We learn from WIKIPEDIA that “Morning Has Broken” is a popular and well-known Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and is set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune known as “Bunessan” (it shares this tune with the 19th century Christmas Carol “Child in the Manger”). It is often sung in children’s services. English pop musician and folk singer Cat Stevens (known as Yusuf Islam since 1978 after becoming a Muslim in 1977) included a version on his 1971 album Teaser and the Firecat. The song became identified with Stevens when it reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the U.S. easy listening chart in 1972.

“Morning Has Broken” is definitely one of the most easily accessible pieces contained in the Chord Melody eBook TWO. . . As in all Chord Melody arrangements it involves simply the right thumb brushing the chords and the melody automatically plays itself.  No really difficult left hand fingering in this arrangement. . . Look below to see a short excerpt from the beginning of this song. . .

Notice in measure 3 we have a Dm chord. . . This is an upper fret inversion of the chord and does require a simple Barre fingering.  Simply lay the index finger across the first 3 strings at the 5th Fret. . . Then bring the ring finger over to play the 7th Fret of the 4th string. Below is another short excerpt. . .

The majority of the time the melody is on the first string but in some cases the melody will jump over to the 2nd or even the 3rd string.  Notice above in Meas 15 that the melody does immediately jump to the 2nd string then down to the 3rd string. . In these cases you need to be careful not to play the 1st string.  This is chiefly where solo instrumental playing differs widely from simply chord and strum for singing where you always play all 4 strings.  It does require some care and attentive practice.  Learning to play solo while learning to interpret tablature notation does take some time but be patient with yourself. It will happen and soon you will find yourself in a whole new world of music fun with the Ukulele.

As I mentioned earlier, “Morning Has Broken” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook TWO.  It can be purchased by making a payment of $23.95 through the PayPal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com   Once purchased it will be personally emailed to you within the day.

Table of Contents of Chord Melody eBook TWO

The current Chord/Melody series consists of 3 eBooks.  They can be purchased individually or all together at a combined discount. . .

Here is a link detailing all THREE eBooks

https://allthingsukulele.com/2016/03/14/the-distinquised-library-of-chordmelody-ebooks-from-ukulele-mike-lynch/

For inquiries regarding any Ukulele resource please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

We learn from WIKIPEDIA that “Bridge over Troubled Water” is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Produced by the duo themselves and Roy Halee, the song was released as the follow-up single to “The Boxer” on January 26, 1970. Composed by singer-songwriter Paul Simon, the song is performed on piano and carries the influence of gospel music. The original studio recording employs elements of Phil Spector‘s “Wall of Sound” technique using L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew.

It was the last song recorded for their fifth and final album, but the first fully completed. The song’s instrumentation was recorded in California while the duo’s vocals were cut in New York.  Simon felt his partner, Art Garfunkel, should sing the song solo, an invitation Garfunkel initially declined.  Session musician Larry Knechtel performs piano on the song, with Joe Osborn playing bass guitar and Hal Blaine closing out the song with drums. The song won five awards at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in 1971, including Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

The song became Simon & Garfunkel’s biggest hit single, and it is often considered their signature song. It was a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, and it also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and New Zealand. It was a top five hit in eight other countries as well, eventually selling over six million copies worldwide, making it among the best-selling singles. It became one of the most performed songs of the twentieth century, with over 50 artists, among them Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, covering the song. It was ranked number 48 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

“Bridge over Troubled Water” was composed by Paul Simon very quickly, so much so that he asked himself, “Where did that come from? It doesn’t seem like me.” The chorus lyrics were partly inspired by Claude Jeter‘s line “I’ll be your bridge over deep water if you trust in me,” which Jeter sang with his group, the Swan Silvertones, in the 1958 song “Mary Don’t You Weep.”  According to gospel producer and historian Anthony Heilbut, Simon later acknowledged his musical debt to Jeter in person, and additionally handed Jeter a check as compensation. Simon wrote the song initially on guitar, but decided to transpose it to the piano, to both better reflect the gospel influence and to suit Garfunkel’s voice.

