Tag Archives: chord progression

Puff the Magic Dragon Travis Picking Variations

Posted on January 8, 2025 by Anne Ku

RIP Peter Yarrow (1938 – 2025) who wrote Puff the Magic Dragon. Practice the seven variations of travis picking on the chord progression from the song on ukulele. Continue reading →

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Workshop: the Hawaiian vamp

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Anne Ku

Also known as the Hawaiian turnaround, the famous Hawaiian vamp refers to a short chord sequence that can introduce and end a song, intercede between verses and choruses. The chords depend on the destination key.

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Puff, the Magic Dragon

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Anne Ku

An instrumental introduction sets the tempo, establishes the rhythm, and anticipates the starting note of the melody for a song. Here’s my attempt to capture Peter, Paul and Mary’s version of “Puff, the Magic Dragon” in a key I can … Continue reading →

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Pachelbel Medley (workshops in Zoom)

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Anne Ku

For Pachelbel’s Birthday Party, I made a medley of songs that follow the eight-bar chord progression in Pachelbel’s Canon. In selecting the songs, I noticed that most of the 24 songs I had listed did NOT follow the progression in … Continue reading →

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Easy Beatles Jam Session

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Anne Ku

As I explore music for ukulele jam sessions, I keep discovering Beatles songs I’ve never heard of before. In London, I chuckled at the politically incorrect “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and the funny “Octopus’s Garden.” George Harrison’s “I’ll Follow the Sun” … Continue reading →

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Jukebox Piano Class: Stand By Me for Easy Piano

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Anne Ku

I should call my piano classes “Jukebox Piano Class” because I take requests. Nothing motivates a new musician more than being able to play something he or she likes. Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” is one of these requests. … Continue reading →

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