How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (from The Daily Ukulele) (arr. Liz and Jim Beloff): Ukulele

Jim and Liz Beloff have stripped this ballad down to its essential melodic and harmonic core, making it accessible without losing the emotional weight that made the original a standard. The arrangement sits comfortably on ukulele while preserving the song's sophisticated chord movement, so students encounter real harmonic language from day one. Programming this alongside other standards gives ensembles a touchstone for how great songwriting transcends genre.

Tender and introspective, with a restraint that lets every chord land. The close harmony and gentle tempo create space for the lyrics to resonate, turning an intimate moment into something that feels almost conversational.

Ukulele students who are ready to move beyond simple strum patterns and tackle genuine harmonic complexity. This arrangement bridges the gap between novelty uke repertoire and standards interpretation, making it ideal for intermediate players who want to sound more mature without jumping to classical or fingerstyle repertoire.

• Shape the melody with long, connected phrases rather than breaking at every bar line; the song breathes as a whole arc, not as disconnected moments.
• Balance the vocal line against the harmonic accompaniment so the uke never overshadows the lyric, even when the chords shift underneath.
• Let rubato emerge naturally from the lyrical content instead of imposing it mechanically; the song's emotional peaks and valleys should guide your timing.
• Lean into the minor and seventh chord colors; they carry the melancholy that makes this arrangement sing.

Pair this with other Beloff arrangements to build a program around contemporary approaches to standards, or feature it as a standalone ballad piece in a concert of lighter material. It also works well as a bridge between student-level and performance-level repertoire, demonstrating that accessibility and musical depth are not mutually exclusive.

• Reading and voicing seventh chords and extensions in a harmonic context
• Sustaining legato lines and controlling breath across longer phrases
• Balancing melody and accompaniment on a single instrument
• Interpreting a vocal lyric through instrumental performance