When Simon showed the song to his partner, he informed him that he felt Garfunkel should sing it by himself, the “white choirboy way.” Garfunkel declined, feeling it was not right for him and believing that Simon should sing it. Garfunkel reportedly liked Simon’s falsetto on the demo and suggested that Simon sing. He and producer Roy Halee also thought the song needed three verses and a ‘bigger’ sound towards the end. Simon agreed and penned the final verse, though he felt it was less than fully cohesive with the earlier verses. The final verse was written about Simon’s then-wife Peggy Harper, who had noticed her first gray hairs (“Sail on, silvergirl”). It does not refer to a drug abuser’s hypodermic needle, as is sometimes claimed. The verse was Garfunkel’s idea, and Simon has never cared for it.

“Bridge over Troubled Water” was the final track to be recorded but the first one fully completed, with an additional two weeks of post-production. Simon initially composed the song in G major, but arranger and composer Jimmie Haskell transposed the song to E-flat major to suit Garfunkel’s voice. The song was recorded in California, to make it easier for Garfunkel to go to Mexico to film Catch-22.  Simon wanted a gospel piano sound, and so he hired session musician Larry Knechtel. The song was initially two verses long, but Garfunkel felt the song was too short, and asked Knechtel to play a third verse, to which Simon would write more lyrics. Joe Osborn played the two bass guitars, one high and the other low. A horn section rounded off the song. The drums were played in an echo chamber to achieve a hall effect. Due to a series of factors, the duo had to work on a new tape; an arranger falsely labeled the song as “Like a Pitcher of Water”, wrote Garfunkel’s name incorrectly and the string part was unsatisfactory.^]

Simon and Garfunkel then returned to New York to record the vocals. The vocal style in “Bridge over Troubled Water” was inspired by Phil Spector‘s technique in “Old Man River” by The Righteous Brothers.  After two months the song was finalized. Simon himself admitted that it sounded like the Beatles‘ “Let It Be“, stating in an Rolling Stone interview: “They are very similar songs, certainly in instrumentation …”

As their relations frayed preceding their 1970 breakup, Simon began to feel jealous that he allowed Garfunkel to sing it solo:

He felt I should have done it, and many times on a stage, though, when I’d be sitting off to the side and Larry Knechtel would be playing the piano and Artie would be singing “Bridge”, people would stomp and cheer when it was over, and I would think, “That’s my song, man…”

As I began to conceive an arrangement for the simple little instrument the UKULELE . . . this song seemed at first to be a towering icon of music and I wasn’t entirely sure would carry well with the Ukulele  . . . However, after working and living with it over several days . . . I began to see how the uke could reveal a softer, gentler and more intimate sound that truly did reflect, I believe, the intention of Paul Simon. . . I hope you might find this arrangement worthy. . .

Below is a short excerpt from the opening of the song . . .

Make note that low melody line at the beginning calls for us to play most of it on the 2nd string. . . So, make sure you don’t play the first string in these opening measures. . .Don’t worry the melody eventually jumps up to the First string and the chords become larger and much fuller . . .  Below is another excerpt from later in  the song where the chords to get much fuller and very delicious sounding . . .

Notice the D7 chord in the second measure. . . It’s not your typical D7  . . It is what we call a higher inversion form of the D7 chord.  To play this chord, you will need to Barre the Fifth Fret . .  then place the middle finger on the Sixth Fret of the Third string.

In like manner, in the next measure you will play the E7 the same way but moved up to the 7th Fret. . . Place the middle finger on the 8th Fret of the Third string.

This arrangement of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook TWO. .. It can be purchased by making a payment of $23.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com   Once purchased, it will be emailed to you within the day.

Table of Contents for Chord/Melody eBook TWO . . .

Any of the currently available  THREE Chord Melody collections can be purchased individually or all together at a combined discount

Inquiries regarding any Ukulele resources, please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

A brief excerpt from the opening of Tonight You Belong To Me . . .

Another short excerpt . . .

Yet, again, another excerpt . . .

Notice above, the staccato markings under the first 3 beats of each measure . . . I will be covering this technique is an upcoming You Tube video tutorial soon . . .

“Tonight You Belong To Me” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook TWO . . . It can be purchased by making a payment of $23.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com

Currently I have 3 Chord/Melody collections . . They can be purchased individually or all together at a combined discount. . . Once purchased, they will be personally emailed to you within the day . . .

