‘Ukulele for Intermediates

This is a stage of slow progress. Most of what is learned here is not new, it’s just reinforcing the info you have already learned. Strumming more consistently, picking more precise, connecting all of the dots. It can be frustrating, because it feels like you are spinning your wheels, but all of your practice really does add up to better ‘ukulele playing (I promise!).

Listen to more music. Keep listening to your favorite ‘ukulele artists. As you get better, more of their playing will become recognizable (“so that’s what he does there…”). Also listen to mainstream artists, guitarists, etc…, their music will open you up to new and different musical ideas. The Recommended Stuff page has some suggested mainstream listening.

Learn the scales. (cue scary music) Sure, scales are a pain to learn, but the benefit of knowing them far outweighs the boring hours of practice. Start with the basic major scale shape that you can use up and down the fretboard (video lesson). In the open position it looks like this and is a C major scale:

A |-----------0-2-3-|-3-2-0-----------
E |-----0-1-3-------|-------3-1-0-----
C |-0-2-------------|-------------2-0-
G |-----------------|-----------------

But you can move it up a fret (using the 1 finger per fret idea) and get a C# major scale:

A |-----------1-3-4-|-4-3-1----------
E |-----1-2-4-------|-------4-2-1----
C |-1-3-------------|-------------3-1
G |-----------------|----------------

One more fret = D major scale, and so on… Practice it up the fretboard as far as you can, going up one fret at a time, and then come back down. (Just FYI, the first note that you play tells you what major scale you are playing. This is the root note. So if you start on the 5th fret, C string you are playing an F major scale).

Next, I would pick a scale (start with C) and take a good look at a fretboard chart. Find the location of all the scale notes on all the strings. Now fiddle around and play little licks or bits of the scale using all of the scale notes. I should note here that the C major scale fits over the C major chord. so if you have a friend around, show him the C chord and jam a bit. This is the beginning of learning how to solo. Now fiddle with the F, G, Bb, A, and D scales. Each will have unique fingerings and sounds.

When you know some major scales, learnsome minor ones. There are a few different types of minor scales: natural minor, melodic minor, and harmonic minor. For now you can just focus on the natural minor.

Each major key has a relative minor key. The minor key is the sixth note of the major scale. So, if you are in the key of C, the relative minor key would be A.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (or 1)
C D E F G A B C

The cool thing about this is that the relative minor scale still uses the major scale notes, you just start everything from the new root (A). So if the new key is A minor, the A minor scale will look like the C scale, you just start and stop on A.

Like this:

A |-0-2-3-5-7-8-10-12-|-12-10-8-7-5-3-2-0-
E |-------------------|-------------------
C |-------------------|-------------------
G |-------------------|-------------------

(low G)

A |---------------0-|-0---------------
E |---------0-1-3---|---3-1-0---------
C |-----0-2---------|---------2-0-----
G |-2-4-------------|-------------4-2-

Likewise, minor scales can be played over the same minor chord (A minor scale = Am chord). start by learning the relative minor scales to F, G, Bb, A, and D (Dm, Em, Gm, F#m, and Bm).

With these scales you can ear out simple melodies, play solos, write your own songs, build chords, etc…

Add techniques to your picking. Hammer-ons and pull-offs are a good place to start. They will make it easier to play some licks and make your playing smoother. Other things to work on are: bending, tremolo picking and harmonics. Tremolo picking is one of the hardest techniques to play consistently. You think you have it figured out, then you start having problems. So, start working on this as soon as you have a place to add it to your playing. None of these techniques are necessary, but they can add a little something different to a song. Techniques also give you more ways to express a phrase.

