You finally figure out how to play that one ukulele chord that’s giving you all sorts of trouble, but when you strum:
Bzzt!
No matter what you do, playing the chord sounds like fingernails scraping across a chalkboard.
Is this a problem with how you’re strumming? Is it an issue with your fretting hand? Do you just not have the strength yet to play a chord?
Every ukulele player at some point or another has gone to play a ukulele chord just to have the chord sound out with a dead thud. This is such a common challenge every ukulele player has to overcome. Even advanced ukulele players will encounter this problem and have to find a way to fix it.
Fortunately, most buzzing ukulele chords can be fixed with one easy trick.
Watch the video to learn how to fix your buzzing ukulele chords.
Don’t Forget This Last Buzzing Ukulele Chord Consideration
You can fix ninety-nine percent of buzzing ukulele chords with the above solution, however, there are other factors that can cause your ukulele to buzz on you.
For example, cheaper entry-level ukuleles are infamous for buzzing.
This has to do with the quality of craftsmanship. For example, cheaper ukuleles may have metal frets on the fretboard that are uneven or not properly filed down.
Most ukuleles can be taken to a luthier or local music shop who can often perform a “set up” on your ukulele to fix these frets that are catching on the strings, however, sometimes the cost to perform this service is more than the actual ukulele itself! So it may be in your interest to save up for a higher-quality ukulele.
Lastly, strings can buzz if you strum too hard or with too much tension. If you have a heavy hand, it doesn’t hurt to see what a lighter touch does for your tone and sound.
How to Get a Musical Sound From Your Ukulele
It’s one thing to play the right chords, but it’s another thing to sound musical.
When it comes to your strumming and chord technique, there are a variety of factors that impact how musical you sound:
How you strum the strings
How you position your fretting hand fingers to prepare for smooth chord changes
How you adjust your strumming volume to create dynamics and emotion
If you struggle with strumming the ukulele in a musical-sounding way, there’s no better place to start than the free four-lesson Learn to Play Ukulele Today course where I give you the foundations to make music in a, well, musical-sounding way.
Enter your email address below:
Yes! I want the free Learn To Play Ukulele Today video lesson course.
An exciting way to take your ukulele playing to the next level is to find new ways to play the same chord on ukulele.
Yes, there are often several different ways to play the same chord on ukulele, and I include many of these chord variations in the Ukulele Tricks Chord Library, but you might be wondering why you’d want to find a different way to play a chord on ukulele.
There are many reasons for why you’d find a new way to play the same chord:
Make a chord easier to play
Add variety to the song you’re playing
Find a new sound
Blend together with an accompanying ukulele player
Voice a melody note in a chord to be the highest note in the chord (for example, like in chord melody)
In this lesson, I introduce you to the world of finding chord variations on ukulele by showing you how to play a C major chord on ukulele in five different ways.
Watch the video to learn the five different ways to play a C major chord on ukulele.
C Major Chord: Variation #1
This is the C major chord you’re probably most familiar with.
To play C Major Chord Variation #1 on ukulele, place the ring finger on the 3rd fret of the bottom A-string. Let the other strings ring open.
C Major Chord: Variation #2
Let’s find new ways to play this common chord.
To play C Major Chord Variation #2 on ukulele, press down or barre the index finger on the bottom two strings at the 3rd fret, place the middle finger on the 4th fret of the C-string, and ring finger on the 5th fret of the top g-string.
C Major Chord: Variation #3
As we find new chord variations, we work our way up the ukulele fretboard. As you go up the fretboard, the notes contained in the chord are notes in a C major chord played at higher octaves giving the chord a different timbre or texture.
To play C Major Chord Variation #3 on ukulele, place the index finger on the 5th fret of the top g-string, ring finger on the 7th fret of the C-string, and little finger on the 7th fret of the bottom A-string. Let the E-string ring open.
C Major Chord: Variation #4
You may recognize the following fretting hand shape from the G chord. Although like a G chord, this is a C chord variation because of its higher position on the ukulele fretboard.
To play C Major Chord Variation #4, place the index finger on the 7th fret of the C-string, ring finger on the 8th fret of the E-string, and middle finger on the 7th fret of the bottom A-string. Let the other string ring open.
C Major Chord: Variation #5
Things are starting to get a little cramped this high up the fretboard!
To play C Major Chord Variation #5, place the middle finger on the 9th fret of the top g-string, index finger on the 8th fret of the E-string, and little finger on the 10th fret of the bottom A-string. Let the C-string ring open.
When to Use These C Major Ukulele Chord Variations
You can use any of these C major chord variations in a song where you see a C chord.
For example, if you’re learning a jazzy song, like those in the Jazzy Strummin’ course, you probably want to opt for Variation #2 of the C major chord above to get a nice muted jazzy strum.
But, if you’re playing a chord melody song where the highest melody note is a G note, then, you might want to use Variation #5.
And if you’re playing at your ukulele club with a dozen other ukulele players, instead of playing the same chord variation as your fellow band members, maybe you use Variation #3 to “fill out” the sound and create a nicely blended tone!
Finding chords across the ukulele fretboard is almost limitless. To find more chord variations across the ukulele fretboard, check out the chords in the chord library and scroll through the different variations.
Chord melody is a style of playing ukulele where you strum the chords of a song while you simultaneously fingerpick the melody.
As far as chord melody goes, The Star Spangled Banner is an easy song to learn for those who are beyond the basics of picking. Played in the key of C you use a lot of open strings to create a full and resonate sound.
The Star Spangled Banner is the United States national anthem. The lyrics of the song were written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, however, the music was written much earlier in 1773 by John Stafford Smith. Key wrote the poem on September 14, 1814 at age 35-years-old after seeing the British Royal Navy bomb Baltimore Harbor in the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. After looking at the U.S. flag waving above Fort M’Henry in victory, he was inspired to write the poem. It wasn’t until March 3, 1931 that Congress made it the U.S. national anthem by resolution, which was then signed by President Herbert Hoover.
Musically, The Star Spangled Banner has one of the broadest vocal ranges spanning 19 semitones making it one of the hardest songs to sing. Fortunately for us, we can fingerpick the melody and strum the chords of the song without singing! Whew.
The Star Spangled Banner Chord Melody Ukulele Cover
Watch the video to hear me play my chord melody arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner on ukulele. I include a little surprise at the end as well as the sheet music and ukulele tab below the video so you can learn how to play this song.
I’ve arranged this song in the key of C major. Download the tab and try your hand at playing this song.
There’s nothing worse than an out-of-tune ukulele.
Even if it’s just you locked away practicing in a room by yourself where nobody can hear you, listening to out-of-tune chords and notes can you make you feel uninspired and wonder why you sound so, well, bad.
You can be a competent and proficient ukulele player, but if your ukulele is out of tune, no one would know it – even yourself!
I’ve always said one of the fastest ways to sound better as a ukulele player is to tune your ukulele. It’s a common beginner mistake to think that since you had your ukulele tuned once that you won’t have to tune it again later. If you’re new to playing ukulele, then, your number one goal is to figure out how to tune your ukulele! Always tune every time you sit down and play.
But why does your ukulele keep going out of tune after you spend all that time tuning it up?
How can it be that your ukulele is technically “in tune” according to the tuner but sounds out-of-tune when you play?
And what can you do if you have a ukulele that can’t hold pitch?
Here are the six reasons your ukulele is going out of tune and what you can do about it.
Reason #1: Ukulele Strings
If you have a ukulele that won’t hold pitch, then first, consider the strings on your uke.
Older strings, or strings that have had time to stretch, tend to hold tuning better than brand new strings.
While putting brand new strings on your ukulele is a sure-fire way to improve the overall resonance and sound of your ukulele, it also means you’re going to have to tune a lot for the first few hours of playing. This is normal. New strings need time to stretch and “settle” into place.
That said, watch out for old strings too. While older strings might not stretch as much, the quality of the sound will go down, and if you inherited an old ukulele from your grandparent’s attic, then, definitely change the strings!
Secondly, not all strings respond the same way to your ukulele. For example, I had read that the famous ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro used a special set of D’Addario strings on his ukuleles (specifically the D’Addario J71 Pro-Arte strings). I tried these same strings on my ukulele but ran into all sorts of issues with them holding pitch, even after the break-in stretching period. It’s not that these strings are necessarily bad – it’s just they didn’t work ideally with my instrument.
Different strings respond differently to different sizes of ukuleles, tuners, bridges, and nuts. All of these things affect the tuning (more on that later).
That means you need to try out different strings over time. For me, I’ve tried multiple string manufacturers like Worth, D’Addario, and Aquila, but I just keep going back to the tried and true Aquila ukulele strings for soprano, concert, or tenor ukuleles.
Oh, and lastly, make sure you have the right string set for the size of your ukulele (figure out your ukulele size here). For example, don’t put a tenor set of strings on your soprano ukulele. You might have issues with tuning or risk damaging your ukulele.
