Do you really need a ukulele book?
- Thread starter drasho
- Start date
You don't need a book. I have never purchased a book. However, I learned guitar first, and there is far more instructional gutiar website than ukulele. Once you know guitar, all you need to learn on uke are the different chord shapes.
My recommendation would be to look at the tabs section of this forum. Pick a few easy songs, and learn them. The more songs you learn, the more you'll find that it becomes easy, because you're using the same chords you have used in previous songs.
Also, check out all of the lessons, "uke minutes", andother videos on this site's main page, ukuleleunderground.com. Especially uke minutes, much to be learned there.
I'm sure someone will come along shortly with better advice, so just hang tight.
My recommendation would be to look at the tabs section of this forum. Pick a few easy songs, and learn them. The more songs you learn, the more you'll find that it becomes easy, because you're using the same chords you have used in previous songs.
Also, check out all of the lessons, "uke minutes", andother videos on this site's main page, ukuleleunderground.com. Especially uke minutes, much to be learned there.
I'm sure someone will come along shortly with better advice, so just hang tight.
SeanKy671
Well-known member
I too learned to play the guitar first along with 7 years of general musical experience. I didn't know much about guitar, but i did know a few chords and a few songs. I bought a book when I purchased my FIRST uke a little over a year ago, but learned very little from it because of my previous knowledge with the guitar.. I never lookd at it again. I never needed to..
It really depends on your musical experience, I think..
And with a place like UU it's definately a good thing for a beginner uke player with it's ukulele minutes and ukulele lessons.
It really depends on your musical experience, I think..
And with a place like UU it's definately a good thing for a beginner uke player with it's ukulele minutes and ukulele lessons.
thejumpingflea
Well-known member
I learned off a "Teach yourself the ukulele" book by Mel Bay.
UU is much better than that though.
UU is much better than that though.
With many of the basics of playing the yookalaylee explained into painstaking detail (and repetition) on the internets, lesson books are becoming the next steam locomotive: they look attractive but get you nowhere. A case could be made for books with more theory in them, but it takes a lot of self discipline to dig through these and actually pick up all that is in there (I have Fretboard Roadmaps lying around waiting for my self discipline to return from wherever it went).
What you do need in my opinion, and this the innernets will never be able to give you, is contact with other players and opportunities to play together. Nothing beats talking, playing, peeking at someone else's technique, working together to get a steady rhythm down that more than one person (you) can hold for an entire song etc.
UU is great to get you started, but the real people are outside jammin'
What you do need in my opinion, and this the innernets will never be able to give you, is contact with other players and opportunities to play together. Nothing beats talking, playing, peeking at someone else's technique, working together to get a steady rhythm down that more than one person (you) can hold for an entire song etc.
UU is great to get you started, but the real people are outside jammin'
hoosierhiver
Well-known member
You can get anything you need off the internet,but I am always losing my copies of songs.So I think a good book is something helpful and lasting and doesn't get thrown out by mistake.
My personal favorite is Jim Beloff's "The Ukulele- A visual history" .It doesn't have any songs in it,but it is very beautiful, inspirational and informative.
My personal favorite is Jim Beloff's "The Ukulele- A visual history" .It doesn't have any songs in it,but it is very beautiful, inspirational and informative.
rreffner
Well-known member
I made my own book from song tabs and cord patterns I found on the internet. I also saved the YouTube videos which corresponded to the tabs I downloaded. I have a 3" binder full. Plenty of stuff to work on.
SeanKy671
Well-known member
That's a very good idea to keep a binder of tabs and chord patterns..
I just have a ugly and unorganized pile of papers lol
oh and welcome to ukulele underground drasho!!
i think with the internet + UU, books are becoming obselete.
i took piano lessons for like 7 years. although i learned a lot from the teacher, i reached the extent where she just tells u to practice pieces from the book.
from then on i just taught myself guitar/uke from the internet + UU
i took piano lessons for like 7 years. although i learned a lot from the teacher, i reached the extent where she just tells u to practice pieces from the book.
from then on i just taught myself guitar/uke from the internet + UU
Lanark
Well-known member
It doesn't hurt to have a book though if for no other simple reason than convenience and portability.
It's just plain easier to drag around with you. I learned some of my basics from a book. A decent book will have all the stuff you might be looking up on the interweb in one location without a lot of typing and travels much easier from room to room, other people's houses and into the great outdoors and doesn't require a wi-fi connection or a working outlet.
I also have made up a binder with my own arrangements of tunes. That's a great way to collect your repertoire in one place as it expands. And is, in fact, a book.
I also keep tucked into that binder one of those Mel Bay chord books which I find much easier to use to quickly find a E7b5b9 chord than putting down the uke to go into the other room to wake the computer to track down the chord on one of several sites. I tend to practice in much more comfy locales than in front of my computer.
A book or two for convenience in tandem with the breadth of the internet. That's what works for me.
It's just plain easier to drag around with you. I learned some of my basics from a book. A decent book will have all the stuff you might be looking up on the interweb in one location without a lot of typing and travels much easier from room to room, other people's houses and into the great outdoors and doesn't require a wi-fi connection or a working outlet.
I also have made up a binder with my own arrangements of tunes. That's a great way to collect your repertoire in one place as it expands. And is, in fact, a book.
I also keep tucked into that binder one of those Mel Bay chord books which I find much easier to use to quickly find a E7b5b9 chord than putting down the uke to go into the other room to wake the computer to track down the chord on one of several sites. I tend to practice in much more comfy locales than in front of my computer.