All inquiries regarding any Ukulele resources, please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

Below is a short excerpt from the opening of “Unchained Melody”

Make note that the melody begins on the first string then jumps over to the 2nd string on measure 3. . . Stays on the 2nd string then jumps back up to the 1st string on beat 2 of the 4th measure. . . . Therefore, be careful not to play the first string whenever the melody jumps to another string. . . This is one of the primary differences between chordal strumming to accompany singing and that of solo ukulele instrumental playing. . . This takes some time and patience to get used to this . . .

Notice, as well, that this entire piece is played with merely the thumb throughout

Below is another short excerpt from later on in the song:

Notice at measure 15 we have a G chord.  . . However, this G chord is an upper fingerboard inversion. . . It requires barring the 7th fret with the index finger while the little finger stretches up to play the 10th fret. . . Upper fingerboard inversions are entirely common in solo instrumental playing, both in fingerpicking style as well as chord melody style.

Here is, yet again, another excerpt from later on in the piece   .

“Unchained Melody” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook ONE. It can be purchased by making a payment of $29.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com   Once purchased, it will be personally emailed to you within the day.

The Chord/Melody collections can all be purchased individually or all together at a combined discount . . .

Questions regarding any Ukulele resource, please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

Each of the THREE current collections in the Chord/Melody series have pieces ranging from easy to more challenging. . “As Tears Go By” is a perfect piece for beginning tablature and Chord/Melody players.  As in all Chord/Melody pieces it requires only the thumb to do the strumming. . . No fingerpicking is involved. . . This piece, however, has no barre chords. . . So, even the left hand fingering is quite easy.  Below is a short excerpt from the beginning of the song . . .

Note that the melody actually begins on the 2nd beat of the first measure.  The open 4th string on the first beat is primarily just a “placer” note to establish the rhythm.  Don’t let that note throw you off from the melody.  As in many many chord melody pieces, you will often only be playing single note melodies interspersed with Chords. . . This song is a prime example of that.

Below is another short excerpt:

“As Tears Go By” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook TWO and can be purchased by making a payment of $23.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com   Once purchased, it will be personally emailed to you within the day. . .

Full table of contents:

All three of the eBooks can be purchased individually or all together at a combined discount.

Questions regarding any Ukulele resource, please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

I chose to arrange this piece in the Chord/Melody format. . . Easiest way to perform solo Ukulele songs. . . Only the thumb is used to strum the chords. . . no fingerpicking is involved.  Below is a short excerpt from the opening of “A Time For Us”

Be very careful in performing Chord/Melody pieces to follow closely where the melody goes. . .In the above excerpt, the melody starts on the First string then quickly drops to the Third string. . . Then by the 3rd measure it’s back up to the First string again.   So be careful not to play the strings above the melody note. . . This is quite different from normal rhythm chord accompaniment for song where you would typically play all 4 strings all of the time  . .

Below is another short excerpt from you to try. . .

There is very little Barring in this arrangement. . . You will see a need to barre the 5th fret at measure 8.  You then place your ring finger or little finger over on the 7th fret of the 4th string.

“A Time For Us” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook TWO – $23.95  It can be purchased by making a payment through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com  Once purchased, it will be personally emailed to you within the day.

Any of the 3 Current Chord/Melody eBooks can be purchased individually or all together at a combo discount.  .

Questions regarding any ukulele resource, please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

Below is a short excerpt from the opening of “I’ll Never Find Another You”.

Here is yet another short excerpt from I’ll Never Find Another You”

Note at measure 10 we need to Barre the 10th fret. . . with the ring finger extending up to the 13th fret of the 2nd string.  This is probably the most difficult element in this arrangement . . . So be patient with yourself  . . . You are definitely up in the higher stratosphere of the fingerboard. 

“I’ll Never Find Another You” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook THREE. . . It can be purchased by making a payment of $24.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com 

You can purchase each of the Chord/Melody eBooks individually or all together at a combo discount. . .

