Here is a tutorial of a great song by the Plain White T's, a band I have a great respect for. The song: "1234". Fantastic. Click the link for a walkthrough of how to play it.
I always like to advocate for the artist in these cases. They are the ones who bring us the magic, and if you like what I've played, you'll much prefer what the Plain White T's have created. Buy their music!
Taking on the challenge of learning how to play an instrument can be daunting. There is so much to learn. There is so little time to practice. There are so many people better than you and people who spend their entire lives devoted to perfecting the instrument that you don't even know how to tune or hold correctly.
In my opinion, the first, and most important step in learning how to play an instrument is to put it down, and grab a pencil and piece of paper. This doesn't work on a computer screen; you must write it down and see what you wrote. Also, be completely honest. This isn't something you need to broadcast to the world. You should answer these for your own benefit alone. If you decide to share this with anyone, it will create a sense of accountability, but that is your own decision. Answer the following questions:
1) Why do I want to learn how to play this instrument? You can answer any way you choose. For example, I wanted to learn the guitar when I was 15 because I wanted to impress girls. True story. Later on, I wanted to learn the ukulele because I loved the way it sounded and wanted to understand how it works, and I want to be a great ukulele player.
2) What are my favorite styles of music? This question is important because even if you listen to "all styles of music," few people really enjoy ALL styles of music. Pick your top two or three genres, naming your favorite artists, favorite songs, etc. This question is so important because you're going to improve when you hear that your playing is consistent with what you listen to. Also, using the ukulele as an example, I felt pressured to play more "Hawaiian sounding" music until I realized that you can play any style with it. It has it's distinct sound, but doesn't limit you to a genre.
3) How will I meet my musical aspirations? This is a really tough question to ask yourself because your aspirations may be broad, and you don't know what it will take to "conquer the world with your axe!" But let me assure you that the best and brightest and most gifted musicians are the ones who put in hours upon hours of practice. Make a plan to practice, or learn a new song every day, or sign up to take lessons. Maybe you have a friend learning an instrument that you should plan jam sessions with, or however else you want to improve, write down some ideas on how you will learn. Try to recognize your own learning style and make plans to learn THAT way. You're more likely to learn and succeed if you take the initiative to do it yourself, rather than someone forcing you to do it against your will.
By sitting down and thinking about why you are trying to learn to play, it will help you navigate the road to becoming as good as you want to be. These questions will apply at all levels of learning an instrument, even if you're a rock star, or jazz musician, it's always nice to figure out why you want what you want, and where you still want to go.
All that said, when you buy your ukulele, it's always nice to get the entire package to get you started, included lessons, tuners, CDs, etc. You're less in the dark when you have a direction to go.
I put together a tutorial for the song "You and I" by Ingred Michaelson. It has an easy verse progression, but is a little more challenging in the chorus, making it a slightly harder song for beginners. Give it a try though.
Have you not heard this song? You can get it here.
I heard this song several times, then decided to learn it.
So I actually listened to it and got a little misty eyed. Silly boy. Super awesome song though. It's actually a really common progression, but in a less common key. I hope this video is helpful to those learning to play it.
This song is fantastic, and a great one to learn! I definitely stuck to a basic way of playing it (adjustments need to be made in order to play along with the actual song), but the chords are meant for a beginner player.
I also like that this song is a three count, which are not common amongst popular music.
The third thing that stood out to me with this song is it has a chord hold until you start singing. That doesn't always happen. In other words, you can play the same chord until you start singing, and then the progression will begin. This is a fun thing to take note of because you can direct the song yourself, rather than have the progression push you through it. I dunno, it's hard to explain.
As mentioned in the video, this isn't exactly something people are dying to know, but it will help you in the long wrong to at least get an idea of where your notes on on the fretboard.
Write this down:
A BC D EF G
D EF
G A BC
D EF
G A BC
D EF
G
This looks confusing, but it helps me remember.
Always remember that A, D and G notes have a full step between them and the next note. In other words, they have both a flat and a sharp.
B and C as well as E and F are always together, or a half step. B has a flat, and C has a sharp. E has a flat and F has a sharp.
I wanted to break down a few options you have while working on the shuffle strum. This is the strum most folks will use when learning the ukulele, and you have no excuse not to learn it. Once you get it, it all gets easier. But maybe it doesn't.
