Moving from strumming to picking

Strumaround · Jan 20, 2018

Hi all

I stopped playing guitar about 20 years ago and have recently picked up a couple of Ukes, just because…

I'm getting used to the new chord shapes and getting myself back up to speed and loving every minute of it.

Anyway, I'm hooked, but I'm aware that my guitar skills were only ever average and I never really moved from strumming to fingerpicking. But it seems to me that the Uke would really benefit from picking, so I wondered if anyone could recommend any good resources to help me along the way to learning this?

Thanks.

DownUpDave · Jan 20, 2018

Yes.....Google Aaron Keim Ukulele Fingerpicking Instruction book. One of the very best for beginners, I started on this and many here have done the same

Chopped Liver · Jan 20, 2018

http://www.ukulele-arts.com/?lang=en

Tons of good info and also some free ebooks.

Strumaround · Jan 20, 2018

DownUpDave said:
Yes.....Google Aaron Keim Ukulele Fingerpicking Instruction book. One of the very best for beginners, I started on this and many here have done the same

Thanks, much appreciated.

Strumaround · Jan 20, 2018

Thanks Jan.

Chopped Liver · Jan 20, 2018

Go here: http://www.ukulele-arts.com/lernen/leitfaden-fur-einsteiger/

Click on the British flag to change to English. There's a ton of good info here. Wilfried is a UU member here.

Chopped Liver · Jan 20, 2018

Then there's http://jons-ukulele.com/2015/02/05/fingerpicking-exercises-for-ukulele-tabs-to-download/

These are fingerpicking exercises.

You can also download a pdf of his guide here: http://jons-ukulele.com/learn-campanella-fingerstyle-ukulele-free-guide-to-download/

Strumaround · Jan 20, 2018

Thanks again for those resources.

jerrysimon · Jan 27, 2018

I am new to the Uke as well, having played guitar for years. One thing I have found works nicely is strumming/picking using the fore finger (like on the song Here Comes The Sun) which I have found translates really nicely from the guitar to Uke.

Strumaround · Jan 28, 2018

Thanks. Yes, I'm still getting used to using the thumb for the bottom two strings and only the first two fingers for the top two.

TBH, I'm pretty much making it all up as I go along.

ripock · Jan 28, 2018

that's what I do as well. It works for Travis picking and other folksy stuff. It is a natural extension of my tendency to play scales and modes with my first two fingers a la picado technique from flamenco. It also works well with split strokes. I am working through an arpeggio booklet which advocates using the four-fingered style (PIMA). However, I am doing fine with PPIM (thumb thumb index middle). Learning to use the thumb is also integral in clawhammer playing as well as something else I've been dabbling in: using the thumb for the bass drone while playing the slide.

The resources I have are, as already stated, Aaron Keim's books for fingerstyle and clawhammer
For Travis picking, there are countless tutorials out there. The latest book I have with Travis picking is Stu Fuch's Rock-a-Billy for Uke.

Boomershakalaka · Mar 1, 2018

My start was with Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. There are a couple good tutorials on Youtube. Song only has a half-dozen chords or so and a beautiful finger style pattern. Both the Ukulele Teacher and a gentleman named Richard Hefner made vids. The good thing is it covers each finger/string so your working toward getting better all around. I've been working on Guaranteed by Eddie Vedder which is a bit more complex than Hallelujah and also sounds great. Good luck.

fisher00 · Mar 1, 2018

Boomershakalaka said:
I've been working on Guaranteed by Eddie Vedder which is a bit more complex than Hallelujah and also sounds great. Good luck.

I'd love to see those TABS! I found a tutorial, but its not in English which makes it more complicated. I also had a friend give me some TABS, but very complicated and I can't manage it - yet.

MopMan · Mar 7, 2018

Throwing in my recommendation for Daniel Ward's Arpeggio Meditations for Ukulele.

Putter · Mar 7, 2018

fisher00 said:
I'd love to see those TABS! I found a tutorial, but its not in English which makes it more complicated. I also had a friend give me some TABS, but very complicated and I can't manage it - yet.

There's a low G version on my site that's not difficult to play:

Hallelujah (tabs)

ohmless · Mar 10, 2018

Hal Leonard Fingerstyle Ukulele is the book I started with and I highly recommend for someone just starting out: https://tinyurl.com/y98dzure

The book I am currently working on is the beatles for fingerstyle ukulele. I recommend this one if you are doing well with the first book though some of the songs are in keys adapted for the uke: https://tinyurl.com/yawnsyh8

ohmless · Mar 10, 2018

btw, I only pick the strings with my thumb. I just can't get all my fingers to cooperate!

bunnyf · Mar 12, 2018

James Hill "Ukulele Way". Excellent chord/melody complete method series, vids, tab and stand.not.

Moving from strumming to picking

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