Questions regarding any Ukulele resources, please email TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

This Chord/Melody arrangement utilizes lots of “Chromatic” shifts. . . Compositionally, they are what give it that distinctive “Russian” sound. 

Chromatic merely means moving up or down by half steps . . . We encounter the very first upward Chromatic shift in the 2nd measure at the opening of the piece. . . Its the B chord shifting to the C chord between the second and third measures. Nothing too terribly difficult here . . . just let those shifting notes ring out to fill the air with a hint of cold, winter Russian folk melodies . .

Here is yet another excerpt from later in the piece . . .

Note the Barre chords on measures 46 and 47.  At 46 we Barre the 3rd fret with our index finger while the little finger plays the 6th fret on the first string.  Then, it shifts up by 2 frets so that the index finger is now barring the 7th fret and the little finger is on the 8th fret.  These barre chords may take a little practice to get them clean and smooth sounding.

“Somewhere My Love” is contained in the Chord Melody eBook ONE . . . It can be purchased by making a payment of $29.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com   Once purchased, it will be personally emailed to you within the day. . .

Table of Contents of the Chord Melody eBook ONE

All three of the chord melody eBooks can be purchased individually or as a whole at a combined discount . . .

Any questions regarding any Ukulele resource, please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

Ch

“Chariots of Fire” proved to be a perfect fit as a Chord/Melody arrangement . . . Remember, in Chord/Melody style you simply place the fingers on the chord and brush it with just the thumb. . . The melody automatically presents itself . . . Below is a short excerpt from this iconic soundtrack . . .

Learning this piece will give us a great “opportunity” to finally learn to play our Bb chord. It’s such an important chord to us as it appears in virtually every song in the Key of F. . . The Key of F is one of the most ideal keys for playing solo instrumentals on the Ukulele.

Below is yet again another short excerpt . .  This clip is the beginning of the BRIDGE to the song. . .

Notice in measure 18, the Bb chord is an entirely different fingering from that found at the beginning of the piece.. . This, of course, is an upper fret Chord inversion of Bb. . . It requires playing only the first 3 strings so be careful not to strum the 4th string.

“Chariots Of Fire” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook TWO and can be purchased by making a payment of $23.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com   Once purchased, it will be emailed to you within the day.

Table of Contents for the Chord/Melody eBook TWO

All of the collections in the Ukulele Mike Chord/Melody series can be purchased individually or all together at a combined discount

Questions regarding any Ukulele product, please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

This is such a delightful piece to play on the Ukulele . . . It’s got an exquisitely clever chord progression that keeps your fingers moving right along. . . Below you will see the opening few bars . . . Top line is standard Treble clef notation, while the bottom stave is formatted in Ukulele tablature. . . The top line represents the FIRST string . . . which is the one closest to your knee. . . then you have the remaining three strings. . .

The first beat is just a “placer” note to establish the opening of the song. . . The actually melody begins on the the dotted 8th note following the F Chord. . . This song is chock full of wonderful dim7, m7 etc. . . JAZZ chords. . . .Enjoy!

Below is another short excerpt from the song . . .

Measure 17 begins the BRIDGE of the song. . . Notice all of the zeros in measure 19 . . . These are always great since that means no fingers on placed on those strings. . . Making measure 19 a simple, easy measure of music. . .

“It’s Only A Paper Moon” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook TWO . . . It can be purchased by making a payment of $23.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com  Once purchased it will be personally emailed to you within the day. . .

All THREE of the current Chord Melody eBooks can be purchased separately or all together at a combined discount . . .

Questions regarding any Ukulele resources, please email TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

I’ve previously done a Solo Ukulele fingerpicking arrangement of “Hallelujah” . . . Now I’ve done a Chord/Melody arrangement and I think it works very well . . . As you know, Chord/Melody is the ultimate easiest way to play solo ukulele . . . It’s been done for decades by Ukulele performers as well as guitarists . . . It’s a very standard format for solo string playing. . . It involves only the thumb to strum the chords. . . The melody automatically plays itself. As in all solo ukulele playing it does involve upper fret chord inversions and some barring so those skills will have to be practiced and developed but even entry level players can accomplish that with patience and practice. . . Below is a short excerpt from the Intro verses of “Hallelujah”

This intro was based on the Justin Timberlake piano intro . . .I’ve always liked that. . . Below is yet another short excerpt

Notice in the third measure we have a Dm chord . . . but this is one of those upper fret higher inversions and involves a partial barre chord. It is played by barring the index finger over the 5th fret  with the third finger is placed on the 77th fret.

