March 17, 2025: Let It Be is posted in the Member's Section.
So, here it is. This is the last single Paul could stand to write with those slackers before he decided to become the disco king. After they dropped Let It Be it hit number one on the charts, and then he quit the band. I'm guessing this song is on every Top 10 list of Beatles tunes, so it's a good one to have in your quiver.
Some suggestions on how to approach this:
- The version for ukulele is in the original key of C, and that makes it pretty tough to sing (you'll have to drop it an octave) and it's maybe a little harder to play than the previous version I posted years ago.
- I would pay no attention to the metronome on this one. Make it sound wonderful and use whatever pacing you have in your head.
- Don't rush. Do I say that about every song?
- As with most Beatles tune, they use a lot of "wrong" notes and then resolve them. This means awkward fingering for instrumentalists before the chord shape begins to make sense.
- There's a little transitional descending bass line most people associate with the song, but we don't have those notes on our instrument, so I've replaced them with a little chord transition and it works pretty well. You'll know it when you see it. Just keep your pinky planted for the melody and let the chords evolve underneath.
- There's an A minor chord in here that keeps sneaking in up the neck. It sounds really cool on ukulele to play the 4th string open making it a sort of Am7 chord, but don't over do it on baritone (for the Dm up the neck) or the bass note will take over and open a worm hole. Nobody knows what's on the other side. Romulans probably.
- I promise the outro is really cool, but when you first try it you'll be positive it's not. Make every note count. And if your ukulele doesn't have a 13th fret, just play that note open.
And, as I mentioned previously, after much agonizing and prompting by trained musicians, I'm caving in and adding the full standard notation of the TuffUke onto the standard notation line. It assumes you're playing Low G. The chaos created by re-entrant tuning on High G makes the standard notation almost unhelpful. 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.
