Table of Contents
Is Ukulele Easy to Learn?
Introduction
Is the ukulele an easy instrument to learn? YES! The ukulele is a good first instrument because it solely has four strings, frets make it simple to play in tune, and it’s simple to play lead lines or rhythm elements on any tune.
If you play the ukulele, you need to learn how to play some basic strumming patterns, minor and major chord progressions, and whatnot.
But if you are able to play it and you are willing to learn, we have some beginner ukulele suggestions and tips on how to do it. Just browse around our recent posts, because our primary goal is to help beginners out. Also, check our best ukulele for beginner article here!
So, besides having fun, you need to find the best ukulele lessons and explore some songs and music made by this instrument. Don’t make newbie errors! Learn on to see what makes the ukulele easy to be taught instrument.
Is Ukulele Easy To Learn? 6 Reasons that it is!
- It is Reasonably priced
Shopping for a ukulele will not pressure your pockets the way different instruments do. You should purchase a nice new uke for around $100, and there are completely different body sizes (soprano, concert, tenor, baritone) to suit your needs and price range so you do not have to stress about it getting broken.
A great ukulele makes music sound great, but that doesn’t mean that cheaper ones are not good for learning and beginners. Anyway, if it is an instrument you love, then you should have some fun with it.
- It is Transportable
It is the ultimate journey instrument. You possibly can take it just about anywhere. Toss it at the back of your automobile. Take it to the seashore. Take it on an aircraft. Drummers and tuba players are not so fortunate!
You can easily surprise your friends with a song, cause you can bring out the uke from under your blouse. If you decided to play the ukulele, this is one other point in your “pros” list.
- It is Enjoyable and Pleasant
The ukulele is an extremely social instrument because it is not intimidating at all and will be performed by anybody, younger or older, musician or non-musician. Its blissful, joyful tone makes it a delight to play and accessible to everybody.
When we first played it, we were filled with musical joy and we knew that we will continue exploring this instrument. We had some basic courses online, learned a lesson on tuning the strings, chord progression, and some strumming patterns and we felt like we are on the right way to learning the ukulele!
- They Simply Sound Nice
The ukulele has a rich, warm sound that’s certain to place a smile on your face and the people around you. It is an ideal pick-me-up whether or not in your bedroom by yourself or at a celebration with buddies.
When we first learned the chords and played our first song, we knew that we will want to upgrade and learn more and more. The secret behind every instrument is to never stop playing it.
- Songs Simply Adapt to the Ukulele
You possibly can play the most popular songs on the ukulele in quite a lot of genres (sure, even metal). And even these songs with complicated chords will be pared all the way down to the ukulele to make them simpler to play due to the instrument’s 4 strings.
But to play the ukulele, you can only start with at least four chords and you can start strumming away your first song. Believe us, it is very fun when you learn your first tune!
- Guitar Methods and Knowledge Applies to the Uke
Guitar players can swap forwards and backward between the uke with ease. The entire scale and chord shapes that you just discovered on the guitar can be utilized on the ukulele, they only have different names.
Learning the ukulele is much easier if you have some guitar background. The uke itself is based on strings with fall in the same tree as the guitar.
There is no denying the ukulele’s attraction. Its joyful tone has helped it make a comeback lately, and you’ve got little question heard it featured in standard songs on the radio, with artists like Grace VanderWaal, Ingrid Michaelson, Eddie Vedder, and Merril Garbus showcasing the ukulele in current hit albums.
The ukulele is a good instrument to pick up, whether or not you are a guitar player in search of a bit of variety and even in case you’ve by no means performed an instrument before.
7 Easy Ukulele Songs
#1 The Beatles – Let it Be
The Beatles might well be essentially the most well-known band of all time. Their distinctive mix of simplicity with unfathomably catchy melodies and mesmeric preparations have teleported their music to the forefront of human musical achievement.
Taking all of what makes The Beatles right down to its very core shows them at their most uncovered, with most of their catalog delivering unimaginable poignancy.
Ukulele covers of The Beatles tracks are clearly quite common, with ‘Let It Be’ appearing to have become one of many favorites. The straightforward repetitive refrain melody mixed with extremely straightforward chords makes it a fantastic one for newbie ukulele players to have a crack at.
All you need for this one are your C major chord, G major, A minor, and F major ukulele chords. Learn how to really play these chords, after which go ahead and give it a try.
If you are comfortable with reading the tabs, this will be an easy task for every player. If you have the ukulele easy-to-learn state of mind, then you will have no problem learning this tune.
And on top of that, you will know one of the classics for ukuleles.
Tabs for The Beatles – Let it Be
#2 Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
I’m Yours by Jason Mraz is a fascinating track for the newbie ukulele player, because it overcomes the main problem ukulele playing brings. Sometimes, you’ll hear a thick textured, well-arranged track performed by an entire band and notice how powerful and large it sounds.
The ukulele takes away from this and leaves you with a lot much less satisfying sound, even when appears more playful and straightforward. ‘I’m Yours’ was written for the ukulele anyway, so these chords will instantly offer you the proper sound to play the track.
If you wish to play this in the key of the unique Jason Mraz track, then place your capo up on the 4th fret.
The refrain of the track (the bit that everybody ought to recognize) is made up of simply 4 easy chords: G, D, Em, C.
It’s a simple pattern to study because every refrain merely corresponds to at least one bar of music. On the phrase, ‘I’, play the G, on the ‘-tate’ a part of the phrase ‘hesitate’, transfer to D, and so forth.
