Chief Noda's Ukulele page

Prelude for Cello Suite No. 1 (JS Bach)

By JS Bach, this is the relude from Cello Suite No. 1 in G.

Two-part Invention No. 1 (JS Bach)

Arranged for a duet using a high-G and a low-G

Ukulele#1 (high G)	tab (TEF)	tab (PDF)	MIDI
Ukulele#2 (low G)	tab (TEF)	tab (PDF)	MIDI
Duet	tab (TEF)	tab (PDF 13 pages)	MIDI

Two-part Invention No. 13 (JS Bach)

By JS Bach, arranged for high-G. I made two versions. One is fairly close to the Bach's original but, due to the wide range, it's difficult to play. The other is easier as I arranged notes liberally

Almost-exact transcription, difficult to play	tab (TEF)	tab (PDF)		MIDI
Arranged liberally but easier to play	tab (TEF)	tab (PDF)		MIDI

Spanish Fandango

Very old melody, presumably composed by Henry Warrall in mid 19th century for guitar using open G tuning. Here transposed for ukulele in key of C. I arranged for high-G, but this works eqully well for low-G.

Carcassi's Etude in A for guitar

This is an etude written for classical guitar by M. Carcassi. I always loved the chord changes using dimish chords. Here transposed for ukulele in key of D. It's written out for high-G, but works eqully well for low-G (I think).

Etude in B Minor for guitar (F. Sor, Op. 35, No. 22)

This is an etude written for classical guitar by Fernando Sor. It's known as Moonlight Etude. Here transposed for ukulele in key of Em. When you play, try to make it smooth and bring out the "melody".

Watch the video by Julian Bream - Etude in B Minor on YouTube

I first arranged it for high-G. I like the way an additional "melody" pops up from the high-G string. Since I am familiar with the original classical piece, maybe the high-G version sounds refreshing. For those of you who use a low-G ukelele, I then re-arranged it with just a few minor changes. The low-G version sounds closer to the classical guitar piece (except the key).

High-G

Low-G

Canarios (Canary Jig)

A traditional short lively dance (Jig) tune, from the Canary Island. My arrangement is based Frederick Noad's classical guitar version, and is slightly different from Gasper Sanz's arrangement

Manha de Carnaval (theme from "Black Orpheus")

A Bossa Nova piece, composed by Luiz Bonfa. Also known as the Day in the Life of a Fool. I wrote out two repeats; the first one is a little easier and I took some liberty to go out of box in the second. Don't feel like you have to play these note-for-note.

tab (PDF) (11 pages!)

Pachelbel's Canon (in G)

Back in 1980's, I learned this for a dear friend, Deannie, on a guitar. David Atkinson of UK learned my version from a recording and he improved it and wrote out TAB (see here in 90's. The version has been widely played surprisingly.

Here, I transcribed it to a low G ukulele. As per my "method", I just translated guitar fingerings to ukulele, so the key is in G major.

The F-natural notes in measures 40 and 58 are not a mistake - I see it as a quick momentary change to key of C, and that breaks the monotony. In case, you don't like it, I added alternate measures at the end.

When you perform, feel free to improvise and add your own melodies but make sure to keep the tempo constant. You do not want to start out too fast and slow down for repeats 6 and 7.

It is fun to play duet or even jam on Canon. When you do, you probably want to avid using the natural-F and stick to straight G major scale all the way through. When you do duet, it works very well if you stagger - One ukulele starts and the other comes in after four measures with the first repeat. At the end, the first ukulele plays four measures with a simple chord arpeggio, and two can finish at the same time. Give it a shot

tab (PDF) (12 pages!)

On a whm, I tried the above low-G version on a high-G and it was usable so I modified it a little. Here is the high-G version.

tab (PDF) (12 pages!)