Jazz ukulele

vin · Sep 14, 2011

hi folk,

what the difference between regular uke and jazz uke. Is jazz uke really sound more like in jazz and blue?

thanks

lkdumas · Sep 14, 2011

A very good introduction to jazzy uke is "Classic Jazz Standards fro Ukulele" by Glen Rose.

Manalishi · Sep 14, 2011

From players I have seen and heard,I would say the main difference
is the PLAYER rather than the instrument! Not being smart here,I
really have found that! It's like a tone deaf/cack handed guitarist
saying his guitar is crap,then passing it to Hendrix/Clapton and then
falling over in awe!

PhilUSAFRet · Sep 14, 2011

There are a few companies that "market" jazz ukes, but in the end, any uke will work.
Making a uke look like a little jazz guitar will not necessarily give it a jazzy sound....except in the eye of the beholder. So subjective. I personally think solid mahogany ukes tuned to low g meet my expectations for a "jazzy" ukulele sound, but then that too is very subjective. Good luck getting a "clear" answer

23skidoo · Sep 14, 2011

As the others said, I've gotten the impression that it's an 'eye of the beholder' issue..... especially considering 'uke isn't what you'd call a traditional jazz instrument.

Pretty run of the mill sounding uke that sounds pretty jazzy to me:

I think if you can play jazz - and you play it on the uke - you got yourself a certified 'jazz uke'.....

blab · Sep 14, 2011

lkdumas said:
A very good introduction to jazzy uke is "Classic Jazz Standards fro Ukulele" by Glen Rose.

Thank you for reminding me of this book. I wanted to buy it "later" but completely forgot about it. Hard to find btw as it is not listed on Glen's site. It's available in his E-Junkie store though.

Edit: Found the link in Glen's FAQ, so here it is:

http://www.e-junkie.com/135582/tag/9397/tag.php#Music+Book

uke4ia · Sep 15, 2011

Want to sound jazzy? Learn all the chord forms for making minor 7th and major 7th chords. Then spend a few minutes playing nothing but minor 7th and major 7th chords in any completely random order. When you get good at this, and do it in front of other people, someone will invariably tell you how jazzy you sound.

PhilUSAFRet · Sep 15, 2011

23skidoo said:
As the others said, I've gotten the impression that it's an 'eye of the beholder' issue..... especially considering 'uke isn't what you'd call a traditional jazz instrument.

Pretty run of the mill sounding uke that sounds pretty jazzy to me:

I think if you can play jazz - and you play it on the uke - you got yourself a certified 'jazz uke'.....

What 23skidoo said!

EDW · Sep 15, 2011

as soon as I read the post all I could think was play the right notes in the right style and you have one.

Wicked · Sep 15, 2011

Not to go off on a tangent…. but, the ukulele is actually an excellent instrument for playing jazz because (similar to archtop guitars) it has a punchy sound with minimal sustain. These features are desirable due to the harmonic density of jazz... In other words, the high number of complex chords ring clearly for a short period of time – preventing the sound from getting muddled.

Playing complex Bebop style improvisations takes some creativity, due to the lack of range (especially with reentrant tuning) – but it is not impossible. (So aptly demonstrated by Mr. Skidoo.)

uke4ia said:
Want to sound jazzy? Learn all the chord forms for making minor 7th and major 7th chords. Then spend a few minutes playing nothing but minor 7th and major 7th chords in any completely random order. When you get good at this, and do it in front of other people, someone will invariably tell you how jazzy you sound.

…and you forgot Maj7 and a ton of min6 chords (with a smattering of half-diminished)… Just watch Mel do it.

Chris Tarman · Sep 15, 2011

23skidoo said:
As the others said, I've gotten the impression that it's an 'eye of the beholder' issue..... especially considering 'uke isn't what you'd call a traditional jazz instrument.

Pretty run of the mill sounding uke that sounds pretty jazzy to me:

I think if you can play jazz - and you play it on the uke - you got yourself a certified 'jazz uke'.....

Hey! That "run of the mill sounding uke" is a vintage Martin Style 1!

Dougf · Sep 16, 2011

uke4ia said:
Want to sound jazzy? Learn all the chord forms for making minor 7th and major 7th chords. Then spend a few minutes playing nothing but minor 7th and major 7th chords in any completely random order. When you get good at this, and do it in front of other people, someone will invariably tell you how jazzy you sound.

A lot of people have told me that my songs sound "jazzy", although I don't think I would claim it's really jazz. I think one reason my songs have that sound is because I use a lot of maj7, min7, min6, b5, #5, rootless 9th, and diminished chords. Here's a little tune I came up with that I think shows this, all of the chords used are like those I've listed, not a single triad in the whole song (well, it's not even 2 minutes long).

You Might've Guessed I'm in Love - original

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAq6ROik0rk

Wicked · Sep 16, 2011

Doug, that absolutely qualifies as jazz - both harmonically and rhythmically.

uke4ia · Sep 16, 2011

The only time I've ever purposely tried for jazzy in the context of an actual song is on the Peanuts Xmas song. This includes an Eb7(b5) that is really hard to play - 6330.

Dougf · Sep 16, 2011

uke4ia said:
This includes an Eb7(b5) that is really hard to play - 6330.

You might try 2334 for Eb7b5. With re-entrant tuning it's pretty much the same voicing as 6330.

23skidoo · Sep 17, 2011

Chris Tarman said:
Hey! That "run of the mill sounding uke" is a vintage Martin Style 1!

Yeah, but it still just sounds like a 'ukulele.....

Chris Tarman · Sep 17, 2011

23skidoo said:
Yeah, but it still just sounds like a 'ukulele.....

Blasphemer!!!!

uke4ia · Sep 17, 2011

Dougf said:
You might try 2334 for Eb7b5. With re-entrant tuning it's pretty much the same voicing as 6330.

It's the same chord, but the melody note at that point in the song is an A. By playing a 6330 with a low G string, the highest note is an A. So it works better for that song.

eheart · Sep 20, 2011

It depends on the tuning you set for your uke. check this: http://www.ukulelemovement.com/different-tunings-for-ukuleles

Bradford · Sep 20, 2011

Just to let you know, I and a few others make arch top ukuleles. Just like their arch top guitar cousins, they are louder than flattop instruments, with less sustain, perfect for jazz.

Brad

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