Easy: Ukulele

This arrangement brings one of soul music's greatest love songs within reach of beginning ukulele players without sacrificing the emotional core that makes the original so timeless. The five pages of notation respect the song's vocal melody while adapting it thoughtfully for the ukulele's voice, giving students a piece that sounds genuinely good from day one. It's the kind of tune that keeps students practicing because they recognize it and want to nail the performance.

Warm and intimate, with the kind of genuine tenderness that made this song a wedding staple. The arrangement invites a gentle, expressive touch that feels natural on the ukulele's brighter timbre.

Ukulele students in their first year or two of playing who want to tackle a song with real emotional depth and immediate recognizability. Teachers looking for crossover repertoire that engages students through familiar material while building core melodic and rhythmic skills.

• Shape the phrases around the song's lyrical content rather than playing it metronomically; let the feeling of yearning breathe into your phrasing.
• Pay attention to where the melody sits on the fingerboard and plan your hand position shifts ahead of time so the melodic line flows without awkward pauses.
• If fingerpicking the accompaniment, keep the bass notes steady and even while allowing the higher strings to shape the harmonic color.

Include this in a spring or year-end recital where beginner ukulele students can shine with a song their audiences actually know and love. It also works beautifully in a world music or popular music ensemble context, pairing well with other soul and R and B standards arranged for acoustic instruments.

• Reading and executing melodic lines with consistent phrasing
• Building confidence with a recognizable, emotionally resonant tune
• Balancing accompaniment and melody when fingerpicking
• Shaping dynamics and rubato in a popular song context