A deceptively simple song played in a continuous loop of eight bars. It's particularly suited to a Low G ukulele as it's fairly straightforward to pick out the base line in this chord melody whilst strumming. Written by Ben E King who had originally no intention of recording it himself, but when it was rejected by the Drifter who he was a member of, he thought he'd have a go! It's been recorded over 400 times by other artists and even had a film named after it with River Phoenix.

A delightful descending arpeggio in the key of D that is fairly straightforward to play. I've got my friend Craig Adamson to sing the vocal who I think does a pretty good job!

A beautiful love song by Bob Dylan but perhaps made more famous by Adele's version which was a huge international hit. However, with the arrangement I've tried to stick to the feel of the original. Basicallly, there are chord changes for each bar with the chord plucked at the beginning of the bar followed by a 3 note arpeggio of the chord.

Written in 1945 by Edith Piaf, it was a huge hit around the world in the late 1940's. The title roughly translates as "Life seen through rose-colored glasses". I hope my Manchester accent wasn't too obvious when trying to sing it. It almost has a clawhammer style feel to the fingerpicking. After the vocal accompaniment, I play the whole song again with just the ukulele.

Voted the best song of the 20th century by BBC radio 2 listeners and the best pop song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 1999, this was the first solo song by the Beatles. Paul McCartney played acoustic guitar and foot tapped the beat and was accompanied by a string quartet. I've tried to give a similar plucking/picking feel to the song as the original as well mirroring the string quartet with several recorders.

I found the only way to get a feel of the original is to pick out the base lines on the higher notes of the ukulele. I think (hope) it works ok and gives it a slightly different twist. After arranging it, it took me a while to learn but it's a great song to play with friends or at an open mike setting.

A song that is really fun to play. A steady even strum accompanied by a simple picking out of the riff. I use a steel guitar for the instrumental and try to get the ukulele to mirror the Flamenco style clapping of the middle section of the original.

This song is played with two ukuleles with the first uke mirroring the synthesisers of the original and the second the steel strums. I've shown both on the video with accompanying tablature. The instrumental (originally a saxaphone) is played on a steel guitar.

One of the most recognisable songs from the pop era, the scope of the Low G ukulele allows it to capture all the descending baselines much reminiscent of Bach's Air on the G string. Pretty straightforward to play. Accompanied by harmonica for the solo sections and sung by Craig Adamson

A fairly straightforward song to play. An 8 bar sequence is alternatively plucked and then picked and can be mastered fairly quickly. It is sung by Manon Booth-Laure who introduced me to the song as well as its French original La Coup de Soleil by Richard Cocciante.

On the original recording, Nick Drake drops the G string on the guitar down to an E and capo's it on the 3rd fret. Fortunately it's not necessary to change the tuning on the ukulele although you play quite a proportion of the song higher up the fretboard. I hope this arrangement on the ukulele does at least some justice to marvelous, concise, percussive original

A kind of lullably to a loved one, this beautiful song is mainly picked arpeggio style. There are a couple of fairly challenging hammer-ons and pull-off in the chorus but it's well worth the effort. It's accompanied by a steel guitar in the intro and also some recorders.

With songs with these types of base lines, the low G ukulele really comes into it's own. There's only 3 chords but nevertheless a very distinctive song. The original is in the key of C but I've needed to change it G to work with the Low G ukulele. I've also tried to mimic the strings Sam Cooke's original with a descant and tenor recorder.

There's a combination of fingerpicking and strumming in this song. I've tried to replicate the piano break on the ukulele which has very fast note and changes, the slides are also a bit challenging but the rest of song is not too difficult to play. I've used recorders (descant and tenor) to mimic the strings. It's played in the key of Cm, two keys higher than the original, I therefore sing it in a lower octave.

A deceptively simple song and really pleased it transposes so well onto the ukulele. Very thoughtful lyrics by Jack White, who I captures the sense of wonder and possibility of early childhood. Played in G , the same key as the original.

This is actually a cover of a cover. I've basically just tabbed out this wonderful version of the Fleetwood Mac early classic by 'Ukulele Phil', see: . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8-PHIiBGP4 It's a great song to play around with some blues licks, with a bit of bending and hammering and mixing them up with the bluesy chord changes. It's played in the key of F#, two keys lower than the original. I've also added some recorder accompaniment to try give a feel of the strings accompaniment.

Co-written by Sting and guitarist Dominic Miller the song tells the tale of a card playing gambler who plays not to win but to find some hidden meaning in the universe. I've adapted it in Gm, half a key higher than the original and I got a bit carried away with the arrangement adding bass, percussion, harmonica and recorders. The song pretty much repeats itself every 16 bars apart from the break.

Written by Paul Simon during his time busking and gigging in the Uk in the mid 60's about his girlfriend and muse at the time, Kathy Chitty. Considered one of Paul Simon's most personal songs and at the height of his poetic powers. It's in G, half a key higher than the original.

