Bach Prelude: John King ukulele

[guameezincali]

sounds like a bowed instrument at times

[fatmanpez]

never heard a uke so soothing

ps: accidentally googled "jon king" say some crazy stuff

[schaaapje123]

I'm playing the uke for a month now. This is really beautiful. RIP John!

[LsBaba]

Just watched this again. Beautiful.

[capetirri]

Thanks to this wonderfull virtuoso I learned to play guitar, thanks John.

[popinlockingurly]

i was playin my Uke and i hit some notes that sounded like Prelude. So i was like.. i wonder... :P and yep. Here it is, Prelude on a Uke.

[Max0Inq]

Very refreshing after listening people who just strum the strings, remaining unaware how beauitful can this instrument sound. Even closer to bell-like tone than strings.

[carolineairoline]

wtf

[roughinitoutdoors1]

has anyone found a tab for this

[JCMcGee]

@roughinitoutdoors1 : Thankfully John wrote a book before he died, look it up on amazon....Classical ukulele.

Also a guy called Chief Noda has a tab if you google it.

[1zzzzzz11]

that was fantastic, hope my skills neer your someday.

[malkyguitar]

cool

[jfdomega]

Wow' what an amazing sound, all from that toothpick!

[cheesecoffy]

Too bad that wasnt one take.

[dalailammox]

@cheesecoffy Where was the split?

[Pissankle]

@dalailammox He's right, I see it too. The split happens at 0:45

[dalailammox]

@Pissankle You must have very good eyes then. I can't see a split.

[behknqruxy]

@Pissankle it's not a split you idiot, it's a problem with the video converter..

[Pissankle]

@behknqruxy Hey, I wasn't trying to be rude. I'm not an idiot, so don't call me one, motherfucker.

[vic1988vic]

Bravo!

[loveruleshate]

Beautiful.

[SSari16]

It's very funny and beautiful!!! :)))

[GerardRebours]

Hat off ! that is very beautiful and original rendition of Bach's prelude. Better than most cello and guitar versions.

[b0wl0fmi1k]

You got amazing out sound out of such a small instrument.

[georgio2]

On paper this doesn't work. JS Bach on ukulele. But I thought I would listen out of politeness as it was recommended. I can't believe what I just heard. One of my all-time favourites played on one of my least favourite instruments (sorry if I'm offending anyone). Amazing. And as I discover this wonderful musician I find he's no longer with us. Will have to discover more . . . much more.

[TimMc333]

An amazing piece performed by an incredible musician. From 1:40 onwards I had a tear in my eye.This is truly a work of art.

[angietihi]

Mesmerising. What a pity this extremely talented musician is no longer with us.

[zaphodfortytoo]

Whoever disliked this video just has no clue what music is.

[MsNickie1001]

This gentleman was one of the best I've ever heard play the ukulele.

[Photorezeptor]

I want a child form you

[jas672]

Mesmerizing...bravo!

[pinehead1001]

Mr. King, you sure a virtuoso on the uke! Can you suggest a good arrangement for a Cavatina?? Sheet music. I have John Williams in E Maj no good for the Uke. I have Colin Tribes rendition, the first half is really good but the second part is in China somewhere. Plus I have a rendition by a GlennReither for the uke, but not in this dimension. HELP in Hawaii

[isrighttooright]

Amazing

[29rhino]

That sounds absolutely beautiful. Nicely done.

[monoyamono]

i would love to play this,would it be possible to see a score or tab for ukulele?!

[LsBaba]

The ending sent shivers down my spine.  Beautiful.

[macintoshiya]

it's really amazing performance. each notes are clear even very high position. cool!

[BenMcCormack91]

It's like Bach on a music box.

I love music boxes!!

[wolverineks]

this is the shit!

[willsm173]

anyone know of a tab for this?

[G4t0o0]

biutiful, mai.

[ratbutcher]

Impressive... most impressive...

[archivestereo]

Hi John - Hope you don't mind I linked to this video from my Ukulele Player & Listener blog on my mikekasselmusic website. Your work is wonderful and I hope you don't mind my sharing the link with others! Mike

[sirbenedictus]

@archivestereo It's my understanding that John passed away some time ago. However, I doubt he'd mind you sharing this beautiful music with others.

[craigwg]

King of awesome!

[archivestereo]

this is amazing

[vanillacokemz]

like an elegant-cold young beauty dancing on the top of mountains, touching the peaks only slighlty with the end of her toes, laughing and enjoing herself like everyone could join her just by listening the sounds of her feet...

[clockguy2]

We owe John so much for giving the ukulele some much needed and deserved respect. Tiny Tim did so much to damage it's reputation while at the same time resurrecting some great old songs.

[5tonyvvvv]

LOL..amazing

[Ukeffect]

God he was brilliant! R.I.P. John King!

[alanfalconer15]

This is impressive- especially given the tiny scale of the soprano uke. It sounds a bit like a clavichord.

