Song Help Request Appalachian Tabs and Chords

Indeed, thanks for the links!
And great song 23skidoo! Glad this thread inspired you to write it :)
 
Thanks, guys, glad you enjoyed it.... thanks for all the info in the thread.... inspiring stuff.....
 
Fooled around with the clawhammer how to on ez folk. Man, it is hard but fun to do. Practice, practice, practice.
 
Oh, thanks for the Hetzlersfakebook link! Very useful!
Having a look at the modal tuning ones on this website at the minute, they include tunes in the myxolydian scale we've been looking at. There's Kitchen Girl in it too, one of the songs that ootsulele plays on the ukulele on his youtube channel
 
Wow, those videos were great. I love the angle he is at so you can see what is going on when he is playing.
 
I think the uke sounds good playing Bluegrass because it's kind of mandolin-ish sounding. You can do the chop strum like the mandolin. I used to go to the Bluegrass Assoc meeting down here and brought the uke once. You may get some stare from the Bluegrass "purists", but that'okay. Most people were cool with it. It blends in well with the other traditional instruments. As someone posted, if the uke isn't loud it probably won't be heard, but you won't be taking breaks with it.

You can actually simulate playing the banjo on the uke by tuning it the same as a banjo. The banjo is normally tuned Open G (gDGBD). You can simulate the same thing by tuning a Baritone ukulele to DGBD instead of DGBE. You'll be missing the top drone string, but can work around that. The same can be done on a regular uke by tuning it to GCEG instead of GECA. You should get a "Low G" string though. You'll be in an Open C tuning. By doing this you can work on Scruggs style 3 finger rolls or clawhammer style as well. There's a lot of banjo tab on the internet you can download and use.

I actually posted some videos on doing this a couple of years ago you can check out if interested. Pardon the mistakes in the video. Always need practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy-FuZ6NQpM
Ukulele & Banjo 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eotfNdFLKSI
Ukulele & Banjo 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfa_1wccs6s
Clawhammer Uke Medley


You can also play Hawaiian slack key on the uke in the same Open G tuning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0XJLzc-rn4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBq8Si2cIl8
 
berean_315, thank you so much for this excellent information and very clear videos!

Changing the tuning does make it much much easier and sound more "mountain".

I tuned my uke to gCEG and tried playing Clarence Ashley's version of The Cuckoo song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwlOO8RG-og) and everything got so much easier! I keep my index on 2nd string1st fret (F) the whole time, clawhammer with my thumb on the "low-G" string (currently just my regular 4th string tuned an octave lower), and make the main variations during the verses by hammering with my middle finger on 3rd string 2nd fret (D) and with my ring finger on the 4th string 3rd and 2nd frets (Bb and A) with keep clawhammering.

Tried something similar for Dark Holler and it sounds quite good too. And very different from how I was playing this song in GCEA tuning (see page 2). I love how there are so many ways to play one song :)

I've been meaning to get into Hawaiian slack key at some point. This convinced me I should get one more uke and put a proper lowG string on it :)
 
More "mountain" songs with similar tuning:





 
Nice vids. I just got back from the Fest up here and it was some great music played on stage and in the lot.
 
Nice! What festival was it?
 
It is called The Festy Experience. Three days up in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
I also play, or try to play mandolin and I have noticed that a lot of my mandolin tabs can be played on the ukulele by switching the A and E strings around. It might open up some more songs to try.
 
Neat! Do you know any mountain song for the mandolin that we could try to play this way on the uke? :)
(That festival looks really great)
 
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