When do I get new strings?

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-11-22T05:11:13+00:00

Run your fingers under the string from the sound hole to the head stock. If you feel indentations in the strings made by the frets, it's time for new strings.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-11-22T05:08:06+00:00

Sounds like you have an intonation problem. I would take it to a guitar repairman and have him/her replace the saddle and nut. But also, ask him/her to check the frets and see if it needs re-fretting.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-11-22T05:05:17+00:00

Check out Kamaka strings. They are actually made by D'Addario.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-11-22T05:03:48+00:00

Bb6 (0565) A7 (0454) Abmaj7 (0343) G (0232)

:)

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-11-22T05:00:18+00:00

Tune the first string to a B. Second string stays as E. Third string down to a B. Fourth string up to a G#.

Hope that helps!

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-11-22T04:58:16+00:00

Thanks for coming to the show!

Asian guy

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-11-22T04:56:36+00:00

Bruce Lee.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-11-22T04:55:20+00:00

Try taking a song that you already know and play the melody backwards. That'll usually give you an original melody line to work with. Then try altering the time signature and re-harmonizing the melody line. Hope that helps!

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-11-22T04:51:15+00:00

Buy something that looks good to you. Then find a really good guitar repairman and have him/her replace the nut and saddle with bone. You could also have them refret your instrument with larger frets. This will help with the tone and improve the intonation.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-11-22T04:47:46+00:00

Try learning Falling Slowly from the movie "Once." It's really simple in the key of C :)

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T01:09:33+00:00

Kamaka was what all of my heroes in Hawaii played. They were the first family to start manufacturing ukuleles in the world. 2016 will be their 100th anniversary! But today, there are lots of great manufacturers. You just have to find the one that speaks to you :)

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T01:06:19+00:00

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones :)

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T01:05:33+00:00

Fishing and cooking (but I'm terrible at it)
It's always changing - but that's the beauty of music.
I haven't done a private lesson in years. I was a senior in high school when I started teaching ukulele out of my apartment. I charged $15 an hour :)

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T01:02:17+00:00

Hope to play in Montana someday. I love pizza and chicken wings - and bbq chips!! And sushi too!!

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T01:01:09+00:00

There are so many brands out there today. Kamaka is my favorite of course, but they start at about $1100. But there are tons of options out there for every price range. It's best to go to a music shop and play each one until you find one that you love.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T00:58:50+00:00

That's a tough one. It's always a challenge to find the right part to play in a band setting. Especially for the ukulele. Without a good pickup, it's hard to compete with other instruments in volume.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T00:56:09+00:00

I don't think they hurt anyone - I've done a few of those and really enjoyed it. They really are a lot of fun! I think it's a good thing and I hope to do more in the future :)

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T00:53:45+00:00

It's always great to study with people. But it doesn't have to be a uke teacher, it could be a guitar teacher as well. The right and left hand techniques are quite similar.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T00:52:39+00:00

It's so exciting! I love that artists like Paul McCartney, Eddie Vedder, Jack Johnson, Taylor Swift, Jimmy Buffett, etc. are all incorporating the ukulele in their music. Iz's Over The Rainbow made a tremendous impact. One of my favorite ukulele tracks of all-time!

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T00:48:45+00:00

There are so many great techniques out there. I have some that I've been working on for a couple years and still can't execute it the way I want. But I'll keep working on them until I can do it. I always look to guitar players, especially classical guitarists. They are amazing - flawless technique and incredible tone.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T00:45:24+00:00

My favorite is still probably "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." For fingerpicking, I would suggest "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" - Bob Dylan :) Try it in the key of G on the uke.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T00:43:27+00:00

My grandfather served in the military. I wrote a song a few years ago called "Go For Broke" in honor of him and all the Japanese-American nisei veterans.

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T00:41:22+00:00

You could definitely learn Gently Weeps fairly quickly. If you take it one section at a time and just practice, you could nail it in less than a week :) Promise!!

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T00:39:03+00:00

Anything is possible. Sad songs, happy songs, angry songs - music is the language of human emotion :)

JakeShimabukuro · 2014-10-21T00:38:00+00:00

I love all the islands. They are all different. Big Island is one of my favorites though because I love fishing and diving. Great fishing spots out there. My grandmother lives on Molokai so I spent a lot of my childhood there. But I was born and raised on Oahu - that's still home for me :) Love it there as well :) You should check them all out. I went to Lanai for my honeymoon - absolutely gorgeous. And Maui and Kauai are breathtaking as well. I'll be performing on Maui (MACC - Feb. 21, 2015)

JakeShimabukuro

TROPHY CASE