“Hallalujah” is contained in the Chord Melody eBook TWO. . . It can be purchased by making a payment of $23.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com   Once purchased it will be personally emailed to you within the day.

Each of the three Chord Melody eBooks in the current series can be purchased individually or all together at a combined discount. . .

All questions regarding any Ukulele resource please eamail: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

“La Vie En Rose” works beautifully as a Chord/Melody arrangement . . . Below is a short excerpt from the opening measure of the piece . . .

The elegant chords in this piece use a descending pattern based on the continuity of barring the second fret with the index finger while the melody descends on the first string.  The first barre chord at the beginning of the first measure should be played with the index finger placed on the 5th fret. Then, you can choose to either slide that down to the 4th fret or place your ring finger on the 4th fret. . . It’s up to you as to which is more comfortable . . . Then at the third measure simply place the index finger across all 4 strings at the 2nd fret.

Here is another short clip . . .

At measure 13 we need to barre the 7th fret strings with the index finger . . . At measure 15 we go back to barring the 7th fret but then place middle finger on the 8th fret and their little finger on the 10 fret of the second string.

“La Vie En Rose” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook THREE. . . It can be purchased by making a payment of $24.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com  Once purchased it will be personally emailed to you within the day.

Here are the complete contents of the Chord/Melody eBook THREE

All three current Chord/Melody collections can be purchased individually or all together at a combined discount . . .

Questions regarding any Ukulele resource, please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

Here is a great show=stopper of a piece for a solo performance  . .  It’s so infectious that you’ll be tempted to play it over and over and over again. . . seriously . . . .  It is arranged in a Chord/Melody format which is, of course, the easiest format to begin playing solo pieces on the ukulele . . . By the way, Chord/Melody is by no means just a beginners way of playing . . . It has been utilized by ukulele and guitar players for decades on the professional level as well . . . Before I show you the excerpt below, let me, first of all . . . take this opportunity to apologize for the HUGE typo . . . Misspelling, whichever you wish to call it. . . The name of this song is Never ON Sunday. . . not Never on A Sunday. . . . oops . . . Ok so lets take a look below at the opening few bars of the piece . . .

Notice how after the pickup measure that the melody resides largely on the first string. . . Lots of zeros in this piece so pretty easy left hand fingering . . . By the way, you might want to try a thin flat pick on this song  . . . It gives it an extra brightness that is not always achieved with the thumb. . . I give you my blessing, if you wish . . . .

Below is the opening few bars of the BRIDGE :

This Bridge section is seriously easy to play . . . . As you play the chord/melody part you may want to invite another player to sustain an accompaniment rhythm strum underneath . . .

“Never On Sunday” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook THREE and can be purchased by making a payment of $24.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com  Once purchased, it will be personally emailed to you within the day.

All three eBooks in the current series can be purchased individually or all together at a combined discount.

Any questions regarding any Ukulele resource, please email  TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

Pearly Shells (Pupu A `O `Ewa) is an old Hawaiian song. The English lyrics were written by Webley Edwards and Leon Pober

This arrangement is on the fairly easy end . . . there is not so much barring and when we do have barring it is not too difficult . . . Below is an excerpt from the opening few measure .

Here is yet another short excerpt to give you an idea of the difficulty of the piece .  .

At measure 11 we merely barre the index finger across the 5th fret and then place the little finger on the 8th fret. . . . Same goes for measure 12. . .

 Here is a clip from the Bridge of the song . . . Notice the chromatic shifts between the G chord. Simply shifting the G chord down one fret creates the fun chromatic shifting. Just be very careful to not brush the 4th string.

“Pearly Shells” is contained in the Ukulele Mike Chord/Melody eBook THREE.  It can be purchased by making a payment of $24.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com  Once purchased, it will be personally emailed to you within the day.

I currently have three books in the Chord/Melody collection. You can be each individually or all together at a combined discount . . .

