Nigella || Summer Ends

Nigella is a young creative musical force from the magical, mystical land giant redwoods and the ocean waves way up in the north west corner of beautiful California near the Oregon border. I saw this before leaving on vacation and starting a new job but I always find it a joy to post young creative baritone ukulele players.

"The song was requested by a friend Mishka about summer ending. Nigella asked a mutual friend to write the lyrics and she set it to music. Performed on a Lanikai ukulele on back porch in Arcata, Humboldt County, California. Fall 2012."

Flickr Foto || Burning Uke X

Burning Uke X, a photo by nac! on Flickr.

Jay Holiday's Burning Steel Uke has become the mainstay of Burning Uke. It is a big uke and it gets ablaze as you can clearly see.

Australian composer Chris Beltran || Escaping Gravity

Jillian Kay || Golden

Justine Lucas || Sings to Plants

Burning Uke X - Hillbilly Tunes Sing-a-Long

Tunes sung to release your Inner Hillbilly...

Burning Uke X - Hillbilly Tunes Workshop, a photo by nac! on Flickr.

As I psyched myself to lead my Hick Song Sing-Along, I walked by my percussionist pal Eileen, she had the the amazing wit to say to me that I was, "the perfect blend of casual and formal -- and must surely be schizophrenic."

My set list was full of twang...

Momma Don't Allow
Keep on the Sunny Side
The Fishin' Hole (them from Andy Griffith)
Dance, Dance, Dance (Steve Miller)
My Wife Thinks You're Dead (Junior Brown)
Ghost Cheekens in the Sky
Stray Cat Strut (Yeah Rock-a-billy!)
Birmingham Daddy
Ring of Fire (Johny Cash)
Cold, Cold Heart (Hank Williams)
Five Pounds of Possum

I made 76 copies of the song package and I handed 75 out. I sang twang-awful on mic, yodeled, and still had a great time. Twang on dude! If you want a copy just e-mail me. 

The Burning Uke Camp Out was not in the same majestic ocean view location of Plaskett Creek / Big Sur but it was in the pristine redwoods of Little Basin just a short twisty drive up from Santa Cruz. It was a great venue for music with an ampitheater and stage. There were several classes and sing-a-longs. This is my second year of contributing something to be shared -- I am not as hot as Squirrel Soup -- but people seem to have a good time and have a few songs to enhance their repetoire.

UOGB || Relentlessly in C

Richie on Bari with the UOGB men...

Blanket Truth || Hanging Out

Blanket Truth from Seattle performing "Hanging Out" at Morningbell Records and Studio in Jackson, MS (09/24/12). Band members Jon Manning (baritone ukulele, vocals) and Eli Damm (vocal percussion) were joined by Tory Fiterre (bass) for this "SEPTEMBER 2012 BLANKET TRUTH FAREWELL TOUR". See links below for more Blanket Truth info and music:

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/blankettruth
Bandcamp: http://blankettruth.bandcamp.com/
Lost Sound Tapes: http://lostsoundtapes.com/
Farewell Tour info: https://www.facebook.com/events/335916946490526/
Morningbell Records: http://www.morningbellrecords.com

Cobalt Skies Music || Early Bird, Live [HQ]

"An acoustic performance of the song "early bird" by Ryan Holmberg. Filmed by Matt Grashaw in Simi Valley under the 118 freeway."

Ryanholmberg.bandcamp.com

cobaltskies.bandcamp.com (free downloads)

 

Girl with the Horn || We Could Happen (AJ Rafael Cover)

FiStasH || Pertend (Toby Domoney cover)

Jillian Kay || In A Moment

NOTICE: Humble Baritonics Vacation

I will be having some blog down time. This is the weekend of the Burning Uke Camp Out and the following Monday I enter the commuting work force again. I have had my own business for the last 9 years and have received the proverbial "Offer I Couldn't Refuse." 

The job is quite challenging, but I see a dynamic company with a lot of strong history and potential. The economic times have been tough for so many and I am looking forward to some of the small perks that I have been forgoing, like: weekends, holidays and vacations. Oh, and a paycheck deposited into my account on a regular basis.

I am not sure what affect this will have on Humble Baritonics. But it will continue on as the place for the baritone ukulele player to get and hopefully share information. I may just post less frequently.

I have a few e-mail questions that I have had to set aside for now. My apologies.

P.S. -- Why the hog? I plan to lead a sing along at Burning Uke called, "Hick Songs."

Jeff / Humble Uker

Easy Music Center || Kamaka Baritone Ukulele Sampler

I really like this D-string bass run...

