A bit all over the place

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Darylmesa

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Hiya
So as the title says I’m a bit all over the place with my ukulele playing. I have been playing for quite sometime now but I have never taken any formal lessons nor any music lessons in my life for that matter. Like many, I am self taught through various youtube tutorials. Lots of tiles I end up playing only parts of songs because everything starts to sound repetitive...chord progressions, strumming patterns, etc. Yet, at the same time i am still not confortable with complicated 4 finger chords.

So I’m not sure where to go from here...I would like to follow online courses, but not really starting from the beginning.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Daryl
 
Definitely a drawback of all the random free material you find.

What's your goal? Knowing that will help people give you more informed advice.
 
I assume you are doing mostly chord strumming, perhaps along with singing. Have you tried fingerpicking or chord/melody styles? I figure I did not want to listen to myself sing everytime I picked up the uke so picked up chord/melody through the James Hill Ukulele Way website (there are a number of free lessons to sample). I have also recently purchased a few fingerpicking books, the one by Mark Kailana Nelson (Fingerstyle Solos for Ukulele) being my favorite starter one.
 
Thanks, I will check that out.
No singing for me as I am an absolutely horrible singer.
My goal is to be solid and well rounded.
 
Darylmesa said:
Thanks, I will check that out.
No singing for me as I am an absolutely horrible singer.
My goal is to be solid and well rounded.
Click to expand...

With all due respect that is the same as saying you want your steak to taste good, kinda vague. I only say that because I sometimes feel as you do. I have decided I want to spontaneously jam with others. That means I need to know alot more then I do, like music theory, which I don't. I will need to know scales so I can play fills and leads. The circle of fifths, common chord progressions in most keys etc.

If you know where you want to go you can map out a course. Maybe doing a structured on line course like the Ukulele Way will expose you to what you need to learn to progress.
 
I'm agreeing with Brad and Dave. I think that your lack of structure comes from your lack of direction. I would suggest that you sit down first and think about why you are playing the ukulele. Who do you want to be? I don't mean who you want to be like, I mean who do you want to be?
 
Rllink said:
I'm agreeing with Brad and Dave. I think that your lack of structure comes from your lack of direction. I would suggest that you sit down first and think about why you are playing the ukulele. Who do you want to be? I don't mean who you want to be like, I mean who do you want to be?
Click to expand...

To add to this when I started out I wanted to play and sing songs I loved, with visions of campfire sing alongs. With in one year I had a repertoire of 20+ songs memorized and did the campfire sing along. Now I want to take it to the next level and will need some practical music theory to do that.

You said you play bits and pieces of songs. As a first step commit to learning one complete song with the discipline to memorize it. This is the BORING part, this is where you have to put in the work. By the time I have a song memorized I am almost sick of it :p Nothing wrong with just noodling but if you want to go farther then you have to put in the repetition.
 
That’s definitely my problem, direction.
So I guess I’m looking for direction. A set of lessons that are aimed at direction, but not starting from the very beginning.
 
There are plenty of lessons available online, either for free or for money. I haven't counted, but I'd bet ukulele courses on the Internet today number in the hundreds.

They will all lead you in a direction. But in what direction do you wish to go?

To paraphrase an aphorism: we can show you some doors, but you must select a threshold and cross it yourself.

Perhaps it's time for you to explore your options. DownUpDave suggested the Ukulele Way course. It seems as good a start as any. If you don't like it, you will at the very least have discovered a direction you do not wish to go in.

I would also recommend Uncle Rod's Boot Camp and Arpeggio Meditiations for Ukulele. Those were the materials I found most useful and generally applicable on my own ukulele path.
 
Darylmesa said:
That’s definitely my problem, direction.
So I guess I’m looking for direction. A set of lessons that are aimed at direction, but not starting from the very beginning.
Click to expand...
Maybe looking for direction is a direction. I say go for a one on one with someone you can connect with on that level. I never have taken ukulele lessons, but I have taken voice lessons. Sitting down with a teacher who is willing and able to help you determine where to go and how to get there is very helpful. Voice lessons carried over to my ukulele playing and helped me with both.
 
I guess there are three obvious ways to play ukulele:

Strumming or playing arpeggios and singing alone
Strumming in a group where someone else plays or sings the melody.
Playing fingerstyle solo

Strumming solo without song or melody instrument will probably not be as rewarding as the alternatives.

So if you dont have a group to play with, you might want to learn some fingerstyle.
 
I started playing uke due to wanting to have an instrument that can accompany my passion for singing. What really held my interest and direction was choosing songs that I really enjoy. Find a song that really grabs you, and go from there. The operative word for me was inspiration. Even if you can't sing, find a song that truly captures you.
 
mik said:
i started playing uke due to wanting to have an instrument that can accompany my passion for singing. What really held my interest and direction was choosing songs that i really enjoy. Find a song that really grabs you, and go from there. The operative word for me was inspiration. Even if you can't sing, find a song that truly captures you.
Click to expand...

I'll second that !!
 
Getting involved with a local jam session and the Seasons of the Ukulele here on UU were the big breakthroughs for me. I'm still only a passable player and slightly worse singer, but I'm confident in my incompetence! (And always eager to improve.)
 
Remember school days. Good students make better notebooks and they understand and remember subjects very good.

A is great ukulele teacher Ancle Rod Higuchi's song book. He is famous in ukulele boot camp. Notes are not only just for the usage afterwards. We memory them with notes. We think them and understand them when writing notes. Hence good students make better notebooks in school. This one is grade A note.
B is mine. I am grade B (or C or D) student in ukulele. But this digital song book is still work for me. I think making song book along with your ukulele study may help your ukulele structure. Analogue may be better than digital but I make digital song book along with my study. This works with books, Youtube and any other material.
Even it were digital, better students makes better song book for themselves. Decide proper keys, change chords and change notes at their own level. We may add our comments what we learn.



When you look at your own song book, you see what you know and which direction you want to go.
 
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