Jingle bell rock! An iconic song played again, again and again during the holiday season. If you're an accomplished player, this song should not give you any trouble, but for a beginner, it can be a little daunting. I tried to make my tutorial a little easier to grasp for a beginner.
Have fun with it. Once you start getting it, look up harder ways to play the song! Or maybe ask me how to play it the fancy dance way, and I'll help you out!
A tough song to play, the Christmas Song has a jazzy feel to it. Listening to it isn't all that difficult, but it's definitely an "intermediate" song to learn. I heard the Mindy Gledhill version of this song the other day and decided that that was the version I would learn. If you're unfamiliar with that version, look it up. Or look here:
Here is a very quick tutorial of my take on this song. It is not 100% spot on, but it will get you far enough that few people will try to beat you with paper and bows if you play it.
Of course, if you run the risk of posting anything on Youtube or the internet in general, be prepared for people who think less of your abilities.
A fun song to learn for a beginner: You are my sunshine.
I use the following chords: C, F and G. Other respective combinations include, but are not limited to:
G, C and D
E, A and B
A, D and E
D, G and A
I've been focusing on playing major chords. With this song, and many others, you can replace the last chord in the sequence with a major 7th. So for example, in the video I focus on playing C, F and G. You can replace the G with a G7. It sounds a little closer to the mark.
This is a great song to practice on the ukulele. You get to practice strumming, chucking, picking and just changing chords. I've put together a little video to help you out.
In case you're wondering, I'm not the only person who provides a tutorial on the 12 bar blues. I hope my tutorial is clear enough to keep you from running away.
The video will help you count out this progression, but let me just write it out real quick.
What's a bar? A bar is a measurement in a song. I think most "popular" songs have a four count, but occasionally you'll find a song with a three count. Three counts are most commonly recognized in a waltz. There are other counts, but you're not going to see those in any music I'm going to teach.
We are focusing on a four count bar, and of course, the "12 bar blues" is going to be 12 counts of four. Make sense so far?
To start the practice, focus only on downstrokes, and count it out. "1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4 . . ."
Using the chords C, F and G, the progression goes:
C: 4 bars
F: 2 bars
C: 2 bars
G: 1 bar
F: 1 bar
C: 2 bars
repeat.
You can do this progression with these other major chords (respective to C, F and G):
E, A and B
G, C and D
A, D and E
D, G and A
The benefit of playing the songs with different chords is how high or low your voice can go.
A few examples of songs with this progression:
Can't Buy Me Love
Hound Dog
Great Balls of Fire
There's more examples, so let me leave it up to you to tell me what they are.
It is important at some point that we learn all the major chords, whether you are planning on using them or not. Spoiler alert, you will use all of them all the time. Get over it.
Tutorial number 1: learn D and E. the funny thing is, these chords are identical, just on a different fret. Cool.
Tutorial number 2: Learn A and B. Guess what, these chords are also identical, only less obvious for the casual observer.
So what else truly needs to be said after such great knowledge has been dropped? Nothing. Watch these videos, practice, and remember me when you sign your record deal.
A challenge we all face when learning an instrument is making it sound good when we change chords. Personally, I enjoy songs that have one or two chords in them, and you don't have to change very often at all (reference a Johnny Cash song).
Here's the bad news, even the most popular songs (often the easiest songs to play) have more than one chord in them, so you need to practice chord changes. So here is an exercise you can work on with the four chords we all know by now: C, G, A minor and F.
Start with C and strum, then change to G. Then go back to C. Then to G. Back and forth, forth and back.
Next go from G to F and back again. Back and forth, back and forth.
As you do this, your fingers are going to start remembering what the chord feels like, and you won't have to think about it nearly as often.
Personally, my goal when changing chords, is to change my finger positions between strums. In other words, the strings from my playing a C will still be ringing as I change to the G. The transition sounds much smoother that way.
Remember, start slow, practice lots, and soon you'll forget how hard you worked when you're rocking the uke in front of billions of adoring fans, or whoever your intended audience is.
I posted a video of a song I wrote and my grandma of all people suggested that it would be better if I had been fully clothed in the shower while I sang it. Odd, but the more I thought of it, the more it made sense. I mean, I did write it in the shower, and the acoustics are better in there...
