Today I challenge you to a 3-level metronome exercise to assess and improve your internal sense of rhythm on ukulele.
If you’re able to complete all three levels of this exercise, then, it’s safe to say you have a strong internal sense of time!
But even if you can’t, you can take this exercise and begin to improve your internal tempo clock. By practicing this exercise, you become better at strumming your ukulele with steadiness and feel.
Let’s take a look!
[Continue Reading...]If you just started playing ukulele, then you need to know these beginner ukulele chords.
It’s just a matter of time before you’re learning a song with these chords.
Believe it or not, in the free 14-video lesson course Learn to Play Ukulele Today, I teach you how to play four distinct songs using just four of these essential ukulele chords.
In this lesson, learn the ten most important ukulele chords every complete beginner needs to know on ukulele. It’s not an exaggeration to say these chords are used to play hundreds of songs, so if you know these, you’re well on your way to making music! Watch the video to get tips and tricks on how to play these chords.
[Continue Reading...]One of the great pleasures of teaching ukulele the last decade has been seeing students successfully learn to play ukulele in their 70s, 80s, or even 90s.
Because ukulele is an instrument for everyone, many of these students see success through their determination, but I’ve learned there are unique challenges at this age.
Namely, stiff or uncooperative fingers.
If you find yourself with stiff fingers, then one of the best things you can do is take a brief five minutes as you pick up your ukulele to warm up the fretting hand, strumming hand, and the mind.
By doing so, most importantly, you get yourself into a relaxed state. Sometimes we unintentionally bring the stress of the day into our practice. By warming up, we take an intentional moment to focus on the feeling of playing relaxed. And when you’re relaxed, you make the most out of your practice and set yourself up for the best likelihood of success.
In this video lesson, I teach you five simple exercises you can use before you play ukulele to get the hands, fingers, and mind ready to play.
[Continue Reading...]Barre chords on ukulele, like Bm (B minor), present a lot of challenges, but they also present opportunities to improve your fretting hand technique.
Bm Ukulele Chord Diagram
If you can figure out a barre chord like Bm on ukulele, then, there’s no reason you can’t play dozens of other barre chords! That’s not to say barre chords are easy, but with the right approach, you can begin to get your fingers acquainted and comfortable playing barre chords.
And that’s what we’re doing today.
I’ve covered difficult barre chords before like Master the Bb Chord on Ukulele With These 3 Easy Steps, When to Play the Easy Hawaiian D7 Versus the Barre D7 Ukulele Chord, or 3 Best Ways to Play the E Major Chord on Ukulele, but this chord deserves special attention.
Let’s take a look!
[Continue Reading...]Fingerpicking the ukulele doesn’t have to be hard, and you certainly don’t have to shred in order to get started!
Today, in this fun song play-along, we’re fingerpicking the melody of You Are My Sunshine on ukulele on just one string – the A-string.
So tune up your ukulele, find a comfortable spot, and let’s make some music!
[Continue Reading...]You don’t have to be a world class singer to make beautiful music on ukulele, and you certainly don’t need to be advanced to start with some easy, simple fingerpicking.
Today, in this fun video play-along, we’re fingerpicking the melody of Happy Birthday on ukulele on just one string – the E-string.
So tune up your ukulele, find a comfortable spot, and let’s make some music!
[Continue Reading...]I’ve always thought ukulele is a romantic instrument so of course learning to play Perfect by the romantic hit-song-wonder Ed Sheeran on ukulele is only fitting.
Whether or not you want to woo that special someone or perform this on ukulele at your friend’s wedding for their first dance, with the simple chord shapes and a simple strumming pattern I show you in the video below, you can start playing this song today.
Scroll down to get the ukulele chords and a video lesson giving you tricks and tips for how to play Perfect on ukulele.
[Continue Reading...]There’s nothing worse than an out-of-tune ukulele.
Even if it’s just you locked away practicing in a room by yourself where nobody can hear you, listening to out-of-tune chords and notes can you make you feel uninspired and wonder why you sound so, well, bad.
You can be a competent and proficient ukulele player, but if your ukulele is out of tune, no one would know it – even yourself!
I’ve always said one of the fastest ways to sound better as a ukulele player is to tune your ukulele. It’s a common beginner mistake to think that since you had your ukulele tuned once that you won’t have to tune it again later. If you’re new to playing ukulele, then, your number one goal is to figure out how to tune your ukulele! Always tune every time you sit down and play.
But why does your ukulele keep going out of tune after you spend all that time tuning it up?
How can it be that your ukulele is technically “in tune” according to the tuner but sounds out-of-tune when you play?
And what can you do if you have a ukulele that can’t hold pitch?
Here are the six reasons your ukulele is going out of tune and what you can do about it.
[Continue Reading...]Happy Memorial Day!
Today I’m playing a chord melody arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner on ukulele.
Chord melody is a style of playing ukulele where you strum the chords of a song while you simultaneously fingerpick the melody.
As far as chord melody goes, The Star Spangled Banner is an easy song to learn for those who are beyond the basics of picking. Played in the key of C you use a lot of open strings to create a full and resonate sound.
The Star Spangled Banner is the United States national anthem. The lyrics of the song were written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, however, the music was written much earlier in 1773 by John Stafford Smith. Key wrote the poem on September 14, 1814 at age 35-years-old after seeing the British Royal Navy bomb Baltimore Harbor in the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. After looking at the U.S. flag waving above Fort M’Henry in victory, he was inspired to write the poem. It wasn’t until March 3, 1931 that Congress made it the U.S. national anthem by resolution, which was then signed by President Herbert Hoover.
Musically, The Star Spangled Banner has one of the broadest vocal ranges spanning 19 semitones making it one of the hardest songs to sing. Fortunately for us, we can fingerpick the melody and strum the chords of the song without singing! Whew.
[Continue Reading...]An exciting way to take your ukulele playing to the next level is to find new ways to play the same chord on ukulele.
Yes, there are often several different ways to play the same chord on ukulele, and I include many of these chord variations in the Ukulele Tricks Chord Library, but you might be wondering why you’d want to find a different way to play a chord on ukulele.
There are many reasons for why you’d find a new way to play the same chord:
In this lesson, I introduce you to the world of finding chord variations on ukulele by showing you how to play a C major chord on ukulele in five different ways.
[Continue Reading...]