What is this strum?

April 22, 2015 2:30 PM

I am trying to learn "I Apologize" by Husker Du on the ukulele. I'm working with this tab, and the chords sound right. The strums for the verses (down/up, down/up, down/up, down) and for the first half of the chorus (down down/UP ad nauseum) were easy enough to learn, but I can't figure out the strums for the pre-chorus ("and you get tight-lipped…") or the second half of the chorus ("said I'm sorry…") I've watched videos of Bob solo and Husker Du back in the day, but I haven't figured out what Bob's doing with his left hand. Anyone want to hazard a guess?

So far I've tried just strumming down (which doesn't seem right), strumming up and down (ditto), and calypso strum (a little too cheery).

Before you ask: yes, I have posted this question on both the Ukulele Underground pages, and haven't gotten any response in either place. Since there's enough overlap in the "Husker Du fan" and "ukulele player" venn diagram on MetaFilter, I figured this was as good a place as any to ask.

Yes, this is my second question about playing Husker Du on the ukulele. Most of the other songs I've learned are popular enough to have notation on chords and strums, but so far I seem to be the only person brave or dumb enough to want to play these on the uke.

posted by pxe2000 to Media & Arts (14 answers total)

Not a ukulele player, but: on this recent video there is clear sight of Mould's strumming hand throughout almost the whole tune, including pre-chorus.
posted by bertran at 4:15 PM on April 22, 2015

Ahhhh, I think I might take a crack at this... But I'm still a little confused about what parts you're not getting. "Strums" to me means strictly right hand. Anyway I'll pick up my instrument now...
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 5:55 PM on April 22, 2015

I just reread the post, and when I said "left hand" I meant his strumming hand. Other left. Rich, I look forward to your answer. :D
posted by pxe2000 at 6:01 PM on April 22, 2015

Jeez, 5 or 6 sections
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 6:26 PM on April 22, 2015

"Verse" and "chorus" or whatever don't apply here. Please identify yr problem sections by lyrics.
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 6:32 PM on April 22, 2015

I am struggling with the parts that go:

"And you get tight-lipped
How do I know what you think"

"Was it something I said when I lost my mind
Temper too quick, makes me blind"

"Said I'm sorry
Now it's your turn to look me in the eyes
And apologize"

Does this help?
posted by pxe2000 at 6:57 PM on April 22, 2015

And you get tight lipped section an unusual 5 bars:
Same as that transcription 1st three bars, but I'd keep my finger on the top string 3rd fret during that D chord...

Then bars 4 and 5 are just whamming an F chord, I'd try ... How do I notate this I'm on an iphone... Just look up yr standard F. Or "3211" bottom to top, if that makes sense
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 7:22 PM on April 22, 2015

On the "something I said" section, its just as the transcription says, C, G, D, though they didn't map them out. But those chords were in the "tight lipped" section, thry're mapped out there. Of course in different order. And I'd 3rd-fret the top string for that D chord again.
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 7:32 PM on April 22, 2015

I count nine different sections including 8-bar intro. And they're all weird lengths, 6 bars, 4 bars. It's like he was compensating for the song only having 3 chords! (Except that F)
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 7:38 PM on April 22, 2015

The language for this is not standardized! Let me know if anything I said still doesn't make sense, like if you don't go by bar- numbers, or something.
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 8:09 PM on April 22, 2015

Hm, I read the question as one of rhythm. If so ...

I think what you're hearing is the bassline running down on a half-note triplet ... so you would go something like DOWN-up-DOWN-up DOWN-DOWN-UP where the down-down-up takes the same amount of time as the two down-ups, and all caps are accented beats.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 11:41 PM on April 22, 2015

Rich Smorgasbord, I'm about to send you a MeMail. I'm not having trouble with the chords -- they sound right when I play it -- but I am struggling with the rhythms of the strums. I'm going to try playing Rube R. Nekker's suggested strums when I get home tonight.
posted by pxe2000 at 6:59 AM on April 23, 2015

Having now watched like five videos of Bob live, I don't think he strums it the same way all the time himself. I think mostly he's doing a pretty constant down and up, but with a lot of variation in how hard he strums on any given stroke in order to emphasize certain beats and including some kinda "half-strums" or "double-time" (twice as fast) strums so the rhythm of the guitar matches with a lyric and/or a bass line and/or a drum part. (Which can be hard to see because he's mostly moving his wrist rather than his whole arm.)

Dü did this all the time, and this song is a good example of that. In that Bob Mould Band show @ the Bowery that you linked to, listen to how closely the strumming matches the bass line, and bass, snare, guitar, and voice are all hitting "when I lost" at the same time. So it's not like a straight strumming pattern, how he strums depends on what the bass & drums & words are doing.

I think Rube R. Nekker is on to something, try mimicking the bass part, rhythm-wise, and take a momentary pause on "tight", "think", "lost", and "makes".

(This might be one of those songs that doesn't translate well, where the feel of the guitar playing kinda relies on the ringing and sustain of a distorted electric guitar plus the "drone" effect of constantly keeping the same notes going on the highest two strings. And if you find that's the case, then, y'know, fuck it - rearrange the strumming pattern so it sounds good on a uke.)
posted by soundguy99 at 10:11 PM on April 23, 2015

I know, Soundguy. I remember seeing Bob's solo acoustic shows in the 90s and loving the campfire singalong quality of the NDR stuff. I guess I have my work cut out for me with this one, though....
posted by pxe2000 at 5:25 PM on April 24, 2015