I Could Write A Book: Ukulele

The Rodgers and Hart catalog deserves regular rotation in ukulele curricula, and this particular standard offers students a legitimate jazz standard in a folk-friendly arrangement. The two-page format respects the ukulele's strengths while introducing chord progressions and harmonic movement that bridge popular and jazz idioms.

Warm, conversational, and slightly starry-eyed. The melody moves with a natural speaking cadence, and the harmonic palette includes enough color to feel sophisticated without becoming pretentious. It feels like a confidence builder: students discover they can play a real standard and sound genuinely musical doing so.

Intermediate ukulele students ready to explore beyond folk and pop idioms, and teaching artists looking to introduce the American songbook repertoire. This works equally well for singers using ukulele as accompaniment and for instrumentalists building jazz fluency.

• Listen to how the melody sits on the ukulele neck before drilling chords; this tune rewards smooth voice leading between changes rather than mechanical strumming patterns.
• The song's narrative quality means phrasing matters more than tempo perfection. Allow space for the lyrical intent to emerge, particularly in the bridge.
• Work the chord changes slowly if this is a student's first encounter with jazz harmony. Separating the learning of changes from the learning of the melody gives each adequate attention.
• Consider how articulation serves the story. This isn't a rhythm piece; it's a song about admiration, so let the words (whether sung or implied) guide your touch.

Slot this into a recital or informal performance as a solo turn for an intermediate student, or use it as a bridge between folk repertoire and jazz standards in a year-long curriculum. It's substantial enough for a lesson focus but short enough to program alongside lighter pieces.

• Reading jazz chord progressions including secondary dominants and ii-V patterns
• Voice leading between chords on a four-string instrument
• Phrasing melody with lyrical intent rather than metronomic regularity
• Interpreting standard notation with chord symbols