Reason #2: Changes in Temperature or Humidity
Since ukuleles are made out of natural materials like wood, this means changes in temperature and humidity can affect your instrument’s tuning.
As a rule of thumb, if you have a ukulele made out of solid wood (i.e. not laminate or plastic), you should protect your investment by always storing the ukulele in a case with a humidifier when you’re not playing. If the instrument’s wood gets too dry, it can crack or break.
Place a ukulele humidifier, like this Oasis Ukulele+ Humidifier, in your case to prevent your uke’s wood from drying out
But simply humidifying your ukulele doesn’t necessarily prevent it from going out of tune. A slight change in temperature can also affect the tuning. Again, you can mitigate this by storing the instrument in the case making it faster to tune up next time you play. Even if you store your uke in a case, you should always tune your ukulele when you sit down to play.
Pro Tip: I like to store my expensive instruments in their cases, but I always keep a cheaper “beater” ukulele out in my office on a stand with a tuner attached to the headstock for those moments when inspiration strikes!
Reason #3: Poor Quality Ukulele and/or Tuners
So you get your first ukulele, and at the time of purchase you decided to go with the “budget-friendly” option, but after a month of playing, you begin to kick yourself for not saving a little extra to get that slightly more expensive ukulele in the store.
In general, ukuleles under one hundred dollars have a reputation for not holding tuning as well, although there are some good ones. This is mainly due to cheaper parts and poorer manufacturing.
I’ve played some fifty-dollar ukes where I could visibly see the strings slipping out of tune through the tuning pegs as I played. You’ll be in a whole different key by the time you finish playing one song! Yikes.
Slotted tuning pegs have a bit of a reputation for being harder and more finicky to tune, but they give the ukulele a more traditional look. This style of pegs stick out to the back and are not visible from the front-facing side of the ukulele. You’ll see slotted tuning pegs especially in vintage instruments. My concert handmade M.J. Franks ukulele has slotted tuning pegs.
An example of slotted ukulele tuners on my M.J. Franks concert ukulele
Some players find that the “guitar-style” tuners that stick out from the headstock to the side tend to hold tuning better and are easier to tune because of their more precise gear ratio, like on this Kala KA-15 tenor ukulele.
An example of “guitar-style” ukulele tuners – notice how they stick out to the side
If you don’t want to buy a new ukulele but want to upgrade its ability to hold tune, one idea is to upgrade your cheap ukulele’s tuners.
Waverly tuners and Grover tuners are two brands found on many high-quality instruments. A set of Grover 9NB guitar-style tuners can be had for less than twenty dollars. If you’re a handy person, you can install these yourself – just make sure the new tuners are compatible with your existing ukulele (see Aaron Keim’s article for some tips and tricks).
For best results, I recommended having a professional luthier, or at the very least, a professional from your local music shop, install them for you.
Upgrading the tuners is one fairly inexpensive way to improve your tuning (depending on if you install them yourself).
Reason #4: Improperly Wound Strings
It never hurts to check and see if your strings are properly wound around the tuning pegs.
Improperly wound strings have a harder time holding pitch.
Stringing up a ukulele, especially if you haven’t done it before, can be overwhelming but the most important thing to pay attention to is how the strings are wound around the tuning pegs.
The rule of thumb is to make sure strings are wound from the inside to the outside of the headstock.
Note how the strings are wound from the inside of the headstock to the outside
As you can see, often times the top two strings will be wound counterclockwise and the bottom two strings will be wound clockwise.
An exception to this rule would be a ukulele like the Fender Nohea ukulele where the tuners are arranged on one side of the headstock. In this case, the rule still applies: the strings are wound from the inside to the outside of the headstock, or in this case, counterclockwise.
Update: As “S” helpfully pointed out in the comments, some manufacturers, like Martin’s S1 Soprano ukulele mix the counterclockwise/clockwise string-winding rule above. When in doubt, always double check with the manufacturer of your ukulele on how your strings should be wound!
Reason #5: Do You Have an Intonation Problem?
Into-what problem?!
The word intonation is a funny word that refers to an experience where your ukulele is technically “in tune” according to the chromatic tuner, but when you fret notes on the fretboard or strum a chord, something sounds “off” or out-of-tune.
How is it that your ukulele strings are in tune with the tuner but out of tune when you play chords?
This is known as an intonation problem.
Unfortunately, intonation issues can be the hardest to fix and often require an experienced luthier’s help. To fix the issue, the nut and/or bridge of the ukulele may need to be filed down or replaced altogether. On some instruments, intonation issues appear only at certain spots on the fretboard. If this is the case, then, certain frets may need to be filed or adjusted. And even more so, some ukuleles may have a metal truss rod that runs through the neck of the ukulele that may need to be adjusted.
An experienced luthier will know how to adjust all these different elements to fix the intonation of the ukulele.
When the intonation is fixed, the open strings will register as “in tune” on the tuner and will sound in tune when you play chords and notes up and down the fretboard at any spot.
Side note: The mark of a high-end, quality ukulele is one that has perfect intonation up and down the fretboard, meaning any note you play on the fretboard will be “perfectly” in-tune.
Reason #6: Just Playing Your Ukulele
The final reason your ukulele is going out of tune is because you’re playing it!
If you’re a heavy strummer, chances are you’ll be tuning more than a light, easy-going strummer.
If you like to solo and perform a lot of string bends (like blues ukulele soloing), then, it’s not uncommon for your strings to go out of tune faster.
That said, don’t stress about how your style of playing impacts your tuning. Just play! Tuning is just a part of playing a stringed instrument.
In fact, tuning is so normal, that if you’ve ever been to a large concert, you might see dedicated technicians on the side stages whose only job is to tune up the next guitar that will be used for the performer’s next song. Imagine if you’re job was to tune ukuleles all day! That’s how important and normal tuning is to the best musicians – they tune before every song.
If it’s important to them, then it should be important to you, so with that said, play hard and tune often!
I’ve always thought ukulele is a romantic instrument so of course learning to play Perfect by the romantic hit-song-wonder Ed Sheeran on ukulele is only fitting.
Whether or not you want to woo that special someone or perform this on ukulele at your friend’s wedding for their first dance, with the simple chord shapes and a simple strumming pattern I show you in the video below, you can start playing this song today.
Scroll down to get the ukulele chords and a video lesson giving you tricks and tips for how to play Perfect on ukulele.
If you feel lost on the chords or strumming for this song, then I recommend starting with the free four-lesson video course Learn to Play Ukulele Today where I teach you how to play three extremely versatile strumming patterns that provide a perfect foundation to play this song, especially if you’re new to playing ukulele.
Yes! I want the free Learn To Play Ukulele Today video lesson course to build the foundations of chords and strumming.
Please note: I take your privacy very seriously. I promise never to spam you or distribute your email to a third party.
Tips and Tricks for Playing Perfect on Ukulele
In the video, I play Perfect on ukulele and provide tips and tricks on the chords and strumming used to play this song.
This song is strummed to a count of six. In this video, I highlight two different strumming patterns you can use to play this song.
“Perfect” by Ed Sheeran Ukulele Chords
Here are the chords to play Perfect by Ed Sheeran on ukulele.
In the recorded version, there are some slash chords that include different bass notes. For instance, in the instrumental turnaround from the chorus a D/F# slash chord is used, but because slash chords indicate bass notes, and because the ukulele does not have a lower bass note register, I’ve simplified these slash chords for ukulele. Listen to my cover above to hear how these chords sound.
This song is originally recorded in the key of Ab. Use a ukulele capo on the 1st fret to transpose this song up to the key of Ab.
To learn the fingering for any of these chords, refer to the ukulele chord library. To get chords to other songs visit the ukulele songs page.
You don’t have to be a world class singer to make beautiful music on ukulele, and you certainly don’t need to be advanced to start with some easy, simple fingerpicking.
Today, in this fun song play-along, we’re fingerpicking the melody of Happy Birthday on ukulele on just one string – the E-string.
So tune up your ukulele, find a comfortable spot, and let’s make some music!
In this video, I fingerpick the song “Happy Birthday” on just one-string of the ukulele.
To successfully figure out where to position your fingers, you’ll need to know how to read ukulele tab. The numbers in the ukulele tab correspond with the fret you must press down with your fretting hand fingers. Since Happy Birthday is just played on the E-string, when you see the number “5” for example, that means to press down on the 5th fret of the E-string. When you see the number “0”, that means to pluck the open E-string. With a little bit of practice, I’m confident you’ll be playing this song in no time at all!
Get a Printout of the Ukulele Tab For Happy Birthday
Very soon I’m opening up the doors to my fingerpicking course Fingerpicking Tricks where I teach you how to go from beginner to solo fingerpicker on ukulele. If you want to go deeper in the fingerpicking style, then there’s no better place to learn how to fingerpick.
To be the first to know when the course opens and get a one-page printout of the ukulele tab for Happy Birthday, enter your information below.
