learn to play the ukulele

So I’ve been spending a fair amount of time at Ukulele Underground. I’ve been lurking at the forums there for a while and the site inspired me to try my hand at posting my first ukulele video there. I did a cover of New Slang by The Shins. It’s nothing to write home about I guess, but I think it’s a pretty decent first effort.

Good times. Check it out, comment if you want. Just remember I’m a newbie at this, so be gentle. :)

Hope people enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQNCpvWFt0I

So I bought a second uke. It’s a Kala solid top mahogony soprano and I absolutely love it. I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in sound and then I would have wasted 200 bucks, but from the first strum I was in love with the new uke.

I am still working my way through the Fretboard map book. I’m going through it very slowly, trying to master each lesson before I move on, which is proving to be difficult, as some of the chord shapes are hard for me. I think I’m making progress though, and try to mix in just some fun “easy” songs with the serious practice.

I’m trying to figure out when I will be able to click “I’m done” here. I mean, I can strum out some songs, play some chords, do a little bit of picking here and there so I guess I could technically say that I can “play the ukulele” now, but I am by no means good yet. So when can I say that I have achieved this goal?

I think what I really want is to be able to do more than just read/copy tab. I want to understand the ideas/theory behind what I’m doing, to be a musician rather than just a dabbler. Perhaps the biggest thing that will signal that I am “done” learning (ok, well I’ll never be DONE learning, but whatever) will be when I can jam with my little brother while he plays guitar. That will be when I know that I have arrived. :)

So I’ve done quite a bit of messing around with lessons on youtube and other various internet sites.

Now I’ve decided I want to go back and build up some of the basics. So I bought a couple Ukulele books to work through. I got the Hal Leonard Ukulele Method Book 1 and the Hal Leonard Ukulele Fretboard Roadmaps. I’m looking forward to working my way through the books and really doing this right.

Just got my new uke case from Amazon today. It’s pretty sweet and it made me want to post another entry.

Still playing almost every day at least a little bit. Everything I’ve read says to play slowly enough that I am not making any mistakes and then build up speed. I’m trying hard to pay attention to that but sometimes I just get ahead of myself. Still, I think I’m making progress. Even if I’m not so great at playing the thing, I’m definitely having a good time, and that’s what counts right?

Still going strong. Somehow I’ve managed not to give this up yet. Right now I’m working on learning how to play “Summer Breeze” by Seals and Croft. I’m finding bare chords difficult to play, though I’m definitely getting better.

I’ve been trying to play at least a half hour every day. Headed back to work after winter break tomorrow though. This is where it’ll be make or break time. I definitely want to keep this up.

If you want some great lessons, check out ukulele underground. Very cool site with great lessons.

So I’m coming at this with a little bit of a guitar background, and while that has helped with playing chords, I’m finding that I need to relearn some things. Holding the ukulele is so different. Trying to keep my palm of the neck and still support the thing has proven difficult, but I think I’m finally starting to get the hang of it. Keeping my thumb at the center of the back of the neck has also been helping me with some of the more cramped chord shapes.

My strumming technique has also had to adapt somewhat on the uke. I’m really only using my index finger to strum rather than my index finger for downstrokes and my thumb for upstrokes. Not sure if that’s completely correct or not but it feels more natural and I like the sound I get out of it quite a bit better when I do it that way. Also having to train myself not to strum over the sound hole, which is my impulse. Trying to strum more over the bottom part of the fretboard. That feels a little weird but I’m also starting to get the hang of that.

Other than all that, my fingers on my left hand hurt. Can’t wait to build up some calluses. :)

This is uber fun so far. I’m practicing with “Rise” by Eddie Vedder and also “Lovesong” by The Cure.

A good resource so far is www.ukuleleunderground.com. I’ve found some good video lessons there.

My ukulele finally came in the mail today and I couldn’t be more excited. My fingers are a bit raw as I’m not used to holding down strings anymore.

I feel like my poor neglected guitar is glaring at its new “little brother.”

Ah well. I went out and got a tuner and chord book and I’ve been strumming away at some major chords for the last couple of hours. So much fun. I am finding that some of the chord shapes are very cramped. I’m used to the larger fretboard on the guitar. I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually though and if not, I can always move on up to the concert sized uke.

So I spent a good deal of today doing research on entry level ukuleles. Then I bit the bullet and bought a Makala MKS online. It should be here in a week or so. I can’t wait to start learning. I’m going to fill the time until it comes looking into online resources and maybe buying a book on learning to play.

So excited.