Tabs for Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
#3 Justin Bieber – Love Yourself
A way more trendy example comes from Justin Bieber himself. Bieber may not be identified for his ukulele heavy tracks, however, the author of this explicit track, Ed Sheeran, is actually identified for a tendency in direction of people composition.
Be sure to capo the 4th fret, after which prepare for probably the most chordal complexity than we’ve seen up to now on this guide.
While C and Am are nonetheless present in this sequence, the tune additionally throws in a D minor. To form this, you’re going to need to use your 2nd finger to hold down the first fret of the first string, and your third finger to hold down the 2nd fret of the 4th string.
It additionally uses a G/B chord, which is principally the G shape however with the B note as the lowest note within the chord.
Relying on the way you play the chord, ensure the lowest note in your form is a B natural, which means you achieve the clear descending scale that Sheeran meant to create on this track.
Tabs for Justin Bieber – Love Yourself
#4 Adele – Someone Like You
The gradual, soulful performance of Adele doesn’t actually work when taken to the ukulele. The excessive frequency response of ukulele strings takes the all-important depth out of the track, and its lower quality timbre reduces the seriousness behind all of Adele’s tracks.
This is the reason we encourage you to place your individual spin on ‘Someone Like You’ while you play it.
Adele makes use of G, D, Em, and C within the refrain. These are all straightforward chords, with Em arguably being the best to copy on the ukulele because it’s technically precisely the identical form as a guitar Em.
Anyway, use this simplicity to your benefit. Perhaps play the track shortly, with a syncopated strumming sample that fully changes its tone. Perhaps give is a staccato, off-beat reggae vibe. Simply keep away from playing it with the seriousness of the original, because it simply doesn’t work.
Tabs for Adele – Someone Like You
#5 James Blunt – You’re Beautiful
James Blunt hasn’t precisely had a hit for some time. When he was in, ‘You’re Beautiful’ and ‘Wisemen’ had been receiving radio airplay each day, however, he appears to have fallen off a bit lately. That doesn’t cease ‘You’re Beautiful’ from being an excellent ukulele-ready track.
Fortunately for you, we’ve returned instantly to 4 chords simplicity. F, G, C, and Am are all you want for this one, and you may even chuck on a capo if you have to.
When it comes to strumming patterns, one thing surprisingly efficient for “You’re Beautiful” is an easy single strum on every one of the chords. For instance, in these opening moments, strum your C chord once, then go straight into “my life is brilliant”.
Then when the word “brilliant” is over, play the G chord and continue “my love is pure”. It really works the entire way through the tune, although you would possibly want to construct the texture up a bit in the direction of the end.
Tabs for James Blunt – You’re Beautiful
#6 Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama
The next song on our record of newbie ukulele tunes is likely one of the most popular ukulele track selections, considered by many to be an absolute classic, and it is extremely simple to study. Actually, you’ll only need to know three chords.
The primary chord you want for this track is D. To play a D chord you simply want to hold down the top three strings on the second fret. In case you have small palms, it’s simple enough to use only one finger for every string. In case you have massive palms and a small ukulele, some folks desire to press down all three strings with one finger.
The following chord is C which is even simpler; you hold down the third fret on the bottom string only. The final chord is a G, which is the second fret on the second and fourth strings and the third fret on the third string. Guitar players will acknowledge this form as the way you play a D chord on the guitar.
As soon as you possibly can play these three chords, this turns into an easy ukulele track that even a newbie can learn. The best pattern to play is 2 D chords, two C chords, and 4 G chords. Repeat this pattern for the verse and the refrain. You’ve just learned your first track!
Tabs for Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama
#7 Bruno Mars – Just The Way You Are
Bruno Mars is a modern-day celebrity with a crazy various catalog of music. His debut album, “Doo-Wops & Hooligans”, was made from a mix of pop ballads and modern hip hop, together with this smash single, “Just The Way You Are.” It catapulted him to a worldwide reputation very quickly, and it’s nonetheless a favorite amongst beginner musicians.
The tune is catchy and easy for any degree of musician. It may be performed with simply three chords from beginning to end. It is a fun tune and simple ukulele track to experiment with the tempo too.
The first chord for this tune is C, which we’ve already discovered. Next up is A minor, which added only wants one finger. It only uses the second fret of the top string.
To play our last chord, F, it’s worthwhile to hold down the second fret on the top string, and the first fret on the third string. This will be easy for every beginner, believe us!
When you’ve mastered these chords, the tune is basically easy. Follow the tabs and you will be good to go. This pattern repeats all through the entire tune, for the verse and the refrain. It’s a good rule of thumb to follow the tabs if you know some notes without any lesson.
Tabs for Bruno Mars – Just The Way You Are
Conclusion
So, is ukulele easy to learn? Yes, the ukulele is a very simple instrument to learn. If you’re reading this text then it’s clear that studying the ukulele is one thing you should pursue! Think about if you began years in the past. The time is now!
To play the ukulele is not only strumming patterns and learning chords, you should have some feel for the instrument. Actually learning the ukulele is all up to the ukulele players themself. To learn to play it, you should be persistent and dedicated!
Most of the ukulele players learn to play the uke by watching it online. We have an article for some great online ukulele lessons where you can learn basic strumming, chord shape, fingerpicking, and whatnot.
Believe us, you can be the best teacher. Just follow some rule of thumb guides and you will be pro in the ukuleles in no time. Watch some educational video where you can learn the tuning and you are ready to strum away!
