UNDER THE SEA UKULELE TUTORIAL

For this Under the Sea ukulele tutorial, you’ll need the following ukulele chords: G, D7, C, Em, A7 and G7. Although you’ll need more chords than usual, the chords are not the difficult part in learning how to play “Under the Sea” on ukulele. The difficult part is more on the rhythm. The strumming pattern that Jenny uses is D-DU-UDU (D-down, U-up). If you hit a snag following the strumming pattern, you can learn it with this video tutorial.

Jenny will have a Facebook live session later this week to teach more on Under the Sea ukulele tutorial so don’t forget to like us on Facebook. Check for the schedule and sheet music which will be posted before the live session. In case you don’t make it to the live ukulele lesson, check the video recording on our Facebook page, under the videos section.

If you want lyrics and chords sheet for the song, contact us and we’ll email it to you. Or subscribe here and receive weekly newsletters about our featured song and other ukulele lessons. Most importantly, you also get sheet music for the week’s ukulele tutorial.

COMPOSED BY MULTI-AWARDED DUO

Alan Menken created the music for Under the Sea. He is a multi-awarded composer who worked on many Disney animated films. He also composed all other songs for the 1989 film The Little Mermaid. On the other hand, Howard Ashman, his frequent collaborator and acclaimed lyricist, wrote the lyrics for these songs. The Little Mermaid is the first Disney film of Menken and Ashman. But they have previously worked in a couple of musicals including the successful Little Shop of Horrors.

BLEND OF CARIBBEAN MUSIC

In the song Under the Sea, the crab Sebastian pleads with Ariel, the animated film’s lead character, to abandon her quest to become human. Sebastian talks about the hardships and perils of life “up on the shore” while comparing these to the sweet and untroubled life “under the sea.”

Did you know that the film’s creators developed the character of Sebastian specifically for the film? Hans Christian Andersen’s original story did not include such character. Also, the creators initially considered an English lobster named Clarence. However, Ashman suggested changing the character to a Jamaican crab named Sebastian which the filmmakers accepted. This would be why Under the Sea has a blend of Caribbean music – Jamaican reggae beat and Trinidad and Tobago’s calypso style.

Let’s learn how to play a fun folk song with this Go Tell Aunt Rhody ukulele tutorial, complete with chords, lyrics, strumming pattern and melody tab.

You can also find complete music sheet for Go Tell Aunt Rhody from our new book 21 Easy Ukulele Folk Songs. Get your copy  here and learn to play carefully selected folk songs on ukulele.

GO TELL AUNT RHODY UKULELE TUTORIAL

Indeed, this Go Tell Aunt Rhody ukulele tutorial is easy with just three chords. And it’s even more fun because Jenny plays the song in two keys – C and F. In the key of C, you’ll need these ukulele chords: C, F and G7. While in the key of F, you’ll need F, Bb and C7. The strumming pattern is also an easy D-DU-D-DU replication (D-down, U-up). Finally, melody tab devotees won’t be disappointed because Jenny also does solo ukulele or chord melody.

If you want lyrics and chords sheet for the song, contact us and we’ll email it to you. Also, subscribe here and receive weekly newsletters about our featured song and other ukulele lessons. Most importantly, you also get sheet music for the week’s ukulele tutorial.

To learn more about how to play Go Tell Aunt Rhody on ukulele, join us on Facebook. Jenny will conduct a Facebook live session for this song later in the week. If you miss the live lesson, worry not because you can view the recording on the videos section of our Facebook page.

THEME SONG FOR A VIDEO GAME

Although Go Tell Aunt Rhody is a traditional folk song which has been around for centuries, the younger generation are quite familiar with it. Michael A. Levine, an American composer, created a sinister version of Go Tell Aunt Rhody as a theme song for a popular video game called Resident Evil 7: BioHazard. According to Levine, the video game developer company Capcom liked the idea of turning a familiar song from its known jolly version to something scary. But Capcom was interested in using a traditional song popular in many countries.

SONG HISTORY

Historians traced the melody of Go Tell Aunt Rhody to a tune composed by philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau for a French opera in the mid-18^th century. However, many believed that the melody may have earlier renditions where Rousseau referenced his tune. Subsequently, the tune traveled to England and other parts of Europe and eventually to the US and Japan.

