Just getting started on the ukulele? I’ve created a free one-page PDF to help you get strumming right away!
"Take This Hammer," a Three-Chord Protest Song for the Ukulele
Take This Hammer is one of the fifteen songs featured in Americana, 15 Easy Folk Tunes for the Ukulele. In the book, I share a brief bio or background for each of the songs. Here’s what I included for Take This Hammer:
Music can provide an emotional way to connect us with our complicated American history. Work songs like Take This Hammer come to us from the Black Americans who were imprisoned and leased out as laborers after the Civil War. The lyrics envision an escape from a brutal reality, as this song was sung by men working on the railroad line under the watchful eyes of prison guards. Singing gave the men a beat that they could swing their hammers to, so even if they experienced some emotional relief in singing, it’s important to note that they were only allowed to sing rebellious songs like Take This Hammer because doing so made them more efficient workers. Take This Hammer is a brilliant protest song that conveys an intense yearning with its concise, haunting lyrics, and I hope you find it as moving as I do.
Play along with me, won’t you?
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SONG
Protest Song of the Week from Shadowproof
Take This Hammer (1 of 2) from Cultural Equity
Take This Hammer (2 of 2) from Cultural Equity
African-American Work Songs from The History Engine
Negro Prison Songs from the Mississippi State Penitentiary from archive.org
Prison Worksongs from Smithsonian Folkways
Resources referenced in the video
VIDEO DETAILS
Played in the Key of A using the A, D, and E7 chords using Strum Pattern #5 from my strum pattern chart
Gamify Your Music-Making with Ukulele Bingo Cards (Free Download)
Gamify your music-making with my free Ukulele Bingo Cards! Use the pre-filled page to inspire your ukulele practice, or use the blank sheet to create your own.
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Trouble in Mind is a beautiful blues song that’s excellent for helping us develop our singing and strumming skills. In this tutorial, I play my baritone ukulele in the key of G, using just the G, C, and D7 chords, but you can use my chord charts (available for standard and baritone tuning) to easily find the chords for the eight-bar blues in five different keys!
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As my kids get older, our family life gets busier, and I find myself having to be even more intentional about how I spend my time. I know from experience that I’m happier when I’m engaging with my instruments on a consistent basis, so lately I’ve been seeking out ways to make it easier to find time to play. Here are a few ideas I’m incorporating that might be helpful to you as well:
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Today I’m happy to announce I’ve added a new product to my Shop— a chord chart for baritone ukuleles! It features the same formatting as my chord chart for standard ukes. Both charts feature the same formatting so that you can easily learn the most important chords for the five most popular keys for music to be set in.
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My favorite way to play the ukulele is without having to reference any sheet music— it feels very freeing to need nothing more than my uke and tuner. But this wasn’t always possible for me. For the first several years of my strumming life, I was honestly scared to try to play without having a songbook to look at! How will I know what chord comes next? What if I make a mistake? I quickly learned that playing without looking at the music isn’t as hard as I thought it would be, and the stakes were lower than I thought. Nothing terrible happens if I play the wrong chord or forget a line of lyrics. A willingness to try and the acceptance that it will take some trial and error is all it takes (well, that and an ukulele!).
Read MoreClawhammer Ukulele Video Tutorial, Playing the Strum with a Three-Chord Song
In my newest video, I build on what I covered in my first clawhammer tutorial and show you how to play the clawhammer strum with Cindy, a jaunty folk tune that’s probably hundreds of years old. When I share these American folk songs, I'm frequently conflicted as to how much history to share. I want to properly give credit when I can, but I'm not a music historian and worry about spreading incorrect information. So here's a little of what I do know:
Read MoreMy Musical Goals for 2022
Happy 2022!
My birthday falls in the first week of January, so the new year always feels like a double reset for me. Like many others at this time of year, I find myself reflecting on the past and looking to the future, and I thought it would be fun to share what some of my music-making goals for 2022 are. In addition to setting specific goals, I also pick an overarching theme for the year. In the past I’ve chosen themes that were designed more for my life as a mom—some prior themes were “play,” “home,” and “style.” But this year I’m planning something different. This year my theme is…
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Clawhammer strumming is typically associated with the banjo, but it's a great option for the ukulele as well. In this video tutorial, I break down the clawhammer strum into really manageable steps and share an easy play-along for Li'l Liza Jane, my favorite song for practicing new techniques.
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Free Resources for Ukulele Teachers to Use in the Classroom
If you’re a teacher looking for resources to use in the classroom, look no further! Today I’m sharing a roundup of some of my most popular resources, all of which can be used FOR FREE in the classroom setting.
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Read MoreDesign Your Music-Making This Summer with This Happy and Free Digital Download
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For this third installment in my series on time signature, I break down what 12/8 time signature feels like for those of us who don't have degrees in advanced music theory! Learn technical terms like "dreamy" and "swishy" and learn how to spot 12/8 time by singing through two great examples of it—"Perfect" by Ed Sheeran and "O, Holy Night" by Mariah Carey.
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