Non-patronizing Instruction Books

epinema

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Hi there,

Something I've realised with learning music is how much of a difference the material taught can help me stick with it.

Can anyone recommend a book that is not patronizing in terms of music selection? I'd really rather not learn to play a single nursery rhyme (Thank you Steve Ashworth for showing it can be done with Learn To Play Keyboards)

Many thanks and much love,
epi :)
 
Epi,
where abouts are you?
I'm still very much a newbie learning the uke, what I have done so far is:
1. Used some of the Uke 101 videos on this site to get me started.
2. Used Uncle Rods Boot Camp to learn the basic chords, start with the C set of chords as they seem the most common.
3. Once I felt that I could strum a few chords with confidence then I joined the local Uke clubs and now play along with them. (Badly) If there are chords I dont know then I just strum the root chord for the song, normally the first chord of the song, or strum missing the strings. The Uke clubs give you an idea of how a song works when only playing chords.
4. I did a beginners Uke course at the local university for 6 weeks, £100, that gave me some one on one instruction, without the cost of an individual tutor and built on my existing skills. I think most Uke shops would know who/where does these group courses.
5. Pick a song you know and like with a few chords and go for it! (The Ukelele Hunt website has lists of songs by number of chords, there may be one on here as well) also Ukulele Hunt has this: http://ukulelehunt.com/2012/10/24/songs-with-chords-you-know-updated/ songs with chords you know.
Get playing and enjoy.
h
 
Do you have "Ukulele for Dummies" by Alistair Wood? It covers a lot of ground and deserves a place in most everyone's uke library.

+1

I've only been learning for about a month now by working my way through this book. On my way to mastering "House of the Rising Sun", a favourite of mine, by using this book.
 
Hello there,

Along with the Boot Camp, I also offer a FREE Songbook that gives no quarter nor does it hold any punches :)

If that's not enough, click on my MediaFire ukulele link in my signature and you'll have access to many (non-
beginner) song arrangements, both oldies and Hawaiian.

Enjoy and keep uke'in',
 
+1 Ukulele for Dummies. It's easy, funny, and you learn in short, manageable bits. Plus the CD helps a lot. Once you get through the first couple of chapters, you can wander around anywhere in the book for styles that interest you.

And Uncle Rod's Boot Camp is great for all sorts of chord practice.
 
Hi there,

Something I've realised with learning music is how much of a difference the material taught can help me stick with it.

Can anyone recommend a book that is not patronizing in terms of music selection? I'd really rather not learn to play a single nursery rhyme (Thank you Steve Ashworth for showing it can be done with Learn To Play Keyboards)

Many thanks and much love,
epi :)

We all have our preferences. "Patronizing" may be an overly critical interpretation of the intent of many, fine, beginner's uke books.
 
As well as Ukulele for Dummies and Boot Camp, both of which I have found to be invaluable, I'm rather fond of Mike Dickison's Kiwi Ukulele. You can find sample pages at his website, via that link. The music selection, as you might guess, has a definite New Zealand slant to it (I had to turn to YouTube for help with a couple of songs) but there are a number of more generally known tunes in there too. Presentation and layout is excellent, always clear and helpful, and the writing actually has some personality. Not as comprehensive as Ukulele for Dummies by any means, but by no means a poor relation.
 
You have to be patient and learn rhythm and timing.....foundation of music... nursery rhymes teach you that because you know the both mentions....remember the horse before the cart..
 
Thanks for all the awesome advice people, will definitely go hit up all those resources you've pointed out.

Sorry for the delay, yesterday I got the ReCaptcha to fail 5 times, got angry and gave up for the time being lol

and in regards to the earlier question, I'm from Auckland, New Zealand :)
 
Order "The Daily Ukulele" from amazon. It literally has 365 uke songs that range from easy to intermediate. I have been playing for almost 2 years on a daily basis and I still get really frustrated. Some days I am a rock star, and some days I stink up the place. Mike Lynch has awesome tutorials which are easy to follow and no "Twinkle twinkle little star" Practice makes permenance. Play every day even if you only have a few minutes. Learn as many chords as you can. Keep trying to form the difficult ones that you think you will never get and one day you will get them. I call this a "breakthrough" youtube has literally hundreds if not thousands of uke tutorials. Just type in ukulele cover for any song you want to learn and it is magically there. Good luck. Practice!!
 
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