When you go to learn how to play the ukulele all you want to do is strum out your first song. While you really can play your first simple song in your first session and learn to really play this great instrument faster than most others, it is important to take the time to learn how to do things correctly now so you don’t start things off with bad habits for later down the road. That first song that you can figure out how to play on your first day is certainly going to sound a lot prettier a few days, a week, or a month from now when you’ve been making some progress playing the chords correctly. To this end it’s good to take your time to get to know this great instrument.
To get yourself started, you can start working on playing your three basic chords: C, F, and G7. There are a lot of songs out there that you’ll be able to play just using these three chords (like the Happy Birthday song, for instance) and you’ll be hard pressed to find songs where you won’t be using any of these chords in the future. Learning how to play the ukulele is all about getting your fingers used to playing the strings, getting your chords down, strumming, and getting a good sound. These three chords are a great place to start getting used to strumming, get your fingers used to holding down the strings and switching between chords, and get a good sound going.
How long this will take you really depends on how long you spend practicing, how often you do it, and how your fingers adjust to playing. Expect that if you haven’t played a string instrument before your fingers will be sore and take a while to get used to playing. If you practice for a twenty to thirty minutes a day, you should have these three chords down, and your fingers adjusting, within a week. That may sound like a long time, but is really pretty fast compared to most instruments, and once these chords sound good coming out, you can start working on putting them together to play some songs, and work on learning how to play other ukulele chords.
There are quite a few factors to consider when you set out to buy a ukulele. They come in a wide variety of types, sizes, shapes, and prices. The uke as it is often called is not a toy as many people think of it. It is a serious instrument that is capable of producing a rich unique sound if you choose correctly. That can be difficult if you are new to the world of stringed instruments, so that’s what this article will attempt to simplify.
One of the first things you will want to consider when you buy a ukulele is price versus quality. Prices vary wildly. You can find really cheap ukuleles for around twenty dollars, but if you plan on making any real music with it you’ll be sorely disappointed. Quality handmade instruments and cost over a thousand dollars. When looking to purchase your first uke you should be willing to spend fifty to one hundred dollars to be sure you are getting decent materials. If you want something to learn on and play for your family a good starter instrument is the Lanakai LU-21.
I briefly mentioned materials earlier and they are a major factor in the price when you buy a ukulele. A big part of the price is the type of wood that is used to build the body of the instrument. Koa is a Hawaiian wood that is the traditional type that was used for the very first ukes. Koa produces a very bright sound and has a beautiful grain pattern. If you are considering a more middle of the range instrument you may want to consider the striking Koa made Oscar Schmidt OU5 Concert Uke.
Either of the two instruments above would be a good investment when you buy a ukulele for the first time. They both come from respected instrument manufacturers with proven track records for building quality ukes. However, if you will be around other uke players and want something that will stand out in the crowd a bit more without breaking the bank you may want to consider the Luna Tattoo Concert Uke. It’s still a quality instrument, but it has a little more flair.
So, now that you understand that the uke is more than a silly toy and that with a fairly small investment you can get and instrument you can be proud of aren’t you excited to buy a ukulele?
A lot of popular current musicians play the ukulele these days. If you go to a lot of live shows, or watch a lot of videos of your favorite musicians live, you’ll notice more and more that musicians are playing their songs live on the ukulele for more raw versions of their songs. The musicians below are in no way a complete list, but a great place to start if you’re looking to hear some songs utilizing this great instrument.
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam isn’t well known for it, but he is a great player! A lot of his solo work uses this instrument and the song “Can’t Keep” is a great example of what he can do. It still has his distinctive voice and sound that you hear in Pearl Jam, but definitely different than what you’re used to hearing from him if you haven’t heard this before.
Amanda Palmer doesn’t always play the ukulele, but she has certainly done a lot with it! She has done a number of songs with it on her normal albums, she does last minute free shows when she’s touring (which she calls ninja gigs) where she plays her songs on the uke in parks and coffee shops, and she did a full album called “Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele”. Check out her cover of “Creep” in this video.
It seems like every song that Jack Johnson does on guitar gets covered on the uke, but a great song that really does use this instrument is “Breakdown”. Don’t believe me? I found a video of him playing it live so you can see. Not to say that all his songs don’t sound great covered on this instrument, because they do!
Sara Bareilles recently became famous for the song “Love Song”. She usually plays the piano. At her live shows, however, she is well known for pulling out her uke and playing lots of great music, including things she hasn’t yet released. This song “Free Ride” sounds great!
Ingrid Michaelson is another great musician who is well known for her songs that usually star the piano. She does however have a number of ukulele songs, and her album “Be Ok” is mostly full of songs featuring this great instrument! The song “Be Ok” has it, but to give another example, check out “You and I”, a great song done only with the uke.
Other popular musicians who play the ukulele include The Beatles, Jimmy Buffett, Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, Zooey Deschanel, Noah and the Whale, and Elvis Presley.
