What is the best way to learn the ukulele?

Ukebum

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Hi Everyone,
I started playing the ukulele not too long ago and have learned a handful of songs from this great site and other youtube videos. I would like to get to the point eventually where I can learn songs on my own and create the sounds that I want, like many of the fine players that I have come accross. So my question is: am I on the right track and just need to keep learning new chords and new songs, or is there something that I am missing in my approach to learing the ukulele?
Thanks!
 
Always make it your own! You really only need three chords, and some related minor keys to play anything. Listen, strum lightly and make it your own!
 
Always make it your own! You really only need three chords, and some related minor keys to play anything. Listen, strum lightly and make it your own!

I absolutely agree with most of this statement, particularly the first part. Make it your own. Really important. Don't just copy others and, in my view, NEVER try to copy the record.

But, strumming is really only part of playing the ukulele. You need to continue to learn how to play chords e.g. picking, decorating, runs, etc. Learning the ukulele is a process where you explore the many techniques like fills, using riffs, lead, melody, improvisation,finger-picking. And then you have musical theory ...

It is a cliche, but learning to play the uke is a journey, not a destination.
 
But, strumming is really only part of playing the ukulele. You need to continue to learn how to play chords e.g. picking, decorating, runs, etc. Learning the ukulele is a process where you explore the many techniques like fills, using riffs, lead, melody, improvisation,finger-picking. And then you have musical theory ...

It is a cliche, but learning to play the uke is a journey, not a destination.

I absolutely agree with this. I haven't been playing ukulele that long, but my teacher has already crammed more music theory in my head in a few months than I learned in years of piano, trumpet, and voice lessons. How you learn is going to be based on what kind of player you want to be. Some people just want to strum chords to sing to, and that is pretty easy to pick up. But if you want to do more...You can learn to play notes, or you can learn the how's and why's that let you MAKE the music. To do that, I would recommend books that teach you to read standard notation, learn the circle of fifths, and get some theory books.

Whatever direction you take, though, make sure it is a direction that you can really enjoy. Good luck!
 
Alistair Wood (Author of ukulele for dummies) made this great Pdf for beginners.)
http://ukulelehunt.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/FirstUkulele.pdf

Apart from that, the main advice I can give you is to find someone who can teach you, not necessarily a teacher, maybe a friend that plays, or even if they play guitar of mandolin, or some other similar instrument, they can porbably help.
 
Hi, Ukebum! Thought I'd throw in my 2 cents here, too. :) A little over a year ago, I bought my first uke (a Kala KA-TE tenor uke), a copy of Al Woods' "Ukulele for Dummies," a Hal Leonard instructional step-by-step uke book, some ukulele song books (that had tunes I knew and liked), and I watched a TON of YouTube ukulele video tutorials from folks like Ukulele Mike, Brett McQueen of ukuleletricks.com, of course, UU, and lots of other folks who put uke tutorials out there for beginners.

One of the (many!) wonderful things about uke and why I find it such a joy to play is because you can really make some progress if you decide to learn on your own -- which I did for quite some time. BUT, I will say that, about four months ago, I started taking monthly Skype ukulele lessons and, though I was more of a UU lurker in the past, I felt I really wanted to reach out to other ukers out there for help, support, and of course, friendship. Doing so has helped me grow in my uke playing so much -- and I have met incredible folks on UU and have made some new friends -- really cool! I hope you are having a blast learning the uke -- there are so many people here that can help and offer support to you! Looking forward to seeing ya 'round on the UU! As folks say around these parts, "Happy Strumming!" :)
 
Be sure to watch videos. All the videos you can. Focus in on right and left hand technique noting style and feelings. Purchase a clip-on tuner and check tuning everytime you play. Practice everyday and then practice Some more. Slow down and practice perfect, don't practice mistakes. Make practice part of your daily routine. Expect plateaus along the way. When you get lost, go back to the basics such as Ukulele Boot Camp. Read UU daily. Have fun!
 
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