Flickr Foto: Patrick Wolf

Thanks to Lino, All Rights Reserved - credits Lino Santagata

Garret Baker || Blasphemer

Todd Baio (Doogey9) || Streets of Laredo

Dr Bekken || Southcoast Blues

It's so good to see and hear the Doc playing his bari again. Here he is showing off the sound of another set of  dGBE, or re-entrant, strings from the Southcoast Guitar & Ukulele Company. 

Dr Bekken is from Norway, across the mountains from my mother's birthland of Sweden. When I was in high school I had my ceramics teacher Ed Frakes share a Scandinavian tale from 1917 by Knut Hamsun. It was called, Growth of the Soil, and was a epic tale of a rugged, burly man going off in the woods and creating a simple life. It discusses how he built a family and a legacy and the book was a winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1920.

I have found an incredible site for vintage book lovers called, Librovox, which has so many great public domain books in mp3 files, ready for downloading or listening to on your computer. The first book that I listened to was Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, yes about 37 hours worth! Knut Hamsun's Growth of the Soil was much like Tolstoy's in many ways but a more modest 14.5 hours. Great authors seem to have an amazing ability to see so much in the human condition.

I know that I have taken you off of the musical trail but great stories lead to great songs.

Galen Crew || What If I Loved You

Flickr LeFoto: Michelle Blades @ International, Paris

Michelle Blades @ International, Paris, a photo by oliver.peel on Flickr.

German language blog link 
http://meinzuhausemeinblog.blogspot.fr/

Flickr Foto: Michelle Blades @ Crescent Ballroom

Michelle Blades @ Crescent Ballroom, a photo by Kataklizmic Design on Flickr.

Floyd Blue the Real || Signed Curtain (Matching Mole baritone ukuele cover)

AJ the Fool || Goin' On (Flaming Lips Cover)

Thanks AJ for another new tune to me. If you would be so generous to provide your link again, I'll post it on the song list.

Frank Allison || Blue Pool

I am hearing a cross between Frank Zappa's voice and Steely Dan's music. Can you hear it?

Dobro33H Patrick || Play Along Old Time Music

Here's Patrick on his banjo and his father, Pat, on a tenor guitar. This video is about having a mellow jam session. They have the songs posted as jpg's so that you can print and play along as you wish. The tab is in "Banjo" tuning G-DGBD and might be "tweaked" to bari if you're quite diligent. The video is over 38 minutes and is fun to just listen along to as well.

Patrick's comments...

Recorded in 2001, Pat & Patrick Costello present the skills needed to learn frailing banjo (the same style Grandpa Jones played) in a series of lighthearted, easy to follow workshops that show you just how easy it really is to play a few tunes on the front porch. Chapter 8: Play-along jam session. Tab files for this workshop series can be downloaded from:

http://www.archive.org/details/Old_time_banjo

Herman Vandecauter || Cabasse Guitar Images

Herman often shares images on FaceBook. Though this is a guitar I share it as a curiousity of art & design...

Herman also shared these links...

Chanot Style Guitar (Flickr Foto Hermann Vdc

Guitar by Cabasse-Visnaire, Mirecourt c.1825

Facebook Foto: Todd Baio and Bari

Skye Zentz || Saying It Now (Original)

Jethro Wilbury || Unspoken Yet Obvious

A Bit of Bartt || Beethoven Symphony 9, Third Movement (for solo bari-uke)

Bartt has stuff... www.bartt.net

Michelle Blades || To a Vale In Thessaly

Awna Teixeira || Rest Your Mind (Debut album Where The Darkness Goes)

Here's a professionally produced gem. Beautiful vocals to go with soft baritone arpeggios.

   

Thanks to the ever diligent research man, Ron Hale, for discovering and sharing this one.

Victoria, B.C., Canada

Shelby Olive || Follow You Into The Dark (Death Cab for Cutie bari-uke cover)

Jeanne Jolly || Sweet Love

From the YT comments...

"+FE Music proudly presents ''Sweet Love'', the first single taken from Raleigh, NC-based singer/songwriter Jeanne Jolly's debut full length ''Angels'' that drops 10/2 on +FE Music."

DL here: http://www.theforeignexchangemusic.com/2012/09/jeanne-jolly---sweet-love.php

Music and lyrics by Jeanne Jolly

Jeanne Jolly - vocals, baritone ukuleles
Chris Boerner - guitars, bass
Allyn Love - pedal steel
Nick Baglio - drums, percussion

Produced by Chris Boerner

Chris Jackson || Life on Mars (David Bowie cover on bari)

Splendid, Bowie on the Bari...

