Customer Reviews

Jumpin' Jim's '60s Uke-In: Ukulele Solo

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a piano teacher, and decided that I wanted to learn an instrument "just for the heck of it." I picked the ukelele pretty randomly, and stumbled across this book in the store I bought my instrument. What a great book! Tons of awesome songs, a lot of which are from the brilliant Beatles catalogue, and the arrangements are in fairly easy keys, with very clear chord symbols. The chord chart at the beginning of the book was very easy to use, and Jumpin' Jim's pointers were good both for an experienced musician and a novice. I highly reccomend this one - a lot of content for a very reasonable price.

There is no way you can play a uke' and not have this book!! The songs in this book compelled my 17 year old daughter to snatch my uke' and learn
to play these fun songs. Her favorite: "Here Comes The Sun". My friends love to sing along whenever I pull this book out. Really!

I disagree with the previous reviewer. As a beginner with no musical backround I can tell you the songs in this book (about one third of them Beatles tunes) are too difficult for me. I also own two other Jim Beloff books (Camp Uke and Ukulele Country) which are much more my speed. Never-the-less this is still an excellent book with a lot of fun songs. The only reason I am giving it four stars instead of five is because it is not much use to me now. I would say this book is for intermediate players.

The songs in this little book will keep you strummin' and singin' for ... well, maybe forever! I was introduced to Jim's books through his Ukulele Gems and Ukulele Favorites titles, both of which have lots of wonderful jazz standards arranged for this delightful instrument. '60s Uke-In moves things up a few decades with a very cool collection of memorable tunes that will delight both the player and the listener. As another reviewer said, maybe not for the absolute beginner, but if you know even a handful of basic chords and are willing to put in a bit of practice time (makes perfect, so that say) you'll quickly be knocking these songs out and amazing friends and family. A very good song book to have along on camping trips, around the fir, etc.

I recently started playing the Uke, and found this book early in my Ukulele adventure. It is chock-full of Beatles tunes, and even has a friendly intro by George Harrison, who helped Jumpin' Jim with some of the arrangements. (George thinks everyone should own a Uke, because they are so fun and easy to take everywhere you go!).

Most of the arrangements are pretty easy, and set in chords that are easy to sing along with. I have several other Jumpin' Jim books, and they are all great, but this is my favorite!

I own about ten songbooks for the ukulele, but this one is my very favorite. The author is a true ukulele enthusiast, and that comes across in all of his books, but there is something special and endearing about this particular book. The Beatle's "When I'm Sixty Four" is surprisingly easy to learn on the ukulele and it is upbeat and kind of funny -- just like a good ukulele performance should be. "Here Comes the Sun" is absolutely beautiful on the ukulele and my all-time ukulele favorite. "Michelle" sounds amazing, but it sure is difficult to learn. The book is a collection of easy, medium, and difficult songs to keep you busy for years. The introduction by George Harrison adds to the fun of being a part of ukulele culture. This was one of my first ukulele books, and I give it much credit for making me into the ukulele enthusiast I am today. If you want to make a ukulele player smile, buy him or her this book!

I am a self-taught ukulele beginner, and I LOVE this book. My boss gave it to me, and he loves this book too. The songs are great, the music is easy to read and is well-written and true to the original songs. I have so much fun playing the songs in it, and it's great that the level goes from easy to challenging. It's a great book for many different levels of uke skill.

That said, I read music (although I've never played a stringed instrument where you play chords). If you can't read music yet, then this book might be a little advanced for you. (So go learn to read music now so that you can enjoy this book!)

But for me, it was perfect. It took my uke skills from zero to hero! The songs are lots of fun.

My favorite songs in this book (ordered from easiest to hardest):
- Under the Boardwalk
- When I'm 64
- Georgy Girl
- Here Comes the Sun
- Michelle
- Girl from Ipanema

These are very basic "lead-line" arrangements with just the melody and chord frames. There are no suggested accompaniments, no strum patterns, and no TAB. A player will need some experience or imagination to use this book.
Worst of all, the copy I received was improperly collated at the print shop and goes from pages 1-24 to pages 13-24 to pages 49-60 to pages 49-72. Pages 25-48 are missing.
Caveat emptor; there's a batch of improperly bound copies of this book out there and it will be the luck of the draw if your copy contains some of your favorite songs or not.

I found this book encouraging when I was starting out. It doesn't confuse with lots of extra information. The songs are put simply, for the most part. This lets a novice feel like they are making progress and enhances and prolongs the practice sessions. If you like 60s music, including the Beatles, you'll like this book. With an intro by George Harrison. One of my favorite Uke books.

I have about 5 or so uke books now and this is one of my favorites. I just love the song selections, size and chord cheats listed with each song. GOOD JOB JIM! The only improvement would be tabs.