We will also plant our pinky on the top of the ukulele, just below the sound hole, to stabilize our picking hand. There will exceptions to this rule, but this should be considered “home base” for our three fingers. Check out this short video where I demonstrate the fingerpicking techniqu...
Ukulele lends itself to lighter pop songs really easily, but it can be fun to reinvent songs for the ukulele as covers. Since “Counting Stars” is built on a lot of production in the original recording, stripping it down to just the ukulele is a fun challenge. The song uses the same ...
One of the great pleasures of teaching ukulele the last decade has been seeing students successfully learn to play ukulele in their 70s, 80s, or even 90s. Because ukulele is an instrument for everyone, many of these students see success, but I’ve learned there are unique challenges at this...
For the picking hand, I’m just using my thumb to pluck the notes of the A-string. For the fretting hand, since this song plays notes all across the fretboard, my challenge to you is to try to use as many fingers from your fretting hand as possible to make your changes between notes...
Instead of using just your fingers, you can choose to use a ukulele pick for strumming and picking the strings as well. You can watch our video lesson where our ukulele experts share their tips on how to strum the ukulele. 7. Find songs to play on the ukulele As a beginner learning ...
Hank Williams' single-note-picking technique helped define country guitar playing, and this No. 1BillboardHot Country single proves he knew his way around song structure as well. This simple progression backing a catchy melody makes this tune into a country favorite. You've got two chords here...
The late great Stevie Ray Vaughan covered Buddy Guy’s bluesy, irreverent rendition of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” giving the nursery rhyme a whole new lease on life with a hard rock edge. Techniques such ashammer ons and pull offssit within the realm of rock, while the picking style is...
This song by Jason Mraz isn’t just a great tune for the ukulele — it makes for some good practice on the guitar as well. Try playing “I’m Yours” on an acoustic guitar using the basic cowboy chords. Check out some other Jason Mraz songs too, whether you want to master playing ...
His fourth albumBroken English(released in January) is a modern folk commentary on our tenuous American life–written before the pandemic. Though performed on guitar, the songs were written on the banjo. “With the fingerpicking, flat-picking style I play there’s sort of the bones of the me...
What makes this hobby unique is the fact that the ukulele is not seen as a “serious” or “proper” instrument, and so it attracts those more likely to be picking it up for fun. That night’s crew were a random collection of around 30 people ranging from 20 to 60, with various sha...