All questions regarding any Ukulele resource, please email The UkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

This song works quite well as a Chord/Melody arrangement . . . Below is a short excerpt from the beginning of “I Can’t Help Falling In Love”

Notice in the above excerpt that the melody begins on the second string then immediately jumps to the first string.. . Then, back to the 2nd . .. . So be very careful not to give into the temptation to play all four strings. . . . This is the chief difference between playing solo instrumental pieces to generally playing all four strings while we strum the chords to accompany singing . . . Notice the Bb chord in the 3rd measure . . . So work on that chord. . . it’s very important to get the Bb chord down. . . . I have a blog specifically dedicated to the challenge of the Bb chord.

Here is yet another short excerpt from the Bridge section of this song . . .

We have TRIPLETS in the bridge  . . . . They are quarter note triplets  . . . So simply drag them a bit in tempo to make it work. . . The E7 chord in the second measure is an upper fret inversion and is played by barring the 4th fret with the index finger then placing the little finger on the 5th fret of the first string.

“I Can’t Help Falling In Love” is contained in the Chord/Melody eBook TWO.  It can be purchased by making a payment of $23.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com  Once purchased it will be personally emailed to you within the day.

Each of the three current  Chord/Melody eBooks can be purchased separately or all together at a combined discount. . .

Questions regarding any ukulele resource, please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

Below is a short excerpt from the beginning of the song . . .

Notice lots of zero’s in the first three measures . . . This equate to VERY easy . . . those notes are not fingered but played . . . So the opening chord fingerings are quite easy to play . . . This piece is definitely suited for early instrumental players . . . This is a fingerpicking arrangement so remember to pick the 4th string with the thumb at all times . . . . The third string is also played with the thumb . . . The 2nd string is always played with the index finger and the first string is played with the middle finger. . .

This piece is contained in the Solo Ukulele Instrumentals Volume 1 enhanced edition. It can be purchased by making a payment of $28.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com

Table of Contents for the Solo Ukulele Instrumentals Vol 1

Questions regarding any Ukulele resources, please email: TheUkuleleMan2012@hotmail.com

We learn from Wikipedia that “Simple Gifts” is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett.

It has endured many inaccurate descriptions. Though often classified as an anonymous Shaker hymn or as a work song, it is better classified as a dance song.

The tune was written by Joseph Brackett (1797–1882) in 1848.^[2] Brackett, a lifelong resident of Maine, first joined the Shakers at Gorham, Maine, when his father’s farm helped to form the nucleus of a new Shaker settlement.  The song was largely unknown outside Shaker communities until Aaron Copland used its melody for the score of Martha Graham‘s ballet Appalachian Spring, first performed in 1944. Copland used “Simple Gifts” a second time in 1950 in his first set of Old American Songs for voice and piano, which was later orchestrated. Many people thought that the tune of “Simple Gifts” was a traditional Celtic one but both the music and original lyrics are actually the compositions of Brackett. “Simple Gifts” has been adapted or arranged many times since by folksingers and composers.

Below is a performance of the Ukulele Mike fingerpicking arrangement as seen on You Tube

The simplicity of this piece so elegantly mirrors the simplicity of the Ukulele . . . They are simply meant to be together. . . I designed this arrangement as a fingerpicking arrangement and below you will see a short excerpt from the opinion measures. . . Keep in mind that in fingerpicking the thumb plays the 4th and 3rd strings while the 2nd string is played by the Index finger while the 1st string is played with the middle finger. . .

Note that this arrangement was done to suit a standard form  of tuning in that the 4th string is tuned to a High G.  Therefore, if you happen to be playing with a Low G tuning, those opening 2 notes should be played on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string. . .

Below are the opening measure of the Bridge:

We go up high on the fretboard to play this melody but luckily all of the other strings are played open so no fingerings involved on the rest of the strings

“Simple Gifts” is contained in the Solo Ukulele Instrumentals eBook Volume 1 enhanced edition (Fingerpicking style).  It can be purchased by making a payment of $28.95 through the paypal button on the Ukulele Mike website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com 

 Here is the Table of Contents of the Solo Instrumentals eBook