Playing ukulele from song books

Hi , I have been learning to play the ukulele by watching videos on you tube, but I would like to be able to pick up a song book and be able to play the songs in the book.
I have been reading through ukulele for Dummies on reading song sheets and it shows diagrames of songs with the strumming patterns all the way through the songs.
My problem now is, when I look at a song sheet I see the words to the song and the chords to play in front of certain words. But how do you know how the strumming pattern goes as there often is no diagrame to say up or down like ukulele for Dummies shows. This is stopping me from progressing further.
Thank you.

Fudge said:

Hi , I have been learning to play the ukulele by watching videos on you tube, but I would like to be able to pick up a song book and be able to play the songs in the book.
I have been reading through ukulele for Dummies on reading song sheets and it shows diagrames of songs with the strumming patterns all the way through the songs.
My problem now is, when I look at a song sheet I see the words to the song and the chords to play in front of certain words. But how do you know how the strumming pattern goes as there often is no diagrame to say up or down like ukulele for Dummies shows. This is stopping me from progressing further.
Thank you.

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The songs, do they show the tempo and beat ...4/4 time or 3/4 waltz time....if so then take a pencil and from the ..........tell you what this may be flying over your head ....can you scan a sheet of your song book and attach it to a post ...What is the title of the song book....

Basically what Dummies is telling you about strokes ...imagine those marks are on the page thus
4/4 time ------1 2 3 4 or chord 2 3 4
Tempo/Time---D U D U ---- D -U D U

Is this what you mean....if the chord goes longer than a count of 4 beats (taps,hits ,pulses whatever you want to call it )it will go to 8 beats...it must 4/4 time is 4 beats to a bar or a measure (for the classicists ..although I always ask for double measures at the bar:rock ... Sheet music is divided into sections by a vertical line ...this makes the "bar" it is not Zen, rocket science or magic it just is...if you have lyrics and chord sheets then listen to the song and count from the start follow your foot ..it will tap the beat ...Read this slowly and do not get discouraged at anything you are not clear on ...just ask again ...and again...no daft questions exist except those that SHOULD have been asked to gain understanding........

I have a slighty different take on what your asking than CeeJay does. When I mine the internet for songs/chords I frequently find no reference to time signatures ie 4/4, or key. -things that would actually be useful.

I generally ignore strumming patterns when learning songs from tabs or books. You say you play by ear. OK you know how to anticipate the notes or chords that are coming next. You probably also can anticipate rhythmic changes.

Start Strumming a simple but steady D U. Steady is the operative word. As the rhythm develops or changes your strum will accommodate those changes. You are playing by ear. If you want to you could analyze how you strum on any song and assign it a strum pattern. Personally I don't see much point in that. My strumming patterns change during a song to match the rhythm.

When I go to the bar I ask for two fingers worth :rock:

When you are strumming and singing the ukulele is the rhythm section, so think drummer and go by feel.
Concentrating on D's & U's will only bog you down.

SailingUke said:

When you are strumming and singing the ukulele is the rhythm section, so think drummer and go by feel.
Concentrating on D's & U's will only bog you down.

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This answer will make you crazy and drive you nuts but.............it is the correct answer. As beginners we want to be told exactely how to do something, unfortunately this does not happen for strumming patterns for most sounds. You need to learn to feel the rhythm, tempo and timing.

To get you started Ukulele Mike has great youtube lessons where he usually mentions the strumming pattern. Start there and in time you will develop an ear for what sounds right to you, then you are making music.

I think song familiarity has a lot to do with it and most of the folks who download and use lyric sheets are already familiar with the song. They'll have some idea of the melody and the rhythm/beat to translate to hand movement enabling them to play the tune. I've seen folks worry more about the strum pattern than the song itself.

do what you can. as you gain experience you'll be able to mix up your strumming patterns better. For me that's the first thing that gets old with ukulele...using too similar a strum pattern for songs. Mix in picking patterns, learn clawhammer (I haven't gotten that far yet).

