It’s about time I arranged some U2 on the uke. One of my favourite albums of all time is Joshua Tree. As I write this I’m wondering why on earth I haven’t done it already! Today we are learning to play Sunday Bloody Sunday, One and Where The Streets Have No Name on the ukulele.
What Are We Learning To Play?
The tabs are from a fun little video I made for my TikTok account recently. It’s pretty much showcasing the various levels of playing difficulty for this artist. It starts easy and ends on a super challenging riff. Scroll to give some of them a shot.
Ukulele Tabs
Easy - Sunday Bloody Sunday
In the video, I am using a low G string for this riff. I have also included a version (the right one) that can be played the ukulele with a high G too. It has been transposed a few semitones so its in a different key to the original.Â
For the low G version, we are opening up with a B minor barre chord. It’s super convenient as all we need to do is lift our finger off the 4th fret for the next chord. Then the last one is just one fretted chord so it’s even easier.
It’s a similar scenario for the other version. Form an E minor chord on the bottom three strings and just lift your fingers off when appropriate.Â
A |---------------------------------| A |-----2-------2-------0-------0---|
E |-----2-------2-------0-------0---| E |---3---3---3---3---3---3---3---3-|
C |---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2-| C |-4-------2-------0-------0-------|
G |-4-------2-------0-------0-------| G |---------------------------------|
Medium - One
For the none ukulele player looking on, this song just looks like a lovely bunch of chords. However, we are doing something a little challenging which makes it way more interesting.
We adding an extra note midway through our strumming pattern. I have highlighted the notes that will be changing. Each chord shape requires you to use different fingers so let’s have a look at what you should be doing.
For chord one (Amin) use your first finger on the 2nd fret of the G string. You will be using your pinky finger to come on and off that 4th fret of the C string. Chord two (F#Dim) is the trickiest of the bunch. Keep your first finger on the G string and your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the A string. We will be using our middle finger to come on and off the 2nd fret of the C string.
Chord three (FMaj) is very similar to our first chord. This time we are using our middle finger for the 2nd fret of the G string and our first finger on the 1st fret of the E string. Then our pinky will be coming on and off the 4th fret of the C string. Lastly, we have chord four (GMaj). Use your first and middle fingers on the 2nd fret of both the C and A strings. Then your ring finger will be used for the 3rd fret of the E string. That will leave your pinky finger to hit that 3rd fret on the A string.
A |-----0-------------------|-----0-------------------|
E |-0---0---0-0-0-0---0-0-0-|-2---2---2-2-2-2---2-2-2-|
C |-0---0---0-4-0-4---0-4-0-|-0---0---0-2-0-2---0-2-0-|
G |-2-------2-2-2-2---2-2-2-|-2-------2-2-2-2---2-2-2-|
A |-----0-------------------|-----2---2-3---3-3-2--|
E |-1---1---1-1-1-1---1-1-1-|-3---3---3-3---3-3-3--|
C |-0---0---0-4-0-4---0-4-0-|-2---2---2-2---2-2-2--|
G |-2-------2-2-2-2---2-2-2-|-0--------------------|
Hard - Where The Streets Have No Name
When you look at the tab, this doesn’t appear hard at all. However, the constant finger movements cause it to be a bit of a strain on the hands. It’s worth noting, I’m using a low G for this piece. Surprisingly tho, it still holds its own with a high G too.
We can make it slightly easier on ourselves by placing our fretting hands correctly before we start. Your pinky finger always needs to be on the 5th fret of the A string.
Apart from when they are fretting the root note of each section. Your first, middle and ring finger will always be fretting the 2nd, 3rd and 5th frets of the E string too.Â
A |-5-----------5-----------5-----------5-----------|
E |---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5-|
C |-2-----------------------------------------------|
G |-------------------------------------------------|
A |-5-----------5-----------5-----------5-----------|
E |---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5-|
C |-------------------------------------------------|
G |-0-----------------------------------------------|
A |-5-----------5-----------5-----------5-----------|
E |---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5-|
C |-------------------------------------------------|
G |-4-----------------------------------------------|
A |-5-----------5-----------5-----------5-----------|
E |---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5---5-3-2-3-5-|
C |-------------------------------------------------|
G |-2-----------------------------------------------|