[germromeo]

Nice performance. Thanks for sharing. -Geremie

[legbah]

That was it!!!! no I can finaly go to sleep. I spent hours worth of "Just one more version of this song, just to find the one that would blow me away, and then i'll go to sleep". And this was deffinitly the one..........Good Night Ya'll

[dendendn]

@legbah are you awake now ? did you sleep well ?

[jerome96114]

Wow - That's cool :D

[cynthiachristian2]

jajajaja este guey!

[unpescad0]

blown away!

[asparagus97]

that was phenomenal. 

[bobmax59]

ty , virtual and dexterity !

[amateuramputation]

this is ridiculously cool

[73hpwnm4n]

aww, that makes it sound cute

[MustafaGitar]

Wow sounds great on ukulele! Check my guitar rendition on my page!

[Grimnir92]

Great!!

[BeersontheMoon]

tits

[manolly]

Its the first time in my life I saw something played with quality, musicality and beauty on a ukulele!

Thank you John King!

[gblan]

@manolly Check out Doogey9, KenMiddletonUkulele, ukuleleoversoul, WS64, you'll be amazed. Of course pretty incredible playing here too.

[miditrax]

Very good!

[williejax2]

pasado pero no olvidado......what a fine musician!

[nmclay]

I am speechless. Just wonderful. You are a true artist with that uke.

[Megatrane]

How can you fucking play that thing? Amazing

[MNDicky]

Fantastic!

[winchino]

Really Great!!!

[CERBERO616]

Bravo!

[grigorijoe]

ownagw ownage ownage ownage ownage

[quazamodus]

Shit the man died, i cried :-(

He now plays the heavinly scale.

[TheSebio19]

wow that was very very good

[kltxo]

look at my profile please :) and videos :D

[coque18]

que fenomeno

[Russonnydaze]

Man, that is outstanding ukulele playing!!

[bumice911]

rearry rearry nice,  timbre and tempo ,

[Touchguitar]

Beautiful John!

[Shmareck1987]

is it 4-string small guitar? Or this instrument has special name?

ps I like this sound.

[deepenough2die]

@Shmareck1987

dude look at the title. its a ukulele

[Shmareck1987]

lol

I usually dont read title))))

[happyslappysoong]

Read the description you moron. lol.

[imtrippenballs]

you made me facepalm* its a ukulele : )

[koreanarmadillo]

rly good, but i do have to say cello is rly the best instrument for this piece. good job!

[ukemampfi1]

very,very nice

[Luthval]

Campanellas...

V.

[aperkins07]

@Ukeman7 the method John used was called Campanella... not Cappella....

[julesmail67]

Beautiful...RIP John..

[sh00ter1990]

R.I.P

it is amazing

[alika207]

Wow!

[mililaniguy]

Rest in peace

[i3ish]

@mililaniguy

This gentleman passed away?

[Gwiynher]

so nice with the dynamics ^^

[mozgreen]

If I hadn't heard this I would not have believed it is possible to play the prelude from Bach's Cmaj 'cello suite on the ukulele. I heard Paul Tortellier play it in (about) 1972 and was transfixed. This reminds me of that occasion (although I do prefer the Tortellier 'cello).

Bravo!

[aller7]

it's in G+

[Truthseekerfinder]

That was sublime.

[FourTwentyGanja]

@Truthseekerfinder no it was bach,

sorry you had it commin ;P

[Truthseekerfinder]

Hahaha!

Well, right Bach at ya!

[bairh]

Transfixed...

[ercooper]

Awesome

[23tigran23]

bravo!

[pfennig1]

Anyone wanting to learn to play this and other classics should buy The Classical Ukulele by the late John King. the book contains many wonderful transcriptions.

[101violinguitar]

would it be ewasy for a begginer?

[tonyyyyguitar]

@101violinguitar I think it needs a few years

[Frfrei2]

Very Nice!

A big guy and a small instrument! Different!

[tewest99]

Brilliant !!!! Especially the excellent use of open strings and transposition ... you're awesome !!!

[1LBRTY]

Remarkable how in tune you stay. It seems like so many uke performances distort out of tune.

How beautiful this is!

[panzerkampfss]

I will burn my cat alive if you dont post a tutorial.

[ubbddu]

would you post your burning cat tutorial? or ill play bach?

[devilmok]

you have to do it...

unless a dead man can post a tutorial.

[oakpianist]

Unfortunately he can not post a tutorial because he's dead.

RIP John King

[pobinr]

Lovely music, yet look at all the garbage comments here !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments made by human garbage

[soccermando]

holy crap that was amazing!!! you should really post a tutorial...it would be greatly appreciated.

[jjlljjll]

He's dead, so he won't be posting any tutorials anytime soon. He released a book though, and it has ukulele tutorials for a bunch of classical pieces. You'll probably find it in there.

[soccermando]

well thats a bummer...that'd be sweet if someone that knows this version would post a tutorial

[808hapaboi808]

want to post a tutorial??

