Found: Songbooks good for beginner/early intermediate players

**Sheila Lagrand** · Feb-26-2022, 8:43pm

I have found a series of songbooks that I really enjoy, so I wanted to share in case anybody here might also like 'em.

It's a Hal Leonard series called "Strum Together." The volume I have in hand right now, for example, is Campfire Songs. It contains 70 songs that will be familiar to any baby boomer, and perhaps to younger folks too. A few random titles include "Brown Eyed Girl," "Down on the Corner," "Imagine," "Michael Row the Boat Ashore," "Ring of Fire," and "Take me Home, Country Roads." I see a few from the 1990s, too: "Good Riddance (Time of Your LIfe)" and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" for example.

The format is my favorite aspect of these books. Each song occupies a spread. On the left-hand page, you see chord boxes for each chord used in the song. Chords are provided for standard ukulele, baritone ukulele, guitar, mandolin, and banjo. Each instrument's chord boxes are on a separate line. On the right-hand page is the melody in standard notation with lyrics and chords noted. The melody arrangements are simple, so even beginners might find themselves tossing in some improvisational bits. Fun stuff!

If you like to play with friends who play different string instruments, or if you play more than one instrument, these books are extra-great values, IMHO. We don't have a baritone uke at our house, but we have the other instruments noted.

Other titles in the series include Americana Classics, Gospel Songs & Hymns, Pop Standards, The Beatles, and more. Each book contains 70 songs.

**NDO** · Feb-27-2022, 1:26am

Thanks for the review of that, Sheila. I saw it on the classifieds a few weeks ago and thought about picking it up but hesitated because I already know half the songs. But then your post made me realize I don’t know the other half, and this would be perfect to have at the campfire at the cabin for friends who DON’T know the songs and want to play along. I think I’ll suggest it for a birthday present

**allenhopkins** · Mar-02-2022, 12:00pm

If you're gonna sing from a songbook around a campfire, better get one of those caps with built-in LED's.

**Dave Hicks** · Mar-02-2022, 2:48pm

Jim Beloff's Daily Uke books have a similar format with melodies in notation and chords. The chord frames are for uke, but the chords themselves will work on other instruments. The 365 songs cover a wide range of time periods and genres.

The Rise Up Singing books are pretty good, too, but they have no notation, so they serve to remind how a song you already know goes in terms of chords and lyrics.

D.H.