Yes! I want the ukulele tab for Happy Birthday and want to get on the early-bird wait list for the upcoming fingerpicking course.
Tips and Tricks For Fingerpicking Happy Birthday on Ukulele
If you’ve never fingerpicked before, then don’t worry.
For this song, we’re not worried about prim and proper technique at the moment. We just want to get our feet wet and have some fun! That said, there’s a few quick tips and tricks I can give you.
For the picking hand, I’m just using my thumb to pluck the notes of the E-string.
For the fretting hand, since this song plays notes all across the fretboard, my challenge to you is to try to use as many fingers from your fretting hand as possible to make your changes between notes smoother and faster. For instance, don’t just limit yourself to fretting each individual note with just the index finger. Try fretting one note with the index finger, but then, maybe for the next note you fret with the ring finger.
Of course it’s okay to slide your fretting hand fingers around the fretboard to reach notes, but if you find it difficult to smoothly transition between notes, open up yourself to the idea of using other fingers in your fretting hand to reach and transition between those notes. By doing this, you ensure you’re able to transition between notes smoothly and in good time!
How to Learn Fingerpicking on Ukulele
In the near future, I’m opening enrollment on my upcoming fingerpicking course Fingerpicking Tricks, where I teach you how to go from beginner to proficient solo fingerpicker.
If you’ve always wanted to learn how to fingerpick your ukulele as a solo instrument, then get on the early-bird wait list by entering your information below. Not to mention, I’ll send you the sheet music and ukulele tab for Happy Birthday and some other fingerpicking lessons soon.
Yes! I want the ukulele tab for Happy Birthday and want to get on the early-bird wait list for the upcoming fingerpicking course.
Please note: I take your privacy very seriously. I promise never to spam you or distribute your email to a third party.
Fingerpicking the ukulele doesn’t have to be hard, and you certainly don’t have to shred in order to get started!
Today, in this fun song play-along, we’re fingerpicking the melody of You Are My Sunshine on ukulele on just one string – the A-string.
So tune up your ukulele, find a comfortable spot, and let’s make some music!
Easy One-String Fingerpicking “You Are My Sunshine” Play-Along
In this video, I fingerpick the song “You Are My Sunshine” on just one-string of the ukulele – the bottom A-string.
When it comes to playing this song, you will need to make sure you know how to read ukulele tab. The numbers in the ukulele tab show you exactly which fret you must press down with your fretting hand fingers. For this arrangement, You Are My Sunshine is played solely on the bottom A-string, so when you see the number “4” for example, that means to perss down on the 4th fret of the A-string. When you see the number “0”, that maens to pluck the open A-string.
With a bit of practice, I know you can play this song!
Get a Printout of the Ukulele Tab For You Are My Sunshine
Very soon I’m opening up the doors to my fingerpicking course Fingerpicking Tricks where I teach you how to go from beginner to solo fingerpicker on ukulele. If you want to go deeper in the fingerpicking style, then there’s no better place to learn how to fingerpick.
To be the first to know when the course opens and get a one-page printout of the ukulele tab for You Are My Sunshine, enter your information below.
Yes! I want the ukulele tab for You Are My Sunshine and want to get on the early-bird wait list for the upcoming fingerpicking course.
Tips and Tricks For Fingerpicking You Are My Sunshine on Ukulele
If you’ve never fingerpicked before, then don’t worry.
For this song, we’re not worried about prim and proper technique at the moment. We just want to get our feet wet and have some fun! That said, there’s a few quick tips and tricks I can give you.
For the picking hand, I’m just using my thumb to pluck the notes of the A-string.
For the fretting hand, since this song plays notes all across the fretboard, my challenge to you is to try to use as many fingers from your fretting hand as possible to make your changes between notes smoother and faster. For instance, don’t just limit yourself to fretting each individual note with just the index finger. Try fretting one note with the index finger, but then, maybe for the next note you fret with the ring finger.
Of course it’s okay to slide your fretting hand fingers around the fretboard to reach notes, but if you find it difficult to smoothly transition between notes, open up yourself to the idea of using other fingers in your fretting hand to reach and transition between those notes. By doing this, you ensure you’re able to transition between notes smoothly and in good time!
How to Learn Fingerpicking on Ukulele
In the near future, I’m opening enrollment on my upcoming fingerpicking course Fingerpicking Tricks, where I teach you how to go from beginner to proficient solo fingerpicker.
If you’ve always wanted to learn how to fingerpick your ukulele as a solo instrument, then get on the early-bird wait list by entering your information below. Not to mention, I’ll send you the sheet music and ukulele tab for You Are My Sunshine and some other fingerpicking lessons soon.
Yes! I want the ukulele tab for You Are My Sunshine and want to get on the early-bird wait list for the upcoming fingerpicking course.
Please note: I take your privacy very seriously. I promise never to spam you or distribute your email to a third party.
Barre chords on ukulele, like Bm (B minor), present a lot of challenges, but they also present opportunities to improve your fretting hand technique.
Bm Ukulele Chord Diagram
If you can figure out a barre chord like Bm on ukulele, then, there’s no reason you can’t play dozens of other barre chords! That’s not to say barre chords are easy, but with the right approach, you can begin to get your fingers acquainted and comfortable playing barre chords.
Overcome These 3 Biggest Bm Chord Challenges on Ukulele
In this lesson, I walk you through the three biggest challenges to playing the Bm chord, like not having the strings ring out or not being able to reach, and I show you how to overcome those with proper fretting hand position and technique.
By the end of the lesson, you’ll feel much more confident approaching Bm and other barre chords on ukulele.
Be sure to watch to the end of the video, because I offer a simple substitution whenever you come across a Bm chord in a song.
That said, take the time to practice this chord because you’ll be a stronger and more confident ukulele player in your jams knowing this chord!
One of the great pleasures of teaching ukulele the last decade has been seeing students successfully learn to play ukulele in their 70s, 80s, or even 90s.
Because ukulele is an instrument for everyone, many of these students see success, but I’ve learned there are unique challenges at this age.
Namely, stiff or uncooperative fingers.
If you find yourself with stiff fingers, then one of the best things you can do is take a brief five minutes as you pick up your ukulele to warm up the fretting hand, strumming hand, and the mind.
By doing so, most importantly, you get yourself into a relaxed state. Sometimes we unintentionally bring the stress of the day into our practice. By warming up, we take an intentional moment to focus on the feeling of playing relaxed. And when you’re relaxed, you make the most out of your practice and set yourself up for the best likelihood of success.
In this video lesson, I teach you five simple exercises you can use before you play ukulele to get the hands, fingers, and mind ready to play.
Feel free to use the ideas presented in this video to modify the warmup based on your current skill level.
Warm-Up Exercise #1: Chromatic Scale Exercise
The goal of this exercise is to begin waking up each finger in the fretting hand.
Assign the index finger to notes on the 1st fret, middle finger to notes on the 2nd fret, ring finger to notes on the 3rd fret, and the little finger to notes on the 4th fret.
First, practice the exercise in an ascending manner.
Then, practice the exercise descending.
Pick a slow, comfortable tempo that allows you to transition between notes and strings without hesitating or pausing.
Warm-Up Exercise #2: C Major Scale Exercise
Let’s continue to wake up the fretting hand fingers, but let’s begin to wake up our mind to see the relationships between our fingers and notes on the fretboard.
To do so, play a C major scale in ascending order and verbalize the notes out loud.
Warm-Up Exercise #3: Down-Up Free Tempo Strumming Exercise
It’s time to wake up the strumming hand, wrist, and fingers!
This exercise is deceptively simple and is best understood in the video.
To perform the exercise, simply start strumming a down-up strumming pattern at a slow, easy-going tempo that allows you to be completely relaxed, and then, gradually speed up.
That’s it!
It sounds easy but what this exercise does is get you used to the feeling of strumming in a relaxed manner at different tempos without being stressed or worried about staying on the beat.
Warm-Up Exercise #4: Down-Up Soft to Loud Strumming Exercise
Like the previous exercise, we’re keeping it nice and easy.
For this exercise, start off strumming a down-up strumming pattern as softly as you can manage (while staying relaxed) and gradually get louder.
Be aware of any added tension that creeps in. Sometimes the tendency is to try really hard to get louder, which we don’t want to happen. The goal is to have fun being soft or loud and doing so with the feeling of being relaxed without the pressure of having to perform a specific song.
If you struggle with strumming soft or loud, be sure to watch the video for some tips and tricks on the strumming motion.
Warm-Up Exercise #5: Chord Progression Exercise
At this point, you should be feeling more warmed up in your fretting hand and strumming hand than when you first started.
For this final exercise, let’s continue to warm up the mind by coordinating the fretting hand and strumming hand with a familiar chord progression.
In reality, you can pick any chord progression for this, so as long as it’s one that is easy for you.
Conclusion
Warming up, which is often overlooked, is an important part of practicing because it helps bring your mind and body into a relaxed but engaged state of mind.