CeeJay said:

Basically what Dummies is telling you about strokes ...imagine those marks are on the page thus
4/4 time ------1 2 3 4 or chord 2 3 4
Tempo/Time---D U D U ---- D -U D U

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To be fair I have appended the simplest D U D U 1 2 3 4 only as illustrative for showing a stroke to the beat .......I should have added "or variations and combinations of D U to create variety of sound "

The term "Strum Pattern" I had never heard before until I came back to the Ukelele...

and upon checking just to be sure neither my Lew Stern First Steps to the Ukelele...some 40 years old ,nor my copy of Roy Smeck's Ukelele method ...newer, but copyrighted circa 1978 refer to Strum Patterns....I don't like the phrase or term and find it a bit confusing......and makes people stop thinking and hearing the music for themselves......

So to the OP , find tunes that you know ...Spot on advice..play chords and strum to the melody, whistle, sing ...even if in your head....

but remember to count as the drummer is doing ....forget the down Up just be free with the strum but rhythmic...

However once again I have failed to ask what I now believe to be the most crucial question in any Ukelele conversation...What size Uke and what style do you want to play...?

CeeJay said:

The term "Strum Pattern" I had never heard before until I came back to the Ukelele.....I don't like the phrase or term and find it a bit confusing......and makes people stop thinking and hearing the music for themselves......but remember to count as the drummer is doing ....forget the down Up just be free with the strum but rhythmic...

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Emphasis added. Play fool play. There'll be time enough for strum counting when the deal is done.

I think the simple question being asked is "How do I know what strum pattern to use?", so that's what I'm gonna respond to... There's actually a simple answer.

You don't.

This is not an insurmountable problem. Pick one that fits, and work with it. How you do that is pretty much up to you. Call it artistic license. In fact, here's an experiment you can try at home:

- Go to Youtube.com
- Find a popular ukulele song like Wagonwheel or Bad Moon Rising. Just for fun, see if the song you're trying to play has a few versions out. Simply search Youtune for "(name of your song) ukulele"
- Listen to the different versions until your ears bleed.
- If you like one particular version, try to copy it. No one will care.

Now, if you do this little non-scientific Youtube experiment, something you're likely to notice pretty early on is that everyone has a slightly different take on every song. People hear them slightly different than each other and prioritize the important elements of the music differently, so there is almost always some variance in how people play each song. Some people try to pick a strum pattern that fits the beat. Some people try to find something that fits the "mood". Some people actually listen to what the song is supposed to sound like and try their best to approximate the important bits. Other people just sort of play around with different patterns until they find one they like.

Honestly, it doesn't matter how you pick a strum pattern. Learn as many as you can, and learn to play them at different speeds. The more patterns you know, the more options you have. No matter what ukulele course you're taking or book you're learning from, at some point the objective is to move beyond the book and think for yourself. Picking your own strum patterns is a part of that process. Your course should have taught you several patterns already, so use that knowledge as a base to move beyond the book. You kinda sound like you feel you're at that point.

So just do it. What's the worst that can happen? Maybe it sounds like crap, maybe it doesn't. Who cares? You're new. It's almost a requirement that it sucks at this point because you're in the very early stages of learning. In a few months, you'll notice a HUGE improvement if.... make that IF you just keep at it diligently and apply the lessons you're learning...

You can do this. It will be fine.

Incidentally, I would strongly suggest learning to play songs using different strum patterns if you ever plan on playing with other people, and I highly recommend finding a local ukulele club if you can. It will put lessons from books and online courses into a better perspective.

I usually search the song in youtube and listen

As a newbie myself, one of the hardest parts of learning a new song from a sheet is figuring out a strum pattern and tempo. I have printed up song sheets from the internet with chords and they often give the 1 2 3 4 stuff. But I have no idea how to put that together. I usually just go straight to youtube and type in "ukulele" and then the title of that song. Then sometimes I listen to 3 or 4 different versions of that song played with a ukulele until I get an idea of a strum pattern that will work for me. Then I grab my uke and go for it.