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How to Practice Ukulele and Lose Track of Time

by Brett McQueen

In my 30 years of playing music, there’s one trait that’s helped me practice ukulele and improve the most as a musician.

It’s helped me so much so that I…

Lose track of the time when I practice…

Have more fun when I practice…

And, have more patience for myself when I can’t perform.

Yesterday, I was working on practicing a particularly difficult bluegrass solo on guitar by the great flatpicker Tony Rice (I’m a lifelong ukulele player but also play guitar and piano!). The solo is a short, lightning fast 8-bar passage in the song Nine Pound Hammer, and for me, it’s just… hard.

Every time I step on the gas it falls apart.

I fail.

Practicing, failing, repeat

I practiced this solo for nearly two hours yesterday without taking a break, and you know what?

I had the time of my life.

In fact, I’ve been working on this solo for almost a year and I get excited every time I sit down.

And it got me thinking, why is this so much fun for me to keep failing?

For me, the answer is simple.

[Continue Reading...]

3 Ukulele Strumming Tricks to Instantly Add Energy to a Rock Song

by Brett McQueen

It’s true that with just a few chords and a simple strumming pattern you can play hundreds of songs on ukulele.

But maybe you’ve noticed it’s one thing to strum the chords and another thing to sound musical.

This idea of musicality is really interesting to me because what I often find it’s the small, subtle things you add to your playing that make the biggest impact!

In this new video, I take the chorus of Tom Petty’s famous rock song I Won’t Back Down and apply THREE strumming tricks to a beginner chord progression and strumming pattern to instantly add energy to the song.

[Continue Reading...]

This Is the Solo Ukulele Tab For Adele’s “Easy On Me”

by Brett McQueen

This was the most fun I’ve had in awhile arranging a solo ukulele arrangement of a popular song.

Adele’s Easy On Me took the world by storm late 2021 and now you can play it on ukulele.

In this video, I perform my arrangement of Easy On Me played solo on ukulele. This arrangement features single-note plucked melody, like in the intro and turnaround hook, as well as combines the chords to provide rich harmony. In the choruses, the energy opens up with full out strumming while still featuring the melody.

Take a listen for yourself!

[Continue Reading...]

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!

[Continue Reading...]

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!

[Continue Reading...]

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!

[Continue Reading...]

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!

[Continue Reading...]

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!

[Continue Reading...]

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.

[Continue Reading...]

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.

[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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