Here is my "Ukulele Song". It encompasses the formula for the greatest song ever written. It's simple, really. The sad news is that I may not have the ability to write hit song lyrics... First, to appeal to the masses, the music has to be simple, not complex. This may be a difficult concept to grasp, but go ahead and listen to a "popular" music channel on the radio, and you'll find 4 out of five songs repeat the same thing over and over and over and over again, usually about the same thing everyone sings about.
Second, you need a chorus that people can sing along to. The lyrics in the verse rarely matter, simply because when someone requests a song, they say "play the 'chorus' song." Ever heard that? How about "Play that song that goes "hey-yay, hey yay yay yay . . ."". That's Train's "Hey soul sister."
Third, and relevant to the second point, use as few words as possible in your chorus. The more "hey's", "yay's", "ho's" and "yo's" you use makes people more willing to sing along. Think about it.
Fourth, transitions are key. You can't simply play the same progression over and over. You have to add some kind of transition in your song. Bridge before the chorus is a good example of this.
Have two verses, and then in place of a third verse, either add a solo, or if you can't solo, like me, just add a different format to the third verse. Wrap up the song with a few passes of the chorus, and end it however you like. Not too long, but enough to give them what they needed.
The formula for the hit song goes: Intro, verse, bridge, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, interlude, chorus, chorus.
Song writers, you may not agree with this, but if you happen to want to write a popular song, which should not be confused with a good song, use this formula.
Here is my own "Ukulele Song," which will be a HUGE hit, as it demonstrates the hit song formula.
Forewarning, this is more geared for the folk who play or are learning to play an ukulele.
I have mentioned before that I've played guitar for a long time, but only recently began playing the ukulele. One of the things I really struggled with when first learning the uke is trying to find a bar chord, or an easier way to play a chord that I could just hop to instead of looking up the actual chord.
That didn't make sense.
For example, on the guitar, I'm confident there is a chord for C minor, or C# that is not a bar chord. However, I've never learned it. I play the bar chord when I come across a song that requests those. Or B, same story.
This could be my own personal problem, but I've learned to accept who I am.
Transitioning to the uke met certain challenges because I couldn't figure out what the bar chord shortcut was. Guess what folks, it exists!
Play an F. Then move up. That's all. Play an A, then move up. Play a D and move up (or down).
Just remember FAD, which is what the current ukulele crowd denies they are (including myself).
Starting an ukulele is the first step to enjoying the qualities it inevitably will bring you. No, that's not right. The first step is to buy an ukulele. Go here, "Liana Soprano Ukulele LU132", and buy a quality instrument for under $100! Yep, in my opinion, you shouldn't spend more than that until you know you'll love it.
Now that you have an uke, welcome to the party. The one thing I was really excited about when I first bought an ukulele was how "simple" it was. That statement underestimates this instrument, but in all fairness, it doesn't take much to get started fooling around with one of these things.
Prior to learning any chords, I loved the sound of strumming the muted strings. Like a half-effort chuck. The sound of the muted strings resonating in the tiny body of the uke sounds so great to me. Every time I pick it up, I can't help but strum the muted strings just to get a feel once again.
The first chords I learned are the chords I play nearly every time I pick the thing up. C major, G major, A minor and F major. By learning those four chords, you can play almost all songs known in the current music industry. Here's a list of 10 VERY popular songs with the progression of those four chords:
1) Hey soul sister - Train
2) Dammit - Blink 182
3) Can you feel the love tonight - Elton John
4) I'm yours - Jason Mraz
5) Somewhere over the rainbow - IZ Kamakawiwo'ole
6) Love the way you hold me - Jamie Grace
7) Let it be - The Beatles
8) Under the bridge - Red hot chili peppers
9) Jesus of Suburbia - Green day
10) Four chords - Axis of Awesome - This one lists the rest of the songs not included in my list.
Of course, I couldn't help but write my own ukulele song in tribute of the four chord staple, so here it is.
Okay, you have a starting place. Learn those four chords and then the songs they are in. Don't forget to buy an ukulele. "Liana Soprano Ukulele LU132"
This doesn't quite fit my typical post on this blog, but wanted to share anyway. As posted a few days ago, I've been a little obsessed with writing songs lately. Here's the most recently added:
I love to hear any comments, etc. Thanks for watching.
