Crazy G 
 

Here's a really fun song to learn.  It's fast and showy, and audiences love it.  It takes a little practice to play it well, but it's not as difficult as it sounds -- easily within the reach of any intermediate ukulele player. 

The first step is to download the tab notation for this song.  It's a .pdf file, so you'll need an Adobe reader (it's free) to display and print it. 

Download the tab for Crazy G 
 

Here are a few pointers to help you master this song: 

The key is to keep your right hand moving in a very steady up-and-down strum. Think of your hand as the pendulum on a metronome: an unvarying down-up-down-up-down-up.  You don't create the rhythm of the song by varying your right hand motion, you create the rhythm of the song by hitting the strings sometimes on the downstroke and sometimes on the upstroke.  The tab indicates this with a blue down arrow or a red up arrow.  As you can see from the tablature, you strum down on the beat and you strum up off the beat:  if you count a measure "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and", then you strum down on the "1, 2, 3, 4" and you strum up on the "and". 

You'll notice that the rhythm is the same pattern repeated over and over again every two measures (the only exceptions are the last two measures of Lick #2 and the third measure of Lick #3).  Start off by practicing this two-measure pattern with the strings muted (hold the fingers of your left hand lightly against the strings). This will let you hear the rhythm more easily, and will let you get the groove down without having to worry about the chord changes.  When this becomes easy, then add the chords.  Learn it slow, then when you're comfortable with the song, pour on the speed! 

Another right-hand tip: Don't move your whole arm. Instead, get the up-and-down movement by rotating your wrist. It's faster, smoother, less tiring.  Your forearm should not be moving at the elbow -- rotating only, not moving up and down. 

You'll hear lots of  variations of this song.  Learn the version shown here, and then adapt it to suit your own style and preferences.  Embellish the strumming, rearrange the order of the licks, add a few of your own, develop a flashy intro.  Make it your own.  Enjoy! 
 
 

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