Looking for song suggestions......

ejnovinsky

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In kind of a rut right now, have learned quite a few simple songs already, but Im having difficulty finding intermediate level tunes.....everything I find seems to have the same 5 or 6 chords (G,C,D,Em,F,Cmaj7....etc) you get the idea the really simple changes. Looking for something with some unique progressions so I widen my playing a bit....any suggestions? Maybe something that tosses that dreaded E chord around more.......
 
A lot of the Beatles' songs will challenge you a bit.
 
Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" is A, D, and E chords. Might be a good one.

And believe it or not, "I'm Yours" has some pretty challenging chords if you play it in the original key. Lots of folks transpose it to C on the uke or A on the guitar, but Jason Mraz did it in B:

B
F#
G#m
E


JJ
 
Try "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" by Eric Idle. And you can't believe every chord chart you see on the Internet! I just started working on this one last week. I've had to play and replay along with YouTube to get the chords right, and I'm still not positive about it. (Which sounds better here? D or D7? - That is the question...) The dreaded E chord and some quick chord changes are involved. It is a "step-up" song. I don't know if you're familiar with the song, but in the right crowd this is a great sing-along!
 
Try Jim Beloff's "Ukulele Gems". It's a collection of arrangements by Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards, May Singhi Breen, and other early masters. Good songs, and the arrangements aren't shy about stretching out your hand a little.
 
Go to ukulelehunt.com and check out the chords for the Grinch song. They are interesting and its a good stretching challenge. If you get really good at it, you'll be ready for the holidays.
 
Thanks for the ideas Im checking some out now. Birdergirl Im a huge Monty Python fan so "always look on the bright side" is a great suggestion!
 
If you're into pop music, you could try Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" (F#m, D, A, E, a single C#, and then E, F#, G#m, and B after the key change). Also fun is Fastball's "The Way" (F#m, Bm, C#7, F#7, and a few Es) and Oasis' "She's Electric" and "Married With Children" (both progressions follow the chords E, Ab, C#m, A and feature rapid transitions from D to E, or B7 to E).

If you want to play around with the same songs you already know, you could always just transpose them a step or two in either direction and you got a whole new set of chords to learn :).
 
Let me invite you to click on my "MP3" link below my signature.

Then select a song to 'dowbnload'. When the new screen appears click on my email address with the " (at) ".

That will take you to a screen which will give you access to my Old Favorite pdfs and Hawaiian pdfs which
should match, as sheet music, with the MP3 recordings.

Then have at it, that's what they're there for.

keep uke'in',
 
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