A beautifully written song about child abuse, this is Suzanne Vega's most successful song. The song is half plucked and half picked and is fairly straightforward. I use quite a full arrangement for this song and brought in Rosie Ellis again to sing the vocals, see also Sweet dreams are made of this and Cactus tree. It's played in the key of G, half a key higher than the original.

This is Cat Stevens favourite song that he wrote prior to his conversion to Islam. He wrote it after a severe bout of tubercolosis that nearly killed him. indicating that he would still find life very meaningful even if he was deprived of many of his faculties. I couldn't quite manage to play it at the same tempo as he did at 131 BPM and opted for 120 but you could try!. I also play it in E, a key higher than the original but you can still reach those high notes if you fancy singing it.

This song from Joni Mitchell's first album in 1967 'Songs to a Seagull' speaks of the tension between love and freedom. Apart from the intro and outro, the fingerpicking is the same for all the verses. It's arranged in the key of G, half a note higher than the original, but my friend Rosie Ellis who I enlisted to sing the vocals handled the very notes with aplomb!

Played with two ukuleles with one plucking the chords, almost reggae style and the other picking out the main riff. I got my friend Rosie Ellis to sing the vocal but it would also work great with two vocalists. There is also a guitar accompaniment. Played in CM, the same key as the original.

A sad and moving song with the lyrics speaking for themselves. Pretty easy to play (and learn by heart). Definitely one for playing with friends etc. Played in A, the same key as the original.

The trick with this one is for the main riff to barre the D chord with your first finger and you can then pick out the rest of the riff with your other fingers. It has an enjoyable driving rhythm and can easily be accompanied by whistling the main motiff. The lyrics are quite dark with the protaganist burning down the house of the woman who chooses not to sleep with him. Hopefully, times have changed since the 60's! Played in the same key as the original

The debut single by the poet and musician Leonard Cohen. It describes his encounter with the dancer Suzanne Verdal. The song has a hypnotic clawhammer rhythm, which in the guitar version is accentuated on the base notes. I've arranged the song in the key of G, half a note higher than the original. Those bass notes are played an octave higher than on the guitar arrangement, but hopefully it gives a flavour of the original arrangement.

Written for her debut album 'Tracy Chapman' the fierce, edgy lyrics portray the protagonist being trapped by her situation but not seeming to care. These lyrics along with it's pulsating riff give this song its power. Played in the key of E (the same as the original), it's a combination of strumming and picking out the hammer ons. Fairly straightforward once you get the hang of it. I've also included some guitar and recorder accompaniment.

The song is in F, the same key as the original and I try to capture some of the flavour of the piano and melancholy nature of the song in the ukulele arrangement. I wouldn't say there are any particularly tricky sections. It has a short intro and then follows the same sequence of chords for each of the 3 verses with a rallentando on the last two bars

A fairly straightforward song. It's played in the key of F (one key higher than the original). Basically, the first section is fingerpicked up to the second chorus after which it is strummed - apart from the outro. In the bridge section I added a small acoustic guitar acommpaniment that has some delay on it. It was a bit of stretch for me to sing an octave higher in the latter chorus sections, but my range is fairly limited!

This song is played arpeggio style in a set of 4 triplets per bar. As the song progresses, further ukulele tracks are added, the first strumming the first beat of each bar then later another track strummng throught the whole bar. My friend and neighbour Craig Adamson was roped in for the vocal, who I think does a fantastic job! There is also a tenor recorder accompaniment that gives a feel for the original string arrangement.

This song was written about the impact of heroin in musician friends Young new, especially fellow Crazy Horse band member Danny Whitten, who died of an overdose in 1972 the same year the song was released. It's played chord melody style with the various melodies picked out with the index finger whilst strumming. It's played in 4/4 but with a triplet feel to it. The key is D, the same as the original. I have a go at singing it in falsetto, like Young. However, on it sounds a bit reedy so I've also sung it in a key lower to try and give it a bit more body.

This traditional Scottish Irish Folk song also known as 'Will you go, lassie go' stems originally from the lyrics and melody of "The Braes of Balquhither" by the Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774–1810) and Scottish composer Robert Archibald Smith (1780–1829). It was later adapted by the Northern Irish folk musician Francis McPeake and first recorded as Wild Mountain Thyme in the 1950's. It's played quite quickly but the fingerpicking pattern of the verses is quite straightforward and is repeated for each verse verse and chorus. The instrumental break is a bit more challenging as the melody of the verse is also picked out whilst maintaining the basis pattern. This is also accompanied by verse being played on the harmonica.

Alongside Blackbird by the Beatles, Dust in the Wind is probably the most popular fingerstyle song people want to learn, especially on the guitar, but is also well suited to the low G ukulele. It was written by Kansas' Livgren originally as a 'finger exercise' but when his wife heard it she encouraged him to develop it. The intro and verse/chorus is not too challenging, although there is quite a stretch for the Em chord at the beginning of the verse. The instrumental break however is somewhat more difficult, but worth the effort!