Now is your chance to learn to play the Pocahontas theme song on ukulele with this Colors of the Wind ukulele tutorial.

COLORS OF THE WIND UKULELE TUTORIAL

First of all, you’ll need to know seven chords for this Colors of the Wind ukulele tutorial. The chords are C, Am, Em, F, Dm, G and Bb. Although Bb is a bit more challenging to make than the other chords, you’ll only need to do it once in the song. Secondly, you’ll follow a D-DU-D-DU pattern (D-down, U-up). Additionally, Jenny also shows how to do a fingerpicking accompaniment on the second verse. So you can choose to work with the standard strumming pattern, the fingerpicking style or both.

If you want more of Colors of the Wind ukulele tutorial, check out the video section of our Facebook page for a recording of the Live lesson on this song.

In addition, don’t forget to subscribe here and get weekly email notifications of ukulele tutorials. Most importantly, these notifications include downloadable sheet music with lyrics, chords and/or tabs for the featured song.

WRITTEN BY ALAN MENKEN AND STEPHEN SCHWARTZ

The multi-awarded composer Alan Menken created the music for Colors of the Wind. Equally acclaimed lyricist Stephen Schwartz wrote the lyrics for it. Menken and Schwartz worked on the film score for Disney’s Pocahontas and Colors of the Wind was the first song they composed. Before Pocahontas, Menken had worked previously on the score of various Disney films including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. When Menken’s frequent collaborator Howard Ashman died, Disney recruited Schwartz to work with Menken. Despite not having worked in the film industry, Schwartz accepted and Pocahontas which was released in 1995 was their first collaboration. In addition, Menken and Schwartz also worked together to create the score for The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996 and Enchanted in 2007.

WIDELY RECOGNIZED PHILOSOPHICAL SONG

Many critics and writers consider Colors of the Wind as a philosophical and though-provoking ballad. The song’s lyrics touched on the subjects of racism and equality as well as environmental awareness and harmonious nature. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Colors of the Wind with the award for Best Original Song.  Likewise, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association bestowed the Best Original Song award to the Pocahontas theme song. Moreover, the Recording Academy also awarded the Grammy to the musical team of Menken and Schwartz for Best Song Written for Visual Media.  

Judy Kuhn, who played the singing voice of Pocahontas, first recorded Colors of the Wind. But Vanessa Williams performed the song for the film’s soundtrack. Williams’ version, released as a single, charted in many countries reaching number 4 in the US Billboard Hot 100.

Happy strumming!

MY BONNIE LIES OVER THE OCEAN UKULELE TUTORIAL

With this My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean ukulele tutorial, you’ll learn an easy ukulele song for beginners. You’ll need just five simple chords namely G, C, A, D and D7. As for the strum pattern, you can use the standard all-down strum pattern. And soon, you will playing this song all on your own. Download the lyrics and chords sheet here before heading to the ukulele tutorial.

SCOTTISH FOLK TUNE

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, or Bring Back My Bonnie to Me, is a catchy Scottish folk song that became popular in America and in other parts of the world. The precise origin of the song is not known. But the most prevalent premise is that Jacobite supporters composed the song for Bonnie Prince Charlie.

BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE

Bonnie Prince Charlie is Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of King James II and VIII who was the last Roman Catholic ruler of England, Ireland and Scotland. William III and Princess Mary, who is King James II and VIII own daughter ousted King James II and VIII in 1688. The ousted Stuart King fled and went into exile but planned on regaining his throne.

FAILED JACOBITE UPRISING

James Francis Edward, son of the deposed Stuart King and known as the Old Pretender, continued the pursuit of Stuarts return to the throne. His son, Charles Edward, continued with this pursuit with the support of their followers called the Jacobites.

Charles Edward led the final attempt at this plan through the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. This culminated in the bloody Battle of Culloden in April of 1746 where British government forces badly defeated Charles Edward’s troops. Charles Edward, aided by his supporters, managed to flee Scotland passing by the Isle of Skye to France.