[luteguitar]

he is dead ........

[808hapaboi808]

what!! that sucks... he is such a great musician

[benztpg]

Kinda wanna eat a bigmac all of a sudden...

[zaodizao]

So lovely..so much beauty in this tiny instrument

[ironspokes]

brilliant brilliant. brilliant..... NUI NA BRAVO!!!!!!!!!! to you . maikia loa kela hana. mahalo nui loa

[hermx0]

Just brilliant! That's really good!

[Polochonn]

Hello, great song. Do you have the tablature anywhere ?

[dvmagic]

Beautiful. I just recently learned of John King. He left this world about the time I started getting interested in Uke. I'm glad there are books and videos so we can remember him and his work.

[dosergiobr]

sweet, clean and beautiful. sounds like a music box

[VincentVolaju]

why are you all rip-ing? who died? :S

[Bigpapamoumou31]

Obviously the guy in the video.

[NathanS1994]

the great bach, a classical composer!

[devilmok]

the player in the video

[bjms1]

Too pristine for words my man... rest in peace...

[shibadoggie11]

This is amazing!!!

[thetvtalkstofelix]

I miss going to sleep listening to this... :(

[Hogie506]

R.I.P man, I wish I could have seen you play before you passed. Great loss :(

[caesarcerf]

maybe he and Bach are playing together. i doubt it very much - but a lovely thought!

[countryboywithguitar]

amazingly increadible

[yourguitarist89]

either that is acoustic electric or that it just a superbly made instrument the sustain is amazing

[grayforester]

It's a good acoustic instrument (of course it is, it's by Joel Eckhaus), all right, but he had superb technique, and he strung the little box such that the strings were really tight, making them ring to suit his belltower-like arrangements.

[ClareCatch]

The sustain also is a result of the way he fingers chord patterns with his left hand. Rather than going vertically up and down the frets he crossed over the strings as much as possible so the notes carry on ringing. It's a great technique - I've been trying to work it out, but it's very hard!

[Amethysting]

Right on...clean scale too

[jessica4908]

I always thought uke was for my kids at prek for them to laugh but now I'm stunned. Aerial and divine playing...That made my day. Wow

[rickbrunernyc]

I realize now I walked in the auditorium on John halfway through playing this piece at last summer's NY Uke Fest right around this time of year (the 2009 one is next weekend). I was amazed then and am now. What a loss. The rest of us just have to uke on that much harder in his honor.

[dingoswamphead]

Beautifiul arrangement and angelic playing. I am shocked to hear from other texters that John has passed away, but this is a lovely tribute.

Bach's music is not just timeless but instrumentless, if you know what I mean.

I have been working on John's arrangment of this amazing piece, and will renew my efforts, although I will never get close to his skill or sound.

Thanks John.

[jdukulele]

I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. King as well as seeing him at several ukulele expos. He as wel as myself and others show what CAN be done with the instrument. And what we try to do is elevate it back to it's lofty perch where it blongs. The ukulele was is and always will be a SERIOUS musical instrument and not a joke as it is thought of outside of the ukulele community. Thank you for all the music John.

[lkaoTicl]

R.i.p.

[comeonnowu]

Such a loss. His music will live on forever. May he rest in loving peace.

[randomwebsurfer]

He passed away last night.

He was generally known as the world's foremost classical ukulele player ... very beautiful and unique.

Rest in peace

[choowee]

beautiful

[0TheHydes]

Increadible

[btcctouring]

OMG. How good is that. What a nice sound

[devilmok]

RIP, Mr. King

a wonderful musician

*salute*

[mikepalomino]

That is amazing. I never thought such sounds could come out of a ukulele.

The world has truly lost something special with Mr. King.

[Gairm]

That's exquisite. Thank you.

[canf84]

stupendo

[aleiv]

fantastico :)

[hswatnik]

rip John King

[silverskein]

I wish i had learned of this prior to John King's death :( This is amazing

[spohdeeohdee]

RIP, Mr. King. You were a beautiful musician.

[gworthmore]

my god. I thought I was going to have a laugh. Im not laughing. I got chills instead.

just too beautiful. wow what a wonderful musician.

[mafre029]

WoW

[123Chablis]

Chapeau!!!

[azaccone]

Mahalo nui loa John. Aloha!

[Supabeave]

I just received his Bach CD today, and he's gone? that SUCKS

[irvingjohn]

RIP.  Huge loss for the uke community.

[hackdown3]

Keep God happy, John.

[shelleyrickey]

Goodbye John, the ukulele community morns your passing.

[terrytruhart]

Aloha Oe, John King

[keonepax]

Rest in peace...

[degcon]

He will be missed... :-(

[Vampowl]

Wow! He is better than I am on my cello playing this!

[21centurymagic]

this is the sickest thing ever!

[themanster101]

this is one of my favorite classical pieces. Never thought I would here it on a uke. Very good rendition. Excellent technique. Very emotive.