Now You Have Everything You Need to Master Chords and Strumming, Allowing You to Make Music with Ease and Confidence… Even if You’ve Never Played Before in Your Life

Introducing a step-by-step, easy-to-follow online video lesson course used by over 10,000 students to become proficient ukulele players.

Hey, I’m Brett McQueen, a life-long ukulele player, author of Ukulele Exercises For Dummies and founder of Ukulele Tricks, a website dedicated to helping thousands of people all around the world to experience the joy of learning to play ukulele.

Have you ever said any of these things to yourself (actual students have told me these):

What would it mean for you to be able to play ukulele?

Chances are something or someone inspired you to take up ukulele. Maybe it was seeing your favorite musician play the ukulele or maybe you went to Hawaii and impulsively bought a ukulele because you loved it’s sweet sound. Perhaps you wanted to learn so you could play with your kids or grandkids.

We all start from somewhere. Most of us aren’t born strumming, and that’s okay. You can learn...

Even if you've never played an instrument before in your life.

Even if you say 'I don’t have natural music talent'.

Even if you think you’re too old to learn.

Even if you don’t know a lick of music.

Presenting "Strumming Tricks": Learn and Master Strumming, Rhythm and Chord Changes On Ukulele, Improving Your Skills While Making Actual Music

Strumming Tricks: Our Students See Success

Over 10,000 students have used the Strumming Tricks online ukulele lesson course to become better ukulele players at their own pace in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step way.

"Since age 6, I've tried to learn to play a musical instrument without success (first the piano, at age 16 the guitar, at age 30 the keyboard, at age 55 the banjo uke). At age 62, I bought a uke and began Brett's course. 1 1/2 years later, I've fulfilled my lifelong dream - I can play hundreds of songs!"

– Dr. Linda S.

"I have highly recommended Ukulele Strumming Tricks to several friends who have bought it. My recommendation was based on your steady, methodical, calm approach to teaching–and your accessibility. I think this is the best web-based instruction available."

– John W.

"I first learned to strum through this program. Within a year, and with no previous musical training, I was invited to play in a performing group, and now perform with a second group as well. I go busking by myself, with confidence. This program is, quite simply, excellent in all aspects."

– Libby W.

Strumming Tricks Gives You Clear, Concise Instruction In a Non-Intimidating Style

How I learned to play ukulele made a huge mark on who I am as a teacher today.

My grandfather taught me to play when I was just six years old. His teaching style was simple. All we did was flip through a songbook and try to play the songs, stumbling and laughing along the way.

It was a non-intimidating way to learn how to play the ukulele as a youngster and it was so fun.

Learning ukulele was about experiencing the joy of music.

In the Strumming Tricks course, I take the principles I learned from my grandpa and teach you in an approachable, non-intimidating, easy-to-follow style, teaching you essential techniques while playing memorable songs.

This course is about seeing you become a better ukulele player. Each lesson is tailored to you giving you everything you need to learn to play the ukulele in an easy-to-follow, clear and concise manner. You have the exact steps to follow to progress.

Let’s look at how.

Strumming Tricks Puts Everything You Need at Your Fingertips to Improve Your Skills

Strumming Tricks is jam-packed with 30 lessons broken up into small, bite-sized steps spanning 92 individual videos and totaling 3 hours 58 minutes of footage.

Accompanied with the videos are 100+ pages of easy-to-follow, step-by-step worksheets giving you chord diagrams, notation, sheet music, detailed practice objectives, and more.

This means you have everything you need in one spot to go at your own pace and learn how to play ukulele.

Note: Prior music knowledge or ability to read music is not required. You'll learn everything you need to know in the course.

More importantly you take the techniques you learn to play 20 well-loved ukulele songs, meaning your making music right from the start. My philosophy as a teacher is that you don’t need to be a master of music theory and composition to start playing songs right from the start.

"I love it! It progresses nicely from basics to more sophisticated options, and I like and can relate to most of the songs. The best thing about it is Brett's relaxed style of teaching and the supremely helpful videos that clearly demonstrate each technique. Plus, it's fun to play along with him once I've learned a new song."

– Darlene M.

Here's what you can expect to learn:

Part I: Essentials

Part II: Strumming Foundations

Part III: Picking Up the Strumming Speed

Part IV: Percussive Muting Techniques

Part V: Expressive Strumming

Bonus Lessons

"I loved [Strumming Tricks]! I was so happy to have been able to play some songs and because the chords taught were for beginners. I was able to find songs I loved that had these chords and started playing them too."

– Niki T.

