DIY Music Lessons

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KaijuEmily

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I totally have only the vaguest memories of music class in grade school. But im trying to take my daily practicing really seriously because I basically have no real musical experience!
I unfortunately dont have easy access to a fellow uke player to show me some lessons. I was wondering if you guys could give me some links to video lessons or other online educational stuff for a beginner on a budget?

I am still surprised at the progress I have been able to make in a month with only "Alfreds Basic Ukulele Method" book 1 no cd or dvd...
 
I'd suggest you try the following:

Uke lessons on UkuleleUnderground
Uke lessons on Hawaii Music Supply
Search Facebook for Ukulele, how to................and fill in the blanks with whatever you want to learn such as hold,strum,fret,strum, music theory, chord theory, fingerpicking, etc. etc. etc.
Lots of good stuff out there. Find something specialized that you need after you learn the basics for free above and save yourself a small fortune on redundant books, cd's, etc. etc.
 
Kaijuemily,

As for online instruction, I suggest finding two or three chords songs (can be found in Beginners forum (Sticky notes) and then searching for the same song on Youtube, ie, "Song Name ukulele tutorial."

I frequent the Lincoln City area and happened to see this poster - http://tunesinthedunes.com/
So there is 'ukulele being played on the coast but maybe not in your area. Perhaps you could call Melany and she would have coast connections.

Contact your local senior center or community center and see if there is a 'uke group. Or see if you can start one on your own
Good luck.
 
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I took some lessons on Skype. It was a little weird (I like face to face better) but it was worth a try.
 
Hey Emily,
Phil and the rest through out some great suggestions, of which i am also using, being a beginner myself.
I will through out uncle rob's ukulele boot camp, and the kauairainbow site has an explanation of scales and chords that helped me and my brain.
and of course this site had hundreds of links burried among the threads; some lessons or learning may not be as popular, but it's really about finding a learning system that your brain likes and absobs. not eveyone uptakes info in the same way.
 
:agree: Redeyejedi makes an excellent point. Also, try not to give your brain too much at one time. Learning to play uke is not like visiting a churrascaria
 
Depending on where you live, I've found ukulele festivals to be a lot of help. My problem is that there aren't any close, so I have to drive a ways. But you get to see what the real world of ukulele players are doing, and that is beneficial for me. I always come home with a better idea of where I want to go with the uke and a better understanding of how to get there.
 
Awesome Jim, added to my favorites folder. I will send it to the students in my next senior's uke class. I frequently use the drumming metaphor to help them with timing and strumming patterns.
 
ukulele-tabs.com can give you tonnes of songs to learn from . ukulele tricks has some great free lessons and a free book too, Some lessons cost money but ive advanced well with the free lessons
 
Am I missing something here ...seriously and no offence meant or anything ..we used to buy the sheet music books with the chord symbols printed over the tune and then sing the song and strum along...and then adapt the strums by listening to records or if you were lucky ,other uke learners/players......Then pick the tune out from the chord by trial and error until learning to read the staff...and still use trial and error even then !!

Or is it that I am missing the point and I am playing music in a less .....sophisticated , shall we say, manner...because sometimes I am bewildered on this forum .

I don't want to get into trouble again folks ...I am actually quite nice under the bad tempered grumpiness.....
 
CeeJay said:
Am I missing something here ...seriously and no offence meant or anything ..we used to buy the sheet music books with the chord symbols printed over the tune and then sing the song and strum along...and then adapt the strums by listening to records or if you were lucky ,other uke learners/players......Then pick the tune out from the chord by trial and error until learning to read the staff...and still use trial and error even then !!

Or is it that I am missing the point and I am playing music in a less .....sophisticated , shall we say, manner...because sometimes I am bewildered on this forum .

I don't want to get into trouble again folks ...I am actually quite nice under the bad tempered grumpiness.....
Click to expand...

I have some of those books here and I really enjoy them. Can you spell out what is bewildering you, exactly?
 
Ukejenny said:
I have some of those books here and I really enjoy them. Can you spell out what is bewildering you, exactly?
Click to expand...

Well....Okay .But I do not want come across as offensive (probably too late given my record ,or big headed)) some correspondents seem to make the uke seem so very difficult ....and I may be guilty of "ukelongevity" here ... and I think that it isn't surely that hard...or maybe I am not playing the damned thing in the proper manner......OR are some of the correspondents relatively new to the machine ? It says in the rules to leave your past behind...well,rules thhh ...I declare Thirty to Forty years of playing the soprano and banjolele ,on and off and with some breaks to try other stuff...so I may be reading these posts and not being entirely fair ...I know that the Uke has changed in the years ...that George Formby , Alan Randall , Roy Smeck ....mostly strummers ,the styles of whom are no longer regarded
with any degree of respect or admiration..and that a more guitar like approach has prevailed ....so I sometimes get bewildered about what folks on here want from a uke....it gets me into bother tha' knows.

That's why I get bewildered, I think that I may know nowt and maybe I do know some , but am afraid to proffer advice cos it's seen as pushy ..

CJ
 
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Some great tips on where to start in all those posts. As a teacher I've discovered that different people like to approach the learning process in different ways. Beginners in my group start with video lessons here. http://www.karaukey.com/ukulele-for-beginners.html
The first couple of lessons are free, so you can see if the style of lessons suits you. The remaining lessons all contain fairly well known songs so copyrights are payable but they are still cheap.
 
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