Oh, and as always, though entirely unrelated, it's never too late to buy a ukulele. It's the most affordable and relaxing instrument you're going to find. Ready, GO! --> "Liana Soprano Ukulele LU132"
For anyone aspiring to become a good ukulele player, the biggest piece of advice I can offer is play with others! You can only go so far by watching other people play songs on Youtube, or taking video lessons, etc. In my opinion which is based on personal experience, the best way to learn and improve is to sit down with someone else and play. You seriously don't know what you're missing until you do it, and then you'll know.
However, if you're like me and don't have someone to play with on a regular basis, your next best option is to play with yourself.
Crap, this is beginning to sound like something very different than a music lesson.
Since I've been wanting to play a duet lately, but don't have the "du", I've had to clone myself. Here's my imperfect version of "It ain't me babe", originally written by Bob Dylan. My version is closer to Johnny Cash's take on the song.
G C G D G
Go 'way from my window leave at your own chosen speed
G C G D G
I'm not the one you want, Babe, I'm not the one you need.
Bm Am Bm Am
You say you're looking for someone never weak but always strong
Bm Am Bm Am
To protect you and defend you whether you are right or wrong
C D
Someone to open each and every door
G
But it ain't me, Babe,
C D G
No, no, no, it ain't me, Babe,
C D G
It ain't me you're looking for, Babe.
Go lightly from the ledge, Babe, go lightly on the ground,
I'm not the one you want, Babe, I will only let you down.
You say you're looking for someone
who will promise never to part
Someone to close his eyes for you, someone to close his heart
Someone who will die for you and more
But it ain't me, Babe,
No, no, no, it ain't me, Babe,
It ain't me you're looking for, Babe.
Go melt back in the night, Babe,
everything inside is made of stone,
There's nothing in here moving and anyway I'm not alone
You say you're looking for someone
Who'll pick you up each time you fall,
To gather flowers constantly and to come each time you call
A love of your life and nothing more
But it ain't me, Babe,
No, no, no, it ain't me, Babe,
It ain't me you're looking for, Babe.
Throughout my life, I've always had a journal relatively handy. Though I may not write it one regularly, writing my thoughts translates into a form of meditation for my brain.
Tragically, I do not journal very often, and personally I don't count blogging as journaling. Whether I'm not allowing myself the time to do it, or I'm spending more time watching TV than trying to exercise my brain, I don't know. But there's always a part of me that wants to write a poem, or try to sort out the gobbly goop of random slop in my brain.
Earlier this year I embarked on a goal to learn 100 songs in 100 days on the guitar. It was fun because it gave me something to work on every day, but what I soon discovered after starting the goal was how uncomplicated so many songs actually are. I couldn't help wondering why I didn't write more songs myself. I had the capacity to write poems, as well as play the guitar. Why not just slap the two together?
Unfortunately I couldn't justify learning my own songs as a part of my 100 song in 100 day goal. No one would care, and I didn't have much time to devote to an unknown black hole.
But now those 100 days are over and the goal is officially complete. Here I am with a renewed energy for my creative capacity, but I'm still disengaged from sitting down and writing. Crap. Now what? It's not like I have tons of spare time in the day, and can just sit down and write whenever inspiration strikes.
But then I remembered one of my daily goals earlier this year; getting words on paper, every day. You don't know when creativity will strike, but you won't recognize it when it does if you're not writing anything down at all.
Two days ago, I found my most creative time of the day, and it happens to last about 10 minutes in the morning. I drive my wife to work and then come back home. I unbuckle my daughter out of her carseat and she spends the next 10 minutes using the inside of our car as a jungle gym. Meanwhile, I listen to NPR and drink my coffee. Lately though, I've pulled out my phone and have begun writing in the notepad app. Once the toddler is finished, I email my notes to myself and boom, words on paper.
Here is the song I wrote yesterday.
So for anyone out there who has a desire to write, but can't find the time, all you need to do is make it happen, maybe 10 minutes in the morning. If inspiration strikes, you're going to find you have a lot more time in the day than you thought.
I have a respectable number of young nieces and nephews, in addition to a very young daughter.
Among the age group, I have found the most commonly requested song is "Twinkle, twinkle little star". It's a tough one (sarcasm).
