Totally oblivious to the ukulele

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I bought one at a music store recently, I've wanted to play an instrument as a hobby for some time now and everyone plays a guitar and the uke always interested me. I've basically only figured out how to tune it. I have no clue how to play any songs or how to even read the notes to them. Does anyone know of a good well written guide to learning this? I've found some but they require prior knowledge, like I said I'm completely oblivious as to how to play. I just love the way the way this thing sounds and I really want to learn to play some of my favorite songs.

Anyway thanks to anyone who responds!
 
Congratulations, you will LOVE your ukulele.

There are lots of tutorials on line that people will point out to you, but if you like to work from books you can try Ukulele for Dummies. It really starts at the beginning and is easy to follow. And there's a CD so you can hear what each piece is supposed to sound like.
 
Do you know of any good ones online? Like I said the ones I found required me to know stuff I didn't. Do you know of any guides in particular that are good for total noobs?
 
Well, there's Uncle Rod's Boot camp, which is a PDF and free to download. That's most of what you need.

Then, look at Youtube, there's lots of videos. Ukulele Mike has lots of videos from basic to advanced. Then there's always this site!

Also, have you thought about seeing if there's a local club? They're always pleased to get new members, you'll learn faster and have fun!
 
Okay, first up, if this is too simplified...well, you asked for it...

First, typically when you see somebody describe a chord they will describe it as the fret positions from the top string (i.e. furthest from the floor) to the bottom string (you can probably figure out what I almost wrote here :) ) going left to right.

Okay, I told you that to tell you this. Start by learning the first three chords in the key of C - that would be C, F, and G. They are.
C = 0 0 0 3
F = 2 0 1 0
G = 0 2 3 2 (a lot of songs will use the G7 or "dominant 7") which is 0 2 1 2

Those three chords are the "I, IV, and V" chords respectively and will get you through a lot of songs! Probably 80% of popular music can be "faked" in the key of C just using those three chords!

Next, add the Am ("vi") and Dm ("ii") chord.
Am = 2 0 0 0
Dm = 2 2 1 0

You can now "fake" somewhere near 95% of popular songs (in or transposed to the key of C, of course).

And therein lies the beauty of the ukulele! This is especially sweet if the key of C happens to fit your voice well because you can transpose songs to that key and play and sing almost anything.

From there, the sky is the limit. The uke is obviously not limited to the key of C - that's just the easiest key for a newbie to learn - much the way G tends to be the easiest key to learn on guitar.

But, you can have a lot of fun with just the info presented above. Learn those chords, then seek out the two- and three-chord song lists and you can have fun for literally years before having to learn anything else - though I'm betting you'll get hooked sooner or later and be discussing theory in a year or two. :)

John
 
try ukulele tricks this site is free and it caters for the complete beginner, you can download the basic chords and songs on there to get you started and there is a beginner downloadable booklet free with video support, although when you signed into UU, you chose a great place to start, on here are the most friendliest bunch of people i have ever had the pleasure to meet online, they will answer any and all your questions no matter what, the ukulele tricks site will give you a good standing to get you started, but this site will take you above and beyond your expectations and onto the next level, good luck with your uke and welcome to our exclusive club
kaizer
 
I agree with the YouTube suggestion as well. Just type in Ukulele tutorial .there should be many.and some people break it down much simpler than others. If you are looking for a certain song.example..Ukulele hey there delialah tutorial .and such.also YouTube Ukulele Underground ! Aldrine has great play alongs and tips for strumming .uke minutes. It works great for me.thats how I learned to play. Just keep replaying the video over and over :) good luck!
 
Okay, first up, if this is too simplified...well, you asked for it...

First, typically when you see somebody describe a chord they will describe it as the fret positions from the top string (i.e. furthest from the floor) to the bottom string (you can probably figure out what I almost wrote here :) ) going left to right.

Okay, I told you that to tell you this. Start by learning the first three chords in the key of C - that would be C, F, and G. They are.
C = 0 0 0 3
F = 2 0 1 0
G = 0 2 3 2
(a lot of songs will use the G7 or "dominant 7") which is 0 2 1 2

Those three chords are the "I, IV, and V" chords respectively and will get you through a lot of songs! Probably 80% of popular music can be "faked" in the key of C just using those three chords!

Next, add the Am ("vi") and Dm ("ii") chord.
Am = 2 0 0 0
Dm = 2 2 1 0

You can now "fake" somewhere near 95% of popular songs (in or transposed to the key of C, of course).

And therein lies the beauty of the ukulele! This is especially sweet if the key of C happens to fit your voice well because you can transpose songs to that key and play and sing almost anything.

From there, the sky is the limit. The uke is obviously not limited to the key of C - that's just the easiest key for a newbie to learn - much the way G tends to be the easiest key to learn on guitar.

But, you can have a lot of fun with just the info presented above. Learn those chords, then seek out the two- and three-chord song lists and you can have fun for literally years before having to learn anything else - though I'm betting you'll get hooked sooner or later and be discussing theory in a year or two. :)

John

That's the part I'm having trouble with, how do I know where to put my finger just based on the number? I'm assuming when you said C you mean the second string? I'm having trouble understanding the relation of the numbers to the location of my fingers. Sorry if I'm coming off completely oblivious but I warned you in the title, lol.
 
Congratulations, you will LOVE your ukulele.

There are lots of tutorials on line that people will point out to you, but if you like to work from books you can try Ukulele for Dummies. It really starts at the beginning and is easy to follow. And there's a CD so you can hear what each piece is supposed to sound like.

