Has anyone out there used the UKULELE BUDDY course? What level would you say it appeals to? Good value? Any opinions at all?
UKULELE BUDDY lessons- any good?
- Thread starter flailingfingers
- Start date
"I made sure my lessons were designed in such a way that you can progress with just 7 minutes, three times a week."
Hmm, I would probably suggest, no meaningful progress. There is no escape from the fact that you have to practise to play well.
Get Rods Boot Camp, free from Uncle Rod here: http://ukulelebootcamp.weebly.com/ Initially concentrate initally on excercise 1 in the key of C. That will cover the chords for a huge range of songs.
Get to a local club and play with others, the best way of improving your playing.
Check out youtube and Ukulele Mike for foc lessons.
hth
h
Hmm, I would probably suggest, no meaningful progress. There is no escape from the fact that you have to practise to play well.
Get Rods Boot Camp, free from Uncle Rod here: http://ukulelebootcamp.weebly.com/ Initially concentrate initally on excercise 1 in the key of C. That will cover the chords for a huge range of songs.
Get to a local club and play with others, the best way of improving your playing.
Check out youtube and Ukulele Mike for foc lessons.
hth
h
Never heard of the Uke Buddy course. There is a ton of free material right here on UU. There are some great lessons on the main page by Aldrine. You can also sign up for UU+ which costs money but provides archived videos of some wonderful uke courses taught by Aldrine.
Looks like a pretty "slick" setup. If you google Uke Buddy Reviews, they all seem to originate from Uke Buddy. It may work, but there are wonderful uke lessons out there much cheaper on DVD. Many, many video lessons on this site. Free tutorials on every aspect of uke playing here and on YouTube. DVD's and digital downloads from a number of artists with a great rep as teachers. $67 for the unknown? Hmmm....think about it.
OP
OP
Thanks all. Yeah the price and the 7 minutes/day thing was off-putting. I've got UU+ and watch Uncle Mike and others on uTube. All good stuff and I've progressed well I think. I try to stretch my skills by pushing for harder chords and learning more strums while still staying loose. Play a good deal and really enjoy it. REALLY enjoy it! The thing that appealed about UKE BUDDY was the "play along" aspect they tout. I've got no one to play with here and that appealed. Not the price however.
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Glad to hear you are having fun and enjoying your uke. If you are looking to jam with someone....start your own uke group - maybe post something on craigslist or meetup.
molokinirum
Well-known member
Great advice from members....all free and material is, in my opinion, very very good!! That is the route I took. Used Uncle Rods free course, used Ukulele Mike on youtube, did a bunch of the lessons here on UU. When I started playing the ukulele, I had zero experience playing ANY instrument. lol....the only thing I paid for other than my ukulele were new strings!!!
BUT...you gotta practice...practice...practice. It won't happen in 7 minutes!! lol
Have fun
BUT...you gotta practice...practice...practice. It won't happen in 7 minutes!! lol
Have fun
Want Play Along, here ya go....for free. Huge song list. It's a little tricky, but you'll figure it out after a few minutes. Shows fretboard, fingering positions based on 3 different keys (D, C, and G), lyrics, and a live performance by the original artist. And it doesn't cost $67. note, it's popup blocker sensitive. Anyone who hasn't seen this needs to check it out. It's amazing.
http://www.ukuleleplayalong.nl/#
http://www.ukuleleplayalong.nl/#
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OP
OP
HOLY C**P!!!! Thanks! That is an amazing site.
Hi. I appear to be the only commenter who has actually used Ukulele Buddy. I’m sorry not to have been able to comment last night, but I was having network issues.
Pros:
I was a complete beginner when I started Ukulele Buddy. I knew maybe 3 chords and strumming was more of a concept than an accomplishment. After doing Uke Buddy I was able to play a great many more chords; I understood strums and timing; I even got a little theory. By the end I was able to go to a ukulele group and play well enough to hang, all first position chords and some rough patches, but I was there and swimming. The production values are pretty low. J P Allen and Mitch Chang are the presenters. The whole series has the feel of being the way J P is financing his own ukulele instruction. His harmonica playing is intrusive. Mitch Chang is the real deal, though. The instruction is solid and it moved me from ABSOLUTE beginner to being capable of playing real songs, having a good selection of chords and strums, and even a little theory. They limit the money spent on rights for the music they teach, so they change the names of the songs; that gets confusing. Just last weekend I went back and watched the blues lesson again. So the value is still there for me.
The marketing hype is not helpful. 7 minutes 3 times a week is hardly what I experienced. All the content is on the site so you can move at your own pace and revisit stuff as necessary. Most of the lessons last longer than 7 minutes, but less than 15. There is a clear progression to the course. It builds on itself. I think this is its strength. When you poke around the internet you find a little bit here and a little bit there. It may fit together by accident, but there’s no guarantee it will. I wanted to learn to play quickly. I sometimes did 2 or 3 lessons back to back.