A funny revelation I had was that twinkle twinkle sounds EXACTLY the same as the ABC song. It's like a Weird Al Yankovich thing. In case you were not aware of this, please take a moment to sing both of those songs. It should take less than 60 seconds, unless you're belting it out for the bleachers.
Here is a very quick tutorial of, as I like to call it, "Twinkle twinkle, ABCs".
The progression in C:
C - G - F - C -
Twinkle twinkle little star
F - C - G - C
How I wonder what you are
C - F - C - G -
Up above the world so high
C - F - C - G
Like a diamond in the sky
C - G - F - C -
Twinkle twinkle little star
F - C - G - C
How I wonder what you are
If this is not the right pitch for you, try the progression in G:
G - D - C - G -
C - G - D - G
G - C - G - D
G - C - G - D
G - D - C - G -
C - G - D - G
For other pitches, just ask. Whatever your voice is willing to do, there is a pitch for that.
I hope these songs successfully enter your home and get your kids bouncing around before bedtime! Enjoy.
I use Facebook. It's a funny network because your grandmother can see what you post, and provide all sorts of various feedback. If you have an awesome gramma like me, she'll tell you that your ukulele videos should be recorded while you're fully clothed in the shower. She also will offer suggestions for songs you should write.
I received a suggestion a few days ago, the anniversary of Mt. Saint Helen's erupting, titled: "where were you when the mountain blew?" As a northwesterner, this was a pretty big deal, even though I hadn't been born yet when it happened. I made a deal that I would write music if she wrote lyrics. Gramma's reply was "I was at the zoo, poo poo pa doo".
It is late, but without further ado, "Where were you when the mountain blew"
I wrote about this during my 100 song in 100 day goal, which happened to be song 89 of 100. This song is rad. What better way to say it.
Also, the chord progression was much more complicated than I expected. Here's my take on the song:
I've come to believe that there is no better time in history to learn anything than right now. You have at your fingertips every possible resource to learn how to do something. And the better news is that with the help of youtube, it's all free. After thumbing through 200 versions of this song, I was able to find proper instruction on how to play it. Searching for the chord progression, I was able to find it for the uke and the guitar.
There are a handful of songs that everyone should know. On day one of owning an ukulele, I learned five chords: C, G, Am, F and D. The rest would come later.
In my excitement, I reached for a song in my repertoire that was easy to play, easy to sing, and that most people enjoy. It's "Leaving on a Jetplane".
Here is my ukulele version of "Leaving on a Jetplane". I've little patience to sing slowly, and my excitement wouldn't allow me to play it's more classic speed. You may also notice that I can't recall the chords throughout the entire song. All in all, it's a fresh version of an old song. Enjoy!
For anyone interested in the chord progression of "Leaving on a jetplane", I use G, C, G, C, G, C. D.
Other equally simple progression can include, but are not limited to:
C, F and G
A, D and E
E, A and B
Depending on how high or low you sing, you're entitled to use whatever chords you like to play a song. You just have to find which chords go together.
I've played the guitar for years, and I just recently took up playing the ukulele. Though working as a stay-at-home dad keeps me very busy, a few months ago I decided to take up a goal of learning 100 songs in 100 days on the guitar. About 10 days into this goal, I realized I needed an ukulele. I bought one about halfway through my 100 day goal, and now that I'm 100 songs smarter on the guitar, I've turned my focus to the ukulele.
This is my ukulele. She currently does not have a name.
It's such a similar instrument to the guitar, yet so very different. It feels different. It sounds different. You relocate yourself when you strum an uke rather than stay in the moment with a guitar. To me, it's a different feeling altogether. I'm driven to play outside more.
One could say that when you have a smaller instrument, you're more inclined to play with it all the time. Wait, that doesn't sound quite right.
As such a highly portable instrument, I find that I take it with me almost everywhere I go. I might not impress anyone with it, but it's a positive addiction that I hope I never give up.
This blog is going to serve a few purposes, I hope. First, I want to share my progress with the world. Second, I want to provide lessons from a beginner for a beginner. I feel that I have enough music theory understanding to be able to spread a good word, but I also want to disclaim that there are highly experienced ukulele players in this great big world who will provide more information than a beginner can handle. My goal is to provide a nice balance. We will see.
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