My fingers go where?! and Uncle Rods boot

stanpeter

stanpeter

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OK, so I'm at 'uke boot camp thanks to uncle Rod. Before I was confident with about 12 or 14 of (what I thought where) the most common chords. Mostly I could figure out which finger goes where, taking a peek at http://ukulelehunt.com/2010/08/11/songs-with-chords-you-know/ is a good help.
Struggling through uncle Rod's pages however, I come across chords that are less common (I think). So I'm mucking about with trying to figure out the correct fingerpositions. Where can I find a comprehensive uke chord-chart that has the fingers on the right spot? Like Cdim or Fdim, or Fm7 (I can spot this particular across-pattern on several chords)? I haven't got the faintest idea of how to tackle that one. I thought I could tie knots in my pinky and braid with all others, but those are not a walk in the park. Guess that's why it's called boot camp, right?

(post edit: http://www.kiwiukulele.co.nz/Kiwi-Ukulele-Chord-Chart.pdf - something I found in the meantime...)

Other question: in what order should you go trough the different progressions? Sheet by sheet from top to bottom, or first row on every sheet, then second row etcetera? Or can I just fiddle about and do as I please? It's a boot camp, not a holiday right?
 
The boot camp is great... I work on it myself at times... I work from the top to the bottom as you will notice the 'chart' disappears towards the bottom of each key page. I believe that is in hope that you are remembering the chords. As far as the fingering it just takes practice and more practice..
Hang in there and don't give up. Also, just work on one key at a time, until you master it pretty well.

Best of luck to you!
 
The boot camp progressions go left to right.
I would suggest learning all the basic chords and getting good at transtions from chord to chord before getting into the less common chords.
Good Luck and have fun.
 
Hello Stan.
I am new at the ukulele myself and been gathereing as much information as I can. On one of Ukulele Mike's videos on YouTube, he demonstrated the 15 most common chords. Those in the keys of F, C, G, and D. I created a chord chart of sorts with these keys. Everyday, I practice chord progressions with the chart. I hope this helps!

MostCommonChords.png


Most Common Chords

David
 
one thing that confused me about the boot camp at first were the numbers above the chord grids. They are the fret numbers not finger numbers. I guess I should have read the instructions more carefully.
For the dim7 chords I use index finger on the 4th (g) string. Ring finger on the 3rd (C) string. Middle finger on the 2nd (E) string and pinky on the first (A) string.
First time you try this put your index (g string) and middle finger (E string) down first then the other two. That way you won't have to tie your fingers in knots
 
davidrschaller said:
Hello Stan.
I am new at the ukulele myself and been gathereing as much information as I can. On one of Ukulele Mike's videos on YouTube, he demonstrated the 15 most common chords. Those in the keys of F, C, G, and D. I created a chord chart of sorts with these keys. Everyday, I practice chord progressions with the chart. I hope this helps!

MostCommonChords.png


Most Common Chords

David
Click to expand...

Hi David, thanks for chart, very helpful. One thing has always confused me with the D7 chord as written (2020). That gives the notes A C F# A, no D in sight? I play it bar second fret, finger on bottom string 3rd fret (2223) to give A D F# C.
 
I've heard the 2020 D7 called the Hawaiian D7. Not sure why. and no it doesn't have the root but it sounds fine when you play it in a chord progression where a D7 is called for.
 
I play the D with my index finger on all three. I cannot get three fingers in that space and I cannot line those three fingers that tightly in a row.

Of these I'd say the Bm is the hardest for me. I barre all four strings at 2 and hit the 4th string at 4 with my ring finger. I have to have my index finger so far on the fret board that it hangs off the edge.
 
cb56 said:
I've heard the 2020 D7 called the Hawaiian D7. Not sure why. and no it doesn't have the root but it sounds fine when you play it in a chord progression where a D7 is called for.
Click to expand...

Thanks cb56, I will give it a try.
 
Inner Prop said:
I play the D with my index finger on all three. I cannot get three fingers in that space and I cannot line those three fingers that tightly in a row.

Of these I'd say the Bm is the hardest for me. I barre all four strings at 2 and hit the 4th string at 4 with my ring finger. I have to have my index finger so far on the fret board that it hangs off the edge.
Click to expand...

Hi, Inner Prop, I play D with fingers 2 1 3 as I can't quite get my fingers on if I try 1 2 3. Thanks for the tip with Bm. I couldn't play it, but I just tried it and by hanging my index finger over the edge I got it!!! Cheers!!! Gotta love this site!!!
 
It's been a pleasure reading this thread.

Brothers and Sisters sharing information to make our ukulele-playing experience
fun and fruitful.

So far, I agree with practically everything that has been offered as advice, esp
the practice and one key at a time.

