March 19, 2025: Rainbow Connection is posted in the Member's Section.
Pretty much every list of "greatest muppet's songs" includes Rainbow Connection and most of those lists rank it as number one. This is a great melody and the words are more or less tolerable so you should have a fun time putting this together. I was inspired to update our older version of this song by Kelly who recently rescued Ayewopo' the frog from an airport and smuggled him (her?) home in a backpack. This is the kind of world I want to live in.
Here's the biggest challenges you'll need to master:
- Almost all of the chords are basic Book 2 stuff, so you should feel comfy with them. One exception is the A minor (E minor on baritone) hanging out on the 7th fret. Play those three notes clean so the important high notes won't vanish in garbled sadness.
- You also have bars on the 2nd, 5th and 7th frets.
- The fast chord changes in measures 4, 12 and 26 will require your attention. I usually memorize these tricky parts so I can stare at my hands.
As of late, I've started adding the full TuffUke onto the standard notation line. It assumes you're playing Low G. So, if you're playing High G, the tablature is just fine, and any notes on the fourth string will play an octave higher than notated in the standard notation. This is actually a pleasant sound and makes everybody happy.
Keep an eye on the front page of Jolly Roger Ukulele to see what the schedule is each week and come join me for some of our online meetings to stay motivated playing ukulele. I'm also doing online guitar and harmonica nights, so tell your friends to check out what's going on so we can have the whole world making music, rather than doom scrolling the Insta.
