Something just came to me watching this video, I'm 65 years old and I can remember getting a plastic ukulele for Christmas at 4 years old, with no one to teach me, but I know now, the hardest thing about playing any instrument is practicing!
Wow, you have memories from being 4, that's amazing. I have a terrible memory. When it comes to practice, anyone that is more advanced than you has just practiced more. It's pretty much that simple.
+Robert all. Dawson After wanting for ages to play the Ukelele I discovered Arthurs Uke Blog and this appears to be the simplest online system (google it if you are interested)
Thanks for the video content! Forgive me for butting in, I would love your initial thoughts. Have you tried - Riddleagan Best Ukulele Remedy (Have a quick look on google cant remember the place now)? It is a good exclusive product for learning ukulele for beginners without the hard work. Ive heard some interesting things about it and my close friend Aubrey at last got astronomical results with it. ✔️
I all ways admire watching people playing a musical instrument since I started learning my first instrument the Ukulele I know now what they went through to get there
This is really good, most other tutorials just show how to play a song but don’t go into detail of how to practice and break down each part of playing the ukulele, cheers dude!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! I just got a ukulele as my first musical instrument and I'm struggling with strumming. I'll practice everyday and do what you just shared. Thank you so much!
Thank you! Thank you! I started playing my sisters ukelele and I just fell in love with the instrument. I've been practicing by myself trying to get everything down, chords, strumming, songs. Even though I've seen some progress I felt like I was all over the place. You've put me into the right path to keep practicing a better way. Once again, thank you.
Mahalo! I did learn a lot! You are a great teacher! I bought myself a uke for my 60th birthday and I’ve been struggling with rhythm. Your tips give me hope! 🤙🏼
Thank yo so much, cause I’ve been trying to play here and there by following everyone on you tube. And I just needed someone to guide me on what I need to practice on until I get better
Can't thank you enough for making these videos available. The time you put into designing them and your detailed and thoughtful approach to really breaking it down for newbies is nothing short of amazing. Your videos are the first I've found that have help me feel comfortable with the uke, how to hold it, how to strum, how to approach practice and really how to create a path for learning it. I am excited to view each of your videos and best of all, I feel empowered that I now have a resource to learn how to play. Thank you!
I just got a ukulele, and it's my first time playing an instrument. How frequently are you supposed to tune it? btw this video helped me so much, thank you!
I'd tune it every time you pick it up to play it. If it's really new, then it could go out of tune really quickly, it's common with new strings/new ukes. The strings will settle faster the more you play it.
THANK YOU for the great tips! My practice time has been all over the place because as a beginner I have so much to work on. This is really helpful. I will set goals and break my time down into 5 minutes increments.
I want to learn how to play the ukulele by finger picking and I saw your video. Thank you so much... Such a good mentor. Thank you. I will be practicing now!!
Great tips especially the 20 min practice session on certain things. I think that’s great. I keep focusing on different things, but if I perfect one thing I know I’ll get better. Thanks so much for this.
I started playing 2.5 months ago on a borrowed ukulele and bought my own soon after. For me, one of the best things about the ukulele is that I can sing along with it. So this way of practicing would bore me to death 😁 I started with 3 simple songs and then slowly added more. Now I can easily practice one hour a day because I enjoy the paying and singing at the same time. My first song was Guantanamera by the way and basically my boyfriend put his uke into my hands because he was tired of me always asking him to play for me while I was singing. 😂 I guess different people have different motivation.
just found this video and it's so great! I just got my first ukulele yesterday, and i had no idea where to start when it came to practicing! I only know about four chords by memory, but everything else is like I'm gripping at the air and hoping I'll grab hold of something. Thank you so much for these tips!
@@UkuleleGo I’m not struggling so much with strumming it’s when I try to do a chord especially a chord change. My fingers hurt so much when I press them down. Sometimes they sound clear mostly they go muted or just sound awful.
Thank you so much for your recommendations! When finger picking, is a certain finger supposed to be designated to a particular string? I love the sound of finger picking but tend to use my pointer finger for all strings. My guess is that doing with one finger is not as smooth as using all fingers. Susan
Susan Currie Hey Susan, hope you find it useful. I have a video specifically for fingerpicking ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kFIdchMMOAk.html that should get you up and running. Check out the supporting article over at my site for more tips too.
Honestly I can't remember, it's almost 20 years since my fingers adapted. At a guess I'd say around 4 weeks of regular practice but maybe a little less.
I got my uke this coronavirus lockdown, so far so good. My only goal now is grew thicker calluses on my fingers to lessen the pain when fretting .. haha... does it even count?
