Boot Camp

joeybug

joeybug

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Hi everyone :D

I just found out about "Uncle Rod's Boot Camp" today and have printed everything out to go with my song book (I also got this from his site) and a notebook I've put together of all the chords and the songs I can play. My question is, how much practise did it take all the more "experienced" players of the lovely ukulele before you were able to switch chords without looking...I can do C, G and D mostly without thinking about it, Am is another one I find easy and I'm getting there with G7, but mostly, I feel like I'm gonna be at this for a while just trying to convince my fingers to go to the right places. I'm not worried about how long it will take, I want to be able to play and I'm committed to doing that, just like an idea of how long it took others.

Also, do any of you know of any good kid friendly ukulele courses/videos/instructions out there? My god daughter will be 6 in October and I've gotten her, her very own Ukulele from the same place I got mine and have offered to teach her what I know (which isn't much...yet!) I've not invested in good strings for her, but have some Adigo (thinks that's what they're called) ones for myself, I just haven't gotten round to restringing "Astrid" (my purple uke!) I've told her or will when she gets her present that if she learns to play it, I'll buy her some good strings, but not until I'm sure she's going to carry on with it. Basically, in a long rambling way...are there any courses where she could teach herself or is she going to have to rely on me?

Thanks :D
 
Aloha joeybug,
I'm glad you're enjoying your ukulele and having fun with it, as for changing chords without looking takes practice and everyones different.
Don't worry about it too much, with practice it will come naturally...As for kid's learning tutorial, go to You-Tube and punch in Madelines's
ukulele class for kids...Have fun and keep us informed of your progress..."Keep strumming them strings...MM Stan..
 
mm stan said:
Aloha joeybug,
I'm glad you're enjoying your ukulele and having fun with it, as for changing chords without looking takes practice and everyones different.
Don't worry about it too much, with practice it will come naturally...As for kid's learning tutorial, go to You-Tube and punch in Madelines's
ukulele class for kids...Have fun and keep us informed of your progress..."Keep strumming them strings...MM Stan..
Click to expand...

Thanks mmstan, I had heard of her, but hadn't looked into it, will do so now! Hopefully Miss D will be able to learn from her :D
 
The best way to learn changing chords is to simply work on 2 chords at a time.... change from one to the other until it feels comfortable, then use the second chord and change to a new chord... continue to work on 2 chords at a time. Then you can start chaining them into patterns or progressions of 3 to 5 chords... work on that slowly... again, until it feels natural and comfortable.

Another way is to practice songs you like... just keep working on the song until:
- you have it down
- you're totally sick of it

For young childrens' practice, there are hundreds of two and three chord songs they can learn. Work on some of the easier (3 chord) Disney songs or songs based on nursery rhymes. The online tutorials suggested by Stan are also a great starting point.

 
telebob said:
The best way to learn changing chords is to simply work on 2 chords at a time.... change from one to the other until it feels comfortable, then use the second chord and change to a new chord... continue to work on 2 chords at a time. Then you can start chaining them into patterns or progressions of 3 to 5 chords... work on that slowly... again, until it feels natural and comfortable.

Another way is to practice songs you like... just keep working on the song until:
- you have it down
- you're totally sick of it

For young childrens' practice, there are hundreds of two and three chord songs they can learn. Work on some of the easier (3 chord) Disney songs or songs based on nursery rhymes. The online tutorials suggested by Stan are also a great starting point.

Click to expand...

I started with a few easy songs from a Uke chord book I found on eBay, which is great, but I didn't know the songs I was learning (or at least not all of them) and so didn't really know *how* they were supposed to sound, so couldn't judge how I was doing...now I've found ukulele tabs I've bookmarked songs I want to learn and as I said, am doing the Boot Camp to try to learn how to switch from chord to chord...Thanks for the advice, I will try doing two chords, then three and so on...

As for Miss D, I will dig out some easy to learn songs, I couldn't find many "nursery rhymes" on ukulele tabs (or any come to think of it) and so I was more looking for something I can sit with her and teach her or something she can learn herself like the video lessons mmstan recommeneded

Thanks for the advice :D
 
I have learned chords by learning songs--starting off with simple and then progressively getting more complex. As I learn the song, I sometimes practice it by sitting back with the ukulele in my arms, close my eyes and let my fingers take over. That helped me to learn the frets without looking. It's very relaxing that way, too!

Once you play a song enough times, your finger muscles "just know."

Good luck with your endeavors!
 
joeybug said:
Hi everyone :D

... I've not invested in good strings for her, ... I'll buy her some good strings, but not until I'm sure she's going to carry on with it.
Click to expand...

You got some great advice regarding chord changes & practice, practice, practice. but... please, for your god-daughter's & her parents sake, get some Aquila's or similar on that gifted uke before you give it to her. Playing a uke w/bad strings is as discouraging as not knowing what you are doing in the first place. And if they aren't already stretched out, keeping it tuned will be a chore that might discourage her as well.

Just a thought - I'm looking forward to givng my grandson a uke in a few years. Maybe we can all raise the next crop of Jake Shimabukuro's (since he started at age 4).
 
Gmoney said:
You got some great advice regarding chord changes & practice, practice, practice. but... please, for your god-daughter's & her parents sake, get some Aquila's or similar on that gifted uke before you give it to her. Playing a uke w/bad strings is as discouraging as not knowing what you are doing in the first place. And if they aren't already stretched out, keeping it tuned will be a chore that might discourage her as well.

Just a thought - I'm looking forward to givng my grandson a uke in a few years. Maybe we can all raise the next crop of Jake Shimabukuro's (since he started at age 4).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, I have a second packet of the ones I brought for myself so may very well give those to her as another present, or string them on there for her...also I live with my god daughter, she's my best friend and carer's daughter so I may well decide to upgrade her at the expense of my own hearing!
 
no look chords should be something that just comes in time. Not an actual goal.

That's my opinion. THat being said, when I play in bed, I do no look chords because there is no other option. Sometimes I play with the lights off. I expect to make mistakes but its the mindmap I'm working on .
 
Thanks for the advice...I can do some by not looking, but others will come with practise I suppose :D
 
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