Show us your Ukulele and learning to play
Discussion
I’m an old git now but I tried to learn Guitar when in my late teens. I could strum a few chords and play some very basic stuff was never very good at it. I fact I need to sell my electro acoustic Ovation Glen Campbell from 1978 in sunburst which I’m told is worth quite a few quid now. I’ve always fancied playing an instrument but I’m not talented at all.
I think inspired by some of George Hinchcliffe's Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Stuff I thought I’d have a go at learning Ukulele. It’s 4 strings so ought to be simpler. Learning the chords and getting my old fingers to move is proving hard at the moment. I’m trying to toughen up my finger tips by having a strum every now and then I’m tempted to sign up for the course offered by ukulelebuddy.com - it seems quite comprehensive and I think the idea is to learn new stuff each week so after a few months you are significantly better than before and you can always go back over it.
So I looked for a Uke for a few weeks. Was going to go cheap and secondhand but then I spotted a Kala soprano in mango wood and thought it was gorgeous so I ordered it. The shop owner contacted me to say he was out of stock but he had the same model in a concert size which was about £40 dearer - I was shocked when he offered to sell it to me at the same price. I ripped his arm off. I ordered a hard case from eBay which arrived today, I had a £10 off offer from eBay on purchases over £20 and got it delivered for £11.68! So here is my Uke - pretty isn’t it?
So show off what you’ve got and any learning tips
I think inspired by some of George Hinchcliffe's Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Stuff I thought I’d have a go at learning Ukulele. It’s 4 strings so ought to be simpler. Learning the chords and getting my old fingers to move is proving hard at the moment. I’m trying to toughen up my finger tips by having a strum every now and then I’m tempted to sign up for the course offered by ukulelebuddy.com - it seems quite comprehensive and I think the idea is to learn new stuff each week so after a few months you are significantly better than before and you can always go back over it.
So I looked for a Uke for a few weeks. Was going to go cheap and secondhand but then I spotted a Kala soprano in mango wood and thought it was gorgeous so I ordered it. The shop owner contacted me to say he was out of stock but he had the same model in a concert size which was about £40 dearer - I was shocked when he offered to sell it to me at the same price. I ripped his arm off. I ordered a hard case from eBay which arrived today, I had a £10 off offer from eBay on purchases over £20 and got it delivered for £11.68! So here is my Uke - pretty isn’t it?
So show off what you’ve got and any learning tips
My Noah mahogany tenor uke. Lovely tone to it. I also have a couple of cheap soprano ukes and a concert one too. I've been playing for a few years now, after being in bands playing bass and guitar. Best bit of advice I can give is to find others to play with. It will improve your playing as well as motivating you to practise.
Nothing as fancy as you two guys but my son won one at school in music
I looked at learning as he seems to have shown little interest after initial experimentation but then I read that the strings aren't set up in order if you know what I mean ie not any variation of EADGBE. One of them is misplaced??
Was going to find a Ukelele for Dummies book but haven't so far.
I looked at learning as he seems to have shown little interest after initial experimentation but then I read that the strings aren't set up in order if you know what I mean ie not any variation of EADGBE. One of them is misplaced??
Was going to find a Ukelele for Dummies book but haven't so far.
You could download the Kala by Musopia app. It has a good tuner on it and some basic tunes and chords. You have to pay to subscribe to get full access though. I haven’t bothered as yet as I’m at the stage of hardening my fingertips and trying to remember the chords.
I’ve been recommended to subscribe to ukulelebuddy.com anyone here tried it?
I’ve been recommended to subscribe to ukulelebuddy.com anyone here tried it?
Edited by elanfan on Thursday 9th July 10:53
Skyedriver said:
Nothing as fancy as you two guys but my son won one at school in music
I looked at learning as he seems to have shown little interest after initial experimentation but then I read that the strings aren't set up in order if you know what I mean ie not any variation of EADGBE. One of them is misplaced??
Was going to find a Ukelele for Dummies book but haven't so far.
There is a "Ukulele for Dummies" book by Alistair Wood.I looked at learning as he seems to have shown little interest after initial experimentation but then I read that the strings aren't set up in order if you know what I mean ie not any variation of EADGBE. One of them is misplaced??
Was going to find a Ukelele for Dummies book but haven't so far.
Stan the Bat said:
Skyedriver said:
Nothing as fancy as you two guys but my son won one at school in music
I looked at learning as he seems to have shown little interest after initial experimentation but then I read that the strings aren't set up in order if you know what I mean ie not any variation of EADGBE. One of them is misplaced??
Was going to find a Ukelele for Dummies book but haven't so far.
There is a "Ukulele for Dummies" book by Alistair Wood.I looked at learning as he seems to have shown little interest after initial experimentation but then I read that the strings aren't set up in order if you know what I mean ie not any variation of EADGBE. One of them is misplaced??
Was going to find a Ukelele for Dummies book but haven't so far.
