The Creston UkeLadies

Ukulele Resources

Blame It On The Ukulele

Bye Bye Blackbird

Chapel Of Love

With Just Four Strings

Yellow Bird

Welcome to the Creston UkeLadies home page for sheet music.

Most music for the Ukulele (or as we non-Hawaiians may spell it, Ukelele) is presented in TAB or Chord/Lyric format. And, that's great. Two problems with this format:

First, it is incapable of presenting timing. It really assumes that one already knows the song and, at a minimum, can hum it.
The second problem is a corollary of the first: if we can't present the timing, then how can we all play and sing together following a conductor?

Well, it's all possible. You make copious notes on your lyric sheets and/or listen very attentively to the leader and memorize each and every word uttered. Easier, by far, is to learn to read standard sheet music (like that presented above). You don't need to be able to read it well. Just some rudimentary skills will get you a long way. Learn to recognize some common note values (1/4 note, 1/2 and whole), the difference between a note (which is sung) and a rest (which is silent) and remember that as the dots go higher on the staff (that's the 5 line thingie) the pitch goes up. Now, you're almost an expert!

Pay attention at rehearsals and ask lots of questions! Practice your instrument at home with a metronome. Why a metronome you may ask: simple answer is that it (somewhat) forces you to strum and change chords on the beat.

A partial list of Ukulele resources is presented here: resources.html If you have some great sites, let me know and I'll add them.

Some additional, simple resources are available here: beginner band essays.

And, whatever else, have fun!

Music for the ladies (and gents)

The following songs are all in traditional format sheet music format. Each is a single page PDF files with chord figures at the bottom of each sheet. If you click on the full name of the piece you will get standard/soprano chord figures; clicking on the word “Bari” right beside the name will get you a sheet with baritone ukulele chord figures. Please download, print, etc.

Blame It On The Ukulele (Bari) This is a fun piece based on Eydié Gorme's 1963 hit Blame It On The Bossa. New lyrics are by Susan Nicholl.

Bye Bye Blackbird (Bari) A fun song written in 1926.

Chapel Of Love (Bari) The Dixie Cups had a hit with this in 1964.

Freight Train (Bari) A classic folk song written by Elizabeth Cotten

Jambalaya (Bari) is a lovely Cajun-flavored song written by Hank Williams in 1952. And it only has 3 chords!

Log Driver's Waltz (Bari) Our Canadiana! This waltz was used by the National Film Board in a 1979 Canada Vignette.

Pineapple Princess (Bari) Let's hear it for this fun song made popular by Annette Funicello in 1960.

Stand By Me (Bari) Back to '60s for a great song written by Ben E. King. The song was also used in the 1986 eponymous film. Uses only C, Am, F and G7 chords.

The Water Is Wide (Bari) A lovely folk song covered by many modern performers. Take it slow and with more than a dash of melancholy.

Trouble in Mind (Bari) Pretty much classic blues. Note: not in the 12 bar format, this is in 16. Lots of chords as well! You might want to listen to a variety of renditions to get a feel for the song, and you'll be slightly confused since every artist has a different tempo, rhythm and lyrics.

With Just Four Strings (Bari) A lovely anthem to our ukulele. Written by Michael Lynch ("Ukulele Mike") in 1971. Mike passed away in January of 2018 and this is a fitting tribute to a master of the ukulele.

Yellow Bird (Bari) Yellow Bird is a calypso themed fun piece based on a 19th-century Haitian song composed by Michel Mauléart Monton.

This page was last modified on 2024-03-21