Delicate licks and interesting rhythms. The strokes have a rich discography and their 5th album Angles is very much of the same. Fantastic music that sounds great on the ukulele.
Today we are learning to play Machu Pichu, You’re So Right and Life Is Simple In The Moonlight. The video below will give you an idea of what they sound like.
This is not the first time I have arranged The Strokes on the ukulele. I have also done Is This It, Room On Fire, First Impressions and The New Abnormal.
The Strokes Ukulele Tabs
Not sure how to read these? Check out this guide and you will be learning these ukulele tabs in no time.
Machu Pichu
You want to play the opening chords with a sudden strum. To create that sound, you need to lift your fretting fingers off the fretboard quickly after you have strummed it.
The second part is palm muted. Place the palm of your strumming hand just after the bridge of the ukulele. That’s going to dampen the sound and make it sound a lot more tightly knitted.
A |-6-6---6---6-6---6--|-8-8---8---8-8---8--| E |-6-6---6---6-6---6--|-9-9---9---9-9---9--| C |-6-6---6---6-6---6--|-8-8---8---8-8---8--| G |--------------------|--------------------|
A |--9--9----9----9--9----9---|-8-8---8---6-6---6--| E |--11-11---11---11-11---11--|-9-9---9---9-9---9--| C |--10-10---10---10-10---10--|-8-8---8---8-8---8--| G |---------------------------|--------------------|
A |-----1-------|-----4-------|-----6-------|-----4---------3---|
E |---2---2-----|---4---4-----|---6---6-----|---4---4-----4---4-|
C |-3--------x2-|-5--------x2-|-6--------x2-|-5---------5-------|
G |-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------------|
Your So Right
Although this is a super-fast riff, it’s actually pretty straightforward to play. Use your first finger on the 5th fret and then your middle finger to hit that 6th. Then bring your first down the fretboard to hit the rest of the notes.
I use my fingernail to give it crunchy sound.
A |---------------------------------------------| E |--5-5-5-6-5---5-5-5-5-6-5---5-5-5-6-5--3-2-1-| C |---------------------------------------------| G |---------------------------------------------|
Life Is Simple In Moonlight
For this song, we are making a chord shape and moving it up and down the neck. place your first finger on the 1st fret of the C, Middle finger on the 2nd fret of the E and then your pinky finger on the 4th of the A.
You can keep that shape until the fourth section of the tab. Take your pinky off and use your ring finger on the 4th fret of the A.
A |-----4-----4---4-|-----9-----9---9-|-----6-----6---6-|-----4-----4---4-| E |---2-----2-------|---7-----7-------|---4-----4-------|---4-----4-------| C |-1-----1-----1---|-6-----6-----6---|-3-----3-----3---|-3-----3-----3---| G |-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|