These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things
/Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens; bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens; baritone uke with its 4 lovely strings; these are a few of my favorite things!
Okay, I don’t care about copper kettles but I do love kittens. I wanted to share some of my favorite things today! I’ll start with music stuff but at the end I’m going to add books and shampoo because I love them :)
FIRST UP: UKULELES!
1) Lanikai Spruce Top Baritone: https://amzn.to/2JOgs53
This is what I use in many of my videos! It is not electric. I don’t think the electric ones are available on Amazon, but you can search for a dealer at https://lanikaiukuleles.com/product/flame-maple-baritone-ukulele-with-kula-preamp-a-e-ukulele/. That’s the page for the electric baritone I play.
2) Lanikai concert uke in the LOVELIEST BLUE: https://amzn.to/2VPamsq
I don’t play this one but I think it’s gorgeous and if you’re looking for a classic ukulele sound, concert is a good size to get.
Next up: STANDS!
These are all Hercules stands that I use for various things. I use this guitar stand (or a close variation) for my baritones at home, while the small stand is portable for performances.
Hercules Guitar Stand: https://amzn.to/2YxY9VG
Hercules Uke Stand: https://amzn.to/2VOnJsL
Hercules Mic Stand: https://amzn.to/2Hr3LeY
Hercules Music Stand: https://amzn.to/2YzDO2l
And now for… MY AMP!
I use a Fishman Loudbox Mini. It has a quarter inch input and an XLR, ie. instrument and microphone input. It’s small, super portable, durable, and has worked for all my solo performances, regardless of room size. I have a heavy, old set of speakers I use if a room is HUGE and I need speakers to face two directions, but I use my Fishman amp 10 times more often than I use those.
1) Fishman Loudbox Mini (w/ tuner + cover): https://amzn.to/2LTuV2g
This is what I actually use and highly recommend for solo performances.
2) Fishman Loudbox Black +XLR: https://amzn.to/2VU9AdO
This is something I saw when searching for the one I actually use. This one is black and looks awesome. Just for fun.
WANT TO LEARN SOME SONGS?
A huge number of the jazz standards I learn are ones I’ve read out of the Vocal Real Books (low voice edition). No, I don’t have a low voice, but the keys in these books are much better for me than the “high voice edition”.
Vocal Real Book 1: https://amzn.to/2Qbfktr
Vocal Real Book 2: https://amzn.to/2Qba88O
Vocal Real Book 3: https://amzn.to/2Hrf1Ys
Disclaimer: The chords in these books are not always 100% “accurate”. There are some songs that I don’t agree with their changes BUT these books are incredibly useful and mostly have solid changes. I highly recommend them without hesitation. Just keep an open ear for chord changes you might disagree with.
FOR MY VIDEOS
I use this light. The first link is the light I actually use. The second link is for a set of two similar lights. I often wish I had just gone for two lights, but I have no personally used the lights in the second link.
Softbox Light (1): https://amzn.to/2EiQS4K
Softbox Light (2): https://amzn.to/2YEbr37
SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION
Here is a link to my EP “Forgettable” (which I like to think is pretty good): https://amzn.to/2QfcdAO
HERE ARE A FEW BOOKS I LOVE
CS Lewis Space Trilogy: https://amzn.to/2YCtvdQ (did you know CS Lewis had a space trilogy?! It’s WEIRD and AMAZING!)
Lord of the Rings: https://amzn.to/2Q9Qg60 (fun fact: my second tattoo was the Tree of Gondor)
Scary Close: https://amzn.to/2HrmBlV (Donald Miller talks about being bad at relationships and getting better. I love it)
AS PROMISED, SHAMPOO
I know you don’t care how I wash my hair, but I started using this brand a few months ago and I love it and I think often about telling my friends and then I forget.
Conditioner: https://amzn.to/2YDc25e (it says Hair Mask but I use it as conditioner and my hair doesn’t get greasy)
Shampoo: https://amzn.to/30sGMaK
African black soap: https://amzn.to/2HqNpCR (smells like cherry candy)