books by Kobayashi: Ukulele Jazz and Ukulele Bossa Nova and both uses high G in notation and tabs. The arrangements are very good, but not on par with Lyle Ritz's arangements.
I also bought Jazz Standard Ukelele by Yosuke Miyajima, which uses a more modern arrangement style.
Listen to his arrangement of Summertime:
http://youtu.be/WQ2Z-WlYQhg

janeray1940 · Mar 23, 2016

I think it depends on the book. IIRC his Ukulele Method book has exercises that only make sense on low G, but many of his other arrangements just avoid the 4th string entirely.

photoshooter · Mar 23, 2016

A quick peek through my Kobayashi books show mostly high G but as mentioned most of the action happens on the first three strings so low G would work just fine on many of the songs.
I agree with Finn, I recently bought the Jazz Standard Ukulele book by Miyajama and like the arrangements very much. And I also recommend Ukulele Swing Jazz by Takashi Nakamura for some very good arrangements.

FinnP said:
I just bought two books by Kobayashi: Ukulele Jazz and Ukulele Bossa Nova and both uses high G in notation and tabs. The arrangements are very good, but not on par with Lyle Ritz's arangements.
I also bought Jazz Standard Ukelele by Yosuke Miyajima, which uses a more modern arrangement style.
Listen to his arrangement of Summertime:
http://youtu.be/WQ2Z-WlYQhg

pluck · Mar 23, 2016

Thanks for the replies. I have been thinking about ordering some Kobayashi books but wanted to make sure he wasn't a straight low G guy. Thanks for the input. I'll check out both Lyle Ritz and Miyajima.

The young woman I've been watching on youtube (Lami Jeon) does a lot of top down thumb strumming and also picks the melody with her thumb. I see so many arrangements that include melody notes on the G string so it kinda stands out when someone doesn't do that and only uses her thumb. I guess that isn't just a low-G thing though. Thanks again.

keod · Mar 23, 2016

FinnP said:
Summertime:
http://youtu.be/WQ2Z-WlYQhg

Very nice, thanks for posting

CTurner · Mar 24, 2016

photoshooter said:
A quick peek through my Kobayashi books show mostly high G but as mentioned most of the action happens on the first three strings so low G would work just fine on many of the songs.
I agree with Finn, I recently bought the Jazz Standard Ukulele book by Miyajama and like the arrangements very much. And I also recommend Ukulele Swing Jazz by Takashi Nakamura for some very good arrangements.

+1 for both of these books. Interesting and challenging arrangements. Most can be played just fine on low or high g.

Ukulelerick9255 · Mar 24, 2016

Silly me I always thought Kobyiashi was the final exam at Star Fleet Academy, little did I know.

ZappCatt · Mar 24, 2016

I thought he was the Nathan's Hot Dog eating champion before Joey Chestnut.

Kobayashi arrangements

pluck

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jjjj

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FinnP

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photoshooter

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pluck

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