UCL2 - WEEK 2
"Hotel California"

This week you will explore, Hotel California which was written and released back in 1976. Eagles lead singer Don Henley once told Rolling Stone, "We were all middle-class kids from the Midwest. 'Hotel California' was our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles,”.

Scroll down for the PDF.

FINGER GYM WARM UP

Before you get started with any practice - always remember to do some stretches and warm up with the finger gym exercises. This week you will practice at 70BPM. 

HOTEL CALIFORNIA

HOTEL CALIFORNIA by The Eagles was originally recorded in the key of Bm but we have transposed it to the key of Am for ease of playing on the ukulele. You can however, play along to the original track by placing a CAPO on fret 2 of your ukulele and playing the chords shapes from your song sheet. We will also be shortening the intro to just one round and the outro to 3 rounds.

The chords contained in this song are all open chords as follows. You may choose to play the barred D chord if you wish: 
Download the song sheet by clicking the button below:

STRUMMING PATTERN

This is a 16th note strumming pattern. So far you may have played quarter note and eighth note patterns, such as calypso strum, but now it's time to venture into the 16th note territory. 

Have a listen to the audio below for an explanation about counting in 16th notes. It's not so easy to count and strum so getting a feel for where the beats fall is the best thing to do. 
At the end of the 2nd verse and chorus section of the song you will just play half of the bar, leaving the rest of the bar to ring out. These fall on the final [E7] chords of each section and look like this:

STRUMMING PRACTICE

In the video below - practice the strumming pattern independently at various speeds starting at 60BPM, 65BPM and 70BPM to get a feel for it before adding in the chords. 
Intro & verse 5 Strum sequence (Single Strums - 1 down strum per bar) Am - E7 - G - D- F- C- Dm - E7
Verse & Solo strum sequence: Am - E7 - G - D- F- C- Dm - E7 (half bar on final E7)
Chorus Strum sequence: F - C - Dm - Am / F - C - Dm - E7
Now try adding each of the sections together. Starting with single strums, 2 x verse sections and 1 chorus section at 50BPM:

AUDIO TRACKS

​The audio play along tracks will appear here within 24 hours of your first class taking place and are a great way to help with home practice. 
HOTEL CALIFORNIA: Level 2 part only w/drum track @ 72BPM
HOTEL CALIFORNIA: Level 2 & 3 parts w/drum track @ 72BPM
Download the full Mp3 with vocals and complete with electric uke for the end solo! It's a good idea to become familiar with your own part before practicing along with the full track. The aim is to really stick to your part and try not to take on any other rhythms! 
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