My Top 10 Tips for the Ukulele Beginner

Around the same time I started learning to play the fiddle last spring, I bought a ukulele. I’d been playing guitar in a little band – with three other guitarists – and wanted to add something a bit more unique to our sound. I had originally thought about trying to learn the mandolin – but after checking that out I found it to be too hard on the fingers and way too much to learn. So I decided to try a ukulele… It turned out to be a super decision – I don’t think you will find an instrument that is easier to play – and yet it has such a wide variety of sounds. Strum it quickly and get a mandolin/banjo kind of sound; strum each string slowly and deliberately and it sounds almost like a harp; pick individual strings and get the true Hawaiian ukulele sound.

It was pretty easy for me to get going on the ukulele, since I’d been playing guitar for a long time. However, I wouldn’t dare venture to say that I am a skilled ukulele player. I’ve been using it in the band for 6 months now, and I still only strum while performing. If I wasn’t trying to learn the fiddle right now, I would put more time into learning different strumming and picking techniques on the uke – but for now I am only dabbling at that – so far I’ve managed to get by just making up my own strumming patterns on the fly. Which just goes to show you – you can have a ton of fun with the ukulele without knowing too much about it. Still – for those of you thinking of trying this terrific little instrument – here are some tips on getting started and learning to play.

Tip #1 – get a REAL ukulele

There are a lot of toy ukuleles out there ($50 to $100 range) and some are real garbage. The big test any ukulele must pass, in my opinion, is whether it can hold a tune. If you buy a ‘toy’ – chances are you will either spend the rest of your life tuning it, or you will be playing out of key forever – because as soon as you tune it – the tuning pegs will slip and it will go out of tune. So when you go to buy your uke – go to a music store and ask the salesperson to show you how to tune it. Don’t be embarrassed to ask this – they will smell a sale and will be happy to do it. Then test every uke in the shop – and tune every one before you try it. Find one that is easy to tune, that is gentle on the fingers and which sounds sweet. If you know someone who plays the uke – ask them to come to the shop with you – and get them to play them all for you. You can usually get a salesperson to do this for you, as well. It really helps you to decide which one(s) you like the sound of best if you can hear some real music played on it.  For more detailed buying tips – check out my blog post called “Tips for Buying your First Ukulele“.

Tip #2 – get a shoulder strap for your ukulele

Most ukuleles do not have a button on them to attach a strap – but you can add this for less than 5 bucks at most music shops, and this will enable you to put a little mandolin strap on it. The advantage of this is that it means your left hand is free to worry only about chording – not supporting – the fingerboard, so you will be able to change chords much more easily (and eventually, much more quickly). It also means that your right hand/arm is free to pick or strum so you will be able to try more patterns and do them with greater ease. Even if you always sit to play – I think you will find that a shoulder strap will rocket you up the learning curve at an astounding rate.

Tip # 3 – cut your left hand’s fingernails REALLY short!

To get a clean sound you need to press the strings with the very tips of your fingers, and this means you need to cut your fingernails very short. Now gals, I do not mean ‘trim’ your fingernails – I mean cut them really short! If you can see any white on the nail at all – then you are not cutting enough off. If you have long, gorgeous painted nails, then it’s decision time. Do you want to be a musician or don’t you? You will soon recognize people who play guitar, banjo, mandolin or uke - they all have extremely short fingernails on the left hand (for chording), and relatively long nails on the right hand (for picking). If you think this is freaky – watch for fiddle/guitar/uke players… We have short nails on the left hand, long nails on the middle three fingers of the right hand (for picking) and short baby fingernail and thumbnail on the right hand (essential for properly holding the fiddle bow). I neglect the thumbnail on my left hand completely – it’s the only digit on which the nail can be long or short… If you are obsessed with long nails and fingernail art – do up your left hand thumbnail – work the drama-nail urges out of your system dolling up that one nail. You may even start a cult following – especially once you are a famous musician!

Tip #4 – get a good chord chart

One thing I love about the ukulele is that most of the chords use only one or two fingers. And, unlike the mandolin (and, to a lesser extent, the guitar), you don’t have to be a contortionist to make them. However, one thing I have noticed is that – like most similar instruments – there are many ways to make each chord and some ways are much easier than others. So, after a lot of hunting, I have come up with my own Easy Ukulele Chord Chart which contains the easiest version that I could find of every common chord. Feel free to print and use it yourself; probably you will make your own at some point – but for now – it will get you started. Check it out if you are already playing – you might see some easier versions of the chords than you have been using so far.

Tip # 5 – put the chord charts right on the song sheets

This is how I learned all the chords I needed in just a few days – I took all the song sheets that we were using in the band and added the relevant ukulele chord diagrams right onto them. That way I could remind myself of all of the chords I needed for each song, without having to refer back to the chord chart all the time. Here’s an example for Amazing Grace that you can try out for yourself.

Tip # 6 – always tune before you play

…and use a tuner. Unless you are an unusually gifted musician, you really should use a tuner to tune your ukulele. Be sure to tune your uke each and every time, BEFORE you play. I used to have this debate with my husband quite frequently, when he first started playing guitar…

Me: “Acch – that’s painful. Your guitar is out of tune.”