Looks like you have bagged a nice looking uke!
I learnt to play with Learn to Uke in London. And Cynthia Lin's YouTube videos are great for getting started. I now co-lead uke play-along nights in Stretford, Manchester (well pre-COVID and resuming post-COVID).
A great resource is https://www.gotaukulele.com/
Some of mine include:
Snail SUC-M2 Electro Concert Ukulele (the one I play the most)
aNueNue aNN-Tolele II Electro Concert Ukulele (with a Roland Mobile Cube amp)
Duke 10 Tenor Banjolele
I learnt to play with Learn to Uke in London. And Cynthia Lin's YouTube videos are great for getting started. I now co-lead uke play-along nights in Stretford, Manchester (well pre-COVID and resuming post-COVID).
A great resource is https://www.gotaukulele.com/
Some of mine include:
Snail SUC-M2 Electro Concert Ukulele (the one I play the most)
aNueNue aNN-Tolele II Electro Concert Ukulele (with a Roland Mobile Cube amp)
Duke 10 Tenor Banjolele
Having played the guitar since childhood I fancied trying something different a few years back. This is my retirement gift to myself - a handbuilt Concert Uke built locally to me in North Wales by Pete Howlett. (He's built ukeleles for the rich and famous including Martin Simpson and Warren Buffet no less). I was able to choose the wood and design myself. Lovely little thing and makes me smile every time.
I've been wanting to get into string instruments for years, but like so many others never found the time / motivation etc. etc. I finally decided to start learning a couple of years ago after my previous relationship failed and I needed a distraction. I picked up a cheap Stagg soprano for 20 quid off ebay.
The quality is questionable (bridge was not screwed in properly, strings are very poor), but it was enough to get me going. I found it incredibly satisfying to play, as it was so easy to pick up a few basic chords and get playing actual songs. I find the soprano a bit too small for my fingers, and in hindsight should have gotten a concert or even a tenor. I have been playing for a while now, and have made enough progress to be able to play with others. I even contemplate joining a local country and bluegrass band after jamming with one of their members and finding it incredibly good fun.
I found the following channel very helpful for solitary playing at home, as there are literally thousands of songs with chords and lyrics, and the guy plays many instruments so it is fun to see how the uke sounds along with a guitar or a bass. My favourite by far is to play along with a mandolin, the sound of the mando complements the ukulele very well.
https://www.youtube.com/user/MunsonCovers
The quality is questionable (bridge was not screwed in properly, strings are very poor), but it was enough to get me going. I found it incredibly satisfying to play, as it was so easy to pick up a few basic chords and get playing actual songs. I find the soprano a bit too small for my fingers, and in hindsight should have gotten a concert or even a tenor. I have been playing for a while now, and have made enough progress to be able to play with others. I even contemplate joining a local country and bluegrass band after jamming with one of their members and finding it incredibly good fun.
I found the following channel very helpful for solitary playing at home, as there are literally thousands of songs with chords and lyrics, and the guy plays many instruments so it is fun to see how the uke sounds along with a guitar or a bass. My favourite by far is to play along with a mandolin, the sound of the mando complements the ukulele very well.
https://www.youtube.com/user/MunsonCovers
I bought this tenor uke about a year ago, helped by an amazon voucher my brother had given me the previous Christmas.
It can be heard here, if you listen carefully - middle section only.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD-Zf8ObQ2Q
Note the interesting tuners!
I have since found a source for these, so will be installing a set on an older soprano uke which I'm restoring.
(I also have 2 mandolins to restore, one acoustic and one electric, plus so many violins I've lost count.)
It can be heard here, if you listen carefully - middle section only.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD-Zf8ObQ2Q
Note the interesting tuners!
I have since found a source for these, so will be installing a set on an older soprano uke which I'm restoring.
(I also have 2 mandolins to restore, one acoustic and one electric, plus so many violins I've lost count.)
Edited by Evangelion on Sunday 12th July 21:38
Our daughter was meant to be learning ukulele at primary school this term but being at home that didn’t happen so we decided to buy one for her to try learning herself. I don’t know much about ukuleles but this Cascha was only about £40 from Bax music with a bag and little digital tuner and seems beautifully made for the money and is nice to play.
I’m learning guitar using the Fender learning app, and my daughter can switch it to ukulele mode which seems to work well.
The string order does confuse me on the ukulele, though I’m sure there is some logic for it!
Mr.Grooler said:
... The string order does confuse me on the ukulele, though I’m sure there is some logic for it!
I think it's just to make chords sound more interesting!TBH, it doesn't confuse me as much as the whole 'to hear a G you must play a D ... etc' scenario. (If you think of them as the top four strings on a guitar.)
I grew up in the village where George Formby was born so I started to learn the uke / banjolele around 12, and then went on to irritate old pensioners in care homes singing George Formby songs about the war! That was back in the 80's. The uke is a great place to start to learn an instrument though and a great stepping stone to the guitar.
C
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