"By following your lessons I have been exposed to a variety of strumming methods that has helped increased my range of playable songs. Also, it has kept me motivated to play regularly by trying to get to next lesson."

– Dave W.

Don't Make the Mistake of Not Having a Plan As a Beginning Ukulele Player

Some of the best lessons and resources for learning ukulele are freely available. In fact, we offer some excellent free ukulele lesson resources on our website.

But free lessons and teaching yourself only gets you so far.

With free information, you're left with daunting task of figuring out what to learn next and how to make real progress all by yourself.

This can be frustrating if you're looking to make the fastest amount of progress in the shortest period of time.

Needless to say, it's hard to do it alone.

With Strumming Tricks, no longer are you losing time and forming bad habits. You get clear, concise, and focused instruction presented in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format. You get a clear roadmap to ukulele success, knowing exactly what you should be practicing to improve your skills.

"I am a big believer in your lessons. I have friends who have just learned on there own from a mish mash of YouTube people. They don't have the fundamentals down and they get frustrated when they can't do a song. They try to start with stuff that is too hard at first. Your lessons have saved me from all of that frustration."

– Jeff J.

Diving Deeper: Strumming Tricks Helps You Become a Better Ukulele Player In 7 Key Areas

As you can see, there's no shortage of awesome content in Strumming Tricks.

This is a full, comprehensive online video course designed for beginners to learn to play ukulele and taking you step-by-step to becoming a master of strumming and rhythm on the ukulele.

More than that though, you learn key, practical skills that equip you to go well beyond this course and play your favorite songs with confidence.

Let's look at the key skills you pick up.

1.) Figure Out the Right Strumming Pattern For Any Song

Strumming Tricks is more than just giving you some cool strumming patterns and songs to play.

While I do give you everything note-for-note, more importantly, I help you understand the why behind what you’re learning and how it helps you be able to play any song you’d want to look up outside this course. Because, isn't the goal to be able to learn to play any song with confidence? I think so.

As your teacher, I’m interested in equipping you with the skills to be able to approach a song and figure out what strumming pattern you can use to play it. I give you a process for approaching a new song that guarantees you’ll be able to look up a song in a chord book or on the internet and know where to begin when it comes to the strumming.

By the end of the course, you have the skills to be able to approach any song and find a strumming pattern that works amazingly and sounds musical. You’ll have the skills to potentially play hundreds if not thousands of songs!

2.) Change Chords Without Hesitating or Stopping

One of the biggest challenges for beginners is keeping a steady strumming pattern while changing chords. In Strumming Tricks, you learn how to use the Hover Technique to change to and from chords while keeping a steady strumming rhythm. You also learn specific ways of practicing when you find yourself unable to switch chords in a song smoothly so you can overcome this.

3.) Learn How to Play Well-Loved Ukulele Songs

While you learn underlying techniques and ways of thinking about strumming and playing the ukulele, Strumming Tricks isn’t just a bunch of theory mumbo-jumbo either. 

It’s about experiencing the joy of making real music on the ukulele.

You don’t need a prior music background or experience with another instrument to learn how to play ukulele with me.

Throughout the course, you learn practical strumming patterns and chord positions and take those to play well-loved songs on the ukulele.

The song selections in this course are very specific and intentioned in that each song allows for a perfect application of the chords, strumming and techniques that you’re learning. You can be confident that each song will fit your skill-level at that point in time and won’t leave you in the dust.

Don't worry if you're starting out as a complete beginner. The songs at the beginning of the course are simple and easy-to-learn. As you go farther through the course, gaining new skills and confidence, the songs become even more rewarding to learn and play.

In total, you learn 34 insanely useful and versatile strumming patterns that can be used to play a wide variety of different songs. In this course, you take those strumming patterns, apply your skills, and learn 20 different songs on the ukulele ranging from classic folk, Hawaiian, bluegrass, country, reggae, blues, and more.

By the end of the course, you won’t just have bunch of strumming patterns and techniques under your belt, you’ll be making actual music!

4.) Sing and Play at the Same Time With Ease

Do you ever have it where you’re strumming nice and steady, but then, once you start singing, the strumming falls apart and you lose it?

Not to worry. It happens to the best of us.

Throughout this course, you learn specific ways you can practice singing and playing at the same time while keeping a steady and consistent strumming rhythm.

5.) Strum Faster Without Getting Sloppier

Strumming and rhythm on the ukulele is all about keeping that steady, consistent timing.

You can play the fastest and most complicated strumming rhythm, but if it’s played out of time, you’ve defeated the purpose of strumming.

In Strumming Tricks, learn how to speed up your strumming and make things more complex-sounding and interesting without getting sloppier.

