New Book - Ukulele Aerobics by Chad Johnson

Just got this from Amazon today. So far very impressed.

edit - after rereading this I realize I probably over-shared about my own info/background sorry about that...feel free to skip dow to the ABOUT THE BOOK below

background - Got my first uke right before christmas and have no musical background whatsoever. It's actually been a major life regret of mine, and when we bought a makala dolphin for my 2.5 year old daughter and a concert makala for my wife(who plays multiple instruments) I decided that this was my chance to write a wrong

I've been playing non stop ever since and sucking up knowledge from many sources, mostly here, youtube and other free sites. I've overbought books including the exercises for dummies, blues ukulele and a few other beginner books.

I've also been using the boot camp method. I've been playing at least an hour a day. I feel like I'm coming along nicely and can actually play a b chord consistently and am starting to be able to play an E. Muscle memory is building and chords are coming along nicely, but I have a hard time with timing and rhythm. And I really suck trying to sing(with my daughter) and play at the same time.

ABOUT THE BOOK - Anyway, I really like how this book is laid out. It's a 40 week course.
Each week is divided into days and each day has a specific type of lesson each week. Lessons are short, concise and seem to be explained well. there is a CD with music tracks of the lessons.
For example
monday - chords
tuesday - strumming
wed - finger style
thurs - scales
friday - legato (didn't know what that was)
Sat - Licks & riffs
Sun - misc - but in looking ahead it seems like pracical exercises that tie in other concepts

It starts very basic, but looking ahead by week 2-3 I'll be into stuff I haven't tried yet so thats exciting. It does see to ramp up the difficulty quickly so I don't think it would be bad for more advanced players.

I like learning this way in chunks so I feel like this book will suit me. I also like learning a variety of different techniques.

Out of all the books I have - and I have definitely bought too many - this one seems the most suited to my learning style.

If anyone else is starting the book, post away. Maybe I'll post some updates as I go.

Sounds like you are off to a great start. Some folks benefit from a metronome. I have my music stand with a uke holder set up behind my computer chair so all I have to do is swivel the chair around. If you aren't playing something on your computer, can get a metronome online and set it up.

http://www.metronomeonline.com/

Strumming playing with songs.
Even better than metronome
Free download, search for songs you want. Play any tempo any key.
Midi files are kinda cheezy but still good practice.
I use this all the time.
http://www.vanbasco.com/en/

I think there is value in the vast number of books available as not everyone learns in the same manner. I often think "why do I need another uke instruction book since I haven't finished the previous ones yet?". Then I realize I did get some things out of each and every one of them, and they're generally less than $20 each.

Thanks for the review. I'll have to put this one on my "consider" list. Wish Amazon had a Look-Inside.

Not available in the UK yet!
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The Amazon (USA) website said that it wouldn't be available until March 8, and then about an hour later sent an email telling me that the new estimated arrival date is February 5.

Kayak Jim said:

Wish Amazon had a Look-Inside.

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I've been really disappointed in a lot of their Look-Insides. More often than not, it seems you get the cover, the TOC, the credits/intro, then page after page explaining whole/half notes, how to hold a uke, how to read tab and then... not a single page from the actual "meat" of the book. Especially with tab books, I want to see a few pages of the tabs to see if they're actually something I'd be interested in.

itsme said:

I've been really disappointed in a lot of their Look-Insides.

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You're right, but sometime the TOC is at least a glimpse. And why do all the uke books feel they have to start at square 1? Even Fretboard Roadmaps shows how to do a DUDUDU strum. Just filler as far as I'm concerned.

Hey, seanmorr! Congratulations on getting off to such a good start. It is never too late to start a musical journey. My husband is in a situation similar to yours. He married a band director/music teacher and he had absolutely no musical experience past elementary school music. He always wanted to dip a toe in my world, and after trying a few things, ukulele clicked for him. He loves it. He doesn't have as much time to devote as you do, but he plays every chance he gets. This sounds like a good book for him and for me as well. I'm going to check it out. Please share updates on your progress. I'm excited to see how this book works for you.

Got mine in the mail, thanks for the heads up. I like it.

update...I'm in week three now and its ramping up the complexity very quickly. It really doesn't stay beginner level for very long at all. Even the chords are not really beginner chords. I wish the explanations were a little longer and videos would be helpful(comes with mp3 files) but the exercises are good and I find myself taking the riffs/licks and playing around with them a lot...I have a tendency to turn everything into a blues riff.

I'm struggling with the hammer on and pull offs. These seem like something that I might need someone to show me at some point. I'm just not sure to do with my fretting fingers on those.

overall I'm impressed with the book. It seems like there was a lot of thought on the exercises and how they fit together. I'm excited to move forward but realize its going to get hard which is actually a good thing.

I'm using the book as well and it's been great. I like how it's structured and broken down into learning different skills each day of the week but also building on what you've learned previously.

Try this video for the hammer on and pull offs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWmD7jIrCpw

Hi seanmorr (and everyone else reading this!),

I was surprised and pleased to see your thread, because a friend just gave me this book, and I think it's great. Mr. Johnson explains music notation really well, and everything is in little pieces that build confidence. He doesn't overwhelm a player and understands how people approach practicing. He suggests you do read all the snippets because in each week there are most likely concepts that you might need to work on or are unfamiliar with. I'm not great at hammer-ons and pull-offs, so already in the first week there's information I needed. He does progress quickly and I agree that experienced players may find this book useful. I highly recommend it.

I ordered a copy and it should be here today. I'm currently working through Fretboard Roadmaps but like the idea of adding technique exercises. Roadmaps is great but is lots of theory and theory application. That's fantastic and necessary, but there aren't a lot of exercises to work on. It's a lot of memorization and I've been coming up with my own exercises to internalize the material. I'm hoping the two books will complement each other.

Strumming playing with songs.
Even better than metronome
Free download, search for songs you want. Play any tempo any key.
Midi files are kinda cheezy but still good practice.
I use this all the time.
http://www.vanbasco.com/en/

Click to expand...

I'm not computer savy. This says it's a Windows operating system. Can I use this on a Mac?

I also have been working with quite a few different but all very good uke books lately. I like the idea that the aerobics book covering many techniques in an organized way. Just ordered it and am hoping it will provide a good backbone for my daily uke sessions.

Now available in the UK, and my copy arrived yesterday. I like the look of it. I am very aware that my playing is pretty limited, so anything to get me to practice different picking patterns and just stretch myself a bit, has got to be a good thing.

Hmm, looks interesting. I think I might check it out!

Am likewise UK based but my copy arrived around 3 weeks ago - finding it really good but it does increase in complexity quite rapidly! Definitely a book to recommend.

I got my copy a couple of weeks ago and I'm really enjoying it. I was able to get through the first 6 weeks or so fairly quickly, but I like the way he covers a different aspect each day. It's making me pay attention to the things I've found less fun. I've really increased my strumming capabilities since starting it. I don't sing, so I've really been neglecting strums! But these are just right, not too fast, and he doesn't play anything that's not there for you to see.

The hardest ones for me are the hammer ons/pull-offs, it's not so much the fingering as that I don't seem to get enough sustain for more than a couple of notes.

I also like that each section has the CD time marked on it, so you can go right to that part on the track.