Learning to play a little ‘ukulele is easy! In a ten minute ‘ukulele lesson I can get most students playing a song.
Past that point though and you inevitably start to study the instrument. That takes time.
Taking ‘ukulele lessons from a good teacher is an amazing opportunity that I highly recommend. Best is in-person, but there are also lots of people teaching on Skype these days.
Since both options are not always feasible, I’ve written a huge collection of ‘ukulele lessons over the years that will help you improve on your own time.
Improve your picking and strumming technique
My latest book, Right Hand Technique for ‘Ukulele, is an in-depth guide to optimizing your playing motions. By using correct technique you can play faster, cleaner, more confidently, and easier.
With almost 60 pages of instruction and 70 how-to photos, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive look at technique anywhere else.
‘Ukulele Lessons by Playing Level:
Aside from containing their own basic ‘ukulele lessons, these pages point to many different parts of the site. If you’re not sure where to start, choose your level and see where your interest takes you.
In addition, you’ll find the links to all lessons on this page marked with a green, yellow, or red tab to denote difficulty. These are just a guideline and don’t really serve an organizational purpose beyond helping you browse for something relevant. Pages that span multiple ‘ukulele skill levels aren’t marked with a colored tab.
Tips on where to start and how to learn the basics of playing ‘ukulele. Buying an ‘ukulele, how to hold an ‘ukulele, tuning, strumming, chords, simple picking, and songs.
Improving on the basic skills. Adding picking, theory, and more interesting chords. Learn scales, techniques, arpeggios, how to solo, and more.
Ideas for where to go next and what I have found helpful. Advice on books to learn from, how to teach yourself, write songs, perform, and create your own style.
Basic ‘Ukulele Lessons:
From Nunes to Kamaka and how it got it’s name.
A key, but sometimes overlooked component to playing the ‘ukulele. If you’re not holding your ‘ukulele correctly everything will be harder.
What each part is called, where it’s located, and what it does.
A discussion on why there are multiple ways of saying ‘ukulele and how come it can be such a heated topic.
How to optimize time spent with an instructor and get the most out of ‘ukulele lessons.
How to tune an ‘ukulele with a tuner, pitch pipe, and piano. Also a list of alternate tunings.
How to get you fingers going before you play. Also exercises to “buff up” your hands.
Fundamental Resources:
All the main chord families with multiple fingerings per chord.
Tabs and charts for major & minor scales plus the modes and pentatonics.
Understanding the fretboard matrix and charts to show you where the notes are.
Timing:
Incredibly important, but often overlooked. My pet peeve with most ‘ukulele player is their timing. Check out these lessons and avoid being one of “those guys.”
The most common weakness of any ‘ukulele player is timing. Fortunately, it can always be improved. Here’s how to lay down a foundation of the key points you need for good timing.
Tips to get you and your best friend/worst enemy – the metronome – acquainted. Instructions on clapping exercises, finding off beats, and dividing beats to help improve your timing.
Rhythm ‘Ukulele Lessons:
All about chords and right hand techniques using all the strings.
To start you need some chords: ‘ukulele chords and chord theory.
All about playing the Hawaiian II7-V7-I turnaround – or “vamp.”
How to create jazzy lead ins with substitution chords.
Some common picking patterns for “melting” chords in a way that is less aggressive than strumming.
Strumming techniques and strum patterns.
Three styles of playing a reggae chank with videos.
An easy dip-down motion that sounds jazzy and hip – and it’s easy!
Tips for visualizing your next moves and how to make them easier.
Lead Lessons:
All about playing single notes on one string (or two).
Harmony 101: How to add a second lead line on top of a melody to create a harmonized part.
How to use common shapes to play two notes at once and get automatic harmony.
Which fingers to fret with for the easiest playing.
Learn how to use your index and middle fingers along with your thumb to pluck the strings.
Rearrange the notes of a scale for interesting practice and melodic ideas.
An overview of how to use scales to rip it up in an on-the-spot mini-composition.
Articulations:
You can play beautiful notes all day, but at some point you will want to add some more texture to your songs. Articulation techniques are where it’s at.
From giving you additional sounds you couldn’t achieve otherwise to making things easier to play, techniques are an important part of any ‘ukulele player’s arsenal.
A soulful articulation that moves the pitch of one note seamlessly up to another by stretching the string.
The bread and butter technique of any ‘ukulele player. Allows you to pick the string once while playing multiple notes using carry-over sustain.
This lesson covers several ways to produce a bell-like sound from the magical, mathematical “nodes” found on each string.
A key part to James Hill’s signature sound. Learn how to mute all strings except the one you are sounding so you can essentially strum a melody.
The same note played in two different octaves at the same time has a great full sound signature of Jake Shimabukuro and Brittni Paiva.
