Which subscription for ukulele lessons?

moonshoe

New member
Joined
Dec 27, 2016
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Hello! I just got my first ukulele about a week ago and i'm looking for lessons to subscribe to for the year (gift for the new year from my grandma). I found two that i liked the free lessons of: Rock class 101 and The ukulele way.

I can't decide between the two though, so I would like to hear the experiences of all of you (preferably who joined the either as a complete beginner). I'm currently going through the free lessons by Jim D'Ville that were suggested on James Hill's website and they're awesome, so i'm just looking where to go after that. Thank you! :)
 
I kind of liked Brett McQueen's lessons at ukuleletricks.com. I think he has some new subscription based learning now as well. Personally, I took the strumming tricks course and am thinking of the finger picking one!
 
The Ukulele Way is very comprehensive, with a huge amount of pedagogically consistent and sound content. It's also well structured, so you won't get lost or overwhelmed. All lessons are available for high-G (standard GCEA tuning), low-G, high-A (D tuning), and low-A (D tuning), and you can freely switch between those tuning options at any time. James Hill is both a professional teacher and a professional musician, which is a rare combination. Plus, it's inexpensive, includes community sections where you can ask questions, and you'll learn regular musical notation as a side effect. The Ukulele Way assumes no prior knowledge. It really does start gently.

There's also the UU Academy here on this site. I haven't first hand experience with it (I subscribed to The Ukulele Way because I liked the D tuning option), but it also contains a huge amount of content and is well received.
 
The local leader of the ukulele jams here in the Twin Cities is working through the Craig Chee/Sarah Maisel online courses and likes them.

I think all of these have a demo of some kind; and as a music teacher, I would recommend starting with a monthly subscription before going long-term. If you ever study an instrument (including voice) with a teacher in person, it is important to have an introductory lesson, and then to keep asking, "Am I getting anything from this person?" The only place this doesn't happen is college, where a teacher locks into you and you are supposed to become a disciple. As an adult, if things aren't working...move on gracefully. Any good private teacher will welcome that; those that aren't good will take offense.

So...try the demos, see what feels comfortable, start with a short-term commitment and see what you can do.

With any plan, I think the important thing to do is to commit to practicing the skills that are being taught. Carve out that time for daily practice, and don't let more than 2 days go by at any time without practicing.
 
All good suggestions above, however I'd like to ALSO plug UKULELE UNDERGROUND, which is the reason this forum came to be, in support of the lessons, similar to the Forum on The Ukulele Way...

At the top of each page on this site is a link that says:

LEARN TO PLAY THE UKULELE

which goes here: http://ukuleleunderground.com/

Many video lessons are offered for FREE by Aldrine, Matt Dahlberg and others, who are also both professional musicians, as well as teachers...

Many choices for your course of study, all of them worth checking out, see which one you like the best :)
 
I've used each of UU+, The Ukulele Way and Ukulele Tricks. The latter two are more structured in their approach. The Ukulele Way is extremely well organized, professional and flexible. You can't go wrong starting there. Ukulele Tricks is also nicely done and more specific to the particular topics, it addresses.

I think UU+ is more suited to intermediate players. Great selection of songs.
 
If you end up on youtube, don't forget that you can change the tempo of the demo's as slow as needed by clicking on the little gear at the bottom.
 
If you end up on youtube, don't forget that you can change the tempo of the demo's as slow as needed by clicking on the little gear at the bottom.

Thank you Phil! I did not know this. I've watched some interesting videos that were too fast to follow. I'll have to give it a try.
 
If you end up on youtube, don't forget that you can change the tempo of the demo's as slow as needed by clicking on the little gear at the bottom.

I didn't know this! Very handy bit of advice. Thanks.
 
Take some time to consider what path you want to take with your ukulele. This will have some effect on the curriculum you choose, as different curricula have different goals. Do you want to be a proficient accompanist and strummer? Solo player? Learn music theory along the way?

I think a basic method book like Hal Leonard Method 1 (tabbed edition) is a great way to lay the basic foundation. Ukulele In The Classroom (I use this with my kids) would be another good option as a foundation builder. After that you could choose a subscription based on your interests.

After laying a basic foundation:
- Strumming Tricks is top notch if you want to sing, strum and play accompaniment. They've also just recently rolled out Club Ukulele.

- Ukulele Way and Fingerpicking Tricks are top notch if you want to learn solo playing (the first 1/3 of Fingerpicking Tricks is fingerstyle accompaniment)
 
Just bought the fingerpicking tricks course myself. My goal for 2017 is to play more fingerstyle :). There's 30% off right now until 1st of january btw, PM and I can share the code I received as a member of strumming tricks!
 
Take some time to consider what path you want to take with your ukulele. This will have some effect on the curriculum you choose, as different curricula have different goals. Do you want to be a proficient accompanist and strummer? Solo player? Learn music theory along the way?

I think a basic method book like Hal Leonard Method 1 (tabbed edition) is a great way to lay the basic foundation. Ukulele In The Classroom (I use this with my kids) would be another good option as a foundation builder. After that you could choose a subscription based on your interests.