In total, these warm-up exercises shouldn’t take more than five minutes at the beginning of your practice session.
If you’re someone who struggles with stiff or arthritic fingers, remember to listen to your body and not overdo practice. Remember that a short practice session of fifteen minutes each day is better than one big marathon practice session of four hours once per week.
And don’t forget, there’s always tomorrow. Don’t beat yourself up if your fingers aren’t cooperating. Sometimes it’s best to take a break and come back the next day.
How do you like to warm up?
Post a comment below letting me and your fellow ukulele players know.
In this lesson, learn the ten most important ukulele chords every complete beginner needs to know. It’s not an exaggeration to say these chords are used to play hundreds of songs, so if you know these, you’re well on your way to making music! Watch the video to get tips and tricks on how to play these chords.
Keep reading for the chord diagrams.
Beginner Ukulele Chord #1: C Major
The first chord you need to know is the C major chord.
Major chords are the most common quality of chords and are often associated with a “happy” or “upbeat” mood.
To play a C major chord, place the ring finger on the 3rd fret of the bottom A-string. Let the top three strings ring open.
Beginner Ukulele Chord #2: Am
The next chord is an Am chord, said A minor.
Chord letters followed by a lowercase m are considered minor chords. Minor chords are the second most common chord quality and are often associated with a “sad” mood when compared to a major chord.
To play an Am chord, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top g-string. Let the bottom three strings ring open.
Beginner Ukulele Chord #3: F Major
Next, learn an F major chord.
To play an F major chord, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top g-string and the index finger on the 1st fret of the E-string. Let the other strings ring open.
Pro Tip: When switching from an Am to F chord, keep the position of the Am chord the same and simply place the index finger for the F chord. Always try to find common relationships between chords as a ukulele player.
Beginner Ukulele Chord #4: G Major
Check out the G major chord.
To play a G major chord, place the index finger on the 2nd fret of the C-string, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the E-string, and middle finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string. Let the top g-string ring open.
Beginner Ukulele Chord #5: Dm
Here we have another minor chord – the Dm chord.
To play a Dm chord, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top g-string, ring finger on the 2nd fret of the C-string, and index finger on the 1st fret of the E-string. Let the bottom A-string ring open.
Pro Tip: Make sure the middle finger is laying right on top of the ring finger to fit all your fingers between the frets. Be sure to watch the video above to see an example of what I mean.
Beginner Ukulele Chord #6: A Major
Alright, we’re half way through these ten must-know beginner ukulele chords.
Great work!
It’s time to learn the A major chord.
To play an A major chord, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top g-string and index finger on the 1st fret of the C-string. Let the bottom two strings ring open.
Beginner Ukulele Chord #7: A7
So far you’ve learned major and minor chords. Now it’s time to learn a dominant seventh chord called A7 – said A seventh or A seven – as indicated by the number 7 that follows the chord letter.
Dominant seventh chords have a country, jazzy, or bluesy sound to them, which gives them character and a distinct sound.
To play an A7 chord, place the index finger on the 1st fret of the C-string. Let the other three strings ring open.
Beginner Ukulele Chord #8: E7
Here’s another dominant seventh chord for you to learn – the E7.
To play an E7 chord, place the index finger on the 1st fret of the top g-string, middle finger on the 2nd fret of the C-string, and ring finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string. Let the E-string ring open.
Beginner Ukulele Chord #9: D Major
Now it’s time to learn the D major chord.
This chord isn’t as easy to play as the previous chords but it’s an essential, must-know chord that is well worth the practice since it shows up in so many popular songs. In the video, I give you a couple variations on how to play this chord depending on your finger flexibility and size.
To play a D major chord, barre or press down the index finger on the top three strings at the 2nd fret, bending the finger back slightly to allow the bottom A-string to ring out.
For me, I find that using the middle finger to barre the top three strings at the 2nd fret is more comfortable, so you may try that instead.
For those with smaller fingers, you may find this last variation to be easier to play, which is performed by placing the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top g-string, ring finger on the 2nd fret of the C-string, and little finger on the 2nd fret of the E-string. Let the bottom A-string ring open.
Pro Tip: Don’t be discouraged if you have to work at this chord. Practice each variation to see which one works best for you. And be sure to watch the video for extra tips and tricks.
Beginner Ukulele Chord #10: D7
For the final must-know ukulele chord, we have the D7 chord.
This chord shape shows up in so many songs on ukulele, so you don’t want to overlook this important chord.
Like the previous chord, the D7 takes practice.
To play a D7 chord, barre or press down all four strings at the 2nd fret with the index finger and place the middle finger on the 3rd fret of the bottom A-string.
Alternatively, you can play the D7 in the easier “Hawaiian D7” variation. To do so, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top g-string and ring finger on the 2nd fret of the E-string. Let the other two strings ring open.
You’ll want to practice both versions of the D7. I highly recommend the barre D7 chord shape since it opens up a world of chords for your ukulele playing if you can master that chord. It’s not that the Hawaiian D7 is a bad chord, but there are some reasons why I’m not the biggest fan.
Today I challenge you to a 3-level metronome exercise to assess and improve your internal sense of rhythm on ukulele.
If you’re able to complete all three levels of this exercise, then, it’s safe to say you have a strong internal sense of time!
But even if you can’t, you can take this exercise and begin to improve your internal tempo clock. By practicing this exercise, you become better at strumming your ukulele with steadiness and feel.
Let’s take a look!
For this exercise, you can use any strumming pattern you’d like, but if you’re just getting started with it, use a simple, beginner-friendly down-strum pattern.
This might be an easy pattern but your internal sense of timing will be challenged in this exercise!
Metronome Exercise: Level 1
For Level 1, you start off strumming your pattern to 140 BPM (beats per minute).
In the case of the down-strum pattern, this means each down strum is aligned with the “click” of the metronome.
Level 1 is basic metronome practice where you play along to the metronome but this is where this challenge begins.
For each level, you want to follow a four-step process to get the most out of this exercise:
Listen: Take 10-20 seconds to just listen to the metronome, sensing and hearing the imposition of the external force of timing from the “click” of the metronome.
Verbalize: Begin to count out loud with the metronome ensuring you’re staying on the beat and adjusting your count when necessary (if you get off the beat).
Externalize: While counting out loud, start to externalize the beat by clapping your hands or tapping your foot to the beat.
Play: Only after doing all of the above, play the strumming pattern with the metronome.
You’ll see why in the next level this four-step process is so important.
Metronome Exercise: Level 2
This is where it starts to get a little bit more interesting!
For Level 2, we’re going to keep the same timing and strumming, but we’re going to remove beats two and four from the “click” of the metronome.
To do this, set your metronome time in half from 140 BPM to 70 BPM.
While the metronome plays, you’re going to count out loud 1, 2, 3, 4 at the same tempo you did in Level 1 but the “clicks” from beats 2 and 4 will be missing!
Be sure to watch the video to hear and see exactly how this sounds.
Removing beats from the metronome is a fantastic exercise for building up your internal sense of time because you have to trust yourself as you set a steady strumming rhythm. The four-step process above is important to work through because it helps you internalize the beat before even picking up and playing your ukulele. You definitely want to continue to follow that process through each level of this exercise.
Metronome Exercise: Level 3
If you’re able to play through Levels 1 & 2, then, you’re doing a really good job!
And for those of you who really like a challenge, you’re going to love Level 3 of this exercise.
For Level 3, we’re going to take it a step even further and remove every beat from the metronome except the first beat – the downbeat.
To do this, set your metronome time in half again from 70 BPM to 35 BPM.
As you listen to the metronome, you’ll quickly notice there is a lot of space between clicks.
This means while the metronome plays you’re going to count out loud at the same tempo you did in Level 1 while ensuring beat 1 of the count lines up with the downbeat of the metronome!
This is quite a challenge if you’ve never done this before, so be sure to watch the video to see and hear exactly how I break this down. You even see me in the video have to adjust my count to find that “pocket” or groove. It is possible to do this, but it’s something that you’ll have to work at practicing!
Conclusion
A metronome isn’t a magic device that teaches you rhythm but it is a handy tool to help you tighten your rhythm.
As you progress through the levels of this exercise, you are forced to trust your own internal sense of timing.
Most of us aren’t gifted naturally with an internal sense of timing, so this is a progressive way to build your internal tempo clock. Remember you can pick any strumming pattern for this exercise but keeping it simple is just fine, since the purpose of this exercise is building your internal sense of timing, not your strumming skills.
Today, let’s jam out and strum this beginner-friendly ukulele chord progression.
Playing with others is one of the best ways to learn how to keep a steady strumming rhythm and stay on track with your chord changes, so I’ll keep a rock-steady strumming rhythm going so you can play along.
In this video, I give you three beginner ukulele chords and a familiar beginner-friendly strumming pattern that we’ll use to jam out and play along together.
