Before You Pick Up Your Uke, Getting Started Basics

Before You Pick Up Your Uke, Getting Started Basics

By taking the time to review these lessons, you may come across helpful tips, techniques, or concepts that you weren't previously aware of or have momentarily forgotten. This knowledge can prove to be invaluable as you guide beginners who are just embarking on their musical journey. So whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, taking a look at this series of lessons will undoubtedly provide you with valuable insights and practical knowledge to enrich your ukulele playing.

1
The Learning Process - The Mind, Hands and Ears
For music and learning an instrument like the ukulele or guitar, it's all about the making the connection between your Mind, your Hands, and your Ear.
2
Which Way Is Up? - Up, Down, Ascending, Descending, etc...
Up, Down, Ascending, Descending, Higher, Lower, Top, Bottom, What is up, down, higher, lower, top, bottom, ascending, descending?
3
What Finger is What?
Just what are the fingers of the plucking and fretting hand called. There can be a bit of confusion as to what the names and numbers of your fretting hand and the plucking or strumming hand are. Here are some of the common fingering notations I’ve encounter over the course of my studying ukulele and guitar.
4
Understanding a `Ukulele Chord Diagram
There're a lot different ways to show chord shapes, diagrams and images on a fretted instrument. This is the basic chord diagram I use in all my lessons and book. In this lesson the basic chord diagram as used for ukulele is explained.
5
Your First `Ukulele Chord
Your first ukulele chord is typically an open position C major chord. It's only one finger and ukulele players love to show new players this, the easiest, usable ukulele chord for new players. Especially someone coming from guitar where an open position C major is three fingers and not that easy as the first chord.
6
Ukulele String Combinations
All possible one, two, three, and four string combinations on ukulele. Used for single note technique, fingerpicking, harmonic intervals, and chord string families.
7
`Ukulele Scale Diagram Explained
The "Ukulele Scale Diagram" is an alternate notation and visual why of showing a scale using a grid pattern representing the strings and frets of the Ukulele Fingerboard.
8
Reading Ukulele TAB - Alternate Notation
"TAB" or "Tablature", is an alternate form of musical notation, which tells players where to place their fingers on a particular instrument rather than which pitches to play. TAB is sort of a secret language between guitar players and ukulele players. Although a shortcut to getting started it actually serves to alienate one from the rest of the music world.
9
Standard Music Notation
Musical Notation - Music notation or musical notation refers to various systems of writing music. Diverse systems of musical notation have developed in various cultures. In fact, many cultures simply do not notate their music in any form.
10
The Trouble with TAB
TAB, short for tablature is a form of musical notation using numbers and letters on a staff that corresponds to the number of strings of a fretted string instrument. These numbers tell a player which fret to place their fingers on rather than which pitches to play.