After laying a basic foundation:
- Strumming Tricks is top notch if you want to sing, strum and play accompaniment. They've also just recently rolled out Club Ukulele.

- Ukulele Way and Fingerpicking Tricks are top notch if you want to learn solo playing (the first 1/3 of Fingerpicking Tricks is fingerstyle accompaniment)

That was very helpful, I hadn't thought of my goals consciously. I want to learn solo playing for the most part with the understanding of music theory, as this is my first instrument.. and sight reading as well. I ended up going with The Ukulele Way with the earlier suggestions, enjoying it already. :D I went with the monthly subscription as opposed to the yearly one off the bat (thanks choirguy!) and I will check out Fingerstyle Tricks down the road.

Thanks everyone.
 
I registered at The Ukulele Way yesterday as a free member. The booster lessons are free for all until the end of Jan then they become part of the paid membership. From what I have seen from the couple of hours I have spent on it it is well worth the $9 monthly fee and will be joining sometime next week! I also manage to get some decent free tuition time in Yousician. Depending on what you do, you can get a lot longer than a daily 20 minute lesson. There are some limitations to the free yousician membership but it suits my needs there are plently of other sites for tabs and sheet music and you can still practice unlocked exercises and songs but just without the live note recognition and timing feedback.

ETA: Incidentally, I felt that I learned more in 2 hours on The Ukulele Way than I have in around 3 weeks with Yousician. But it will depend on your preferred needs and learning styles.
 
Last edited:
I have a UU+ subscription from ukulele underground , I liked a few things from there like their chord course, which helped with transitioning with chord progressions. There are tons of video lessons on their site, but they are all on vimeo which does not let you slow the lesson down, I end up recording them and posting them to my private you tube channel no one else can watch them but me this allows me to loop specific parts to practice. As an absolute newbie I found the beginner songs way to advanced and fast paced when I first started, I also felt that Aldrine never spent enough time working on the strumming patterns, or the chord transitions. It is better for intermediate players. The biggest grip I have with UU+ is they do not provide the chord charts to download, I do not always want to be sitting in front of my computer when I practice therefore I will not be renewing my UU+ subscription. I signed up for Brett Mcqueen strumming tricks this month, but found that I already knew what he was teaching in that course, so for me it was not a good fit as I have been playing for a year. I might try his finger picking course, I am unfamiliar with the other courses mentioned by the previous posters. In the beginning I found Cynthia Lins videos very helpful, she takes time with the lessons and they are free on you tube. I like the fact that Brett Mcqueen and Cynthia always count when starting their videos so that you can get a feel for the timing they also tend to play the song at the correct tempo then start the tutorial so that after you have learned it you can play along up to speed, those things are important to me but others may not that. I love ukulele mike's stuff, but in spite of the fact that he is a bonafide music teacher he never counts his songs in, his videos and tutorials are free but if you want the chord charts you have to buy his stuff.
 
Just bought the fingerpicking tricks course myself. My goal for 2017 is to play more fingerstyle :). There's 30% off right now until 1st of january btw, PM and I can share the code I received as a member of strumming tricks!

How is that course? I was thinking about purchasing it but I did not see a 30% off promotion.
 
How is that course? I was thinking about purchasing it but I did not see a 30% off promotion.
It was a discount code sent by mail to members of strumming tricks, which I purchased last year. With the holidays ongoing, I havnt started the course yet. But if its anything like strumming tricks I'll be happy.

Edit: I see you're also a member, check your junk folder, hotmail puts mails from ukulele tricks there for me.
 
Last edited:
I checked no discount code :( 30% off would have been good.

I received the email and am happy to pm you the copy if you or anyone else would like it. It expires 1 Jan at 11.59pm eastern time.

I wish Ukulele Tricks had a pay monthly option. The one off payment makes it prohibitive for me and I expect many others :(
 
Last edited:
Sorry Bill but that is a very archaic view of education and simply not true. Being married to a teacher, I also have an idea of how the learning in school has changed, even over the last five years.

Learning to play from videos on YouTube, James Hill, Brett McQueen or Aldrine works. If you add written material for self study, as many courses do, then it's even better. This is not learning a few chops, it's learning music. You don't have to know notation to know how to play.

James Hill is a competitor to the owners of UU in respect of music lessons. Talking about his material on UU is like discussing a Maserati dealer on the premises of a Ferrari seller.
Once, this was probably true, now it's just tiresome to see comments like that. These forums are not a supplement to the uu lessons anymore, but have evolved to be THE ukulele forum in the world. I've never seen a single uu lesson discussed since I joined up a year ago.
 
I received the email and am happy to pm you the copy if you or anyone else would like it. It expires 1 Jan at 11.59pm eastern time.

I wish Ukulele Tricks had a pay monthly option. The one off payment makes it prohibitive for me and I expect many others :(

Please pm me the code
thanks much,
sue
 
Top Bottom