Back in 2003, the good folks at Ukulele Hall of Fame decided to create the Fleabag Music songbook, described as “Songs for Uke Gatherings.” It was a labor of love, featuring 10 classic tunes often played on an ukulele—ranging from Hawaiian to Tin Pan Alley and folk.
The idea was to have one simple book (with standard music notation as well as chord charts) so ukulele strummers could be “on the same page” in playing some well-known (and all public domain) tunes.
While most of us know many of the songs, there are some of these old tunes that, ahem, some of us (did you see me raising my hand?) may have heard of but don’t really “know.” That’s where Bruce Evans and his wife, Karol, come in to the picture. The two of them paired up for some delightful strumming and singing to create a collection of MP3s of the 10 songs. That way, those of us who don’t know the songs well don’t have to fudge the melody anymore—we have something to listen to that will set us straight!
When you head to a jam session, is your collection of “must-have” music sheets heavier than your ukulele?
Although it has a European pedigree, the ukulele has been adopted wholeheartedly by Hawaiians—so any trip to this island paradise wouldn’t be complete without plenty of ukulele-centric activities—at least that’s how I look at it!
Landing at the Kona-side airport on the Big Island can be a bit off-putting if you’ve not traveled previously to the island. Passengers from Oahu first see the outlines of Lana’i and Moloka’i and the edge of Maui before heading “down” to this southernmost of the Hawaiian islands. Flying in, the sea is a blanket of inky blueness where it’s the deepest. Approaching the coast of the island, though, the color facets itself into a shimmer of blues, from the peacock-turquoise of the sandy-bottomed areas just offshore to the stands of dark coral seen underwater through an azure wash of color.