Learn How to Play Lava on Ukulele in 3 Basic Chords

Play Lava on Ukulele in 3 Chords

Learn how to play Lava on the ukulele from Pixar’s 2014 short movie of the same title. It’s a piece of wonderful music and very easy to be taught. Read on to assist with the strumming pattern, chords, and song structure.

Lava is a 7-minute computer-animated short movie released by Pixar in 2014. It tells the story of a lonely volcano named Uku. That’s as much as I’ll say as I don’t wish to spoil it for you in case you haven’t already seen it. It features a wonderful song, in case you haven’t heard it take a look at this video.

Official Lyric Video from “Lava”

Lava Strumming Pattern

You’ll see lots of tutorials telling you the strumming pattern for Lava is D DU UDU which misses out on the 3rd down strum. They’re incorrect, you may clearly hear the 3rd down strum if you pay attention. The actual pattern is D DUDUDU however the dynamics which are used soften a few of these strums so it doesn’t sound quite so rigid.

Here’s what that pattern looks like
pattern songs

It’s a very easy song to play on the ukulele but while you listen to it you’ll discover some subtleties in the dynamics that stop it from sounding too one-dimensional. It’s an excellent example of what might be done with a quite simple song. When you get comfy playing it by means of spending a while on getting these subtleties in your version too.

Chords in This Song

chords songs

3 Chord Trick

There are simply 3 chords in the song and they should all be pretty familiar in case you ever picked up a ukulele before. These chords are C, F, and G7.

The great thing about Lava is that it’s easy to play, the chords are easy and the strumming is pretty relaxed. Kuana Torres Kahele and Napua Greig do an excellent job on the vocals – if only I could sing like that!

3 chords trick How to Play Lava on Ukulele

Structure

There are only 2 actual sections to become familiar with. The intro/verse and the chorus. There’s nothing too difficult going on with them but right here’s the structure.


Verse:

A long long time ago, there was a volcano.
Living all alone, in the middle of the sea.
He sat high above his bay, watching all the couples play,
and wishing that, he had someone too.
And from his lava came this song of hope that he sang out-loud every day,
for years and years.

Chorus:

I have a dream I hope will come true,
that you’re here with me and I’m here with you.
I wish that the earth, sea, the sky up above
will send me someone to lava.

Verse:

Years of singing all alone turned his lava into stone,
until he was on the brink of extinction.
But little did he know that living in the sea below
another volcano was listening to his song.
Every day she heard his tune. Her lava grew and grew
because she believed his song was meant for her.
Now she was so ready to meet him above the sea
as he sang his song of hope for the last time.

Chorus:

I have a dream I hope will come true,
that you’re here with me and I’m here with you.
I wish that the earth, sea, the sky up above
will send me someone to lava.

Verse:

Rising from the sea below stood a lovely volcano
looking all around but she could not see him.
He tried to sing to let her know that she was not there alone,
but with no lava his song was all done.
He filled the sea with his tears and watched his dreams disappear
as she remembered what his song meant to her.

Chorus – Female:

I have a dream I hope will come true,
that you’re here with me and I’m here with you.
I wish that the earth, sea and the sky up above
will send me someone to lava.

Verse:

Oh they were so happy to finally meet above the sea,
all together now their lava grew and grew .
No longer are they alone with Aloha as their new home,
and when you visit them, this is what they sing…

Chorus – Female + Male:

I have a dream I hope will come true.
Male: That you'll grow old with me,
Female: and I'll grow old with you.
We thank the earth, sea, and sky we thank too.

Outro:

I lava YOU!
I lava YOU!
I lava YOU!

Basically, you’re playing 2 measures of every chord with the exception of the 3rd C within the intro/verse and the 5th F within the chorus.

Halfway through the song, the tempo slows down however you’re still playing the same chords and the same strumming pattern.

How to Play Lava on Ukulele
Bill Hood

Bill Hood

My name is Bill, and I am a musician and music enthusiast who has a deep love and passion for anything and everything stringed that moves my soul. It is an honor to be a part of the team at our website dedicated to stringed instruments, and I look forward to sharing my passion and knowledge with our readers as well.

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