Scarborough Fair is a traditional English ballad, in which a former lover is given a number of impossible tasks to complete. Paul Simon was introduced to it during his time doing the folk clubs in England in the mid 60's. This arrangement is played in the same key as the original and closely matches Paul Simon's version. I try to give the vocal a more English folk sound, although I did struggle a bit on the high notes.
Whilst learning the song myself, I didn't find the fingering too difficult, although it too me a while to get up to the 130 tempo, especially with the hammer-ons.

Blackbird was written by Paul McCartney for the Beatles White album and is credited with being the most popular fingerpicking song that people like to learn on the guitar. Bach's Bourrée in E minor formed the inspiration for the song which McCartney and George Harrison use to show off at parties in their teenage years. The lyrics were influence by the civil rights movement in US as well a Blackbird McCartney heard singing whilst with the Beatles in India. I try to get the feel of McCartney's unusual fingerpicking/finger strumming style on the arrangement.

This song was on John Lennon's first solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band after the Beatles broke up. It was a critique of the class system in Britain with him saying "or the people like me who are working class, who are supposed to be processed into the middle classes, or into the machinery". Although it could be argued that Lennon himself came from a middle class background in that he grew up in a middle class neighbourhood, went to a grammar school and later to an art college. It drew controversy especially in the US for the use of the word 'fucking' and was initially banned by many radio stations.
He played the song in Am but I use Gm to make it easier to play on the ukulele. The original has a wonderfully hypnotic rhythm which I try to emulate by using the alternating base line and hammer-on that Lennon uses. However, I've added an intro and outro based around a simple riff on the Gm chord.

This song is about a spiritual experience Peter Gabriel had when climbing up Solsbury Hill and how it helped him move forward after leaving the band Genesis. It's main played an unusual time signature 7/4 which for me gives the song a sense of constantly about to tip over. This arrangement is in C one note higher than the original. It has quite a percussive sound as all the notes are played on the lower 3 strings. I've also added a kick drum and a tambourine for percussion.

The song is played in the key of D, the same as the original with vocals by Dan Shoobridge. The ukulele is picked during the first part of the song and mainly strummed through the latter. I played the lead guitar motifs on the soprano recorder. It's worth memorizing the main riff as it's a bit of a stretch to play the D note on the A string, so it helps to look to make sure you hit it.

This song, written and performed by Ralph Mctell describes the experiences Mctell busking in Europe during the 60's. It has been covered many times and is a round the fire favourite. I hope the arrangement is evocative of the original song. I've also included a break on the harmonica. It's played at a tempo of 144bpm and it took me a while to get up to that speed. Hey, there's no rush!

This song was written in 1956 and was Johnny Cash's first major hit. It is unusual that it changes key for each of the verses going up C, D and G than back down D to C. The root note his hummed at the beginning of each verse. When asked why, Cash said it was to find the pitch of each verse. It's played in the boom ditty boom style common in his songs and has a walking bass, which the Low G strung ukulele facilitates.

I arranged the song in Cm to make it easier to play. This made singing it high like Thom Yorke too much of a challenge for my creaking voice, so I sing it an octave lower. The fingerpicking action feels very much like playing a bass guitar.

Blurb for Eternal Flame

Written about his girlfriend at the time Suze Rotolo during her indefinite stay in Italy (see the Freewheeling Bob Dylan album cover). It was adapted from the traditional song '"Who's gonna buy your chickens when I'm gone' Please excuse my rather pathetic attempt to attempt a southern drawl whilst singing.

The song was written by John Lennon for Mia Farrow's sister on the Beatles trip to India. It uses the clawhammer fingerpicking technique which Lennon was introduced to on the trip by Donovan

I’d like to put up a chord melody/strumming song around every 8 songs and this is the first one these. I tried to get a feel of the original without using any other instruments. It’s played at the original tempo but it took me a few weeks to gradually get up there!

There are several sections to this song but nothing too complicated. Perhaps, what takes most time to get used to is the gradual increase in tempo. . I got a bit carried away with the arrangement. I couldn’t resist the offer of a jam with two friends on bass and sax!

The song consists of four chords played in a continuous 4 bar loop. For the main body of the song, the chords are played fingerstyle with a dampening effect. The final section is a strummed chord melody followed by strumming the chords.

Arranged in the clawhammer style with some nice bass runs. The song is repeated every sixteen bars. The barre on bar 11 takes a bit of practice, but overall a great song to familiarize yourself with the clawhammer technique.

This song is played mainly on the first 3 strings (G, C & E) following a simple pattern, more in line with the Gary Jules cover. The break though, evocative of the Tears for Fears original is a bit more challenging.

Played in the same key as the original. There’s quite a lot to learn with this song but is well worth it and the arrangement certainly gives a sense of James Taylor’s version. The most challenging part is the slide at bar 32. It would be good to use the loop tool here.

The tempo of this song is pretty much dictated by how fast you can play the intro. Paul Simon plays it at about 185, but the best I could manage was 170 so feel free to up the tempo here! The rest of the song is played in C with in a Travis thumb picking style.