Week 1

Excited to get started? Here's your lesson for week 1!

• Tuning your ukulele
• 30 Minute beginner lesson
• How to read chord charts and understand chord numbers (and videos on how to play many)
• Lime in the Coconut - single chord song
• Slowing down the tempo of a song
• Play Melt with You (C, F)
• Play Pina Colada (D, A)
• Play Jambalaya (C, G7)

Pre-Tuning your ukulele is important!

New strings on a ukulele tend to go out of tune frequently until they are stretched out.

The best thing you can do is tune your ukulele often. If it's a brand new Uke, tune it up at least a dozen times. There's also a tuning video on YouTube to help you tune up.

Stretch Your Fingers (important!)

30 minute beginner lesson

I recommend you begin by watching the video lesson below.

It includes the following:

• The anatomy of the ukulele
• How to hold your Ukulele
• How to strum
• Practice strumming in time
• How to keep rhythm steady
• How to play your first chord
• Whole notes
• How to play your first song

Optional Learning Tools:

• Empty Plastic Bottle
• Egg Shaker / Pill Bottle
• Mirror

Reading Chord Charts

Before you can begin to play the songs I'll post here, you need to be in tune (see above) and know how to ready chord charts:

AutoScroll

The combination of the song + the autoscroll is a great benefit of this website. In order to utilize the autoscroll (so you don't have to take your hands of the ukulele), simply use the +/- at the top of the page:

Now you can play along without taking your hands off your Ukulele! This is the same process I used when I taught you the songs you learned in class.

Also, if the song is going too fast, don't forget you can slow it down using the gear icon:

Click here for more guidance on slowing down the tempo of a song.

Questions? Comments?