He: “Really ? It sounds fine to me…”

Me: “Did you tune it before you started playing?”

He: “I don’t need to bother – I’m just gonna play for a minute.”

It doesn’t matter if you are going to play for a minute, or an hour – you will never develop an ear for music if you do not tune your instrument every single time you pick it up to play. You can get free “apps” for your smartphone that do this, you can use free tuners online, or you can buy a tuner at the music shop. Do yourself (and your family) a huge favour – get a tuner now and use it religiously.

Tip # 7 – use fingering exercises to gradually build up the calluses

One of the hardest parts of learning to play a stringed instrument is dealing with the pain in the tips of the fingers of your left hand (assuming you are playing right handed). After a while they will get ugly calluses like mine, shown here (mine are a bit stained too, from playing the fiddle for 2 hours in the middle of writing this post…)  Until you toughen up your fingertips – playing will be a very painful experience. I found two things helped me to deal with this. The first was to start off each session with some fingering exercises. Pluck the first string open, then with your index finger on (actually just behind) the first fret, then with your middle finger on the second fret, then with your ring finger on the third fret and finally with your pinky finger on the fourth fret. Do the pinky one twice and then work your way back down: ring finger on third fret, middle finger on second fret, index finger on the first fret, then open. Now move to the second string and repeat the pattern. Then the third string, then the fourth. Run through that a few times at the beginning of each practice. Not only will it toughen up your fingertips, it will limber up your fingers. You can also use this exercise to limber up your right hand too – by practicing different finger picking exercises as you do it. (I’ll write more on those in a later post…) The second thing I found that helped in the early stages of toughening up the fingertips was to play for a short amount of time (e.g. 10 to 15 minutes) several times a days, instead of playing for one long (60 to 90 minute) session.

You need to play at least a bit every day to build up those calluses. So even if you only have time to run through those exercises a few times… do it! Your fingers will thank you.

Tip # 8 – use the pinky finger on your left hand – a lot!

Just as there are many different finger patterns for playing most chords, there are many different finger combinations you can use to make any particular version of a chord. I find that the key to being able to change chords quickly (aside from lots of practice) is to choose finger patterns that will help you to get into position for the next chord you will be playing, and using the baby finger is a key aspect of this strategy. For example, think of the G and G7 chords – these often get played one after the other. If you keep your middle finger on the second fret of the third string and your ring finger on the second fret of the first string – you just have to put your index finger on the first fret of the second string to play G7 (shown above) and add your pinky on the third fret of the second string to change to G (shown at left – here I have lifted my index finger for picture clarity – but you can leave it in place. Then just lift the pinky to go back to G7.)

Same for D and D7… If you put your middle finger on the second fret of the fourth string and your pinky finger on the second fret of the second string – you’ve got a D7. Now just add your ring finger on the second fret of the third string and, voila! You’ve got a D. Lift the ring finger and you’re back to D7.

My sister-in-law commented recently that I don’t seem to use my index finger all that much when playing ukulele – I hadn’t noticed it until she said it – but it’s true – and it’s because I use my pinky finger a lot in the way I have just described. If you consciously try to use your pinky as much as possible – it can really help you to become quicker at changing chords. Think about this as well – I sometimes use different finger patterns for the same chord – depending upon which chord I will play next, or have just played. Don’t constrain yourself to any particular pattern – learn to be flexible – and have that pinky in your arsenal to draw on anytime!

Tip # 9 – start slow

No matter what finger patterns you eventually decide you prefer for the various chords – it will take time to get good at changing chords. The important thing to remember is to never sacrifice accuracy for speed. Otherwise you can develop some very bad habits that are hard to get rid of later.  Take it slow, make sure you get a nice clean sound with each chord and that you have your fingers correctly placed. Strum slowly and deliberately – get some volume out of your instrument. If it helps – start with slow songs… and ones that don’t have a lot of chord changes in them. That way you won’t feel pressured to change chords quickly while you are learning. Let your skill evolve naturally. Eventually, as the muscle memories develop – finger placements and chord changes will become automatic – then you will find you can do them faster with no effort at all.

Tip # 10 – play along with others

There are tons of YouTube videos on playing the ukulele and some of the best for beginners are by “Ukulele Mike”. You can play along with him and get the feel for rhythm and pace. And it sounds good because he plays along with you! Try this one for starters: You are My Sunshine. It’s an easy one for beginners.

I also like to include the artist’s names when I look up music online – so I can play along with their CDs or videos. First, I find the chords for the song I want to learn by using the following search string: “Guitar Chords for some song by some artist”, substituting the song title and performer I am interested in at the time. This usually leads me to the music in the key that they performed it in. Once I have the music, I look up the performance on youTube and play along. It’s a great way to have fun learning new songs.

Also – play along with your friends – don’t worry – they will go slow for you.  You may have to remind them a bit – but don’t be shy to do it, we’ve all been there and we know we need to take it slow when playing with beginners.  It will be a a ton of fun for both of you – trust me on that –  and you learn exponentially when you play with others.  So start doing that as soon as possible.

Well that’s it – my 10 tips for ukulele beginners. I hope you find some of them useful – and if you do, please use the comment feature to let me know. I’d also love to hear your tips on playing the ukulele – so please share those below, too. And be sure to play – EVERY day!

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