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Free Backing Tracks for Bluegrass, Celtic, Gypsy-Jazz, etc.

Free Bluegrass Backing Tracks
Free Bluegrass Backing Tracks

If you play a string instrument and like any of these styles of music (Bluegrass, Old-Timey, Celtic, Gypsy-Jazz, etc.) you may like this Website – it offers free backing recordings for playing along with. You can slow down or speed them up.
There is also a section of common Chord Progressions to practice.

http://www.fbbts.com/Home.html

This is similar but a little less daunting. It includes the words, but you can’t slow down, etc. https://toneway.com/songs

Technology Tip:

I use Chrome browser on my laptop and my audio volumes were too soft and so I searched for a solution and found this.
It works great!
https://chrome.google.com/…/nfdfiepdkbnoanddpianalelglmfooik

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Create a ‘Lei’ decoration for the head of your ukulele

DIY Lei decoration for uke or guitar from One Music School
Tutorial Video – DIY Lei decoration for uke or guitar from One Music School

Ever seen ukuleles with beautiful flowers adorning the head? Where do people get those!?!

You are in luck! One Music School shares how to make them from inexpensive fake flowers.

Give it a try!    https://youtu.be/US-g1dJq8_Q

Here are some other sources:

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‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran for Ukulele – fingerpicking AND strumming

I love this song – the melody is just beautiful.
I wanted to play it on the ukulele and started searching for good arrangements.
Ran across this tutorial video and love it – a little fingerpicking and a little strumming – neither too hard.
The hard part is that you need a capo on the 1st fret – they cost about $15 for a good one.

The video – https://youtu.be/s8b2xKBj-ao

The printed music/notes for the video are in the comments or here – https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B62zBAbDVZxXeWJxNkdDbVdiUUU/view

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Amahi begins Ukulele Tips of the Week on Facebook

If you don’t know Amahi ukuleles, please give me the pleasure to introduce you. Amahi has been making fine violins for years under the name Amati (with a ‘t’). They recently started making intentionally inexpensive ukuleles and I believe that they are a great contender! They now have a broad range of ukes from $50ish student ukuleles which are similar to Makala to $500ish models.  I really like the quality of their intermediates ($150-$300ish). They also offer more expensive brands under separate brand names. They are located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Visit their Website and ‘like’ them on Facebook to learn more about them.

They also offer less expensive AND more expensive brands under separate brand names.

Amahi is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Visit their Website and ‘like’ them on Facebook to learn more about them.

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UkeBuddy.com – Chords, Scales, Arpeggios, Tuner & Chord Namer

UkeBuddy.com
UkeBuddy.com

UkeBuddy.com is a great online (Desktop OR Mobile) source for ukulele chords, ukulele scales, arpeggios, an ukulele tuner & a chord namer.

  • Chords – Look up chords by letters including sharps. If you are looking for a flat use the previous letter sharp – for example, B flat would be A sharp. E flat would be D sharp.
    • Alternate Chords – click on the ‘< # / # >’ on the headstock to look for alternative chords that may be easier to play for you or might add fuller sound.
  • Scales
  • Arpeggios
  • Chord Namer – click on the fretboard the chord you are exploring and the namer will tell you what chord it is.