Make the Most of Three ChordsThree basic chords can open a world of musical possibilities

BY DANIEL HO

UkuleleMag.com

Y ou’re at your ukulele club’s kanikapila (jam session), and the group leader

calls for his favorite song—the same three-chord song you’ve played every week for the past five years. It was once a likeable tune, but after the 208th time, you’re not looking forward to strumming the usual three voicings of G, C, and D for the next four minutes. Well, don’t fret, because there are a gazillion things you can do with three chords that will keep you enter-tained while developing your skills as a ukulele player.

Challenging yourself to try different things is an excellent way to grow as a mu-sician and inspire creativity. If you strum the same patterns to the same songs time after time, you’re probably not improving as much as you could be. In a group ses-sion, first listen to what people are doing around you, then come up with something unique and complementary to play.

For example, if someone is strumming chords, play fingerstyle arpeggios. If some-one is playing a rhythmically busy part, try something with less movement, but still harmonically interesting. If someone is playing low, keep to the higher registers. If someone is playing the melody, create a counterpoint or play fills around the melody.

I wrote a simple three-chord song many years ago called “Pineapple Mango.” It has become popular at ukulele gatherings world-wide because it is easy and fun to play.

The song’s chord progression is G, C, D, G, and it repeats, without variation, throughout the tune.

Here are a few suggestions for different stylings you can try with these ukulele-friendly chords. The examples begin with an easy bass line, then move on to more difficult patterns that involve harmonics and percussion techniques. They work best with a low-G string, but can also be played in standard tuning.

UkuleleMag.com

Ex. 1The verse begins with the bass line for the intro and verses. Bars 5 through 8 ascend to a higher register to create an eight-bar phrase.

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MAKE THE MOST OF THREE CHORDS

Ex. 2By muting the strings with your right palm while plucking with the flesh of your thumb, you can emulate an upright bass—albeit, a very tiny one! This busier pattern adds energy to the chorus sections.

Ex. 3Notice the melody weaving through the chords. This is a wonderful way to add in-terest to your strumming patterns. Use a muted strum where the accents are marked on beat 3 of each bar. Keep your right hand moving down and up (down on the downbeats and up on the upbeats) in a consistent eighth-note rhythm.

Ex. 4Imagine a montuno-like (syncopated) Latin piano feel when playing the following fin-gerstyle part.

Ex. 5This example might take a little practice if you’re not familiar with playing harp har-monics. Finger the notes with your left hand while quickly touching the same string 12 frets higher with your right index finger and plucking it with your right thumb.

Ex. 6The Mozambique rhythm originated in Cuba. The right hand plays a cowbell or agogo bell pattern while the left hand plays a bass line using hammer-ons. When you are comfort-able with this pattern, try to add the percussive accents with your right hand. This particular New York-style Mozambique was made famous by legendary drummer Steve Gadd, who recorded it on the song “Late in the Evening” by Paul Simon. Here, it is transcribed from drum set to ukulele.

SummaryIn an ensemble, these parts can be layered together in various combinations to create exciting arrangements. You’ve only touched on the world of possibilities available to you and your ukulele, but, music can be in-teresting and fun no matter how deceptively easy or difficult it appears to be.

You can see thousands of ukulele play-ers, clubs, and artists from many countries playing these parts in the YouTube video “Pineapple Mango - Around the World.”

Author and instructor Daniel Ho plays ukulele with the thoughtfulness of a composer, the touch of a classical guitarist, and the tone of a seasoned audio engineer. The sheet music for the solo uku-lele arrangement of “Pineapple Mango” can be found at danielho.com.

UkuleleMag.com

MAKE THE MOST OF THREE CHORDS

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