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Solo Ukulele Tab For Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license”

by Brett McQueen

In this video, I perform my ukulele tab arrangement of Olivia Rodrigo’s drivers license solo on ukulele.

This was a really fun song to arrange the ukulele tab where I combine single-note melody, chords, and even percussive drum techniques to mimic the kick drum that is a constant force throughout the song.

Take a listen to hear how I pull this off!

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Strum & Fingerpick This Improvised Moody-Sounding Chord Melody Vamp on Ukulele

by Brett McQueen

Chord melody is a style of ukulele playing where you strum the chords and fingerpick the melody at the same time.

Often chord melody arrangements feature modern pop songs you would normally sing but instead play solo on ukulele.

However, you can also play what I like to called chord melody vamps, where you take a repeating chord progression and improvise a melody with those chords to create a beautiful-sounding solo piece played on your ukulele.

In this video, discover a fun and easy way to play your own improvised chord melody vamps on ukulele.

I show you how to play a few chords with a mellow-sounding strumming and picking technique, while adding in improvised melodies.

By the end, you’ll be playing your ukulele in a creative, beautiful-sounding way!

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Strengthen Your 6/8 Strumming & Jam “Hallelujah” With Me on Ukulele

by Brett McQueen

In today’s video, let’s jam out the chorus of “Hallelujah” to practice our chord changes and strumming.

I give you four beginner-friendly chords and two strumming pattern options to jam this song in 6/8 time signature. I’ll play a rock-steady rhythm to help you stay on track, so you can play along.

Let’s play!

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Let’s Jam & Strum This Beginner-Friendly Ukulele Chord Progression Together

by Brett McQueen

Today, let’s jam out and strum this beginner-friendly ukulele chord progression.

Playing with others is one of the best ways to learn how to keep a steady strumming rhythm and stay on track with your chord changes.

In this video, I give you three beginner ukulele chords and a familiar beginner-friendly strumming pattern that we’ll use to jam out and play along together.

Grab your ukulele, tune it up, and let’s begin!

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Improve Your Internal Tempo Clock With This 3-Level Metronome Exercise

by Brett McQueen

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!

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10 Beginner Ukulele Chords Every Ukulele Player Needs to Know

by Brett McQueen

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.

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Try These 5 Easy Ukulele Warm-Up Exercises For Your Stiff Fingers

by Brett McQueen

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.

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Overcome These 3 Biggest Bm Chord Challenges on Ukulele

by Brett McQueen

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

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!

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“You Are My Sunshine” on Ukulele: Easy One-String Fingerpicking Play-Along

by Brett McQueen

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...]

“Happy Birthday” on Ukulele: Easy One-String Fingerpicking Play-Along

by Brett McQueen

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...]
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    About

    Brett McQueen
    Brett McQueen is the founder of Ukulele Tricks and author of the internationally-published book Ukulele Exercises For Dummies. He teaches thousands of people from around the world to play ukulele in a non-intimidating, easy-to-follow style. Read more.

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