Learn some substitution chords. Major 7th chords are probably the best place to start learning about chord substitution. Any major 7th chord can be played over the major chord of the same name (C = Cmaj7). 6th chords also work over major chords. Minor 7th chords go over minor chords of the same name. A good way to practice using these chords is to take a very simple progression and use substitution chords instead of the originals. The “surf” progression is great for this: C Am F G7. There are about a million ways to fill this out, so if it sounds good, it will probably work. Here are some examples:

A |-3-3-3-3-|-3-3-3-3-|-3-3-3-2-|-2-2-2-2-|
E |-3-3-3-3-|-2-2-2-2-|-1-1-1-1-|-1-1-1-1-|
C |-4-4-4-4-|-3-3-3-3-|-2-2-2-2-|-2-2-2-2-|
G |-2-2-2-2-|-2-2-2-2-|-2-2-2-2-|-0-0-0-0-|

A |-7-7-7-7-|-6-6-6-6-|-5-5-5-5-|-5-5-5-5-|
E |-5-5-5-5-|-5-5-5-5-|-5-5-5-5-|-7-7-7-7-|
C |-7-7-7-7-|-6-6-6-6-|-5-5-5-5-|-5-5-5-5-|
G |-5-5-5-5-|-5-5-5-5-|-5-5-5-5-|-0-0-0-0-|

Each bar line indicates a chord change (C//// Am//// F//// G7////).

I have also made a chord chart of C major, minor, and 7th substitutions. These chords can be transposed to any key. I plan on making more charts, but for now, learn to transpose.

Play with anybody you can find. The best experience you can probably have at this point is practice jamming with other musicians. Whether you play Hawaiian, Bluegrass, the Blues, Oldies, or Rock, you are gaining experience with every chord you lay down in the right spot. If someone asks you to pa’ani (solo), play something! I see people who are capable of soloing who shake their heads and pass when their name is called. Even if you make a mistake you will gain experience. If you do make a mistake, be sure to remember to not let it show – if you stop all the way, everyone will know, but if you plow through the embarrassment and make it to the next note, only a few will, and they will respect that you kept going.

If you are shy about singing, a big group is the best place to practice. Everyone is busy drowning each other out, so they wont have time to listen to you. Even if they do listen to you, the odds are they will appreciate that you are adding to the music. I think most people would rather hear many people who are “just ok” than one person who is “good”. Stand (or sit) up straight, breathe into your stomach with your diaphragm, open your mouth wide, and belt it out. Most sound better singing confidently than quietly. To make sure you are in the ballpark of the right pitch, put a finger in your ear. It lets you hear yourself (weird!) and whether you are hitting the right note.

Learn Slack Key and standard guitar chords. Odds are at some point you are going to be playing with a guitar player. This means that unless you ask or sit, listen and figure them out, you will have no idea what chords are being played. If you want to jump right into a jam or song this can be frustrating, and might result in you sitting out for songs you don’t know. The answer: learn basic guitar chords. Learning both standard tuning and slack key chords will give you a bigger advantage. But the tuning your jam partners use most should be your main guideline. This gives you the ability to “watch fingers” and play along. You can also now play rhythm guitar, which can be handy. You can find basic guitar chords for standard tuning here, and slack key here.

Add arpeggios to slow songs. Uncle Herb said in one of his classes that he once saw a group of students playing “Tears in Heaven” with an up-tempo reggae beat. “You guys know what that song is about right? He’s mourning for his son.” He goes on to demonstrate how “I would much rather hear a sad song played like this” [demonstrates slow arpeggio chord pattern] “then like this” [plays fast reggae strum]. Sometimes chords are just to much for a song or even parts of a song, and it is better to use arpeggios to slow things down. An arpeggio is basically a “melted chord”:

A |-------3-------3-|-------0---------|-3-|
E |---0-------0-----|-----1---1-------|-0-|
C |-----0-------0---|---0-------0---0-|-0-|
G |-0-------0-------|-2-----------2---|-0-|

The easiest way to do arpeggios is by holding a chord and picking the strings in a certain order. Another way is to play several notes on each string. It’s kind of a weird concept but hopefully this lesson can give you some insight

It is a lot more subtle than a chord. You can find some basic arpeggios on the picking patterns page.

Learn some music theory. Lots of’ ukulele players blow off learning theory, but I think that a little bit really helps with your overall view of music. There are tons of books and sites that you can find on Google, but… . I found Ricci Adams’ theory site to have a lot of good info. I have also written a few lessons specifically for ‘ukulele players.

• Constructing Scales on the ‘Ukulele
• Constructing Chords on the ‘Ukulele
• Transposing on the ‘Ukulele

I would suggest you learn the material in that order so each lesson builds on the last.