Hi, thanks for this wonderful video. I am a beginner and currently on day 3 of my practice. So i am still learning how to change chords. I am able to do down strum but If i try playing a strumming pattern with up strum i struggle a lot with changing chords and more with singing along. So i am unable to get to a song this way.. i am not understanding if i should solely focus on getting fully comfortable with changing chords to be able to get the up- strum..or should i continue with only down strums for now. Would be great if you can suggest how we can prioritise all this.. and once again, great tips.. I'm eager to apply it now.
Day 3 is pretty early to be worrying too much. I can give you one tip that will help a lot though, if you have an up strum at the end of a bar and you need to change chords, don't wait until you've played the up strum to start the change. Up strums between chord changes often happen while the hand is switching position and you're essentially up strumming without any chord in place at all.
@@UkuleleGo thanks for the quick response. I will apply this tip. This had actually been a question in my head from quite some time, and I didn't even know it until i got this answer 😀😀 can't thank you enough.
Thanks it was awesome Its my Day 2 of learning but i can't strum upwards And i don't even know if i will be able to I am confused if i strum with my index finger or thumb or all the fingers No matter what i choose i still can't strum upwards
Thanks for some very down to earth advice, I've been 'messing' with a very cheap Red Star uke that I was given about four months ago and I have now bought a Baton Rouge concert for Christmas. My one problem, if it is a problem, is that chap that introduced me to the instrument tuned it as a mandolin - GDAE, because he said the basic two finger chords were easier, which I found to be true. So now I wonder if I should tune the new uke the same, or go and tune it to standard and have to relearn all the chords again. Is the C on a mando' tuned uke the same as a standard uke's C?
T8Hants No problem, I guess it really comes down to personal preference. GDAE is essentially baritone tuning, the chord shapes remain the same - you're just playing a different chord - does that make sense?
Honestly my advice is just the same, stick with it, practice regularly and focus on the thing you're struggling with. If this guy can play a ukulele this small I'm sure you can make it work on a soprano ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WlMVx8jUZi8.html
How do I make my fingers stop hurting? I have really soft hands and it means I can only practice for five minutes at a time and my fingers hurt for the rest of the day!! 😭
They will stop hurting with time. Five minutes in fine, soon you'll be able to do 6,7,8 and way beyond. It can be a bit frustrating to begin with but it will come with time
got my ukelele couple weeks ago and the 20 miute thing is really nice but idk if its just me but i play like 3 hours per day because i like to play alot is that too much or is it ok too?
More time is definitely better but it's a difficult bar to hit every time. A friend of mine started at the gym a while back and he said he was going to go 6 days a week, he lasted about 2 weeks and then because he couldn't maintain it, he felt like he'd failed and gave up altogether. That's sort of why I'm a big fan of keeping it realistic and the doing more as you see fit.
Scales are definitely useful but it's important to understand why and what they will help with. I wouldn't recommend just playing up and down the scale as it doesn't teach you much.
• Millie • Hey Millie, thanks for commenting. There's not really a one size fits all answer to this one I'm afraid. What I would really recommend is trying a ukulele out, borrowing one is a great way to find out but you could also head to a store and try a few out. If it's a brand you're after you could try Kala (they have a great reputation) and make ukuleles at all price points. Any more questions let me know!
Hi, thanks for this video, really good information for a Uke beginner. The major problem right now would be holding the uke right coz it slips during chord changes, do you have a video that would help in that.
Hey Jasmin, thank you and I'm glad that it's helping. I haven't yet made a video on holding the ukulele but it's one I could look at in the future. I'd probably suggest the simplest method of all, just get yourself a strap, unless you have a reason not to. Let me know.
@@UkuleleGo Hey thanks for your revert. Yes, getting a strap fixed looks like the best option so far coz I have tried many ways to hold it but failing. The only reason getting a strap fixed is difficult coz my ukelele doesn't have a pin to put a strap and to get the pin drilled in most of the instrument shops are shut due to the lockdown here, I may have to try some diy for the strap. Thanks a ton for the reply means alot.
@@jasminesalian4963 there are some straps that don't need a strap button. They actually hook around the sound hole, I think maybe the brand called Hug make them. I'm not sure where in the world you are though.
@@jasminesalian4963 ok I'm not sure if they ship to India, you can wrap a strap around the body across the sound hole also. Shouldn't be too difficult to make one yourself
The chances you'll end up with a better ukulele are higher if you spend more money but there are still good ukuleles at the budget end of the market. What did you buy?
