Customer Reviews

Mel Bay Famous Solos & Duets for the Ukulele

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John King is arguably THE master ukulele player today. His arrangements of Bach for ukulele are wonderful. This collection is also great. It's primarily Hawaiian music arranged for either solo ukulele, two ukuleles or ukulele and guitar. The music is lovely and the arrangements are challenging but very playable. This is a great book/cd for the aspiring ukulele player. I highly recommend it.

I got this as a christmas present with my first ukulele a few years ago and it has been my favorite ukulele book since then. I have bought quite a few other books but most are too simple or much too advanced, there are few intermediate books. Many are simply strumming books where the uke player would play back up for other instruments but the problem is that most uke players don't know other people with other Hawaiian instruments.

This book, as it says in the title, is for solos, and has a few duets 3 or 4 in the back of the book to do with other ukuleles or an acoustic guitar. The songs are beautiful and are demonstrated (without commentary thank goodness) on the cd that comes with the book. Most songs are medium difficulty but can be adapted to the new learner who is dedicated. I sat for 4 hours or so trying to learn the spanish fandango and it was difficult but i was able to do this within the first few weeks of playing. this is partly due to the fact that all songs are written with tabs which helps out most of us who never learned to read music, although musical notation is also there.

The beginning of the book has a good history of ukes and a description of strumming techniques.

Bottom line, the songs are beautiful, can be learned by a dedicated beginner, and expose the uke player to the idea that they can play beautiful music with the uke rather than just strumming chords to play oh susanna or marines hymn as seen in other books.

Every Uke player should own this book because in my opinion, it is the best one out there.

I was disappointed with this book and CD given the good reviews on Amazon. Before saying anything else let me warn you that the sheet music and the CD are not in the same key. The music on the CD is a whole step higher than the book so you will only be able to play along with the CD if you use a capo or are able to instantly transpose (in which case you are probably too good a musician to need this book). More than half of the songs are Hawaiian which is what attracted me to it but the arrangements and the performances on the CD are not in the Hawaiian style. Unlike the other reviewers, I am not a fan of King's recording. Nahenahe in Hawaiian means soft, sweet and melodious and is the hallmark of Hawaiian music. This does not describe King's playing which I can only describe as harsh and mechanical. Partly because of the frequent use of tremolo, his sound reminds me more of a banjo than an uke. The songs are just about all marches and waltzes mostly played loudly and without much feeling. The book is well enough designed having both standard musical notation and tablature for those who don't read music. I am not crazy about the arrangements but I'll probably play them just for practice.

On a more positive note, I continue to enjoy three other books: Hawaiian Style Ukulele volumes 1 & 2 and Learn to Play Fingerstyle Solos for Ukulele (Nelson). Both HSU books have chord diagrams and volume 2 has tablature and notation for most songs. They also have suggested strum patterns and a bit of instruction. The Nelson book has both notation and tablature for all of the songs. Both come with CDs and the music is well played by a band in the HSU books and mostly solo by Nelson on his CD. Unlike King's, the books and CDs are in the same key so you can play along. I would rate them as beginner to intermediate though some of the music in Nelson's book and volume 2 of HSU might be hard for a beginner. For pop tunes as well as Hawaiian it's hard to beat the internet, especially the music transcribed by the Dominator (dominator.ukeland). If you are new to Hawaiian music and want to hear the uke played by Hawaiian ukulele masters, try the audio clips or youtube clips (before buying) by Herb Ohta Jr., Tony Fernandez (of Ka'au Crater Boys fame), Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (Bruddah Iz), Jake Shimabukuro (a bit showy for my tastes but a real virtuoso), David Kamakahi (with Na Oiwi, Hui Aloha and his dad, Dennis Kamakahi) and Daniel Ho to name a few.

Mel Bay has a commendable practice of publishing authors who are accomplished in specialized types of music, even where there may not be "mass appeal". This book would not appeal to most people in the "hip-hop" set, but is great for those with an interest in American music history or in different styles of playing stringed instruments. The extensive preface provides a good summary of the early development of the ukulele and early playing styles. There are pieces written by Hawaiians, but several pieces are Hawaiian arrangements or adaptations of music which was popular during the time period covered by this book, like Funiculi-Funicula, Spanish Fandango, The Blue Bells of Scotland, Banjo Schottische, El Recuerdo, or Petite Valse.

While some of the solo styles are remarkable, my favorites from the CD are the duets. There are two each for 2 ukuleles and for ukulele and guitar. Don't expect a beginning player to be able to play this music. I know I couldn't. Intermediate players should be able to learn some of the pieces with practice. The music is clearly presented in both notation (resembling one-handed piano music) and tablature with performance instructions. This presentation, along with the CD, should make the music accessible to experienced string musicians. I am a clutz on fretted instruments, but maybe I could play one part of the duets on the piano.

This is a marvelous book for the advanced ukulele player who is ready to embark upon the road to performing instrumentals. The book has conventional notation as well as tablature. This, in combination with an enclosed CD which features John King playing all the selections, makes learning the material easier (not easy!). The book also has a concise history of the ukulele and a primer on strumming styles. John King employs a Baroque classical guitar technique known as campanella style (playing individual notes that ring into each other)for a most unique sound. The results are hauntingly beautiful and attainable with moderate effort. Most selections are Hawaiian waltzes and melodies by Ernest Ka'ai and Henry Kailimai (early composers for the uke). After pursuing a successful career as a classical guitarist, both as a performer and a teacher, Mr King applied his knowledge to the ukulele with magnificent results! John King passed away on April 3, 2009, but this book and his other book "Classical Ukulele" will be sufficient to warrant his place in the Ukulele Hall of Fame. Highly recommended!

I've been playing for a little more than a year and find these songs very accessible. When I begin one I almost always think it is too hard, but practice practice practice..eventually and surprisingly, i seem to be able to play the piece. I also learn very well with tabs..And the cd is great to listen to, for the songs I can't play (yet).. and face it, I don't sound like John King (RIP) ..

The books I ordered arrived in pretty quick time and I've spent many happy hours learning pieces from them and listening to the CD's.