I use Uncle Rod’s Ukulele Bootcamp and think it’s very valuable. It wouldn’t have been much use to me before Uke Buddy. It is a great way to build your chord library quickly.
I am very glad I did Ukulele Buddy. By the end I was able to play in a group, download songs and work out playing them, even do some simple transposing. Not bad for 67 bucks.
I'm also signed up with Udemy "Ukulele Dan" and Ukulele Tricks. Ukulele Dan got too hard really fast. Ukulele Tricks is boring; there's little on screen technique demonstration and I don't like the music choices.
I will probably sign up for UU+ eventually. I also want to try individual instruction with a local teacher.
Whatever. Enjoy learning to play the ukulele. Makes me happy every time I pick it up.
itsme
Well-known member
The whole "site on a page" with glowing testimonials and highlighted yellow text reminds me of some of those "get rich quick" sites (or in this case, learn to play with almost no effort).
Mitch Chang has a good rep as a teacher, though, and I found this page of sample lessons by him.
http://www.ukulelebuddy.com/lessons/free-lessons.html
I just watched the "Bruddah Iz Uke Strum" one, and thought it was actually pretty good.
Mitch Chang has a good rep as a teacher, though, and I found this page of sample lessons by him.
http://www.ukulelebuddy.com/lessons/free-lessons.html
I just watched the "Bruddah Iz Uke Strum" one, and thought it was actually pretty good.
I love the review posted by PereBourik as well. As long as someone benefits, the course serves its purpose. We all learn separately using various methods. I started my learning journey in UU and YouTubes. I signed up for online courses along the way. But only after I met a life teacher in a face-to-face classroom, can I say that my confidence improves to perform in front of others.
No substitute for playing in front of others. That's why there are so many recommendations to "get thee to a uke club."
itsme
Well-known member
I've really enjoyed playing with others at meetups, but mostly they're more for fun than instruction.
Your playing will improve, though, when you're forced to make challenging chord changes in time to keep up.
OP
OP
Good conversation here. My situation is this: former guitar player; want to learn uke with disciplined lessons, no shortcuts; already know the basics of playing a stringed instrument, bass runs, etc. I started with UU+ and completed 101,2,3, theory and some other things and still continue there. Used some other online courses and much of uTube offerings. All very valuable. I've come now to using UKULELE FOR GUITAR PLAYERS with Marcy Marxer. It works well for me. Great production, an amazing amount of material, even has a looping feature and slowmo. Cost $14 and is now downloaded to my laptop so I can watch it anywhere. I think that different things work for each of us at different times. It is all fun.
UkeKiddinMe
Well-known member
The good news is that there are so many different excellent materials to choose from.
I'm a fan of the Bruce Emery book.
http://www.skepticalguitarist.com/uke/uke.html
I'm a fan of the Bruce Emery book.
http://www.skepticalguitarist.com/uke/uke.html
I agree with you on Ukulele Buddy. For someone who has just picked it up for the first time (bought my first Ukulele 3 weeks ago) it gives a good foundation and sense of progress. Although I am playing around with what there lessons teach for an hour or two per night so not sure how far I would of gotten in 7 mins.
I am still glad I did Uke Buddy. That and Uncle Rod's Bootcamp are the best beginner resources I found. I've moved on and am now taking lessons with an online teacher. More pressure, but the back & forth is really helpful.
When I first picked up the ukulele, over 4 years ago, I did the Ukulele Buddy course with JP Allen and Mitch Chang. For a total beginner, it gave me the confidence to try my first local ukulele group meeting. I blended right in.
I don’t know how many of you know that JP Allen suffered a horrific 60-foot fall last year. He broke his back and has had several amputations and was down to less than 90 pounds. There is a go fund me page for him to help with his continuing medical costs. I gave in the spirit of giving back a little of the joy for what I’ve gotten from the ukulele. https://www.gofundme.com/f/1smsmm4tao?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet
Or sign up for his course https://www.ukulelebuddy.com/lessons/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIleyzwM6a6QIV0MDACh1HFATAEAAYASAAEgK-avD_BwE
I don’t know how many of you know that JP Allen suffered a horrific 60-foot fall last year. He broke his back and has had several amputations and was down to less than 90 pounds. There is a go fund me page for him to help with his continuing medical costs. I gave in the spirit of giving back a little of the joy for what I’ve gotten from the ukulele. https://www.gofundme.com/f/1smsmm4tao?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet
Or sign up for his course https://www.ukulelebuddy.com/lessons/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIleyzwM6a6QIV0MDACh1HFATAEAAYASAAEgK-avD_BwE
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