How to incorporate fast pull-offs with the use of an open string to create a machine gun barrage of notes.
Muffling the strings with the side of your hand creates a tight, plucky sound that can be used anywhere to create a different texture or add emphasis to a part.
Increase your picking speed with smart descending technique. This is the name of the pull-off game and in this lesson I show you how to use it.
How to create a quick, but dramatic lead-up to a note. Great for accenting key points in a solo.
Another staple technique that allows you to transfer the momentum of one note into another without picking a second time. It creates a smooth texture and can simplify the playing of certain lead lines.
The most over-the-top technique ever created! Eddie Van Halen built a career (and sound) around hammer-ons and pull-offs that incorporate the picking hand.
How to pick a rapid succession of notes at the same pitch. A simple concept that takes years to perfect!
A trill is basically a lightning speed, repeating hammer-on, pull-off combination that is a staple in classical music.
A possibly useless technique in which you play the same pitch in two places. It creates a big, fat, chorusy sound.
Vibrato is the light bending and releasing of the string to create a pitch warble. It is one of the most subtle ‘ukulele techniques, but it can also be the most personal.
Theory:
Blah, blah, blah. This is the nitty-gritty section about how music actually works. Not actually ‘ukulele lessons, but important nonetheless. You don’t need to know how to make a 7b5 chord to be a great player, however, knowing theory deepens your understanding as a musician.
A step by step look at chord/scale relationships on one page.
Why you use major, minor, or diminished chords for different scale tones in a key.
How to make diatonic scales from the 12 note chromatic scale.
How to create any kind of chord from a major scale using a formula.
Understanding the seven scales within each key, how they are related and used.
How to move a song to a different key to perfectly fit the ‘ukulele or your voice.
The Mental Game:
Being able to play cool songs is only half of the journey an ‘ukulele player takes. The other half is learning how to find joy, satisfaction, and sustenance in your desire for music. It can be harder than you might think…
Some of my musings are collected here as “Patience and Improving” pieces:
Some thoughts on taking the time to allow yourself to improve. Also: Why I wouldn’t want to wake up as good as Jake.
Why tabs aren’t always best and how time is the best teacher.
Some tips from the stage and observations on the gigs that really just suck.
Why you should just play Music
Some other random writings:
Advice for overcoming a “wall” or getting out of a rut.
How to break any song down into manageable sizes and practice it for strumming and singing success.
Notes are just clever ways to get from space to space…
Making music from the heart – and making it count.
Finding your own sound.
A few thoughts about style.
Practice:
Tips for improving at your full potential.
A list of what I feel, as a teacher, might help inform where a student sits on the skill spectrum.
General Lessons:
Everything else…
Step #1 to becoming a rockstar and my low-profile assessment of how to move in the right direction.
Learn how to make sense of this practical way to write out an ‘ukulele song.
The basics of a Hawaiian-style jam session.
How to keep your playing tight and clean by muting unwanted noise.
How to make your notes ring more true and insight on the incredible skill of Herb Ohta Jr. and how he plays so clean.
A simple look at how to understand standard notation.
Creating a song order that compliments you and keeps the audience engaged.
Learn the basics of the alternating bass and Hawaiian slack key sound.
The basics of adapting songs for a single ‘ukulele.
My favorite ways to stop a song.
5 ways to practice and keep yourself from being bored when playing easy tunes that are old-hat.
How to get a good (or better) sound out of any ‘ukulele. Hint: it’s in you hands!
Some ideas for making the ‘ukulele sound not like an ‘ukulele.
Video Lessons:
All my ‘ukulele video lessons can be found on my Youtube channel. Be sure to subscribe!
Here’s my latest video:
If you don’t have access to a local teacher, there are still many resources you can study from.
The best, in my opinion, is The Ukulele Way by James Hill. I’ve worked as a site admin for James for years and have really seen this program inside and out. It’s made up of six “books,” each containing about 10 lessons that focus on the skills required for playing solo arrangements. Each lesson includes a video, sheet music or tab, and audio examples. The pedagogy is well thought out and each lesson builds upon the previous, starting quite simple and become quite advanced by the end. It’s only $9 CAD per month and is really the best value around.
Another great resource is Ukulele Underground University. Taught by Aldrine Guerrero, these lessons cover many areas of study like theory, song tutorials, genre styles, and also include guest teachers for more diversity. There are also weekly updates and live streams.
Finally, I’ve been very impressed by the book and corresponding video lessons Daniel Ward has put together called Arpeggio Meditations. You can check out my review of the program here. There are 16 studies presented with the focus on picking hand agility and, obviously, arpeggio playing. In addition to beautiful transcriptions in the book, there are accompanying videos that can be rented on Vimeo (for a whole year).
