The Californication album features some of John Frusciante’s finest guitar work in my opinion. He has the knack for creating fun and intricate riffs that are still assessable for all types of player. He absolutely nails it on all three solos on this track. The intro lick is what really stands out though. Let’s learn to play it 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.Â
Ukulele Tabs
This is a great riff to learn on the uke as we are utilising various techniques. These include fingerpicking, chord hammer-ons and then single pull-offs. Don’t let that put you off though. Once you get the hang of it, it will likely be a song you play for the rest of your ukulele life.
First of all, let’s talk about fingerpicking. Assign your thumb to the C string, the first finger to the E and your middle finger to the A. You will ALWAYS use these fingers for each string, bear that in mind while learning. We have a similar scenario on the fretting hand. Use your first finger on the 1st fret E string. Then your middle finger for the 2nd fret C string. Lastly, your ring finger will be hitting the 3rd fret on the E string to perform the pull-offs.
A|---0------0---0---0--------------------------|
E|-1------1---1---1------0-0h1-1---1---1---1p0-|
C|-0---------------------0-0h2-2-2---2---2-----|
G|---------------------------------------------|
A|---0------0---0---0------------------------|
E|-1------1---1---1------0-0h1----3p1-3p1----|
C|-0---------------------0-0h2---------------|
G|-------------------------------------------|
