Plucking out a melody on your ukulele is a whole lot of fun.
It all begins with the major scale!
In this new video, I show you how with just 1 major scale pattern you can pluck the opening melody of Judy Garland’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow in multiple keys.
In the video, I teach the major scale pattern.
By learning this pattern, you build the muscle memory needed to pluck melodies across the fretboard. Judy Garland’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow opening melody line is a perfect example of how the melody can be plucked from this single major scale pattern.
The goal is to build the muscle memory needed to play this pattern in multiple places across the fretboard by practicing three different keys.
D Major Scale
Start by learning the major scale pattern played in the key of D major.
We know this is a D major scale since the pattern starts on the D note at the 2nd fret of the C-string and ends on the D note at the 5th fret of the A-string. It’s okay if you don’t know the note names of the fretboard just yet! For now, just practice the pattern.
You can see this same pattern shown in music notation and ukulele tab.
D Major Scale Ascending & Descending Exercise
Practice ascending and descending the major scale pattern played in the key of D major.
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” Melody in D Major
Notice how the opening melody line of Judy Garland’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow can be played entirely using the above D major scale pattern.
G Major Scale
Align the first note of the major scale pattern to the G note played on the 7th fret of the C-string to play the pattern in the key of G major.
See how this G major scale appears in music notation and ukulele tab.
G Major Scale Ascending & Descending Exercise
Just like before practice an ascending and descending G major scale exercise.
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” Melody in G Major
Notice how you can take the same idea and play Somewhere Over the Rainbow in the key of G major.
Cool!
C Major Scale
Finally, transpose the major scale pattern down so the first note of the pattern plucks the open C-string to play in the key of C major.
Pro Tip: Assign your index finger to fret notes on the 1st fret, middle finger to fret notes on the 2nd fret, and ring finger to fret notes on the 3rd fret.
Notice how the bottom three strings are incorporated into the major scale pattern.
C Major Scale Ascending & Descending Exercise
Try your hand at the ascending and descending exercise in the key of C major to get used to those different fretting hand finger positions.
“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” Melody in C Major
And finally, give that melody some practice in the key of C!
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