The ukulele beginner's check list

Bill1 said:

There is a sticky note pinned to the top of the Beginners page which has a ukulele syllabus. It is a great starting point. So I would recommend #1 (and only) "Read Ukulele Syllabus at top of UU beginners page"

In your list I would leave in #6. Lots of players I know use a pick. Its a great alternative and counterpoint to learning the 1000 ukulele strums. And you can save a lot of time and money by changing picks to get a sound instead of changing strings. You do need to be careful with a pick because it can gauge the top of the uke if you are not careful. The most important thing to learn about using a pick, or any technique, is that you do have to use it exclusively all the time, you are allowed to use several techniques.

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Jerryc41 said:

Good idea. I'm sure it will be helpful. One suggestion: if you do any more, show your face. We are used to dealing with people, and people have faces. When Baz began doing video reviews, hedidn't show his face. When he finally revealed his countenance, in about 2015, the result was a more personable experience.

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clear said:

Thanks for the suggestion, and I agree that showing the face would make the videos more personable. The reason I'm not showing my face is to focus on just the teaching portions and also allow easier segment replacements (when a segment is done by another).

I'll definitely think about it though.

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ubulele said:

For a general list, I agree that #6 (using a pick) should be struck off. In fact, a lot of uke players find a slide more useful than a pick, and many more never use either. Also, if you want to be able to play in any key that may be needed, but haven't yet progressed to the point of using movable shapes extensively, then you'll find a uke capo more useful than a pick. (Speaking of enabling accessories, I think that a strap or "thong" is the best tool, since it allows both hands/arms more mobility and relaxation, helps make chord shapes more "doable" and ergonomic, and simplifies position shifting.)

I believe that one vital but sadly neglected uke/guitar-specific aspect would be learning generic fretboard patterns for intervals, root clusters and simple chord shape derivations (all of which are movable and applicable to every key and fleas tuning). The patterns are relatively simple to learn, while the benefits are many. They're best learned early on, incrementally along with basic chords and the first keys. But best wishes finding guidance on these patterns—I had to work most of them out for myself, rather too late for them to accelerate my initial progress. They've still been pivotal in helping me navigate the fretboard in any key and in any fleas tuning, to pick up and easily apply theory, to understand, memorize and play chord sequences in songs, to render chord charts and chord-finder apps unnecessary, to develop my ear training, and to transpose without charts, wheels or other external aids. That's a whopping return for the modest effort involved in learning these patterns, and I continue even now to discover new tricks with them.

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Kenn2018 said:

If you are going to show videos, I highly recommend using non-standard camera positioning such as over the shoulder to replicate the player's point of view.

Once they have the first-position chord shapes down, encourage beginners to use the side fret markers on their uke. If they don't have them make some. (Or buy rub-on dots.) It makes everything easier and markedly improves playing posture.

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