It depends what you want out of it. If it's just to learn a few songs parrot-fashion then, yes, what Dave said would work. If you want to actually understand what you're doing and how the music works then an understanding of some theory is great. It certainly helps when you want to jam or improvise a bit.
There is a huge amount of stuff online. Just Google "beginner music theory", "musical scales beginner" or "chord theory beginner" and try with other words such as "basic", "primer", "easy", "lessons" etc, and browse until you find what works for you. The downside of much web stuff is that it's mostly written with piano or guitar in mind.
I think I might put together some basic theory tutorials for ukulele. I think people have done that before on UU, but a bit more info can't hurt, right? If I can get around to it I'll try to do some in the next couple of days. If I do, then I'll try to post a heads-up in this thread too.
Here is a from-scratch list of the things I think are amongst the best stuff to learn when you begin theory.
- Rhythm. Time signatures. The characteristics of different time signatures.
- The Major scale. How it's built and how it works. What the notes and intervals are.
- How intervals work. What their names are and how they are relevant to chords and melodies.
- Basic chord theory. How chords are built and how they are used.
- Structures and patterns commonly used in music. Common chord progressions. Blues progressions, turnarounds etc (this stuff is good for jamming with other people)
If you have any ambition to be a musician who is comfortable playing with other people, then I personally think that working to understand some theory is a great investment in enjoying your music more and feeling less "left behind".
But don't get so caught up in theory that you forget how to just learn a song from one of Aldrine's vids, and simply bang out a few simple songs for the sheer fun of it. :rock:
Edit: @Dave: I just realised the first line in my post could sound condescending, and like I was dismissing what you said. It's not meant to imply that at all, my friend. For many people, just learning songs to play with their friends and family, or to play to entertain people occasionally is exactly what they want out of it, ad that's fine. I spent years doing that myself. It was only when I started getting out to jam with other people that I realised I was out of my depth without a bit more understanding.
As you so rightly say,
enjoy yourself!
