IZ: The Songbook Collection, Guitar / Ukulele Edition

Yes I totally agree with the first review. The only downside to this book is that the chords are written for guitar rather than Ukulele. Well... kinda. There is a note to capo your guitar on the 5th fret to make the chords the same as a ukulele (and the same key as Iz played). But the chord diagrams are still labeled as the lower guitar pitch. So as I play, I see the fingering for a B flat (for ukulele), but it is labeled an F (Because, of course, when you play an F on guitar capoed on the 5th fret, it is a B flat). Guitar players will have no trouble at all, but for us uke strummers, its a little confusing. But don't let this stop you from buying it!Still love the book! Would have rated it 4 1/2 stars if it were possible.Another plus to the book is that all the Hawai'an lyrics are translated into English for all of us haole.

It's actually a lot better than just 3 stars but it is misleading in its claim to be for guitar AND ukulele. The chords are guitar chords, plain and simple. The book takes unfair (in my opinion) advantage of the fact that the strings of a ukulele are tuned like the highest 4 strings of a guitar (except the G string on the ukulele is usually tuned an octave higher than on guitar). So the book tells you to simply finger the same chords but the sound will be a 4th higher -- finger a D chord for guitar and it's a G chord on the ukulele. That's not bad but the problem comes when trying to sing along using the printed music or having someone play the melody on an instrument like the flute or violin. They have to transpose the melody if you're playing a ukulele, something that flute players and violinists are not usually trained to do. So it's not really a ukulele book unless you're really good at music theory and are working with others who are also.

It's great to have this collection in one book. I'm still a novice ukulele musician, so it will take a little work to make this useful for myself - checking chords and creating diagrams (in the book I remember them being illustrated for guitar). Also, I do not own all the albums of IZ's this book references. To make my learning experience more effective I'll buy or borrow (love the library!) the album that contains the song I focus on learning at any given time. IZ is a ukulele musician icon so I'm very glad to own this book and to work up the skill necessary to play this well!

The six-string chord diagrams are too small to read. They are playable with a Ukulele however; they are depicted with six strings and labeled with the corresponding guitar chord key names not the ukulele chord key names. This means you will be learning the wrong names for the chords with this book.The lyrics are excellent. The music when played sounds right.I would be happier if there were two books, one for guitar players and one for ukulele players. I am now back on the hunt for a IZ Song Collection written for Ukulele players. Overall I am not satisfied with this edition of the song book.

I ordered this songbook because it contained the songs I was interested in. I was satisfied with the presentation once I could figure out where subsequent verses continued. I prefer having the entire song presented in has many pages as necessary, but understand the need to make shortcuts by referencing back to the verses that repeat the same melody.

If you never listened to IZ then you should. He was the best Hawawii had. This book contains alot of good songs. The problem is alot of them are written in Hawaian so dont expect to play and sing them if you dont listen to the music. It is a shame that the best Blues,Rock,PoP and yes Hawaian music always come after the passing of the singer. Give this a shot. Music is music for all and in Hawaii IZ was the best.

Iz is fantastic uke player, so the songs are really great. The only odd thing about this book is that, since Iz uses guitar tuning on his uke, the book is a little hard to follow using standard uke tuning.

INSPIRED BY BROTHER IZ'S MUSIC, A FELLOW MUSICIAN IS QUITE HAMPERED WHEN THE SONGS ARE IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE DOMINATED BY THE LETTER "K"!THE MUSIC BOOK IS A TREASURE FOR THOSE OF US WHO ATTEMPT TO HONOR BRO. IZ BY IMITATION. THE ONLY COMPLAINT IS THAT ONLY 12 SONGS ARE INCLUDED.WITH THE RESURGENCE OF POPULARITY, PUBLISHING MORE (OR ALL) OF HIS SONGS MAY BE A VIABLE OPTION.

There is another version of this book that is only for ukulele. Unless you want a guitar version you're likely better off with that.

好きな曲ばかりが入っていて大変気にいりました。ウクレレ練習します。

ウクレレTAB譜がある曲と無い曲がありメインはギターじっさいにIZが歌っているキーと違う曲もある

Good and prompt also as described

ウクレレよりギターの方が少しはまともに弾けるので、そんな私にはありがたいスコアです。しかし、ギターではウクレレの味わいは、出ません。（単に、私が下手だから余計）ウクレレで弾きにくい曲は、取りあえずギターで練習をして演奏の感じをつかみウクレレの練習時に、役立てる。私は、そんな使い方してます。やっぱり、ウクレレの曲はウクレレで弾きたいです。