Uketropolis: Ukulele Q&A with James Hill

To learn more about the JHUI Teacher Certification Program please visit www.uketropolis.com/jhui.

It's early in the morning on November 4th, the day after the U.S. election. And there's a feeling of suspense in the air all over the world. Here in Nova Scotia, Canada, we feel it too. What is that feeling of suspense? When do we feel that in music and why?

James P. on "Lesson 5: Streets of Laredo"
My pinky finger is a little slow to get to that B-flat chord!

James Hill replies "Lesson 5: Streets of Laredo
Not to worry, James... it will come with practise! You can try rolling the chord (i.e. dragging the thumb across the strings so that the onset of each note in the chord is slightly staggered). This will give your pinky finger a *fraction* of a second more time to get in place. That might be all it needs.

--

Amy on "Lesson 1: The F Major Scale"
I like your color coordination - the colour of the shirt matches the colour of the book!!

James Hill on "Lesson 1: The F Major Scale"
Shucks... thanks, Amy!

--

Sibo Wang on "Lesson 1: The F Major Scale"
If I'm reading the sheet correctly, those mystery melodies are also using notes from the C major scale only, right? Then, for music which uses C,D,E,F,G, and A only, how do we know it's in the key of F major or C major? And why do we need to make this distinction?

James Hill on "Lesson 1: The F Major Scale"
Great question, Sibo. Only ONE note changes between the key of C and the key of F (b becomes b-flat). So if you’re only using the notes c, d, e, f, g and a and your only playing melody, in a sense there’s no difference. However, if you’re strumming things will be quite different. Also, the “roles” of the notes change. In the key of C, for example, the note c is the tonic. The “home” note where the music feels at rest. In the key of F, however, the c note is the “away” note where the melody can feel unresolved. It might sound like a subtle thing but it has an impact on the way you feel the music. I hope that helps!

I recommend you listen to Episode #4 before diving into this bonus episode.

So you've learned to count "by two" through the musical alphabet: A, C, E, G, B, D, F. Now you can quickly name the notes in any one of those chords by leapfrogging; what are the notes in a C chord? c, e, g. The notes in an F chord? f, a, c. Awesome!

But if you listen closely, some of the chords you create will be major and others will be minor. Just remember: "I have an iDEA." That will remind you that the chords D, E and A need sharps in order to be major chords. For example the D major chord is d, f#, a. The E major chord is e, g#, b. The A major chord is a, c#, e. The outlier is the B chord which gets two sharps: b, d#, f#.

Why do we want to make every chord a major chord?  Because most musicians use the major chord as their harmonic starting point. It's the "vanilla" of music. Start there, then add fancy toppings! When you can name the notes in any major chord you have a foundation from which to grow in your understanding of music.

Notes in major chords:
A: a, c#, e
B: b, d#, f#
C: c, e, g
D: d, f#, a
E: e, g#, b
F: f, a, c
G: g, b, d

Barbara on "Lesson 5: Carnival of Venice (Interlaced)"
When playing a song like this, I often find myself playing one string off on my right or left hand (sometimes both) because I am looking at the music. Do you have any suggestions on how not to get "lost"?

James answers:
Hi Barbara, good question! I second what Zsolt said and I'll add this. It sounds a bit odd, but try playing with your eyes closed! Even if that means you just memorize a small part of the piece (1 or 2 measures) and then play that part 10 times with your eyes shut. You will hear and feel things in a new way. Try it and let me know if it helps!

--

Catherine on "Lesson 3: Interlaced and Synchronous Arranging"
How do you choose which note to insert for the interlacing accompaniment?

Reply by Zsolt from Team Uketropolis on "Lesson 3: Interlaced and Synchronous Arranging"
That is a great question! There are many ways - on the above example James fills the gaps with one note from the underlying harmony - usually in a way that the fill is below the melody note (which is a bit more challenging with the re-entrant tuning, so you might check out the re-entrant version of this lesson too to really get the idea). As you go along, you will see some more ways to do it.

James answers:
Great reply, Zsolt, I couldn't have said it better! Does clarify things, Catherine? If not, keep asking questions; we're here to help!

--

Catherine on "Lesson 7: Carnival of Venice (Synchronous)"
James: I'm really enjoying your ukulele series. Any info on music theory is appreciated. Somewhere about ten seconds into your explanation on why chords are marked C when they're really C6 or CSUS4, my brain shut down. Do you have tutorials on straight theory for the non-musically inclined? It would be so helpful to be able to review theory on its own without having to search it out within each tutorial. Thanks so much.

James answers:
Hi Catherine, glad you're enjoying the lessons! There aren't any theory-only lessons in The Ukulele Way although one of the learning paths in the Navigator (https://www.uketropolis.com/navigator) has a special focus on theory. This is a topic that would be great to put out to other students on the Community page to see what others recommend. I'd also be happy to clarify anything in the discussion of C vs. C6 vs. Csus4 if you'd like!