Tell me about your ukulele experiences!

Welcome to the wonderful world of ukulele. If you like to sing the uke is a great instrument to accompany your voice.

First we crawl, then we walk, then we run. If after just one week you have learned three songs with 4 chords you are walking..........maybe a bit too fast. New skills take time to learn properly. Download "Uncle Rods Bootcamp", it's free and he is a member here. This is a great course and I used it a lot in the first year to learn chord transistions and how to sing and play.

You stated "I am trying to figure out what I have to learn next", nothing, you need to learn the basics first. This can take months to do well. It takes dedicated disciplined work to properly practice the simple skills of chord transistioning and strumming. But it is so worth it. Have fun by really working on a simple song or two you love.

Hello Dave!

Thank you for the welcome. After one week I've learned three songs with 4 chords but the same 4 chords in each one of them, all that changes is the strumming. I'm kinda stuck there because now I'm practicing the transitions only, a little bit of strumming here and there but the transitions are the most challenging, so I'm working on that and probably I'll be doing that for a long long time. But it's okay. I will download the course you recommended me, thanks a lot!
When I said I was trying to figure out what I have to learn next, I actually meant I really don't know what's the order I should follow. Transitions and then what? New chords? Strumming patterns? I know that it obviously have to be the basics but I don't know if there's a specific order... I guess I will clear that up after reading the material you told me.
Thank you very very much for the advice!

Regards,
Loredana
 
A very common progression is C to Am to F to G7. In the key of C, the G7 will fit most places where a G is called for.

Many old pop and rock & roll songs used this progression.
-Make a C (0003) with your ring finger.
-Drop your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string to make an Am (2000).
-Leave your finger there and put your index finger on the 1st fret of the 2nd string to make an F (2010).
-Leave your index finger on the 2nd string and move your middle finger to the 2nd fret of the 3rd string. Drop your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the 1st string to make a G7 (0212).
-Take off your index and middle fingers and slide your ring finger up a fret to the 3rd, which brings you back to C (0003). Repeat the sequence.

To play Ricky Nelson's Poor Little Fool, play four beats on each chord.
To play songs like Heart And Soul, 26 Miles Across The Sea, and Blue Moon, play 2 beats on each chord. Once you play this progression, other songs might pop into your head.
I realise that since you are 21, these songs might not be familiar, but the progression works for many songs. Google "songs with I, vi, IV, V progression."
 
Hi Loredana!

Hi! I'm new to Uke, but not new to stringed instruments (like bf_, I'm a clawhammer banjo player). One thing that can help with chord transitions is to practice them outside of a tune, with a metronome. The idea goes like this:

First, pick the chord sequence you are going to practice. Here's one good one:

C F G C G F C

In a song that is in the key of C, the transitions C<->F, C<->G, and F<->G are all really common, so this sequence practices them all in equal measure.

Or, maybe you are having trouble with C to G (it's kind of a finger twister), so you just practice this:

C G C G C G...

Whatever it is, you first pick the chord sequence you're going to practice. Now that you have your sequence, get out the metronome and set it to a very slow speed, one that allows you to hit each chord on the beat. For example, you might set it to 30 bpm, which gives you two seconds to get from one chord to the next. Or even slower. Go however slowly you need in order to make the next chord on the beat, every time.

Now practice the chord sequence until it you are bored because you can do it easily without making mistakes. When you find yourself leading the metronome a little because you want it to go faster, and you're not making mistakes, then increase the speed of the metronome. Increase it to where it's a bit of a challenge but you can still do it correctly. Never practice at a speed where you make repeated mistakes--that just trains you to play mistakes. Even though it's boring, make sure you always practice at a speed where you play correctly. If you find yourself making repeated mistakes, then slow the metronome back down.

Lastly, don't practice any one thing for too long in one sitting. After 15-30 minutes of concentrated practice on a single thing, your brain is probably not adsorbing much more. If you want to still practice, then switch to something else. Much of getting better happens between practice sessions (weird, but true), so don't force it. When you find yourself no longer improving, or when lose the ability to focus, then stop practicing that one thing for now. The next time you come back to that thing, you'll be better than you were before.
 
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