Remember, you are laying a foundation that will last a lifetime. It's drudgery for
now, but will pay great dividends in the very near future. It's part of the process
of going from Conscious In-Competence to Unconscious Competence, just like
everything else that requires learning a physical skill to gain masterful dexterity.

Look at kindergarteners learning to write and paint, then at 5th graders doing the
same thing. Ukulele players can jump grade after grade simply by practicing.
Practice everyday for a month and you'll make 400% more progress than someone
who only practices once a week!

Keep the faith, and keep uke'in',
 
Rod I use your bootcamp for my daily practice and have seen good results. After the first time through the 5 sheets I now go through each sheet one per week and plan on keeping that rotation. It's amazing to see how I can now go through changes more smoothly (not perfect) without my hand cramping that a month or two ago I couldn't play.
 
davidrschaller said:
Hello Stan.
I am new at the ukulele myself and been gathereing as much information as I can. On one of Ukulele Mike's videos on YouTube, he demonstrated the 15 most common chords. Those in the keys of F, C, G, and D. I created a chord chart of sorts with these keys. Everyday, I practice chord progressions with the chart. I hope this helps!

MostCommonChords.png


Most Common Chords

David
Click to expand...

Thanks! I printed this page out, so I can put it in my "music" book and start practicing it every day, too!
 
Thanks for the good word, cb56!

that's what I hope to hear from everyone who uses the Boot Camp process.

It's one of those things that's very easy to overlook: That with a modicum of
PRE-paration (learning the chords and practicing chord changes) learning to
play the ukulele becomes a much more satisfying endeavor.

Like any physical activity, sports, wood-working, sewing, etc, there are certain
PRE-liminary activities we need to learn to do satisfactorily BEFORE the actual
activity itself becomes more enjoyable.

Like 'learning to drive' BEFORE 'driving', it shouldn't be a surprise that we may need
to learn to play the ukulele BEFORE actually playing the ukulele.

OK, 'nuf said! Preaching to the choir again. lol : )

Keep uke'in',
 
Excellent Uncle Rod - I got my Uke at Christmas and learnt a few chords half-heartedly then jumped into a couple of songs then got a bit frustrated. I have just spent the last hour on the boot-camp and have realised a few very fundamental flaws in how I actually fret chords and anticipate changeovers (answer: I dont 'cos I am too worried about the tune!).
This will form part of my practice routine for the foreseeable! Thank You!
 
Good to hear from you, Gnomethang.

Jumping into trying to play a song, without knowing the chords or without
having practiced chord changing, is like getting in a car with a manual transmission,
and immediately getting on the Interstate!

Yikes! Until one is comfortable starting and stopping and changing gears with a
stick shift, better stay off the freeway. Less frustrating and less dangerous!

Same with trying to play a song on the ukulele without first learning how to form
chords and practicing changing from chord to chord in time with the beat of a song.

Yikes, once the song begins, there's not much time between chord changes as the
beat goes on, and on, and on.

Glad to hear that you have a plan for future development. Please feel free to print
out the sheets and pass them along for the benefit of others.

Keep uke'in',
 
I certainly will pass them on, Uncle Rod. I have a friend who is beginning to play the Uke and he has just recieved them via Email. I have particularly mentioned accreditation for the work!
May I ask if you are a teacher by trade? Your analogies are spot on!
 
I'm surprised to say this, but after I went to the first page with some effort the first day of boot-camp, I was exhausted - after an hour or two ;). Still looking at my hands, struggling with positions...
The next day I went trough them again, first line just popped out of my hand, I still don't know where it came from :D. After an hour again struggling (less hard though) on the what I find more difficult finger-positions, I took a small break to get some fresh air. I didn't want to play when I went out, but when I came back, the darn thing was lying there with that big grin: "take me, take... meee...". Which I did, and suddenly, it took like half the effort than before my break. It must be some good clean healthy air.

The next couple of days the progress wasn't as huge, but it looks like my fingers are getting tuned in.

I'll get there, thanks Uncle Rod! Also thanks David, your pic gives a small variation in booting.
 
stanpeter said:
I'm surprised to say this, but after I went to the first page with some effort the first day of boot-camp, I was exhausted - after an hour or two ;). Still looking at my hands, struggling with positions...
The next day I went trough them again, first line just popped out of my hand, I still don't know where it came from :D. After an hour again struggling (less hard though) on the what I find more difficult finger-positions, I took a small break to get some fresh air. I didn't want to play when I went out, but when I came back, the darn thing was lying there with that big grin: "take me, take... meee...". Which I did, and suddenly, it took like half the effort than before my break. It must be some good clean healthy air.

The next couple of days the progress wasn't as huge, but it looks like my fingers are getting tuned in.

I'll get there, thanks Uncle Rod! Also thanks David, your pic gives a small variation in booting.
Click to expand...

Isn't that awesome how the muscle memory just kicks in like that?? good for you... Progress feels good!
 
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