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Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole lets the same gentle ukulele pulse carry both melodies on Facing Future. He sings softly enough that you can hear the spaces between the chords.
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Riptide
The opening ukulele sets up the whole song. Listen for the repeating chord pattern and the way Vance Joy pushes his vocal ahead of it as the chorus comes around.
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While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Jake Shimabukuro starts the Beatles cover with delicate single notes. The hard strums and quick runs near the end show how far he can take the tune on one ukulele.
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Tip Toe Thru' the Tulips With Me
Tiny Tim’s light ukulele strum keeps the beat steady underneath his high falsetto. The recording turns a song from 1929 into a piece of late-1960s pop theater.
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House of Gold
Tyler Joseph’s clipped ukulele opens the song and leaves space for each pledge he makes to his mother. It still keeps time when the drums and voices fill out the last chorus.
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The Judge
Follow twenty one pilots’ brisk ukulele into a chorus that swells with percussion and stacked vocals. The little offbeat strums stay audible as Tyler Joseph switches from singing to a more conversational delivery.
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Hey, Soul Sister
The bright ukulele pattern is the first sound on Train’s single and one of its main hooks. Its steady strum gives Pat Monahan room to stretch the syllables at the end of a line.
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party favor
Billie Eilish starts with a phone ring and the sound of a voice and ukulele coming through a voicemail. Keep listening as the recording opens up. The light pulse stays in place even as the message turns into a breakup.
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Ukulele Anthem
Amanda Palmer paces a long, emphatic argument for making music with a rough, insistent strum. The part works as an accompaniment and a demonstration of the very instrument she’s singing about.
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I Don't Know My Name (Live on the Honda Stage)
In the live Honda Stage performance, VanderWaal supplies the beat on her own ukulele and keeps her voice exposed. Hear how the chords stay simple even when the vocal climbs.
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5 Years Time
Noah and the Whale leave room for a whistle and the other instruments to answer the ukulele's short, bright strokes. It’s a small rhythm part that sets the character of a full-band indie folk song.
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You And I
Ingrid Michaelson keeps the verses close and conversational with a simple ukulele strum. Follow the part into the last chorus, when extra voices turn a song built around two people into a singalong.
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Can't Keep
Try Eddie Vedder’s version from Ukulele Songs beside the Pearl Jam original. Vedder gives the chords a strong attack and keeps the forward pressure of the rock arrangement with his own strumming hand.
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Longing to Belong
Eddie Vedder slows his ukulele part to make room for the longer notes behind it. Listen to how the short decay of the plucked strings leaves room for a sustained accompaniment.
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Sleepless Nights
On Ukulele Songs, Eddie Vedder sings this country ballad with Glen Hansard. The quiet ukulele holds the tempo underneath them and lets the second voice make the arrangement feel bigger.
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Tonight You Belong to Me
Find the duet by Eddie Vedder and Cat Power on Ukulele Songs. A gentle strum keeps it moving at an easy pace, with the two voices close enough to hear them slip into harmony.
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Hawai'i '78
Find the recording on Facing Future. Kamakawiwoʻole lets the ukulele ring between phrases, giving his questions about what Hawaiʻi has become the room they need to land.
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White Sandy Beach of Hawai'i
Put this beside the medley for another example of how Kamakawiwoʻole paces a melody. You can hear the brief gaps in the ukulele pattern as he leans into the words about a remembered beach.
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Opihi Man
Start with the On Fire recording. Troy Fernandez's ukulele puts little bursts of notes around the vocal, and the lilting rhythm leaves enough space to hear each one. It’s a good ear-opener if you usually hear the instrument in slow acoustic covers.
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Aloha 'Oe (feat. Herb Ohta, Jr.)
Find the Treasures of Aloha performance of Liliʻuokalani’s farewell song. Keoki Kahumoku’s slack-key guitar gives you a lower, ringing sound to set against Herb Ohta Jr.’s brighter ukulele, so you can follow each part through the familiar tune.
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Bohemian Rhapsody
On Peace Love Ukulele, Shimabukuro has to suggest Queen’s piano, vocal lines, and guitar flourishes from one fretboard. Hear how the shifts from a picked line to stronger chords mark changes in section.
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