New Uke Day + Intro!

G

godwit

New member
Joined
Jun 20, 2015
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone! I didn't want to make two threads so I thought I'd introduce myself here since I just brought home my first ukulele!

I'm from Long Island in New York and a few days ago caught this intense fascination with the ukulele. I've been listening to the band Twenty One Pilots lately and they use a lot of ukulele which I think has the most beautiful, bright sound, and so I youtubed some ukulele covers and songs and just fell in LOVE. So I started to do research and found this forum, where I've been lurking the last few days. I wasn't going to purchase a right away because I wanted to save a little bit of money, but today I passed my finals in Microeconomics and Statistics with B's, something highly unexpected despite the many MANY hours I've put into studying, so I decided I had to reward myself (if I failed I might have justified my purchase by saying I needed a pick-me-up lol).

Anyway, I headed over to my local music shop to see what they had and I tried out a soprano, a concert, and a tenor, and I went home with a Makala MK-S! I know there are better ones out there but its all they had and I figured since I am just starting out it would be fine and if I really like it I will make a bigger investment! The people at the shop tuned it up for me and told me to bring it back for a string change or if I was having trouble tuning it. I'm so excited!

I don't play ANY instruments, so any suggestions or tips for a super-new beginner?
 
First off congratulation with the good grades and the purchase of your new uke. There are many many people here that had never played an instrument before they picked up a ukulele.

As you already know google is your friend but it can also be very overwhelming with SO much content available. First order of business is to learn a few chords. Run......don't walk to "Uncle Rods Bootcamp" website. He has a great course that is free which includes 5 chord sheets, how to learn songs and a couple easy to play songs. A couple other good sites are "Ukuleletricks.com" and "Ukulele Mike". Once you have learned the chords C, A, F & G you are off to the races with 100s of songs available for you to play.

Welcome to the wonderful world of music...........but be very careful cause this ukulele thing is extremley addictive.
 
Last edited:
Congratulations on passing the finals! And welcome to UU -- happy to have you on board! :)

As Dave said, look up Uncle Rod's Bootcamp, it's free. If you're unsure how to make a chord (where each finger goes), just googling for "chord chart" or "chord diagram" will provide you with images and PDFs. Here's a "cheat sheet" for the most common chords: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/ukulele-for-dummies-cheat-sheet-uk-edition.html Really helps to know which finger goes where.

If you want to buy a physical book, my two top choices would be "Ukulele for Dummies" (also available as an ebook and an enhanced iPad edition) or "Ukulele Aerobics", which is a wonderful book. Either one, or both, will give you a lesson plan, if you prefer a structured approach.

There's Youtube, too, with a lot of material. When I started out, I found Chili Monster's ukulele lessons easy to follow. They're a bit older, but they resonated with me . Dave's recommendations are spot on as well. JustinGuitar has a series of ukulele lessons also.

My biggest problem when starting out (and I'm still fairly new, so I'm just a little ahead of you) was how to hold the ukulele. I obsessed over that a bit because I didn't want to cultivate bad habits. In the end, I bought a Uke Leash (that's the product name), which made all the difference. Sure, it bugged me a bit that I couldn't play without a strap, but it actually allowed me to position my thumb properly (goes behind the neck) and practice chords without having to worry about the uke dropping. I got all cramped up without the leash. In time, this also helped to develop finger strength, so the leash or strap function a bit as training wheels. Remember to use your finger tips (not the pads) to press down strings, right behind the frets (the horizontal metal dividers). It may all feel awkward at first, but it really gets better.

I'd also recommend to buy a clip-on tuner and use it whenever you play. New strings will go out of tune quickly (they settle after a while), especially if your uke came with cheap strings (in which case I'd replace them) and it's not fun when the uke isn't in tune. I guess there are online tuners too, and apps for phones and tablets, but I always found that a $10 clip-on tuner is much less hassle and delivers more reliable results (it works with vibration, not sound).

That aside, make use of this forum. There are a lot of folks here who have a ton of experience (unlike me!) with all aspects of the ukulele, and who are super nice and helpful. I hang out on quite a few forums, and the community here is by far the most social, supportive, and friendly. It's a great resource for knowledge and support.
 
godwit said:
Hi everyone! I didn't want to make two threads so I thought I'd introduce myself here since I just brought home my first ukulele!

I'm from Long Island in New York and a few days ago caught this intense fascination with the ukulele. I've been listening to the band Twenty One Pilots lately and they use a lot of ukulele which I think has the most beautiful, bright sound, and so I youtubed some ukulele covers and songs and just fell in LOVE. So I started to do research and found this forum, where I've been lurking the last few days. I wasn't going to purchase a right away because I wanted to save a little bit of money, but today I passed my finals in Microeconomics and Statistics with B's, something highly unexpected despite the many MANY hours I've put into studying, so I decided I had to reward myself (if I failed I might have justified my purchase by saying I needed a pick-me-up lol).

