New Ukelele player. Confused with Mike Lynch's book No. 1

Geekster2

Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Believing Mike Lynch's books were for beginners, I purchased Book one.
When It arrived in my Email, I discovered there are no words in 45 out of the 52 songs, no finger placement (except in 2 songs), and most songs have no chords listed either.
How is a beginner supposed to befit from this book?

:) >> STOP THE PRESS! <<
WONDERFUL NEWS! Collene Lynch is such a fair-minded person that she gave me a refund!
So, let's chalk the whole thing up to my viewing Mike's YouTube videos (which have the finger placement, chords, and words) and assuming all that would be in his books.
You know what they say about that word "Ass-U-Me"...

Anyhow, I have taken the advice of several opinions here on the Ukulele Underground, and ordered the Dummies Book on Ukulele's. I'm sure to learn much.
Thanks once again to Mike for his tireless videos, from which I believe I can still learn from, and to his wonderful wife Collene for her patience with a confused beginner, namely me...

Aloha to all,
Vic
 
Last edited:
No idea how you are supposed to learn from that. Did you have to pay for it?
 
Welcome.

Cannot help with this book

Whilst it will not help you this time if you search for a book on Amazon frequently there is a. .... look inside .... option on one of the images.

I would not buy any book by mail order tha I could not at least view the first few pages.

So do this using Amazon then buy from whatever source you prefer.

On a different tack try doing an online search for Uke clubs near where you like you may be surprized, I have 7 within a 20 minute drive.
 
Believing Mike Lynch's books were for beginners, I purchased Book one.
When It arrived in my Email, I discovered there are no words in 45 out of the 52 songs, no finger placement (except in 2 songs), and most songs have no chords listed either.
How is a beginner supposed to befit from this book?

Can you post a photo of one of these pages that are unusable?
 
What was the title of the book.....did it say it was a beginners book on how to play the ukulele.

A lot of Mike's books are designed for the intermediate to advanced player for chord melody and finger picking pieces.
 
Last edited:
I have book one of his chord melody songs and it's not really for beginners and doesn't fit the description you offer. I didn't even think his books were currently available to buy. Let me know where you found them because I'm looking to buy books two and three of the chord melody series.
 
Yes. There was a required $20 DONATION that must be made first. Then they Email you the PDF file.
Of course every page is copyrighted, so that prevents dissatisfied customers from sending examples to others before they buy.
 
col50: Yes, I looked on Amazon to see if Mike Lynch's books were there. I wanted to do as you suggest. After getting what I got, I'm not surprised his stuff isn't on Amazon.
 
What was the title of the book.....did it say it was a beginners book on how to play the ukulele.

A lot of Mike's books are designed for the intermediate to advanced player for chord melody and finger picking pieces.

The book doesn't say it, but looking at so many of his Youtube videos, how he shows the finger placement for, let's say, Over the Rainbow, one would expect his book would have the same information. Sadly, no finger placement or words in the purchased product (however this song does list the chords.) Even for an advanced player you would expect words to match up with the little black music note symbols.
 
I have book one of his chord melody songs and it's not really for beginners and doesn't fit the description you offer. I didn't even think his books were currently available to buy. Let me know where you found them because I'm looking to buy books two and three of the chord melody series.


BBegall: OK, as long as you know what you're getting into, here it is:
Mike’s Store: http://ukulelemikelynch.com
Click on the Paypal "DONATE" button to order.
 
Believing Mike Lynch's books were for beginners, I purchased Book one.
When It arrived in my Email, I discovered there are no words in 45 out of the 52 songs, no finger placement (except in 2 songs), and most songs have no chords listed either.
How is a beginner supposed to befit from this book?

Mike books were not written for beginners.

If you read the introduction it explains the book is an introduction to "Instrumental solo playing" and is composed of 52 chord melody arrangements.

Its not difficult to follow, however does assume you have some ukulele skills, i.e. are able to read tablature and have a knowledge of basic chords.

Mike died about 18 months ago, he was a great and well respected instructor who left a legacy of excellent instructional videos on YouTube.

Since his death buying from his site has been administered by family and does seem to be fraught with difficulty, if you bought and received one of his books you have done well.

Here is one of his instructional videos from book one, do a search on YouTube there are others, ignore the sales information.

