Kiwi Ukulele: The New Zealand Ukulele Companion

Everything the Kiwi uke player needs to know; and a pile of contemporary Kiwi songs. The ukulele is simple to learn, fun to play, and you don’t have to sing Hawaiian songs. This book tells a new ukulele player everything he or she needs to get started, and more: selecting and tuning an instrument, fingerings for all the chords you’ll ever need, fancy strums, how to arrange your favorite songs for the ukulele, and tips for playing it in groups and in public. Other ukulele books just teach you how to play ‘Tiptoe Through the Tulips’; this one also teaches you ‘Death and the Maiden’ and ‘Hoki Mai’. It is profusely illustrated with diagrams, chord fingering, music and tabulature. Perfect for complete novices as well as intermediate-level players, Kiwi Ukulele is the first-ever ukulele book for Kiwis. A teacher resource kit will be available for class set purchases by schools. Songlist(Words and chords): Pokarekare Ana Hoki Mai Nobody knows you when you're down and out It had to be you My baby just cares for me My Blue Heaven I wish I could shimmy like my sister Kate Same old lines God Defend New Zealand E Ihowa Atua Death and the Maiden Po Atarau Ukulele Lady Click go the shears Houdini never hung around in bars Tiptoe through the tulips Accolades “This book has extremely clear and attractive diagrams which make using it interesting and enjoyable. The author knows about music, and communicating, and ukulele playing, and has obtained information, tips, and opinions from a range of well-known ukulele musicians. Conveys not just the ‘how’ of ukulele playing, but also something of the affection, reasons for enthusiasm, and craziness which are often present in the ukulele world. Worth getting for the beautifully information-rich drawings and diagrams alone.” - George Hinchcliffe, Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain “All that the novice (or not-so-novice) ukulele player could ask for; easy-to-follow tuning instructions, chord diagrams and strumming guides, a range of songs from Kiwi classics through '80s pop hits to tunes that your gran can sing along to.. - Carol Green, Uketastic, Auckland “Finally, a beginner’s ukulele book that I can wholeheartedly recommend. I’ve been moaning about the quality of ukulele beginner books for a while now. They all seem very dated in the songs they select and nowhere near comprehensive enough to cover everything a beginner should know when they set out. Luckily, Mike Dickison has written the book that the ukulele deserves. He covers the basics comprehensively, but what really makes it stand out is that he conveys where the ukulele scene is at right now.…All the basic chording, strumming and picking are put across effectively and concisely with top notch illustrations.…As well as the playing side, he also covers the other essential parts of the modern uke scene that none of the other books mention: ukulele clubs, recording yourself on your computer and ukuleles on the net.…It deserves to get picked up and adapted by an international publisher as it’s by far the best introduction to the ukulele I’ve ever read.” - Al Wood, Ukulele Hunt “Many schools are making the move away from the screeching sound of the recorder to the far more pleasant ukulele. As a primary school teacher setting up a ukulele orchestra Kiwi Ukulele has become my bible. The pages of the book have been the basis of many of my ukulele lessons and the excellent song choices keep the children excited (they especially love the White Stripes!).” - Nick Gill, Oratia District School “We owe a big Thank You to Mike Dickison, information designer, illustrator, ornithologist, and uker for sending us a copy of his wonderful instruction book Kiwi Ukulele. In addition to being a refreshingly non-Hawaiian, non-Tin Pan Alley approach to the uke, it's peppered with Mike's thoughtful and precisely-rendered keyboard and fingering illustrations. Kinda like Cook's Illustrated for the uke. Paired with online strum sound files to help you find your groove, it's the best beginner book I've seen for anyone over the age of 14. Highly recommended! Put it on your Christmas list now!” - Gary Peare, Ukulelia “Don't even buy a ukulele until you’ve had a look at Kiwi Ukulele: The New Zealand Ukulele Companion.…It beats all those other books for ukulele-learners by a mile.” - Capital Times, Wellington “Clearly, this is the best beginner's ukulele book out there right now.…Thought has been put into everything: the font choices, the illustration style, the diagrams, the page layouts. Even the page numbers are made up of fret fingering symbols.…- Aaron Dai, Coo Coo Ukulele About the author MIKE DICKISON taught himself to play the ukulele in 2005 and started a ukulele group in Durham, North Carolina, where he was studying for his PhD at a time when the ukulele renaissance was sweeping America. Returning to New Zealand, he discovered that kids here were learning from books written by Australians and Americans, and resolved to set that right. Mike has been a teacher and writer for 15 years and maintains an internationally popular ukulele page on the internet (www.kiwiukulele.co.nz). He works as a university learning advisor and information designer in Christchurch, New Zealand.