This was the first time I remember Blink-182 taking a serious turn. I heard the song at a pretty poignant time in my life, just a few years after my own parents split. Truth be told, it wasn’t until years later that I truly understood the depth of the song, but I knew at the time it brought some comfort. It was also the stepping stone for Blink to write some of their greatest work like “I Miss You” and “Down.” Let’s learn to play the intro to “Stay Together for the Kids” on the ukulele.
What Are We Learning To Play?
Below is a video of what you will be able to play by the end of this post.
Ukulele Tabs
The tricky part of this intro riff is the speed, in all honesty. Most of it is fingering a chord and then your picking hand goes off like the clappers.
Let’s start by assigning fingers on your strumming hand to specific strings. I want you to always pluck the associated string with the correct finger, as it will make things much simpler. Use your thumb for the C string, index finger for the E string, and your middle finger for the A string.
Now let’s move onto the fretting hand. Start by placing your ring finger on the 5th fret of the C string and your index finger on the 3rd fret of the A string. Play those 8 notes with your middle finger naturally hovering over the 4th fret—that should be an easy change when you need it.
For the third measure, use your middle finger on the 2nd fret and your index finger on the 1st fret. You want to be able to switch to the other 1st fret position with your index finger smoothly.
Lastly, start the 4th measure with your index finger on the 3rd fret. This will naturally allow you to fret the 5th fret with your ring finger and the 6th fret with your pinky finger without repositioning your entire hand.
A|-------3---------|-------3---------|
E|-------------5---|-------------5---|
C|-5-5-5---5-5---5-|-4-4-4---4-4---4-|
G|-----------------|-----------------|
A|-------0-----1-0-|-----------------|
E|---1-----1-------|---3-----5-6-5-3-|
C|-2---2-----2-----|-0---------------|
G|-----------------|-----------------|