Keep reading to discover the chords and strumming pattern used in this video.
Chords You Need to Know to Play This Jam
There’s just three beginner-friendly chords you need to know to play along with me. These chords are perfect chords to practice at tempo since they are used in many, many songs. After jamming today, you’ll be making these changes smooth and steady.
C Major Chord
To play a C major chord, place the ring finger on the 3rd fret of the bottom A-string and let the top three strings ring open.
F Major Chord
To play an F major chord, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top g-string and the index finger on the 1st fret of the E-string. Let the C-string and bottom A-string ring open.
G Major Chord
To play a G major chord, place the index finger on the 2nd fret of the C-string, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the E-string, and middle finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string. Let the top g-string ring open.
Strumming Pattern You Need to Know to Play This Jam
This strumming pattern is commonly used in songs with chord changes that occur on the first beat of the measure, and it’s also a popular pattern used in Hawaiian ukulele music, so it’s definitely one you need to learn.
Playing the Chord Progression Together
For this jam, we’re going to keep things nice and simple.
We’re going to repeat a four-bar chord progression. On the first beat of every measure, we will change chords. Make sure you count out loud as you’re first learning how to make these changes.
When you’re ready, queue up the video above and I’ll hold down a steady strumming rhythm so you can play along and practice these changes!
In today’s video, let’s jam out the chorus of “Hallelujah” to practice our chord changes and strumming.
I give you four beginner-friendly chords and two strumming pattern options to jam this song in 6/8 time signature. I’ll play a rock-steady rhythm to help you stay on track, so you can play along.
Let’s play!
A lot of us can fall into the trap of thinking we need a super fancy, “secret” strumming pattern to play our favorite songs.
But often, less is more.
In the early days of Ukulele Tricks, I covered Leonhard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” on ukulele. If you watch my performance, I start off fingerpicking, but later in the song, I switch to strumming. And when I switch to the strumming, I’m keeping it really simple with just down strums played to a count of six.
I happen to like a simple pattern like this for this particular song because it allows the vocal melody to shine through.
However, as you play along with me, you might want to spice things up, which is why you can add in up strums to the pattern, like so.
Be sure to watch the video lesson above to hear exactly how this sounds.
Chords You Need to Know to Play This Jam
The chorus of “Hallelujah” uses just four beginner-friendly chords.
F Major Chord
To play an F major chord, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top g-string and the index finger on the 1st fret of the E-string. Let the C-string and bottom A-string ring open.
Am Chord
To play an Am chord, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top g-string and let the bottom three strings ring open.
C Major Chord
To play a C major chord, place the ring finger on the 3rd fret of the bottom A-string and let the top three strings ring open.
G Major Chord
To play a G major chord, place the index finger on the 2nd fret of the C-string, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the E-string, and middle finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string. Let the top g-string ring open.
Playing the Chord Progression Together
In the jam, I recommend starting off using the simple down strum pattern I presented above.
For this jam, the chorus of “Hallelujah” is an 8-bar chord progression. We’re going to repeat this chorus section over and over again so you can practice your chord changes and strumming. Remember to count out loud as you’re first learning the progression to lock in with those changes!
Chord melody is a style of ukulele playing where you strum the chords and fingerpick the melody at the same time.
Often chord melody arrangements feature modern pop songs you would normally sing but instead play solo on ukulele.
However, you can also play what I like to called chord melody vamps, where you take a repeating chord progression and improvise a melody with those chords to create a beautiful-sounding solo piece played on your ukulele.
In this video, discover a fun and easy way to play your own improvised chord melody vamps on ukulele.
I show you how to play a few chords with a mellow-sounding strumming and picking technique, while adding in improvised melodies.
By the end, you’ll be playing your ukulele in a creative, beautiful-sounding way!
Keep reading for the chords and scale pattern used in this video.
Ukulele Chords Used in This Chord Melody Vamp
For this vamp, I like to use four different chord positions.
These ukulele chords tend to sound moody together because most are major seventh or dominant seventh chords.
Seventh chords give a chord progression or song that “flavor” or complexity to give it a “vibe” or moody feeling.
These chords are your home base for your vamp, meaning when you go to introduce the melody later, as instructed in the video, whenever you’re not sure what melody to play, just come back to these chords because they will sound great on their own.
Fmaj7 Chord
To play an Fmaj7 chord, barre or press down all four strings at the 5th fret with the index finger and place your ring finger on the 7th fret of the bottom A-string.
Cmaj7 Chord
To play a Cmaj7 chord, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string and let the top three strings ring open.
G7 Chord
This is a fun variation of G7 that is played more up the fretboard.
To play a G7 chord in this variation, place the middle finger on the 5th fret of the C-string, index finger on the 3rd fret of the E-string, and ring finger on the 5th fret of the bottom A-string. Let the top g-string ring open.
F Chord
To play an F chord, place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the top g-string and index finger on the 1st fret of the E-string. Let the other two strings ring open.
“Pinch Strum” Strumming & Picking Pattern Used
To achieve a soft, warm and mellow sound for the strumming and picking, we’re going to use the Pinch Strum technique, where you strum down across the strings with the flesh-side of the thumb and up across the strings with the flesh-side of the index finger.
Be sure to watch the video to learn exactly how to perform the pinch strum.
How to Improvise Chord Melodies
After you’ve practiced the above chords and strumming/picking technique, you’re ready to improvise your own chord melodies!
To do so, you need to know a couple things.
First, these chords are found in the key of C major, meaning that any melody note we select to improvise should be found in a C major scale.
To go with that, any melody note you’re going to improvise with these chords is played on the bottom A-string to place the note as the highest note in the chord to make it stand out.
This means you need to know where the notes of a C major scale are played on the bottom A-string.
The notes found in a C major scale are:
C-D-E-F-G-A-B
These notes are considered natural notes because they don’t have any sharps or flats.
Your goal today is to learn and memorize the natural notes (i.e. the notes found in a C major scale) on the bottom A-string.
Any of the notes found in this pattern can be used to improvise your melody.
Note: I didn’t want this lesson to turn into a theory lesson so if you’re interested in learning the building blocks of a C major scale you can discover more here.
So, how does this pattern work with the chords?
This is where it gets really fun.
For each of the chord positions above, modify the note fretted on the bottom A-string of the chord with any of the notes found in the above bottom A-string natural note pattern.
This is where you’ll want to watch the above video where I show you specific examples of improvising melodies with each chord by modifying the bottom A-string note in the chord.
It’s Your Turn
So, to recap, here’s how to improvise your own original chord melody solo on ukulele:
Learn the chords
Practice the pinch strum
Memorize the natural notes of the bottom A-string
Practice modifying the note on the bottom A-string of any of the chords with a natural note
Write out your own chord progression using the chords above and create your own improvisation!
Remember:
You have full permission to be as creative as you want!
In the video, I gave you a lot of ideas that you can take and implement to come up with your own chord melody vamps.
This is one of my favorite ways to play ukulele and tap into a more creative side to playing. I encourage you to have fun with this and take your time being curious about the kinds of melodies and finger positions you’ll discover. Let your ears be your guide and create something new today!
In this video, I perform my ukulele tab arrangement of Olivia Rodrigo’s drivers license solo on ukulele.
This was a really fun song to arrange the ukulele tab where I combine single-note melody, chords, and even percussive drum techniques to mimic the kick drum that is a constant force throughout the song.
Take a listen to hear how I pull this off!
And I’m excited to announce that I am now a Signature Artist for Musicnotes.com, one of the Internet’s oldest and largest online sheet music websites!
How to Get the Ukulele Tab For “drivers license”
This is an exciting opportunity because this means I can arrange high-quality tab, like tab for drivers license, and let Musicnotes handle all the important licensing.
In fact, you can learn this song note for note, exactly how I play it, by heading over to Musicnotes to get the full arrangement.
If you decide to buy the ukulele tab, you are supporting me and the amazing artists behind this song.
But don’t worry giving you the best ukulele lessons here on Ukulele Tricks is still my number one priority.
This is a fun side project where I get to have fun and arrange modern pop songs solo on ukulele, and more so, I get to expand my skills as a ukulele player, because even though I’m your teacher, I’m still a lifelong ukulele student too, always trying to level up my skills!
This was the most fun I’ve had in awhile arranging a solo ukulele arrangement of a popular song.
Adele’s Easy On Me took the world by storm late 2021 and now you can play it on ukulele.
In this video, I perform my arrangement of Easy On Me played solo on ukulele. This arrangement features single-note plucked melody, like in the intro and turnaround hook, as well as combines the chords to provide rich harmony. In the choruses, the energy opens up with full out strumming while still featuring the melody.
Take a listen for yourself!
You can learn how to solo Easy On Me note-for-note on your ukulele, just like I did, with the ukulele tab.
How to Get the Ukulele Tab For “Easy On Me”
As a Signature Artist for Musicnotes.com, one of the oldest and largest online sheet music websites, I’m able to license this arrangement and share it with you!
