I've accidentally been sent a Ukulele for free- where do I start?!

McIverTheMark · Aug 28, 2018

Hi guys,

Yesterday, I was notified via email that Amazon accidentally messed up and sent me a ukulele with a tuner for free! They've said they messed up but are allowing me to keep it!

I've never even contemplated playing Uke before but now that I'm getting one in the next few days I want to give it a shot. Bit of background- I've played a bit of guitar over the past few years so do you think that will be helpful at all? Also- do you have any general tips or advice for me as I get started?

Cheers guys,

Daniel

kerneltime · Aug 28, 2018

If you go with Low G strings on the uke, the tuning of the strings is the same as the low 4 on the guitar. The chord shapes remain the same for those strings.

Rllink · Aug 28, 2018

I would think that if you play guitar you can learn to play the ukulele. The same principle. I would just start with Uncle Rod's Ukulele Bootcamp.

hoosierhiver · Aug 28, 2018

This is great, Amazon may have inadvertently changed your life. You are going to like it a lot, once you get hooked, buy a better quality one from a reputable dealer. Youtube has thousands of videos to get you started and UU offers fantastic lessons as well.

Uncle Rod Higuchi · Aug 28, 2018

Welcome! Uncle Rod here.

please feel free to access the Boot Camp Materials via the link in my signature.

keep uke'in',

captain-janeway · Aug 28, 2018

YouTube and decide if you even like it enough to keep playing. Don't know what brand or anything they sent you, but there are lots of choices. 4 different sizes, different woods that sound different, etc. Count on putting in tons of practice.
What did they send you? It might feel odd in your hands too. If you have big hands you may be comfortable with a tenor, if small, then concert or soprano.
They're a lot of fun.

If you don't like it, pass it on to someone else. Maybe a kid to see if they like music

Croaky Keith · Aug 28, 2018

Having had some experience with guitar puts you on the road to learning uke. Most are tuned in re entrant, that means the 3rd string is the lowest, not the 4th, but you can change that if you want by just fitting a low G. Only a baritone has the same 4 strings as on a guitar - you will most likely receive a soprano, one of the smallest ukes, & no doubt a (cheap) laminate, but good enough to see if you like it.

UkingViking · Aug 28, 2018

First thing I did was watching a few youtube videos on strum patterns and stuff.
Start with the calypso strum, chunking, perhaps calypso strum with chunking on the second beat. Whatever you like.
Look up chords for songs you want to learn.
I started with "Lime in the coconut" and "Banana boat song" to practice strumming, as the chords are easy.

Or go to boot camp. Whatever you feel like.

sculptor · Sep 1, 2018

hoosierhiver said:
This is great, Amazon may have inadvertently changed your life. You are going to like it a lot, once you get hooked, buy a better quality one from a reputable dealer. Youtube has thousands of videos to get you started and UU offers fantastic lessons as well.

Just out of curiosity I looked at what ukuleles Amazon offers and maybe he got a Kala Elite??? Sure, it
wouldn't have been set up but in general the better the ukulele, the less likely a setup is actually necessary.

-- Gary

sukie · Sep 1, 2018

Holy smokes! A free ukulele. You might love it more than guitar. UU can keep you busy for years.

mmn · Sep 1, 2018

I'm a guitar player futzing around on a uke also. I started by getting a chord chart and then looking for tabs and vids of songs I like. A couple that come to mind are Iz's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters doing "Tonight You Belong to Me" in the movie "The Jerk". The latter a bit challenging to make chord transitions smoothly.

I've accidentally been sent a Ukulele for free- where do I start?!

McIverTheMark

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kerneltime

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Rllink

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hoosierhiver

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Uncle Rod Higuchi

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captain-janeway

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Croaky Keith

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sculptor

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sukie

Aloha

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