A book or two for convenience in tandem with the breadth of the internet. That's what works for me.
Amberoo
New member
I agree with Seeso.
A book can't hurt, but the internet has so many websites now
that are filled with basically all the essentials a beginner could ever need!
I purchased a book along with my ukulele,
and found I wasn't too fond of the songs.
Plus it didn't really have too much information on
strumming techniques and such.
So I turned to...the internet!
And my oh my, I've learned a lot!
The only thing in the book I really use is the chord chart.
A book can't hurt, but the internet has so many websites now
that are filled with basically all the essentials a beginner could ever need!
I purchased a book along with my ukulele,
and found I wasn't too fond of the songs.
Plus it didn't really have too much information on
strumming techniques and such.
So I turned to...the internet!
And my oh my, I've learned a lot!
The only thing in the book I really use is the chord chart.
Faricelli
Well-known member
I would recommend a small chord book. MGM sends out two good ones with a lot of his ukes. They are "The Treasury of Ukulele Chords by Roy Sakuma and the other is a smaller book called "Ukulele Chord finder" by Hal Leonard. You can always look a chord up on the internet but it is nice to have a book lying around. The Leonard book is nice because it gives you three ways to play a single chord and it is about Five bucks. But Seeso is right, you can learn everything you could possible want on line with out ever dropping a dime.
PickNStrum
Well-known member
Some people prefer to sit down with a book. I'm one of those really. Yeah I learned a lot from the internet watching some of my favorite players, but a good book that is structured well like the Curt Sheller publications are worth having as well. Also, buying the book supports artists and encourages writers to continue writing more books and sharing their knowledge. (There are a lot of crappy books out there unfortunately so you have to know what to look for .) Songbooks are also good to purchase and fun to have. I really learned a lot from the Lyle Ritz jazz book and cd and also John Kings Classical ukulele both published by Flea Market Music. Anyway do you need a book to learn to play? No. Is it enjoyable to have them and do I use them? Yes
redsedge
Well-known member
It's also worth bearing in mind that ukulele club websites often have links to their songbooks - try TUSC, Ukenights and Ukulele Wednesdays for starters. Not lessons as such, but so many songs at different levels of playing ability that you're certain to find enough to keep you going for the next couple of years!
The short answer is "NO". You don't NEED a book, you can get all you need from the interweb, but I wouldn't be without my copy of the "Morton Manus Ukulele Chord Dictionary". It is a little more than just a chord dictionary. Just enough theory to assist my addled brain, and fits in the uke case. There are some typos, but they are pretty obvious and don't cause me a problem. I find it useful, but not essential.
Ukantor.
Ukantor.
UkuLeLesReggAe
Well-known member
well the book i bought was a waste of my money. so no you don't need it. if u play somewhere over the rainbow u dun need a book
Enlight
Member
I didn't even bother looking for books when I got my ukulele
I just looked up some chord sites and jumped right in. As some have said before a chord chart is great for convenience, but once you get past the basic chords often used, you'll only rarely come by them unless your favourite band loves obscure chords. Anyway, its probably better in the long run not to buy one (in my opinion) because if its pretty expensive you'll probably have regrets one day when you've flipped through it for the 100th time and you realise that the material in that book seems like little kid stuff. better to add that money to saving up for your dream ukulele or something (lol) no matter how little the cost
I just looked up some chord sites and jumped right in. As some have said before a chord chart is great for convenience, but once you get past the basic chords often used, you'll only rarely come by them unless your favourite band loves obscure chords. Anyway, its probably better in the long run not to buy one (in my opinion) because if its pretty expensive you'll probably have regrets one day when you've flipped through it for the 100th time and you realise that the material in that book seems like little kid stuff. better to add that money to saving up for your dream ukulele or something (lol) no matter how little the cost
maybe off topic, but maybe not..
so, I am also a beginner uke player, and I have been wondering if theres collections of like printable drills, like common chord progressions, or finger picking scales, available online anywhere.
When I was much younger, I played piano, and we always had to do these scales that got bigger and fancier and required more dexterity and whatnot as we got better, but hey were pretty repetitive, and just had the same pattern but in different keys and such. And it was something you used to warm up with. Is there such a thing for learning ukes? My boyfriend had a book that was something like that for guitars, calle "Ultimate First Guitar Book." Is there something like that (preferablywith the little tab thing underneath the notes) for ukes that we can download? I know theres some intro to it in the video section, but I was hoping for something I could print.
I think a collection of chord progresion and finger picky scales like this would constitute a decent substitution for a beginner uke book. Right now the only Uke book I own is the Hal Leonard Ukulele Chord Finder (thanks musicguymic).
Any advice?
Thanks much ahead of time,
gaki
so, I am also a beginner uke player, and I have been wondering if theres collections of like printable drills, like common chord progressions, or finger picking scales, available online anywhere.
When I was much younger, I played piano, and we always had to do these scales that got bigger and fancier and required more dexterity and whatnot as we got better, but hey were pretty repetitive, and just had the same pattern but in different keys and such. And it was something you used to warm up with. Is there such a thing for learning ukes? My boyfriend had a book that was something like that for guitars, calle "Ultimate First Guitar Book." Is there something like that (preferablywith the little tab thing underneath the notes) for ukes that we can download? I know theres some intro to it in the video section, but I was hoping for something I could print.
I think a collection of chord progresion and finger picky scales like this would constitute a decent substitution for a beginner uke book. Right now the only Uke book I own is the Hal Leonard Ukulele Chord Finder (thanks musicguymic).
Any advice?
Thanks much ahead of time,
gaki