:agree: Also, lots of good tutorials on YouTube. Just do search: ukulele and -how to strum, - finger chords, how to tune, etc. etc. Great chords exercses free on Uncle Rod's Ukulele Boot Camp
 
That's the part I'm having trouble with, how do I know where to put my finger just based on the number? I'm assuming when you said C you mean the second string? I'm having trouble understanding the relation of the numbers to the location of my fingers. Sorry if I'm coming off completely oblivious but I warned you in the title, lol.

First, the C-string is typcially called the "3rd string" - when counting the strings we start from the floor and work up, but when diagraming chords we do it just the other way around. Silly, huh? But, that's the convention you'll usually see. So, when you think of the string numbers it's 1=A, 2=E, 3=C, and 4=G. When listing the strings in a chord chart they're in GCEA (4-3-2-1) order.

As for which fingers to use the most important thing is that you do what's comfortable. That depends on how big your hands are and what scale of uke you're playing. The "best practice" is one finger per fret but on a short scale like a soprano uke that may not be practical.

So, when playing a "C" I usually use my ring finger (3rd finger) on the 3rd fret of the A string. Playing the F I usually put my index finger on E string and my second on the G string, and so on.

Main thing is to do what's comfortable and what facillitates changes between chords. Rather than think about a song as a series of chords, think of it as a series of chord changes. Planning those changes will pretty much tell you what fingering you need to use.

John
 
That's the part I'm having trouble with, how do I know where to put my finger just based on the number? I'm assuming when you said C you mean the second string? I'm having trouble understanding the relation of the numbers to the location of my fingers. Sorry if I'm coming off completely oblivious but I warned you in the title, lol.

Using the C example above.... 0 0 0 3. Look at your uke from the front. The sound facing you. The 0003 correspond with the strings, from left to right. To play a C chord place a fingertip on the rightmost string... on the space between the 2nd and 3rd frets. That's a C chord! Before we get too far, the strings are from 1 to 4 from the right. In the p
Aging position the 1st string is on the bottom and the 4th string is on top.

The F chord, then will have fingers on the 4th string, 2nd fret and 2nd string, 1st fret.

Easy as mud ;-)
 
This guy is awesome. I can't get it to link but search youtube with these terms: simpletunes2 ukulele beginner lesson 1
 
Absolutely there are great books. I'd suggest Ukulele for Dummies, which is surprisingly good and has a lot of variety; how to strum, how to play notes, how to fingerpick, how to do chords and a lot more. There is a cd that comes with the book. As you choose your style, you can branch out to other books. I particularly like Fingerstyle Ukulele as you can learn a very popular style that works for pop covers as well as Hawaiian music. And everyone should have a copy of Barry Maz's book What Ukulele Players Want To Know which is not a music book but much about ukes and will cover the technical aspects of the instrument and its care.

After you get started there are many other good books. And do figure out about restringing; stock strings unless the instrument was set up by a good music tech at a store, are usually low grade. Changing the strings (lots of advice around here for that based on what you bought) will bring out a good intonation. When making music, a beginner can be discouraged by poor intonation, so good strings can make a good sound and you feel like you are getting somewhere.
 
Well, not everyone has access to a piano, but this worked for me. I was music theory naive, so I borrowed a portable piano, and am taking lessons. I still don't know where the notes are on my uke, but I'm learning to recognize the way they sound.
 
Uke for Dummies is my favorite book so far. That and Ukulele Mike on YouTube (and his two-dozen channels) are a great resource.

I got Uncle Rod's Boot Camp and got all fired up.. then was like, C, yeah! Am, F, G7.. good, good, C, then Cdim and Dm7 and Fm6. Uh, nyah.. that's where I failed boot camp and went back to Dummies.
 
I'm completely new to the uke as well and I was just reading uncle rods ukulele boot camp manual and it seems really awesome and super easy to read. Soon as mine comes in that's what I'll be using, I'm so excited! Can't wait!!
 
Another vote for Uke for Dummies. It shows you what you're looking for, like how to put your fingers on the frets, etc. And later as you improve it goes into picking and styles....

Ukulele Mike's videos are the best and Bootcamp on line has great drills.

You can figure it out using a combination of these resources.
 
Here you go. Put your left hand like in this photo, strum with your right hand. That's a C major chord. You're now playing the uke - congratulations! :)

C.jpg


Oh, and if you want to sing along to a one-chord-tune... There's 'Row Row Row Your Boat'... One chord.
 
Nice picture.lol .when looking at the numbers on tablature and you wonder what they meen it's simple. When they say 0003 this picture shows you that the 0 means open! In other words don't touch that string At All ! The number 3 has nothing to do with what string to hold, but WHERE TO HOLD. It means the 3rd fret on that string. count from the top of the ukulele by the head .the first place you can hold the strings down is fret 1 then after the first line is 2 then three . Which is where he is holding his finger in that picture! So if it said 2100. The string at the top(when your holding the uke to play. Will be held down at the second FRET ! And the next string down you will place another finger on the very first Fret ! For the 1 . The next two strings that say 00 don't touch them at all. Remember 0 means Open.. This is the easiest way to explain it. It's how I learned.sometimes people can give to much advise to us newbies.and what sounds simple to them.lol makes us more confused.lol I hope this helps
 
I'm reading Uncle Rods Manual. I can't believe I wasn't grasping the fact that 0000 represented the fret on each string. It was very simple. Thanks much to everyone who replied. Do they have songs written out in that formula? Or is that not considered a "note"? Because the 0000 system is incredibly simple, lol. I've been tooling around with the uke for the last couple of days just really getting a feel for it and trying to get the tuning perfect. I can definitely see this being a fun hobby, and being from New York no one expects to see anyone playing a ukulele. Can you play any song on a ukulele? For example, I'd love to be able to play the theme to the show Dexter. I imagine it wouldn't be too hard at all. Anyway I'm rambling, I'm gonna do some more reading. Thanks again for the help.
 
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