Play like a pro, without lessons

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: GUEST,late 'n short
Date: 22 Jul 00 - 12:31 AM

Unlike Spaw and Cap't Bob I didn't have the genuine aritcle but, in the fifties, a company called Emamnee (sp?) made a number of "play by the numbers" instruments for kids. Among these was a uke similar to the Godfrey instrument and Santa Claus brought me one when I was about six or seven. I brought it to Grandma's that Christmas day and my aunts and uncles and Grandpa were tolerant enough to sing along while I stumbled through the song book that came with it. Sometimes my Dad would ask if he could borrow the uke from me and he'd play it without the chord helper..."Show Me the Way To Go Home", "Darktown Strutter's Ball", "A Shanty in Old Shanty Town"...were some of the first songs I learned from him. Thanks Tony Burns, for starting this thread. There's a lot of memories here for me.

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Cap't Bob
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 04:30 PM

Hey Spaw ~ I also had one of those little hummers way back then? If I remember correctly it was my 4th uke. My first one died of water damage. I used to swim as much as possible & thought it would be great to have a uke that could take to the water. Unfortunately it did have one major protlem ~~ they couldn't take the heat ~~ mine had a partial melt down after I left it in the car with the windows up on a hot day.

Cap't Bob

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: catspaw49
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 04:05 PM

When I was about 6 maybe, I had one of those suckers. As I recall, the cheap uke was brown with a white top and came from Monkey Wards who also sold the Arthur Godfrey gizmo. Remember Monkey Wards? Great competitor for Sears in the cheap instrument biz. Stared at the catalogue....."Blonde Guitar....$12.99"......I guess it was a real dumb guitar or something.......Damn thing now is probably worth a grand or so. We had a M-W in New Philly so you could buy direct without ordering and Sears was only mail order for us. I amazed the post office would ship anything from either of them....its against the law to mail shit I'm sure.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: IvanB
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 03:39 PM

Getting back to the subject of the thread - I actually knew somebody who had one lo those many moons ago. Lousy tinkly sound, she couldn't strum worth a d**n, and even the chord buttons didn't seem to be much help (she couldn't figure out the chords to go with a song for the life of her). So much for the 'no lessons' approach. But I suppose it's worth $9.99 strictly from a historical standpoint.

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 03:25 PM

Rick, Peter Sellers was also a superb singer, but never in his own voice, always in character. I have a recording of him from the late 50's-early 60's, where you'd swear it was Sinatra. Another fine dixieland banjoist is Alastair McDonald the Scottish folk singer. All the best. Seamus

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Bert
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 02:13 PM

I want one of THOSE, Peter.

Bert.

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Peter T.
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 01:25 PM

My understanding is that Joni Mitchell has a new guitar/amp/thingummy that does smooth multiple tunings instantly.Yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Bert
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 01:06 PM

Lonnie Donnegan used to play with Chris Barber before he became famous. Roger the Skiffler sent me a tape of a recent Chris Barber reunion with Lonnie Donnegan and Kenny Ball. I'll have to 'borrow it back' from Max.

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 12:43 PM

Possibly in just one key though Bert...which would explain his humilty. I've been thinkin' about those movies the last twenty minutes (it's not a slow day...I'm just a lazy sod) and it's occurred to me that the songs (with their five or six chords) may well have all been in the same key.

Ya know it's a funny thing, but for years I thought Lonnie Donnegan was a very limited musician (very talented though) until I saw a clip of him playing some great dixieland banjo. Remember Duane Eddy (Mr. one note)? When he wasn't playing his "hits" he was a fine (and fast) jazz picker.

Rick

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Bert
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 12:15 PM

Rick,

I was going by what he said on a TV show. He could have been stretching it a bit though.

Perhaps he considered himself a 'singer' first. He would have every right to do that.

It's nice to know that he could really play.

Thanks,

Bert.

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 11:42 AM

A tremendously talented player in the George Formby style?

Peter Sellers!

On a cassette of his interview with Michael Parkinson, Sellers plays "When I'm cleanin' Windows", complete with Formby's syncopated off-the-beat chords at the end. Trust me, they're not easy to do, and Sellers aces them. He's (oops, was) also a drummer, pianist and pretty fair jazz guitarist. Spike Milligan, as well as being a jazz trumpeter could also play a mean guitar.

Sellers tells the story about his dad "teaching" George Formby, and speculates that it might even be true.

Rick

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 11:17 AM

I'd heard that story, too, Bert. I've just tried to verify it. Looked at the George Formby Information Service at:
http://users.powernet.co.uk/lampost and the banjo-ukelele site at:
http://freespace.virgin.net/dennis.taylor
It is clear he had a lot of banjo-ukes(some of which fetched high prices at auction later) but didn't confirm or disprove the story. There are several more fan-sites but don't have time to pursue them!
RtS

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 11:13 AM

TONY, GRAB IT! (Heather would never let me!)

These were made my Mario Macaferri (designer of the Django Reinhardt guitar) after he came to America. He was a concert classical guitarist, Inventor, and marketing genius. He came up with a way of molding plastics that gave us the plastic clothes-pin, 8 track cartridge, full size plastic guitar, and several "celebrity" ukes. Godfrey was the biggest thing on TV, and got a healthy royalty.

Amazingly enough the little boxes with buttons to push down chords have been around since the twenties and are still being sold (on TV) TODAY!

Bert, you know how I hate to question you (because of your long white beard...which indicates wisdom) but I've seen several formby pictures where he is definitely using proper fingering for majors, minors, 7ths and diminished chords. I think he may have been simplifying it a bit with the "open chord" story. Uncle Dave Macon carried 2 banjos (minimum) on stage) and the story came out that he couldn't tune, or could only play in one key. One was tuned in G, and the other in "double C". I really think that these folks were just doing it to keep things moving faster in their stage shows. Having seen Joni Mitchell (many tunings), I wish SHE'd have brought pre-tuned instruments with her.

Rick

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: L R Mole
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 11:03 AM

Hey, Irving Berlin could only play piano in F#, I think it was. Had a lever under the keyboard that transposed everything. I think the thing still exists. God bless America...

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Bert
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 10:56 AM

As a matter of interest, the late George Formby, that great professional entertainer and singer, couldn't play the ukelele (or the banjo). He had a different intrument tuned for each different song and he just strummed an open chord.

He fessed up on TV one time, that's why he used to go offstage between songs, to change instruments.

Bert.

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Bert
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 10:52 AM

There's a little gizmo along side it, that looks like a Chord Box. Due to your clssical training, Meebs, you would never have encountered such a thing.

It's well worth the ten bucks just for the novelty of it.

Bert.

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: dwditty
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 10:50 AM

scroll baby, scroll.

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Mbo
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 10:48 AM

Um, I just have to say WHERE are you all getting this from? All I see is a plastic ukelele!

--Mbo

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Bagpuss
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 10:41 AM

I didn't know prostitutes were renowned for their musical ability...

Bagpuss

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Bert
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 10:15 AM

Might be useful for someone with limited use of their hands.

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: MMario
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 09:15 AM

who would want to play like a pro who had never had lessons? Aren't there enough of them out there already?

Subject: RE: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 09:04 AM

ohmygawd!

Subject: Play like a pro, without lessons
From: Tony Burns
Date: 21 Jul 00 - 08:41 AM

That's what it says.

click here