Ben Barrett-Forrest (Patch) || Juliet (Royal Wood cover on bari)

John Sharpe || Bow River (Cold Chisel cover on Bari)

a9965123 || 雞湯的烏克麗麗小彈唱：伍思凱〈分享〉

Here's some very graceful hands. I love the soft vocals which I suppose are in Mandarin.

SRPMINC || Kitchen Girl Clawhammer Style

I e-mailed Scott to see if he had any favorite links for his DGBD, Open G, tuning. He writes...

"...Here's a link bluesageband.com/Tabs.html This is a site with lots of tabs in several tunings. They're written for banjo but baritone players can just ignore the fifth string notations. Some tunes use the fifth string as part of the melody but with a bit of lateral thinking one can find a work around."

Mike Iverson's Clawhammer Banjo Tabs

This tablature has four lines just like bari -- but be careful, the high string starts in another place, above the tab. Mike Iverson has several tunings which will be interesting to explore when I have more time.

http://www.bluesageband.com/Tab%20pdf%20files/bigmon.pdf

Ken Middleton Reprise || I'll Fly Away

I got a chance to sit down with Ken Middleton on Sunday afternoon at the Wine Country Ukulele Festival. We talked about ukuleles, baritones, and strings. Here's he's strung up an Ohana baritone with his re-entrant high D strings. I did not get a chance to take any classes but I heard from a few friends that Ken taught some great classes. 

SRPMINC || Waterbound (Clawhammer Bari DGBD)

SRPMINC || Blackberry Blossom (Clawhammer Style on the Baritone Ukulele)

DELICIOUSLY INSPIRATIONAL CLAWHAMMER BLACKBERRY BLOSSOM...

Yikes! Does thick Rock the Bluegrass!?!?!



Tuned DGBD.

Flickr Foto: Patrick Wolf 2

Patrick Wolf, a photo by Dots, Lines, and Polygons on Flickr.

The Wiki on Patrick Wolf

Short partial song video, "Libertine."

Flickr Foto: Patrick Wolf

Patrick Wolf, a photo by fourkicks on Flickr.

Lucy Lovin || New Boyfriend App (Song)

She has the lyrics to the song posted on her YT video comments...

Lucy & La Mer || Oak Tree

Beautiful...



Livecat Closet Session #7
Oak Tree by Lucy & La Mer
All Livecat Closet tracks available for download FREE (or by donation!) at:
http://livecatstudios.bandcamp.com

For more Lucy & La Mer:
http://lucyandlamer.bandcamp.com
www.reverbnation.com/lucylamer
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarah-LaForge-Music/393491403999810

Follow us on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/LivecatStudios

Mark Schuler || Ragtime Original

Marks YouTube comments say...

Original ragtime instrumental on a brand new baritone ukulele. . I've been playing guitar for years, and decided to branch out a bit. This is an Oscar Schmidt OU53, with a solid spruce top and laminated mahogany back and sides. A great buy for the money (Paid $143 on Amazon.com) Good action and intonation. It's pretty loud, but I'm planning on installing a pickup to use it at my live shows this Fall.

BornAgainJeeper || I'd Drown (Original)

BAJ lets it loose on this one...

UhL33SHuh || Island In The Sun (Weezer Baritone Ukulele Cover)

Lou Barlow || Calves of Champions

There's a 2 minute intro story followed by some awesome baritone uke playin'...



Lou Barlow Webpage?

What's the Wiki on Barlow?

Do you have Space for Barlow?

Lou Barlow || I Can't See

I enjoy the story and bari playing but there may some sensitive ears that choose to pass on this one.

Lou Barlow || Sweet White Peach

Came across a photo of Lou on Flickr and found him on YouTube...



Another view of the same song,

Flickr Foto: Lou Barlow "Concentration"

Concentration, a photo by markosaar on Flickr.

Flickr Photo: Bari in the Cornfields

365 #195, a photo by Dash Drum on Flickr.

Letter from Ben (Wood Choices for a Custom Luthier Built Baritone Ukulele)

Sometimes I receive letters with questions that I really don't have the answers too. Ben, apparently an avid viewer, wrote a letter and I don't know the answer to his questions. But I do know a few local Luthiers and I be forwarding the question along to them for response. So, keep checking back a the comments to this post and I will try to get some good answers from the local Luthiers: Michael DaSilva, Tony Graziano, and Peter Hurney. I will also research some other luthiers that have been posted herein.

Hi Jeff,

Having recently taken up the ukulele and then the baritone your Humble Baritonics site has become essential daily viewing. I wondered if you might be abled to offer me an opinion on the following question which I recently posted on Ukulele Underground. It received a few answers but given your baritone focus I hoped you might be able to offer me your view. I'm starting saving for a custom baritone to compliment the pono mahogany (Ken Middleton High D) that I have now. I'll be looking to keep it low D but as for what to get it made from? See below.

