Excellent effort so far!
So far, you've started with the most essential steps to playing ukulele. It's so important that you've taken the time to build a strong foundation. You continue to build on this foundation to vary your strumming and increase the speed in this lesson.
Don't worry! We're going to take it a step at a time.
In this lesson:
- Learn a new strumming pattern variation
- Start to increase the strumming speed
- Learn how to play a fun, upbeat version of Camptown Races
You ready?
Let's begin!
Listen to Camptown Races
Start off by taking a listen to Camptown Races – the song you learn in this lesson.
You focus your attention around this song to learn a new strumming pattern rhythm.
Learn to Play Camptown Races
Don't forget the steps to learning a new song.
- Learn the chords
- Learn the rhythm
- Play the song's chord progression without singing
Start off and review the chords used to play this song. These are the same chords you've already learned in previous lessons.
The next step is to learn the strumming pattern rhythm.
Watch the video to learn the rhythm.
Click here to download the chord chart for Camptown Races.
After you've practiced the chords and strumming, the next step is to play through the song's chord progression counting out loud without singing. When it comes to finding the right strumming pattern for a song, the most important thing is to play in time.
Remember don’t be afraid to slow things down. It’s better to play slow and in time than fast and out of control! Start slow and gradually build up the speed.
Once you've done that, begin to hum and sing out the melody of the song.
If you find your strumming is thrown off when you start to sing, that just means you need to take a step back and practice the earlier steps a bit more.
Learning a new song can take a bit of time and practice, so be patient with yourself and enjoy learning this new song!
Your Lesson 3 Practice Objectives
You did it!
Remember, practicing just 15 minutes per day helps you see the most progress.
If you find yourself still working on Lesson 1 or Lesson 2, don't worry. Continue to work on those before diving too deep into this lesson. It's not uncommon to need to revisit previous lessons and brush up on your skills.
Over the next couple days, practice the following:
- Learn the down up strumming pattern
- Practice gradually increasing the strumming speed
- Learn how to play Camptown Races
Keep up the great practice!
There is one more lesson which I'll send to you in a couple days. You take all of your knowledge to play a beautiful and famous Hawaiian song on the ukulele.
This song is magical, and I can't wait for you to learn it.
Join the Discussion
How's this lesson going for you? Post your comment or question below.