6.) Make Your Strumming Percussive With Muting

Strumming is more than just a pattern of down and up strums. There are ways of strumming the ukulele to give your rhythm a whole new sound.

One such way is muting. Muting is a really cool strumming technique that adds a percussive sound and rhythm to your strumming. In this course, you learn two muting techniques: 1) the “chnk” strum technique, and 2) the fretting hand muting technique. I show you when to use each technique.

Learn the tricks to master these funky and cool-sounding techniques and how you can apply it to playing different songs.

7.) Perform Expressively Like a Real Musician

Have you ever played your ukulele and thought to yourself:

I’m playing the right chords and the right notes, but something is missing... it just doesn’t sound musical.

How do you make a song sound musical and more expressive?

Why is that you can listen to someone perform a song and have tears well up in your eyes? How do musicians do this?

This is a really important part of feeling the satisfaction of playing music. It’s communicating the heart and soul behind the music.

In Strumming Tricks, you learn how to become an expressive musician. You get inside my head when I think about performing or playing a song. In addition, I show you cool techniques like the rolling strum to add flair and emotion to your playing.

"I became a proficient player and play in two advanced ukulele groups and play at events we are invited as a group such as senior centers and benefit events."

– Rod P.

"I would recommend this class to others who are learning uke. Chords are easier to learn than strumming and I learned when starting to play that the right hand (strumming) is actually more important than the left hand. There are not a lot of resources to help learn strumming and this one is pretty complete!"

– Phil M.

Here's What You Get With Strumming Tricks

Upon purchase, you register your very own Ukulele Tricks member account. This special member account gives you complete access to the entire Strumming Tricks online course contents in a private, members-only area of Ukulele Tricks.

Go at your own pace and access the course anywhere and anytime from your computer or mobile device. All you need is an internet connection.

Note: For your benefit, the Strumming Tricks course never expires and there are absolutely no renewal fees attached to this course.

Once you're a member, you're always a member... for life!

In the Strumming Tricks course, you get:

3 Hours 58 Minutes of High-Definition Video

Every video lesson is shot in high-definition, so you can see exactly what’s going on. Watch the lessons in full screen to get an even better picture. All videos are compatible with your computer or mobile device.

100+ Pages Lesson Worksheets

There is a lot of content jam-packed in the course. Rest assured–everything is organized in a very easy-to-follow, step-by-step way. For each lesson, there's a printer-friendly worksheet with charts, diagrams, pictures, practice objectives, helpful instruction, and much more.

Supportive Lesson Discussion Area

Interact with thousands of other Strumming Tricks members. For every lesson, there is a place to post your questions and comments that might come up during the lesson. This area is often just as valuable as the lesson itself where you can get additional tips, tricks and encouragement from other students or me your teacher.

An UNBEATABLE Guarantee: Try Strumming Tricks For a Full 60 Days, 100% Risk-Free

I promise you if you follow along with each lesson and put in the practice you will become a better ukulele player with Strumming Tricks. So much so that I back the course with a 60-day, 100% money-back guarantee.

This means, if for whatever reason you try Strumming Tricks and don't LOVE it, I want you to email me and I will give you all your money back.

This guarantee lasts 60 days which means you can try the WHOLE course and then decide if it's right for you. Join the program and try it for yourself. It's as simple as that. You have nothing to lose.

Join Strumming Tricks Now and Become a Better Ukulele Player In Minutes

To get started, click the "Get Instant Access" button below to register your Ukulele Tricks account and begin. You're just minutes from taking your skills to the next level.

Get Started Now For a One-Time Investment of $97

If you have any questions or concerns about the course, send us an email. We're happy to help.

Save Hundreds of Dollars Learning with Strumming Tricks

Many people choose to learn to play ukulele with Strumming Tricks because of the time and money they save.

Here's some simple math to consider:

Your average private ukulele lesson costs you as much as $30 - $50 per hour or more, depending on the quality of the instructor. To ensure you see improvement in your playing, it's essential to be practicing weekly over the course of the next couple months.

If you do a once-a-week lesson over the span of three months (12 weeks) at $50 per lesson, you spend as much as $600 or more to improve your playing.

And if you continue your instruction for another three months double that $600.

I love private lessons and recommend them to my students certain times. For some, it's a good fit, but there can be downsides.

For example, with private lessons, recalling what you learned in the week past can be much more difficult. It's not uncommon to forget things your instructor showed you in the last lesson, which means more time spent refreshing yourself in the next session (more time equals more money).