Good luck.:)
 
Believing Mike Lynch's books were for beginners, I purchased Book one.
When It arrived in my Email, I discovered there are no words in 45 out of the 52 songs, no finger placement (except in 2 songs), and most songs have no chords listed either.
How is a beginner supposed to befit from this book?

Have you tried surfing the Internet? There is a TON of free stuff out there for uke players! I have downloaded more than I will ever be able to use.
 
Geekster, I have all 4 of Mike’s chord melody books and while they are very good, they are not meant for absolute beginners. He mentions that he has tried to include arrangements that vary in difficulty and I find this to be so. It’s true that there are no lyrics printed but that’s because they are meant to be instrumental versions. You have me confused when you say there are no chords listed. There are no chord diagrams but the chords are printed right above the standard notation with tab below. As to fingering, the general rule of first fret first finger, second fret second finger, etc generally applies, but you should look at a good chord chart for fingering suggestions, if you are unfamiliar with any of the chords. If you look at one of the simpler arrangements, say “Beautiful Dreamer” you see he has listed C as the first chord (full chord) 0003, then the melody notes are found nearby and are often part of that chord shape. Then he goes to Dm (usually 2210) but he only plays the 22 (a partial chord). This is the principle of chord melody arrangement. You arrange the chord as best you can to have the top note of the chord be the melody note.

I would set Mike’s book aside and come back to it after you are a little further on. Or pick one of the easiest arrangements and go through it slowly. If you dont read standard notation, follow the tab. If you dont read tab, google “how to read tab”. If instrumental chord melody is the style of playing you want to develop, I would check out James Hill’s “Ukulele Way” for an excellent multimedia method series. Good luck with your ukulele adventure.
 
BBegall: OK, as long as you know what you're getting into, here it is:
Mike’s Store: http://ukulelemikelynch.com
Click on the Paypal "DONATE" button to order.

Just looking at that site and what is available it looks suspiciously like a rip off meant to cash in on the continued interest in this man. I wonder if his estate has anything at all to do with this? The offerings there don't include the chord/melody books I was referencing.
 
$20

That is a rip off price for a PDF or any electronic file.

There are masses of free Ukulele tutorials online that can help to get you going.

There are thousands of songs and PDF file books that players have created and made available, for the majority they are Transcribed songs and not rip offs of commercial books.

Tips
Download and printout a Free chord chart for reference.

If you also join UU Fb page you will find a song posted there with the appropriate chords used shown and above the song text is where to play a specific chord.

Just start off with simple down strums on a Bar, 1 2 3 4 whilst holding the chord. Change chord and repeat, keep doing this until your chord changes are swift and smooth.

Chords C Am F G G7 (and variations) will get you playing dozens and dozens of songs

Look up a song like Iko Iko and it only has a couple of chords so is simple and quick to learn.

Look up strum patterns and printout, practicethem

Learn Island pattern D - D U - U D U and this will set you up well for hundreds of songs.

So there you are using the Internet can be far faster and more rewarding.
 
That is a rip off price for a PDF or any electronic file.

I disagree with you on this statement, although I agree with your other assessment that additional resources are available on the internet for free.

There aren't that many resources with Chord Melody, which is a great format that falls between being able to play chords and being able to play full-out tab. Chord Melody is created in such a way that it generally requires strumming with the right hand, and the left hand generally focuses on chords.

I've found hours of enjoyment with Mike's books, and as an iPad (Pro) owner, the "no strings attached" PDF format works incredibly well for me. It took time to create the arrangements and then to digitize them. I'd love to see a lower price point, sure, but knowing the payment went directly to Mike (C&M Productions was his company) made the purchase easier.

If you want to look at chord melody resources that are free, look at Spencer Gay's ukeeducation.org.
 
I’m with Choirguy. There aren’t alot of ukulele chord melody arrangements out there (at least not of the songs that he has included). I think they are a good value. Each book has a good number of songs. I can’t say for sure but I do believe that Mike’s family has tried to continue to make these books available because there is an ongoing interest in them.

Funny, but I was just playing Mike’s arrangement of “Four Strong Winds” today. His arrangements have also given me ideas on how I might want to arrange tunes for other instruments or in other keys. Mike’s videos were some of the first that I watched when I started out on uke years ago. He was a wonderful educator and uke enthusiast. I miss him and am happy that he lives on in the work he has left behind,
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom