This lesson is apart of a larger lesson series that will help us learn the ukulele fretboard. So far, we’ve learned how to play a C major scale and a G major scale on ukulele. Now, it’s time to learn how to play an F major scale.

Scales not only help us learn the ukulele fretboard, but they also allow us to understand the music we are playing. For example, if we know the notes across the fretboard, we can build chords, craft solos, and look at a piece of sheet music and play it.

Each of these lessons build on the other, so if you’re just joining us, you will want to start learning the C major scale first.

Alright. Are you ready? Let’s do this!

Right now, we are in a big lesson series dedicated to learning the ukulele fretboard. We’re doing this by learning all major scales in the twelve different keys. This is the second lesson in the series. If you’re just joining us, welcome!

In the first lesson, we looked at how to play a C major scale on the ukulele. By now, you should be able to comfortably play a C major scale in all positions across the ukulele fretboard.

Learning the C major scale is a critical starting point. All of the lessons from here on out will be building off of our understanding of a C major scale.

So again, if you haven’t learned the C major scale, go here before reading on. If you don’t have a solid understanding of that lesson, this lesson probably won’t make much sense to you.

From here on out, I will be structuring each of these major scale lessons very similarly. First, we will look at the theory behind the scale, or how to build the scale, and then, we will look how to play the scale across the ukulele fretboard.

Over the next several weeks, we’re going to look at the twelve major scales and how to play those on ukulele. In the most basic way, a scale is a collection of notes arranged in ascending or descending order.

Every scale is built upon a root note called tonic. So in a C major scale, the tonic note of the scale is the note C.

There are only twelve major scales because there are only twelve notes in Western music from which we can build a scale. If we know a C major scale like the back of our hand, we can easily modify it later to play the other major scales.

For a broader explanation about scales, check out my post Ukulele Scales Explained for Beginners.

Last week, I posted 3 Easy Songs You Can Fingerpick on Ukulele Today.

When you download the sheet music for these songs, you are presented with a musical staff and tablature.

After a couple emails, I realize we’ve looked at how to read music, but one thing we haven’t looked at yet is how to read tabs.

Music tablature, or tab, is a simplified form of musical notation used for stringed instruments like the ukulele.

Most people learn a new piece of music by using tab. Unlike a regular piece of music, tabs show you exactly where to play the notes on the fretboard.

Let’s take a look at some examples of tablature.