With Strumming Tricks, you're able to go at your own pace, rewatch the video lessons as many times as you need, as well as print and save worksheets to help reinforce and remember the things you're learning.

And for those inevitable questions that come up as you're learning, you get access to a supportive discussion area, allowing you to ask your toughest questions and receive encouragement from me.

All this allows you to see real progress as a ukulele player.

"THANK YOU for creating this! I travel a lot so an 'in person' teacher wouldn't be possible. This course is just like having a personal instructor at your disposal whenever your time suits."

– Twila K.

Frequently Asked Questions

"Will this course work for me? Will I be able to see progress?"

Strumming Tricks is more than just a bunch of great information about playing the ukulele. After all, if you're looking for great information, you can find free lessons on YouTube.

Strumming Tricks is more than that.

As a whole, all the lessons in the course build and progress on one another in an organized, step-by-step way. This is an intentionally designed course with hundreds of hours invested from myself to help stretch you and make it so you're seeing actual improvement through each lesson in the course.

More importantly, each lesson is easy-to-follow. At the end of each lesson, you get specific practice objectives to make progress with your skills and get to the next lesson. This way, you know exactly what you need to be practicing to improve.

"How much prior knowledge is assumed?"

Strumming Tricks is designed and organized purposefully, so anyone can jump right in and start learning, even if you've never played ukulele before in your life. The beginning of the course starts with the absolute basics progressing to more advanced concepts later in the course.

With the slow, easy-to-follow pace, you can be sure I won't leave you in the dust.

"How much time does this course take?"

This course is designed so you can go at your own pace. Some lessons might only take 30 minutes of practice to complete, while others might take longer. This is normal and everyone's different. The key is to plug away bit by bit. I recommend practicing at least 15 minutes per day.

Keep in mind, to see real progress in your ukulele playing, you don't need to practice hours upon hours each day. The key is to be consistent and to focus your practice on the right things, which I give you in Strumming Tricks. Practicing just 10-15 minutes a day will be much more effective than practicing for 4 long hours once every few weeks.

"What if I fall behind?"

We understand that life can bring about unexpected surprises that would take you away from practicing the ukulele consistently. For this reason, you get lifetime access to all the lessons in the Strumming Tricks course allowing you to review any previous lesson and catch up on your skills.

"How does an online course like Strumming Tricks work? Do you ship anything to me?"

If you've never been apart of an online course like Strumming Tricks, it's really easy-to-use! Here's how it works.

The entire contents (videos, worksheets and discussion area) of Strumming Tricks are accessed in a private, simple-to-use online member area on UkuleleTricks.com.

Upon purchasing the course, you register your very own username and password giving you exclusive access to this member area. In the member area, all the lessons in Strumming Tricks are organized allowing you to stream the videos, download the lesson worksheet, and interact in each lesson's private discussion area.

You're able to conveniently access the online member area from your computer or mobiles devices anywhere in the world. All you need is an internet connection.

In this way, we do not ship you in the mail any physical contents, which means as soon as you register, you can start the lessons right away!

"How is Strumming Tricks different than other ukulele teachers/online courses/books on the market?"

Unlike other courses, where you get a bunch of random and unrelated lessons, Strumming Tricks is designed in a thoughtful, easy-to-follow way. Not only that though, I really empathize with beginning students who seek teachers who are actually invested in their progress as a student and aren't just about showing off or bragging.

Before I taught ukulele, I was also a student. In reality, I still consider myself as a student–always trying to improve and learn new things about the ukulele.

But, as I'm sure you've experienced, there is nothing more infuriating than to encounter teachers who are more concerned with showing off their skills and bragging than investing in your progress as a student.

In this way, in Strumming Tricks, I make every effort to commit to really helping you see actual progress in your playing. So much so, there is a discussion area underneath each lesson, where I personally interact with you and helping you with any questions or hiccups along the way.

"I have improved my playing and really enjoy the lessons. Brett does a great job of teaching. I like being able to revisit lessons. I like how Brett starts slowly then builds up speed. He is very encouraging. You can tell that he loves to play and teach the ukulele."

– Margaret D.

Join Strumming Tricks Now and Become a Better Ukulele Player In Minutes

To get started, click the "Get Instant Access" button below to register your Ukulele Tricks account and begin. You're just minutes from taking your skills to the next level.

Get Started Now For a One-Time Investment of $97

If you have any questions or concerns about the course, send us an email. We're happy to help.

Still Have More Questions?

Still have a question about Strumming Tricks? We're here to help.

Simply enter your question into our contact page and we will get back to you promptly.

In addition, our Frequently Asked Questions page is another great place to get answers to the questions you have about Strumming Tricks.