My Lord's Codpiece - a Renaissance ukulele improvisation

"A noble uke, in nature as in name" Twelfth Night Act 1 Scene 2

Thought to be written in England in 1608 by the great Renaissance ukulele composer John Dowland. The Renaissance ukulele music of 17th Century England is not widely known, and Dowland, of course, is better known for his prodigious output for the lute and, later in life, for the harmonica.

This is the cheeky and somewhat curiously titled "My Lord's Codpiece". The origin of the title is obscure and can only be imagined.

I'm playing my Ohana TK3G Tenor with Worth strings which give it a soft, understated sound when it is played gently. However, the strings brighten up when it is played with more volume.

Just fooling around in my garden. Don't take it too seriously - I made it up.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• lord
• codpiece
• ukulele
• renaissance
• ken
• middleton

[carsickphil]

Hi Ken, this is fantastic. Loved your version. I feel Dowland would have loved it. Beautiful relaxed playing too. I've been having a go at translating Dowland to Blues Slide Guitar. You can find the results on my carsickphil channel. Not sure if Dowland would have approved. Classical purists certainly don't. But it is fun adapting these tunes which are so good that they're almost indestructible even in my hands.

[KenMiddletonUkulele]

@carsickphil Thanks for watching.

[bruddahkekoa]

Ken, I really enjoyed this one! I love that Ohana too. BTW, how did you get those great bird sounds in the background? :)

[KenMiddletonUkulele]

The birds live there.

[jcrowcroft]

HAHAHAHAHAHA

hilarious :D

really good playing too. deserves more views.

[KenMiddletonUkulele]

Thanks.

[jamestoo]

Yeah, I've got the start sussed, the rest alludes me. Nothing a bit of practice, patience and perseverance can't solve, surely.

[KenMiddletonMusic]

Sorry, it has never got past the making it up I go along stage. Try it for yourself. It's in C with lots of open strings (I think).

[jamestoo]

Ah ha, thanks for the heads up on this one. When your site is finished, will you be adding the PDF tab for this? Love it so much.

[pablo9000]

LOL... Nice to see you channeling the 'King of Song,' Sounds a bit upbeat, tho', for Mr. Dowland. Maybe you've got a bit of Francis Campion going there, as well?

Bravo!