If you decide to buy the ukulele tab, you are supporting me and the artists behind this song.
Alternatively, you can get a free sample of the song, which will allow you to learn the entire first verse!
A Personal Note About the “Easy On Me” Arrangement
Arranging ukulele tab for songs like Easy On Me solo for the ukulele is a really challenging process, but it’s one of my favorite processes.
This song in particular really, really challenged me. Figuring out how to balance a picked melody with full-sounding strummed chords is tough! But you have to let the process play itself out, because as you work through it, things start to make more sense.
In fact, earlier this week I recorded several performances of the song over the course of an afternoon, but it just wasn’t working… even though I had already spent more than 40 hours working on and practicing the arrangement
The choruses didn’t “lift” how I wanted them too in my first attempt – there was no energy.
So I ended up rearranging the choruses to lift that energy. Then, I had to practice the new changes in time to re-record them the next day!
Whew.
I share all this for one reason…
I hear from a lot of players who think playing solo on ukulele is something you either can do effortlessly or not at all… but that’s just not the reality.
Arranging and performing a song like this one takes a lot of work. It takes time to figure out what works best for the arrangement, especially on a four-string instrument like the ukulele! And then, once you have that, you have to practice to work on communicating the performance of the song… and sometimes your first performance doesn’t go well!
So if you are on your own journey to play the ukulele solo, just remember it takes time… be patient and stay persistent in your practicing.
This one sure took me a lot of time but I’m overall happy with the result and glad I can share my performance and the ukulele tab with you!
It’s true that with just a few chords and a simple strumming pattern you can play hundreds of songs on ukulele.
But maybe you’ve noticed it’s one thing to strum the chords and another thing to sound musical.
This idea of musicality is really interesting to me because what I often find it’s the small, subtle things you add to your playing that make the biggest impact!
In this new video, I take the chorus of Tom Petty’s famous rock song I Won’t Back Down and apply THREE strumming tricks to a beginner chord progression and strumming pattern to instantly add energy to the song.
I show you ways to think about strumming a song to make it sound more musical and give you a handy strumming exercise to strengthen your rhythm.
Strumming Trick #1: Accenting the Beat
The first way to add energy to a rock song on ukulele is to pay attention to how a rock drummer would play.
To mimic the effect of a rock drummer hitting the snare drum, accent or strum beats 2 and 4 louder than the other beats to add a rhythmic pulse and feeling to the song.
Strumming Trick #2: Sixteenth Note Fills
Another awesome way to add energy to your strumming is to include fast sixteenth note fills. These fills not only have a way of adding energy but also have a way of breaking up the rhythm to add interest for the listener.
To practice sixteenth note fills, use this exercise to work on it.
Remember go slow before you speed it up!
Strumming Trick #3: Roll Four-Finger Fan Strums
The rolling four-finger fan strum is an advanced technique that is a perfect way to add emphasis on chord changes. Because you are scraping the nails of the strumming hand fingers across the strings, you simulate the higher frequency treble notes that a drummer makes when hitting a crash cymbal on the downbeat of a measure (the first beat of a measure).
Watch the video to learn the basics of the technique and remember it may take a long time to get the feeling for this technique!
For my most ambitious students, I teach these techniques in detail in the full Strumming Tricks course.
In my 30 years of playing music, there’s one trait that’s helped me practice ukulele and improve the most as a musician.
It’s helped me so much so that I…
Lose track of the time when I practice…
Have more fun when I practice…
And, have more patience for myself when I can’t perform.
Yesterday, I was working on practicing a particularly difficult bluegrass solo on guitar by the great flatpicker Tony Rice (I’m a lifelong ukulele player but also play guitar and piano!). The solo is a short, lightning fast 8-bar passage in the song Nine Pound Hammer, and for me, it’s just… hard.
Every time I step on the gas it falls apart.
I fail.
I practiced this solo for nearly two hours yesterday without taking a break, and you know what?
I had the time of my life.
In fact, I’ve been working on this solo for almost a year and I get excited every time I sit down.
And it got me thinking, why is this so much fun for me to keep failing?
For me, the answer is simple.
How to Lose Track of Time When You Practice Ukulele
If there’s one thing you need to make practice fun and the time fly by it’s…
Curiosity.
Compare two ukulele players who sit down to practice…
The first is Bob, and when he goes to practice, he has the goal of learning to play the Disney song Lava for his granddaughter in the span of an hour on a Sunday afternoon. Soon into the practice session he’s running into trouble changing between chords without hesitating or pausing and getting the notes to ring out. It’s frustrating, so he starts saying to himself…
“Your fingers are too big.”
“You aren’t ready for this.”
“You’ll never be able to learn this song.”
I think we’ve all been there. Some practice sessions are like this… defeating.
But there is another option…
Alice, on the other hand, sits down to learn a solo arpeggio piece with a lot of changes up and down the fretboard and she gets to a section of the song where the chord position is really difficult and isn’t able to get all the notes to ring out. But she says to herself…
“Okay, how can I get curious about this?”
So instead of making statements, she starts asking what I like to call the Curious Question, which starts with the words:
“What if I…”
So she starts asking…
“What if I… tried this finger instead?”
“What if I… held the ukulele like this?”
“What if I… tried to position in this way?”
This powerful question “what if I?” shifts you from frustration to a place of creativity.
If you want to be a more creative musician, it starts with your curiosity!
One Powerful Exercise to Develop Curiosity
Now, don’t be mistaken…
This is not “just think positive”… thinking positive is really difficult when we feel frustrated about the lack of progress we are facing in a given practice session.
In fact, you can feel all that frustration about wanting to be better, farther along, etc., but where a lot of people make the mistake is stopping the session right there.
We need something to give us a push which is why we need a powerful question.
Try this exercise next time you find yourself really frustrated in a practice session and want to quit, or even better, start your practice session this way!
I call it the What If I Exercise and here’s a way you can implement it:
Step #1: Pick a chord any chord
For example, you might pick a G major chord, played in a standard way like this.
Once you have that chord…
Step #2: Ask yourself the question
Now, let’s say you’re having difficulties playing or switching to and from this chord.
So ask yourself the question, “What if I… play this chord using a different finger position?”
After some thought, maybe you arrive on this alternative finger position where you place the middle finger on the 2nd fret of the C-string, little finger on the 3rd fret of the E-string, ring finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string, letting the top g-string ring open.
This is tapping into your curiosity and creativity!
Step #3: Check in and ask yourself the question again
Sometimes the first idea isn’t the one that works, so ask the question again…
“What if I… play this chord using a different finger position?”
So you think some more, and you come up with a whole new position!
This time you press or barre the index finger on the bottom three strings at the 2nd fret and place the middle finger on the 3rd fret of the E-string, letting the top g-string ring open.
Nice work.
This is how you get curious when you practice.
The same idea can be applied to any challenge that comes up in practice, like with the fretting hand, picking hand, or strumming hand.
When you do this exercise, 3 big benefits will emerge as you practice…
You’ll lose track of the time and have more fun. This means you end up putting in more reps which compounds into more developed skills. You’re excited about what you might discover next and you let any frustration you feel fuel you a step farther.
You’ll have more patience. Practice is about finding your limit but having a consistent attitude of curiosity allows you to see improvement over time… like, you know, when you come back the next day and things just feel a little easier than they did the day before.
You’ll discover solutions to play that make you become a better ukulele player. By leveraging curiosity, you spur on your creativity to find a solution that works for you. When you’re the one who finds the solution, that skill becomes embedded in who you are as a musician.
Frustration and failure in practice is normal, so use your curiosity to fuel you to keep going!
Tell me in a comment below:
How do you work through failure and frustration in your own practice?
I read every response!
Do You Need Help Becoming a Better Ukulele Player?
I’m here to help you improve your skills on ukulele.
The best way for me to help you is to join me in the Strumming Tricks course where over 10,000 students have learned with me to make the music they love on ukulele.
I designed the course to be the most complete step-by-step method for complete beginners.
With my help, you know exactly what to practice to become a better ukulele player every time you sit down.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing ukulele for a month or a decade…
The E major chord is one of the worst chords to play!
And by worst, I mean hardest.
But yet, there are SO MANY songs with E chords in them.
Why is this?
The biggest reason the E chord shows up all the time is because it’s actually a super easy chord to play on guitar.
So much popular music has been written on guitar in the last 50 years, which means you end up with a lot of songs written in the key of E major.
Sadly, this doesn’t make it easy on us as ukulele players! But there is a way to make this really common chord easier to play.
Is There an Easier Way to Play an E Major Chord on Ukulele?
There absolutely is!
In this video, I look at one of the easiest E chord substitutions you can use the next time you come across a dreaded E chord in a song, and I explore the different ways you can play it.
I also look at two popular songs with E chords in them – Coldplay’s Fix You and Train’s Hey Soul Sister – and I look at the different reasons you might want to use the easy E chord substitution and also why you might NOT want to use it.
