Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching in the United States, and that means many of us will be traveling to be with extended family. With family on my mind, I thought I’d share three songs that I’ll be singing and strumming over the next week. Maybe you’ll want to add them into your repertoire, because they all sound great on the ukulele:
“Family is Family” by Kacey Musgraves
A sweetly humorous song about how, when it comes to family, “you get what you get and you don’t get to pick ‘em.” Play along with Kacey in the key of F with the F, Gm, C, and Bb chords, or use the transpose feature at the bottom of the page to change it to a friendlier key if needed.
2. “I Lovely Love My Family” by The Roots
My only exposure to the kids show Yo Gabba Gabba! comes through this song, so don’t ask me to explain what’s happening with the life-sized muppet-y characters! Nevertheless, the song is a winner with lyrics about love, peace, and gratitude. I used to sing this song to my kids all the time when they were little, and it sounds just as good as I remembered. The Roots play it in the key of A using the A, Bm, and D chords, but change it to the key of G to play it with the beginner-friendly G, Am, and C chords.
3. “I’ve Got the Joy” and “In My Family’s House”
I've Got the Joy is a short and sweet song that's pretty easy to memorize, and with only two chords, it's fairly easy to transpose it into different keys. In this tutorial, I show you how to play it in the keys of C and F, so you can pick which key works better for your vocal range. Then, we use the same melody and chords to play a holiday version of the song that you can customize! In My Family's House is a great song to sing and strum with kids, and you all can take turns creating verses that honor your family's holiday traditions.
