Just Me and My Ukulele |
Hi! I'm Ben. This tumblr was originally set up for me to share the songs that I've written and covered on my ukulele, but I've since decided to include a few other vocal works. Hope you enjoy it! |
Check out the rest of the concert!! There’s some really amazing stuff here!
JHU Octopodes
Keep Your Head Up - Andy Grammer
Arranged by: Me!
Soloist: Tyler Goodell
but then I discovered that my mic won’t work with my new computer…
Anonymous asked: what chords did you use for your uke cover of coney island!? i've been trying to figure it out... it hasn't been going so well...
I don’t actually know what the first few chords of the verses are called, but I’ll describe how I played them!
Verse:
F(w/ high C on the A string)
F(w/ high B on the A string)
Bb note on the A string with an F note on the E string (the other strings are left open)
F
Dm C F
Chorus:
Dm C Bb F Dm C F
Dm C Bb F Dm C F
I hope this helps!
Emma Schlamme and I singing “First Impressions” from the musical “First Date” by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner. This was part of “The Next Generation” concert (Crossroads’ participation in The Festival of New American Musicals).
This song doesn’t need much of an explanation. Except I should mention that it’s a cappella [so no ukulele]. I also strongly recommend using headphones when listening to this. For some strange reason it actually makes a difference. So yeah, here’s If You Can’t Sleep by She & Him [Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward]!
© 2011 Ben Ackerman
I heard this song back in January in a concert at school and have wanted to cover it ever since. It’s just real pretty and simple and fun and makes me smile. I hope you find that in it too!
You And I by Ingrid Michaelson.
© 2011 Ben Ackerman
whoamkm asked: So I got a chance to listen to all of your stuff... beyond awesome. I think its killer.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
I figured it would be a good idea to let you all know how I came across the ukulele in the first place. This past summer (at French Woods, a performing arts camp in Upstate New York), I was in a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. One of my super cool cast mates, Maggie Solo, is an incredible ukulele-ist and would bring her uke to rehearsals every day. After discovering that I have perfect pitch, she made me her trusted ukulele tuner. Every time I went to tune the uke, I would futz around a little, placing my fingers on the frets and attempting to play different chords.
Long story short (well, I guess you could say long story shorter because it’s getting pretty long) I got home from camp and ordered my own ukulele because I was so fascinated by my experiences with Maggie Solo’s uke (which she also played in the show, btw). Ever since early September, I have been teaching myself different chords and fingerings, slowly but surely getting a grip on fun little instrument. I have also since written five songs. Woohoo!
This is a cover I did of Coney Island by Good Old War. The song was originally sent to me by Maggie Solo. She rocks. Hi Maggie. =]
© 2011 Ben Ackerman
Here’s another song that I wrote: This Song Is About You.
“Me?” you ask? Yes, you.
© 2011 Ben Ackerman
So this is the most recent song I’ve written. If there’s one thing I learned from recording this song, it’s that bar chords HURT! Regardless, I eventually had to stray from writing songs in C Major, because you can only really write so many songs in C Major without them all starting to sound the same…
Also, this was recorded mid-cold, so please excuse any off pitch stuff. :D
This song is called Someday. Enjoy!
© 2011 Ben Ackerman
This is a cover of Make You Feel My Love, written by Bob Dylan, though this particular cover was inspired by Adele’s cover. So I guess that makes this a cover of a cover…? K cool.
© 2011 Ben Ackerman
This is the first song I wrote on the ukulele and it’s also one of the three songs from my college arts supplement CD. The lyrics don’t really reveal anything about how I’m feeling right now, I just enjoy the song and want to share it with you all. Of course it has a story - all songs do - I’ve just gotten past this one.
Anyways, enjoy the song! It’s called Through and Through.
© 2011 Ben Ackerman