All the best and thanks for putting Humble Baritonics together and giving me hours of fun.

[Thanks! J.W./HB]

"It's difficult to play lots of baritones and compare sound due to their relative scarcity in the shops in the UK. When you do find a few they are often of such different quality/price that the comparison seems worthless.

Do tonewoods for baritones sound the same as smaller ukes only louder or does the additional volume of the instruments change things in some way? Is it reasonable to listen to guitars in a range of tonewoods and make assumptions on how a baritone would sound?" 

Ben 

My checklist:
( ) Michael DaSilva
( ) Tony Graziano
( ) Peter Hurney (Pohaku Ukuleles)
( ) Lichty Guitars

P.S Tony Graziano has made some incredibly beautiful 4 and 6-string baritone ukuleles out of bamboo!

Blanket Truth || Farewell Tour Videos 2012

A couple of rockin' band videos with excessive baritone vibes. The camera angles and lighting are a bit wacko but it's another band that has a big-bari-uke...

Inuakira || Black & Gold (Sam Sparro cover)

I have been coming across " Embedding disabled by request " videos lately. Here's another very nicely sung and dynamically strummed cover song of Adele's called, Right as Rain. Well done! Click the YT link...

http://youtu.be/ci2ntrgJ8gs

Ukester Brown || Why Go To The Bother?

Blues on the Bari? Imagine that... Ukester Brown gives a song and a lesson. He does some switching back and forth between soprano and bari but he's focused on the bari in this video.

UB sez,

"I found this ol' blues song in that dusty trunk in the corner of my mind. It was written by a great uncle named D.J.R. "Youbetta" Brown in MMXII. I am playing it on my Maccaferri Islander baritone with Worth all flourocarbon strings.There is a free practice sheet at ukesterbrown.com for your continued musical enjoyment and education."

Joko Londo || Cakewalk Into Town (Taj Mahal on Bari-Uke)

Old blues tune. Like the wild green screen backgrounds.

Kevin Holmes || Ye Banks Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon

Also hear the song lyrics here... http://youtu.be/ieraKMmvVh8

Kevin is using the Worth Medium Brown all nylon set of strings. He writes...

"Ye Banks and Braes O' Bonnie Doon", Makala baritone ukulele restrung with Worth brown all-nylon strings (none wire-wound), Taro Patch tuning (DGBD). Note: These strings were bought from Elderly Instruments online for $16.00 per set; however, every string in the set is double-length, so each may be cut in half to make a complete second set.

Elderly Music is a great store, with an outstanding reputation. I have now bought two ukuleles from them. The most recent is a Cigar Box Guitar style Baritone Ukulele for my oldest son Jason. September 13, 2012 he will be 31. It is very much like this one... link. I expect this link to "break" when the instrument is sold. Elderly has a selection of about 7 or 8 varieties based on cigar box brands. [If the link is broken, google: Elderly  Instruments cigar box baritone ukulele]

Aaron Keim || Completed Work Demo #718 - Spruce/Rosewood Baritone

Fresh wood & nylons...

South Korea or Bust || Keep Him Safe

Rob MacKillop || BOOK: Old Time American Tunes for UkuleleRob MacKillop

This book is set up for High-G re-entrant GCEA tuning. Rob gives a delicious sample in this video. If you're playing a re-entrant bari then this could be fun for a bari-uker too. Set a spell and take a listen...

http://robmackillop.net/

http://www.melbay.com/

Eva Walsh Music || Wonderful World

This girl is good!

Gabby || Dreamin'

Gabby has disabled embedding the video as part of her YT channel rights but you can hear her singing and bari playing by checking out this direct "Dreamin" link. She writes her own songs and has a lovely voice.

BCNoSoupForYou || Go Insane (Lindsay Buckingham cover on bari-uke)

I am not a big fan of the stationary photo in a video, but sometimes you have to make exceptioons

Kissing88 || Edelweiss (Kamaka Baritone y Ocarina)

Beautiful...

AlexanderKeyz || Be Somebody (Original Song)

Cool original song & video...

GonadGoat || Fever Dream (Iron & Wine)

Baritone ukulele, CGBD, Capo 2

http://gonad.org/2010/09/18/i-want-your-flowers-like-babies-want-gods-love/

Caribou Bill || Daisy a Day

Only Uke That Matters || Good Time (Bari-uke cover)

I really like this man's talents...

Miguel Castro || Early Morning Banal Blues Before Breakfast

Sometimes I wake up and take a gander at a video on YouTube and just hear some GREAT music. This one is squirrel-soup-good. We get to hear a blues master in Portugal. Enjoy!