Watch the video to learn an easy way to play this often troublesome chord.
The Easiest Way to Play an E Major Chord on Ukulele
To play an E major chord on ukulele the easiest way, use the E5 chord as a substitution, where you place the index finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string, middle finger on the 4th fret of the top g-string, ring finger on the 4th fret of the C-string, and let the E-string ring open.
Alternatively, you can play the E5 chord using your ring finger on the 4th fret of the top g-string, little finger on the 4th fret of the C-string, and index finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string, letting the E-string ring open.
Or you can use my favorite way to play the E5 chord, where I wrap the thumb around the top of the neck of the ukulele to fret the top g-string at the 4th fret, place the middle finger on the 4th fret of the C-string, index finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string, and let the E-string ring open.
Watch the video above to see exactly how I play this chord.
Pros & Cons of Using the E5 Chord as a Substitution
As you’ll hear, the E5 chord has a nice open sound that rings out.
For example, for a song like Fix You by Coldplay, as I highlighted in the video, stylistically the chord is a perfect match for a song like this!
Compare the easy E chord substitutions above with the normal “standard” way to play an E major chord on ukulele, where you barre or press down on all four strings at the 2nd fret with the index finger and then barre or press down on the top three strings at the 4th fret with the ring finger.
The E5 substitution is definitely way easier than playing this standard E chord position!
However, the E5 chord is not “technically” an E major chord. The E5 chord is actually missing a G# note, which is found in an E major triad (E-G#-B). This means in some cases you don’t want the sound of the E5 chord.
The other reason why you might not want to use the E5 chord is if it creates more fretting hand movement. In some cases, like in the example in the video where I play Hey Soul Sister, it’s actually more efficient to use the standard E chord position. Sometimes playing an E5 makes other chords harder to switch between, so in that case, you might want the standard position.
But overall, if you’re looking for an easy way to play an E chord on ukulele, then using E5 as a substitution is your best option!
Yes, this is Ukulele Tricks, a website that helps you become a better ukulele player, but…
Spoiler alert:
I’m not just going to tell you to learn to play ukulele!
Contrary to popular belief, ukulele might not be the best instrument to learn if you’re a beginner.
I’m a lifelong ukulele and guitar player of over 25+ years, having learned both instruments right around the same time (in addition to piano), so I know there are a lot of factors that go into choosing to learn ukulele or guitar.
The last thing I would want is for someone to make a decision learn ukulele because they feel like they should or they have to… because I know I didn’t and you shouldn’t either!
Ukulele is a truly amazing, beautiful-sounding instrument, and just because it’s smaller doesn’t mean it’s an “easier” or “kid-level” instrument that ranks below others.
That said, it might also not be the instrument for you!
I know all to well that learning to play an instrument is a commitment of time and an investment of money, so you want to make the best choice.
In this guide, I’ll help you do that by guiding you through the most important things you need to think about if you’re trying to decide between ukulele or guitar.
Step #1: Ask Yourself This Important Question
There comes a point in life where you think…
“Hmm, I think I want to learn to play an instrument.”
This is a powerful, exciting, and even scary thought.
For some of us, this hits us early on in life, and others, later.
It doesn’t matter when it hits you. All that matters is you’re making steps right now towards fulfilling your dream of making music. That starts with picking the right instrument.
If this is you, then the most important thing to ask yourself is:
What’s inspiring me to learn to play an instrument?
For example, maybe there is an artist you saw at a concert and thought, “I want to make music like them!” Or maybe, there is a genre of music you love listening to and dream of playing songs in that style. It’s also possible you went to a local festival and saw a group jamming together and thought, “I want to do that!” And perhaps you just want to take up a new activity in retirement or want to play music with the grandkids.
Learning an instrument starts with that seed of inspiration.
Don’t ignore it.
So when you close your eyes, if you imagine yourself shredding guitar in your garage with your friends, then, move towards that.
But if you close your eyes and imagine jamming ukulele on a sunset beach, then, go that direction instead.
Should I Learn Ukulele First and Then “Graduate” to Guitar?
No, the most important thing is to choose the instrument you see yourself playing.
Pick ukulele because you love the idea of making music with that instrument, not because you feel like you should learn it first.
Picking an instrument out of a feeling of “should” is a sure-fire way to kill your joy and motivation.
I promise there is a path to learn either regardless of age, prior experience level, or musical knowledge. I can say this with confidence because I routinely teach people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s, how to make music on ukulele for the first time in their life. The magic of playing music starts with your inspiration, so follow that and don’t listen to anyone else!
This means you don’t need to start with ukulele first and then move to guitar… unless that’s what you want to do!
Still though, maybe you think you could be happy playing either instrument, in which case there are some things you need to think about.
Step #2: Decide Your Budget
Assuming you could be happy learning either guitar or ukulele, your budget is the biggest deciding factor on which one you learn.
Buying a ukulele is a lot cheaper than buying a guitar, especially when you consider playability.
One of the biggest benefits of learning to play ukulele is that you get more “bang for your buck” in terms of quality, which means it’s easier to spend less money on an instrument that plays great.
Playability refers to how well the instrument stays in tune and how easy it is to fret (i.e. press down on) the notes of the fretboard.
For less than $100, you can buy a ukulele that will stay in tune and be easy to fret. However, to get that same level of playability in a guitar, more often than not you need to spend at least $500 dollars to get a playable instrument. Cheaper guitars can be had but they often are more difficult to play, which is the last thing you want as a beginner.
Believe me, I wish this weren’t true…
Growing up, my mom had an old steel-stringed Yamaha acoustic guitar in a case in a closet, but that instrument was so poorly and cheaply made (the guitar probably cost no more than $250), that it made me never want to learn guitar!
It wasn’t until my dad let me play his guitar, which was better quality (and costed more), that I was hooked.
There was a reason mom’s guitar stayed in the case in the closet and remains there to this day.
Learning an instrument is already hard enough, so you don’t make it harder on yourself by having a poor quality instrument!
Pro Tip: The story of “The Guitar in a Case in the Closet” is a tale as old as time, so if guitar is the instrument you want to learn and budget is a problem, see if you can find a friend or family member who will loan you theirs.
Is Ukulele a Toy or Kids Instrument?
The ukulele is cheaper and smaller so it must be a toy or kids instrument, right?!
Wrong.
The ukulele is an instrument for anyone who wants to express the emotion of music in a unique and beautiful way.
In fact, the ukulele was the instrument of choice by the late queen of Hawaii Queen Lil’uokalani (1891-93) who wrote the well-loved song Aloha ‘Oe.
And in recent times, we’ve seen things that have never been done with the ukulele thanks to amazing artists like Jake Shimabukuro who demonstrated the power of ukulele in a TED talk by performing an extraordinary cover of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
The ukulele might be friendly to kids because of it’s small size but that doesn’t mean it’s not a serious instrument with a rich history.
Step #3: Evaluate the Pros and Cons of Ukulele and Guitar
Both ukulele and guitar have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Let’s unpack these by looking at the most common questions that come up about each instrument.
A lot of people think the ukulele must be easier because…
“It just has four strings!”
The guitar has six strings so it must be harder, right?!
Surprisingly, no.
Just because the guitar has six strings over the ukulele’s four strings doesn’t make it inherently harder to play.
Four strings might make the ukulele less intimidating but not necessarily easier.
What do I mean?
Think about the thing all ukulele players and guitar players have in common:
They both have four usable fingers to fret chords: index, middle, ring, and little.
In terms of playability, a guitar and ukulele is about the same if the instruments are of equal quality because each player still only has four fingers.
For example, compare a common chord shape on both ukulele (left) and guitar (right).
Ukulele G Chord Shape vs. Guitar D Chord Shape
Which one is harder to play?
Now, it’s okay if you don’t know what those diagrams mean yet… what’s important is that you can see that both diagrams show an identical pattern of three dots, which indicates the same chord shape on both instruments!
This means, the same exact fingers are required to play both chords!
So just because a guitar has six strings doesn’t necessarily make it harder to play.
When it comes to ease, the playability of an instrument matters more than the number of strings.
Is Ukulele or Guitar Easier on the Fingertips?
While the number of strings doesn’t necessarily make the four-string ukulele easier over the six-string guitar, the ukulele feels easiest when pressing down on the strings with the fingers because the strings of the ukulele are made out of nylon.
Because of this, the ukulele has an edge over guitar if you have arthritic hands and fingers.
For those of you learning to play an instrument later in life, this is a really big benefit the ukulele provides and can be the difference between playing a musical instrument or not!
It’s normal when you’re first learning to have a period where the tips of your fingers hurt from fretting chords, but with consistent practice, your fingers toughen up and develop calluses which allow you to play for longer periods of time without the fingers hurting.
This period will happen no matter what instrument you choose but the period is shorter on ukulele.
Is it Best to Learn the Electric, Steel-Stringed, Nylon-String Guitar or Ukulele?
