A few weeks ago, I did a cover of a song written by Leonard Cohen called “Hallelujah” on the ukulele. I’ve received some questions from you all on how to play the fingerpicking pattern that I was using for the song. I thought it’d make a good ukulele fingerpicking lesson. If you want to learn how to fingerpick, or if you just want to know of a way to play “Hallelujah,” then I think you’ll enjoy this video.

There is one thing I’d like to highlight from the video. I talked about assigning each of the fingers on your picking hand to a string. This means your thumb plucks the top string, your index finger plucks the second to top string, your middle finger plucks the second to bottom string, and your ring finger plucks the bottom string.

If you’re new to fingerpicking, this will feel really awkward at first. Before trying to jump into learning the fingerpicking pattern, just practice plucking each of those individual strings. You want to make sure your hand is as loose and relaxed as possible. You also want to make sure it isn’t crooked or bent in any uncomfortable ways. It shouldn’t hurt.

The chord changes in the intro for “Hallelujah” happen pretty fast, so start off slow. If you find yourself getting frustrated with it, it’s alright, take a break. I remember when I first started to fingerpick. It was easy to grow impatient. Don’t worry though, it’ll come.

I’d love to hear your questions and comments. Post ’em below!