Learning to play the right way?

Just got my Ukulele about three weeks ago and have learned to play "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson and "Hey Soul Sister" by train. I don't play them very well but you can at least tell what song it is that I'm playing. But my question is this, As a newbie to the Uke' should I be learning from a book that teaches you strictly chords and how to read music, or is it okay to do what I've been doing getting song chords from the web and watching Youtube tutorials? Thanks for your opinions on this question.

The thing about playing the ukulele and learning to play the ukulele is this: There really is NO wrong way to do so.

I learned a bit from my 6th grade teacher (who taught the entire class to play to perform for other classes), then I was pretty much on my own.

50 years later, I still do not read standard music notation on the uke. I'm a strummer/singer not a picker/performer. For my purposes I learn songs by ear (listening and trying to figure out the chord sequences and rhythm) then transpose to a key in my vocal range.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to join with a few other ukulele players, you'll find many different approaches.

I have a couple of links under my signature for free booklets. Please feel free to print them out and share them if you find them helpful.

Again, I approach playing and learning to play the uke from a singer/strummer point of view.

Just have fun and take advantage of everything out there, esp your fellow ukers here on UU.

Keep uek-in',

Learn some songs and keep having fun. You can't browse this site without tripping over some good learning. Best wishes and happy strumming!

Here's how to tell if you're learning the right way:

Are you learning? Then it's the right way.

JJ

I think that (and this is in my own personal experience) getting a few good books, AND watching some good Youtube or UU tutorial videos, AND finding and printing out the tabs or chords for songs you already know and like is a good catch-all way to learn.

Also, check out UU member Woodshed's website, he has some good, reasonably priced ebooks that even include downloadable mp3 and video clips- I found his strums ebook to be very helpful. I think his site is ukulelehunt.com .

Here's the link to the ebooks I mentioned above (and, no, I have no affiliation with Woodshed or this website, I'm just a satisfied customer)

http://howtoplayukulele.com/

I'm a very satisfied customer of Al's too, he has a great selection and he makes things clear. I love that there are both tabs, sound files and videos in the eBooks. He also guarantees satisfaction. He has a great blog too at Ukulele Hunt.

Thanks for all the helpful advice and links!!! I am becoming completely addicted to the Ukulele now! This site is a great resource for beginners.