You can make the guitar easier to approach if you are worried about fingertip soreness.
For example, an electric guitar tends to be easy on the fingers because the strings use a smaller string gauge, meaning the strings have less tension and are easier to press down and bend.
Of course the disadvantage of learning to play electric guitar is that you need to purchase extra gear like a guitar amp, pedals, and cables in order to amplify the sound from your instrument and have it be heard.
On the other hand, a steel-stringed acoustic guitar tends to be hardest on the fingers because of a thicker string gauge, but if that’s the sound you want and you don’t want to have to worry about plugging into an amp, then, you’ll want to go this direction.
Alternatively, consider a nylon-string guitar. While a nylon guitar isn’t designed to be strummed with a pick, pressing down on the strings feels almost identical to the ukulele, which makes it easier to play than a steel-stringed guitar.
Is Guitar a Harder Instrument to Learn Than the Ukulele?
Where the guitar can be harder than the ukulele is fret spacing.
Frets are the vertical pieces of metal that lay on the fretboard to create separate notes (learn more about the parts of the ukulele).
The guitar’s frets are wider, which can be a difficult for people with small hands and fingers because a longer reach is required.
But on the flip side, people with large hands and fingers, can find guitar to be a relief!
For instance, it’s easier for me to play most fingerstyle pieces on guitar versus the ukulele because it’s easier for my fingers to fit between the frets, where on ukulele sometimes I can’t fit all my fingers and need to find an alternative position.
So if you have small hands and fingers, then, the ukulele is probably a great choice for you.
If you have normal or large hands and fingers, you might consider a tenor or baritone ukulele, which are two of the largest of the four sizes of ukuleles. Because I have large hands and fingers, I play a tenor ukulele and I’m perfectly content playing and soloing fingerpicking pieces.
And finally, if you have normal sized hands and really want to learn guitar, then definitely don’t let the increased fret spacing stop you.
Pro Tip: For those who really want to learn guitar but have small hands and fingers, consider buying a short-scaled guitar, which reduces the spacing between frets to make it easier to play.
Common Challenges Learning Ukulele vs. Guitar
Ukulele players and guitar players all face the same challenges when starting out:
Sore fingertips
Making sure every note in a chord rings out clearly
Playing smooth chord changes
Holding the instrument
The awkward feeling of strumming
No matter what instrument you choose you won’t get away from having to work through these fun challenges!
That said, guitar has some more unique challenges over ukulele, like some chords are more of a reach because of the increased fret spacing.
Additionally, barre chords, where you lay your index finger across all six strings and press down on all strings, tend to require more strength on guitar versus ukulele.
Also, with certain guitar chords, you have to be more aware of which strings you’re strumming so you don’t accidentally strum the wrong note (for example, not strumming the top two strings of a D chord on guitar), whereas with ukulele you’re almost always strumming all four strings for every chord.
But ukulele isn’t without its unique challenges.
For example, with chords, you often have the opposite problem where it can be difficult to fit your fingers on the fretboard for certain chord shapes, especially those who have larger hands and fingers, although this can be mitigated by purchasing a larger-sized tenor ukulele.
And surprisingly, because ukulele is smaller, it can feel more awkward to hold than the guitar. This means the ukulele tends to move around more when playing which can impact the ease of changing chords. I dedicate a section to playing posture in my free ukulele lesson book, but for players who struggle the most with this, buy a strap to help stabilize the ukulele.
Which Learning Curve is Steeper – Ukulele or Guitar?
The beauty of both ukulele and guitar is that with just a few chords and a simple strumming pattern you can play hundreds of songs.
But guitar has a steeper learning curve over ukulele.
The first reason being because of the steel strings of a guitar. The steel strings are harder on the fingertips, which means you’ll have to keep practice sessions short but consistent to build up calluses on the ends of your fingers. Like I said above, a higher quality guitar can mitigate this significantly, but it’s a reason why guitar is harder to pick up.
The second reason being how you strum. It’s common to use a plectrum or nylon pick to strum the strings of a steel-stringed guitar. There’s added technique involved whereas with a ukulele you just use your fingers to strum, and there’s multiple ways to strum with the fingers.
The third reason the learning curve is steeper on guitar is if you want to fingerpick and play solo. Because of the extra strings on guitar, there’s more notes to learn on the fretboard. But if your goal is to just strum songs, then, this isn’t a big factor.
For these reasons, ukulele tends to be a more approachable instrument, but consider your goals, because if your goal is to strum chords and sing songs, then the guitar is not that much of a leap from ukulele in terms of difficulty.
Can You Learn Guitar if You’re Older in Age?
Yes, but ukulele is a more friendly option for anyone who struggles with arthritis or lacks mobility in their hands and fingers.
There are people later in life learning to play guitar but the approach is key.
The key to learning an instrument later in life is to:
Practice consistently (short sessions daily are better than marathon “Weekend Warrior” practice sessions on the weekend)
Take it slow
Guitar isn’t just for young people, but ukulele might be the instrument that allows you to finally make music.
Step #4: Make a Decision
Now that we’ve looked at some of the biggest factors and questions around ukulele versus guitar it’s time to make a decision.
Here’s what it comes down to…
Ukulele Pros & Cons Summary
The ukulele is an instrument with a very low barrier to entry.
Since it’s easy on the fingertips and easy on the wallet, it makes a perfect instrument for beginning musicians (i.e. those who’ve never played an instrument before).
For many, it’s the instrument that finally allows them to make music for the first time in their life… and that’s huge!
Additionally, it’s a jam-friendly and fun instrument that is good for group or ensemble playing, like at your local ukulele club.
And because of its small size, unlike lugging a big guitar with you around town, you can easily carry your ukulele with you in your backpack, on the train, or bring it with you to the park without attracting too much attention.
Of course there are some trade offs…
The smaller size of the uke means it’s quieter (which could be a good thing for some), so playing in band settings with other guitar players or instrumentalists means you’ll most likely need to plug into an amplifier to be heard. Not to mention, the smaller size means closer fret spacing, which can make some chords more difficult on the ukulele versus the guitar.
Guitar Pros & Cons Summary
Although ukulele artists are pushing the limit with what’s possible on ukulele, guitar still offers more versatility across musical genres and styles, so if you’re into the idea of creating a lot of different sounds with your instrument, then ukulele might feel limiting. The guitar is best to learn if you want the most amount of versatility across musical genres and styles.
Because of the larger size, it’s a louder instrument, so an acoustic guitar is perfect for performance settings without amplification.
The downside of learning to play guitar is the barrier of entry is higher because it costs more to get a quality, playable instrument and because the steel strings of the guitar are harder on the fingertips. Those with small hands or arthritic fingers might find the guitar to be too difficult.
How to Make the Right Choice Between Ukulele vs. Guitar
As someone who has played ukulele and guitar their entire life, these are the most important things to consider.
Takeaway #1: The most important factor is your personal motivation
Follow your inspiration and influences as you pursue your musical journey and you’ll be more motivated.
So if that means, you dream of playing guitar, then, go and do that.
Both instruments will require effort and practice.
Ukulele is not just a “stepping stone” instrument – it can be your instrument and give you a lifetime of joy.
Takeaway #2: Decide if budget is the biggest factor
With the ukulele, you can get a quality, playable instrument for less than $100.
But if money is not a factor, you can get a guitar for no less than $500 (my personal recommendation from experience) that plays just as easy, if not easier, than a ukulele.
For many, budget will be the deciding factor.
Even if your budget is small, the good news is if you do get get started making music with the ukulele then any skills you build will translate very well to the guitar…
Or you just might discover it is the instrument for you!
Takeaway #3: Take an honest inventory of your strengths and weaknesses
If you have small hands and fingers, ukulele is the easiest option.
If you have arthritis, then ukulele will be the kindest to your fingertips.
And if you have normal or large sized fingers, then you’ll want an instrument with increased fret spacing… so guitar or at least a tenor-sized ukulele.
Takeaway #4: Make music as soon as possible
Finally, whatever you do…
Don’t put off making music any longer!
Avoid analysis paralysis by making a decision today.
Playing music is a lifelong journey full of twists and turns, and you can always change your course later.
What’s most important is that you start your journey as soon as possible and don’t delay!
My Number One Best Ukulele Recommendation For Beginners
I’ve personally played this brand of ukulele and was surprised by how well the ukulele held tune and that it had good intonation up and down the fretboard (meaning, the notes stayed in tune!).
For a ukulele less than $100, this Donner ukulele bundle is my number one pick.
My Number One Best Guitar Recommendation For Beginners
I’ve been a lifelong happy Taylor guitar player (I play a Taylor 814ce).
With a reputation for quality craftsmanship, the Taylor BT2 Baby Taylor Acoustic Guitar is a perfect 3/4 sized guitar for new guitar players or those with smaller hands and fingers.
I’ve personally played this guitar and can recommend it to beginners on the basis of playability and tone.
