Christmas 2018

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From the Gospel of Luke (and the lips of Linus from Peanuts):

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Wishing my readers a joyous and merry Christmas.

2018 “Uketide” Tunes – Part VIII

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It was a holly jolly time in the last outing. Now…the grand finale. In 1949 Honolulu-born Robert Alex Anderson wrote a hapa haole song made famous by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in 1950. Our family loves Hawaii, and it’s only appropriate to close down the ukulele concert with Mele Kalikimaka:

The idea for doing the song with a kazoo comes from Cynthia Lin. Thanks so much for watching the 2018 “Uketide” Tunes videos. I look forward to doing this again next December after having a full year of lessons behind me. Happy holidays!

2018 “Uketide” Tunes – Part VII

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From France we go to the United States and another Johnny Marks Christmas hit. A Holly Jolly Christmas was featured in the 1964 television show, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was sung by Sam the Snowman. That character was voiced by Burl Ives, who re-recorded the song a year later for his own Christmas album — the version we hear on the radio during the holiday season.

There are a lot of different chords that can be added to the melody line when playing this on the ukulele. It’s a really challenging song to learn, especially for a beginner:

I’ve commissioned the family for the grand finale of the 2018 Uketide Tunes concert. We’re going on vacation for this one!