First Uke Today

JOE R

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Sep 7, 2011
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Location
LANSDALE PA.
I just received my first ukulele today. I bought a Kala KA-T from Hawaii music supply because they do the setup on it. I am glad I did not just buy it from a local store as it seems much easier to press down on the strings than the one I tried at the local music store. The timing is perfect too. I intend to get all my errands done tonight so I have all weekend to stay at home and begin my ukulele experience.
My question is are there any really good online lessons for a beginner like me? If so please let me know of at least one good site Or is it better to learn from books? If so is there any real beginner uke bible I should look for?
I am really excited to get started but I want to learn the right way.
 
Best site for noobie in my opinion is Uncle Rod's Ukulele Boot Camp. Learn some great chords, practice changes before you start trying to play difficult peices. Also, Can get great tutorials here and youtube. Master basics, be patient. Skills come with time and practice....varies from person to person. Also, Ukulele for Dummies looks great. Many other beginner books contain too little info and instruction for the money. After you learn your basics, you can then buy books when you know what you want to learn and why a certain book is best.
 
Congratulations on your Kala KA-T--you made a good decision to buy from someone who does setup!

I'm still very new at this, but I can share what is working for me. I agree with Phil, be patient with yourself and be prepared to practice. Get ready to google a lot--there are tons of sites with ukulele information for beginners. Check out a bunch of sites and/or YouTube channels--keep in mind that there is no one right way to do anything (holding, strumming, etc), so do what works best for you. Once you learn a few chords (Uncle Rod is very popular) and get comfortable changing between them, you will start to have a better idea of how you want to proceed--maybe you will want to learn on your own, maybe you will want to sign up for structured (taped) classes here at UU, maybe you will seek out live lessons.

One more thing--try not to compare yourself to others--everybody learns differently and we all progress at our own pace. Oh yes, one last thing--have fun!!
 
Cantsing makes a great point ie don't compare yourself to others. It's tough to do because you see folks posting great videos here and the ones on youtube and you think "How the heck do I get to that level?" and start second guessing yourself. :p

Welcome to the UU.
 
I like supplementing Uncle Rod's Bootcamp with Ukulele Underground University. Can't do too much better than a virtual one on one with Aldrine.
 
if yoru looking for some fun songs and a good tutor you wont go far wrong with ukulele mike on youtube :)
 
I like supplementing Uncle Rod's Bootcamp with Ukulele Underground University. Can't do too much better than a virtual one on one with Aldrine.

+1. I do both. I think Uncle Rods is something you practice until it "clicks". I find some of the chords very easy and some very difficult. I play the top line progressions on each page together (together they comprise most of the more common chords) faster than I play the whole pages (I'm still at a 4 strum with those). I devote equal time to both ways. Hope that makes sense. Chord drills are a must- you have to get that muscle memory down.

Ukulele University will walk you through the entire learning process from technique, chords, and strumming to music theory and ear training etc. and there's a 2 week free trial period. Can't recommend it enough.

And don't forget to try some songs! That's what it's all about after all :)
 
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