Somewhere over the rainbow strumming

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  • #34309
    laurasil
    Participant

    Hi everyone!

    So the first song I played on the uke was Somewhere over the rainbow, it’s probably the first for lots of people because it’s such a beautiful and easy song to learn. I learned the basic Island strum (D DU UDU) with that song, but I noticed it didn’t make the same sound as Israel’s. I later learned that one could apply different techniques and all that, but I never got to understanding what he does and I’ve never found a video of him playing that song live where I can watch his hands! It’s just such a unique sound I’ve never heard anyone replicate.

    I found Aldrine’s tutorial and it sounds a lot alike, he plucks the C string instead of the first Down strum, and then later on chucks before the UDU. However I still hear a very slight difference. I got to admit this has become a bit of an obsession for me.

    So I’m wondering, what does IZ do to make the uke sound like that? Is it just that his beautiful hawaiian hands are magical? I think what throws me off is the chucking, maybe he doesn’t mute with his right hand but instead does it with his left hand? To replace the first Down strum does he pluck a different string with each chord change, not just the C string? (for example plucking the root note of the chord he’s playing) Is the strumming different? Or am I just looking too much into it?

    Maybe Andrew or someone here could help me figure out that the trick is?

    #34314
    Andrew
    Keymaster

    #34317
    laurasil
    Participant

    Thank you Andrew!!!!

    #34319
    robinboyd
    Participant

    Hi @laurasil

    What you may be hearing is that Aldrine has adapted this for high G uke, whereas Iz plays it on low G. Also, while Aldrine plays a rhythm hit, I think Iz is muting the strings with his left hand.

    I spent way too much time trying to work out what Iz does here a few years ago.

    I’ll see if I can make a video tomorrow. I just got back from work and I’m exhausted right now.

    #34331
    robinboyd
    Participant

    OK. These are the chords I use. I use roughly the same strumming pattern, but I add a mute in the middle. I’ll see if I can make a video, but in the mean time, see what you think of this.

    “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” Ukulele Chords & Lesson

    • This reply was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by robinboyd.
    #34333
    robinboyd
    Participant

    Hi again.

    Here is a short video of me demonstrating the muted strum. I apologise for the poor quality of the playing. I took no time at all to practice.

    #34341
    laurasil
    Participant

    @robinboyd thank you so much for taking the time! I am now even more glad for my low G

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