Anyway, I headed over to my local music shop to see what they had and I tried out a soprano, a concert, and a tenor, and I went home with a Makala MK-S! I know there are better ones out there but its all they had and I figured since I am just starting out it would be fine and if I really like it I will make a bigger investment! The people at the shop tuned it up for me and told me to bring it back for a string change or if I was having trouble tuning it. I'm so excited!

I don't play ANY instruments, so any suggestions or tips for a super-new beginner?
Click to expand...

Start saving for your next one.
 
philrab66 said:
Start saving for your next one.
Click to expand...

I think you might be right. I've started Rod's Boot Camp and I'm already hooked. It's amazing how good it sounds just strumming the same four chords over and over and over again haha
 
Congrats on passing your exams on some challenging subjects (I had them in grad school) and welcome to the addiction. Like you, this uke thing caught me by surprise. Be forewarned, it can be consuming and the first word we get that your grades have suffered, you're outta here! ;-) In all seriousness, welcome!

I also came to this with basically no musical background. There will be some learning curves, but it will come. Consistency is the key (like studying for economics and statistics)! Probably the best learning tool I've discovered is Amazing Slow Downer, which is a great app to slow down songs without affecting tone. It allows you to slow down a song really, really slowly so you can play along. And you can then keep bumping up the speed until you get closer to 100%. LOL. I usually move on to another song when I get to 90%.

E
 
Last edited:
Congratulations on the instrument and welcome to UU! And congratulations on your grades!!!

This forum has a ton of stuff for beginners. I enjoyed working slowly through Uncle Rod's Ukulele Bootcamp. http://ukulelebootcamp.weebly.com

It got my fingers forming chord shapes fairly quickly, so I could strum through some songs.
 
Mivo said:
Congratulations on passing the finals! And welcome to UU -- happy to have you on board! :)
Click to expand...

Seconded

...snip...

My biggest problem when starting out (and I'm still fairly new, so I'm just a little ahead of you) was how to hold the ukulele. I obsessed over that a bit because I didn't want to cultivate bad habits. In the end, I bought a Uke Leash (that's the product name), which made all the difference. Sure, it bugged me a bit that I couldn't play without a strap, but it actually allowed me to position my thumb properly (goes behind the neck) and practice chords without having to worry about the uke dropping. I got all cramped up without the leash. In time, this also helped to develop finger strength, so the leash or strap function a bit as training wheels. Remember to use your finger tips (not the pads) to press down strings, right behind the frets (the horizontal metal dividers). It may all feel awkward at first, but it really gets better.
Click to expand...

No shame in using a strap. Some prefer them others are happy to play without. Many pros play with a strap. I found the uke leash very useful when starting out though I now play mostly without but I still use my uke leash with a tenor when standing up. I find it needs that extra bit of support. I use a strap with my banjo uke and my two Risa electrics.

I'd also recommend to buy a clip-on tuner and use it whenever you play. New strings will go out of tune quickly (they settle after a while), especially if your uke came with cheap strings (in which case I'd replace them) and it's not fun when the uke isn't in tune. I guess there are online tuners too, and apps for phones and tablets, but I always found that a $10 clip-on tuner is much less hassle and delivers more reliable results (it works with vibration, not sound).
Click to expand...


A clip on tuner is essential as far as I'm concerned. When I tried, unsuccessfully, to learn guitar many years ago tuning seemed to take forever using a pitch pipe for one string then tuning the other strings relative to that one. The clip on tuner helped no end to smooth the entry to playing ukulele by enabling me to get in tune quickly and accurately. I still check the tuning by ear, though.

That aside, make use of this forum. There are a lot of folks here who have a ton of experience (unlike me!) with all aspects of the ukulele, and who are super nice and helpful. I hang out on quite a few forums, and the community here is by far the most social, supportive, and friendly. It's a great resource for knowledge and support.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I've found some friendly forums and some pretty hostile ones. UU is definitely one of the friendliest I know.
 
Awww the uke bug! It doesn't hurt, really, or at least there's usually more pleasure than pain! Congrats, thanks for sharing your joy, and no small feat on the finals either! Ukulele Mike has some Youtube videos, some of covers and some teaching chords you'll find helpful. Most of all have fun! :D
 
Congrats on all your exams and your new baby! Welcome to UU and the disease....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Song Help Request Dr Uke's "Sunny afternoon" intro https://www.doctoruke.com/_player/sunnyafternoon.html
Replies
15
Views
834
Rabs1
R
the_ominator
Song Help Request Uke got Mail ep62 Intro
Replies
2
Views
392
the_ominator
the_ominator
H
If I Ain't Got You - Uke Intro
Replies
1
Views
566
mm stan
mm stan
E
Intro song to Plain White T's 1234 Uke video lesson
Replies
0
Views
321
eljay_808
E
D
Uke newbie Intro
Replies
3
Views
467
Matimeo
Matimeo
Top Bottom