Ukulele For Dummies

Alistair Wood is a ukulele player, transcriber, and arranger who owns the popular ukulele site ukulelehunt.com. He first picked up a ukulele at the age of 16 and has since been sought out for his ukulele wisdom by The New York Times, The Guardian, the BBC, and many other media outlets.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 2Icons Used in This Book 2Beyond the Book 3Where to Go from Here 3Part 1: Getting Started with the Ukulele 5Chapter 1: Exploring the Ukulele 7Understanding the Uke’s Advantages 7Loving the sound 8Joining a vibrant community 8Appreciating the uke’s practicality 8Sizing Up the Ukulele 10Meeting the family: Daddy uke, mummy uke, and baby uke 11Deciding which uke is best for you 11Taking a Tour: The Anatomy of the Ukulele 11Becoming a Well-Versed Ukulele Player 15Strumming along to hula in Hawaii 15Swinging and picking across the USA 16Rockin’ and rollin’, and getting down with the blues 17Diversifying into ever more styles 17Chapter 2: Tuning Up to Sound Great 19Knowing Some Musical Terms 20Notes as letters 20Half steps and whole steps 20Chords and scales 21Major and minor 21Pitching into Tuning Basics 22Unravelling Tunings for Your Instrument 22Exploring the most common tuning: gCEA 23Using other tunings 24Choosing a Tuning Method 24Going hi-tech: Tuning with an electronic tuner 25Listening and repeating: Tuning to the audio track 26Stringing along: Tuning to a guitar 26Seeing in black and white: Tuning to a piano or keyboard 26Tuning your uke to itself 27Chapter 3: Discovering How to Handle Your Ukulele 29Holding On to Your Ukulele 29Positioning yourself to play 30Standing up 31Sitting down 31Holding your uke left-handed 32Developing Your Strumming 32Strumming in the right spot 33Strumming in the right way 34Refusing to use a pick! 34Pressing On to Fretting 35Positioning your fretting hand 35Locating where to fret 36Discovering how strongly to fret 36Adjusting when things don’t sound right 37Playing and pain 37Part 2: Starting Out with Chords and Strumming 39Chapter 4: Playing Your First Ukulele Chords and Songs 41Playing Music without Reading Music 42Reading chord diagrams 42Deciphering chord diagrams for lefties 44Playing a Song Using Two Chords 44Creating a C chord 44Fingering an F chord 45Starting your first song: “Li’l Liza Jane” 46Developing Your First Strumming Patterns 47Using strumming notation 48Filling in with ups and downs 48Finding an easy way to follow rhythms 49Discovering Seventh Chords 51Getting to grips with G7 51Adding the E7 chord 52Taking off with your second song: “I’ll Fly Away” 53Practicing Minor Chords 55Attempting A minor 55Moving on to D minor 56Majoring in E minor 56Playing your first minor-chord song 57Chapter 5: Drumming Up More Strumming Patterns 59Pocketing the Ever-Useful Swiss Army Strum 59Adding Pep with Some Strumming Variations 64Changing chords within bars 64Strumming strongly and weakly 65Introducing the time signature 66Checking out chnks 71Strumming for Various Genres 72Getting down with blues strumming: The shuffle 72Becoming upbeat about the reggae off-beat 73Rocking without strumming 75Rolling your strums 76Deciding on an Appropriate Strumming Pattern 77Chapter 6: Meeting the Chords and Their Families 79Getting to Know Chord Families 79Practicing the Three-Chord Trick: The I–IV–V Progression 80Fingering Barre Chords 82Going flat-out for B flat 82Deciding to play D7 85Playing B minor 85Moving Chord Shapes 87Budging up barre chords 87Discovering new moveable chord shapes 88Inviting Round More Chord Families 92Geeing up the G chord family 93Finding out about the F chord family 94Playing according to the A chord family 94Discovering the D chord family 95Easing the Chord Changes 95Changing D and A the easy way 96Refingering E minor 96Shuffling B7 97Breezing through D7 97Part 3: Picking and Single-Note Playing 99Chapter 7: Coming to Grips with Tabs and Notation 101Tapping into Tabs 101Stringing notes along in tabs 102Fretting notes in tab 102Sequencing notes in tab 103Playing simultaneous notes in tab 103Chording in tab 104Strumming in tab 104Reading Rhythms 104Splitting into quarter notes 105Holding on for half and whole notes 106Dividing further: Eighth and sixteenth notes 106Dotting and tying notes 107Resting and Repeating 109Taking a rest 109Repeating and repeating 110Putting Everything Together 112Starting with a simple tune 112Moving up the neck 113Shifting positions 113Chapter 8: Discovering Fingerpicking Patterns 117Introducing the Fingerpicking Technique 118Picking Up Some Picking Patterns 120Getting the lowdown on the up pattern 120Rising and falling: The up and down pattern 123Playing all together: The simultaneous picking pattern 123Thumbing around: The alternate picking pattern 125Chapter 9: Combining Melodies and Chords When Playing Solo 131Strumming Melody and Chords Together 131Thumb-strumming the melody 132Using up strums 134Strumming between the melody 134Finger-strumming the melody 137Picking Out Melodies and Chords 139Faking a strum 139Fingerpicking to combine melody and chords 139Chapter 10: Picking Up Some Soloing Techniques 141Getting Articulated on the Frets 141Hammering-on 142Pulling-off 143Sliding between notes 144Bending notes 147Producing vibrato 149Putting everything together 150Picking Your Way to Great Solos 150Being all fingers and thumbs (in a good way!) 151Picking alternately: The running man 151Using a pick 151Strum blocking 152Inventing Solos the Easy Way 153Soloing using chord shapes 153Playing all the chord shapes 153Soloing with scales 154Part 4: Discovering Genres and Styles 157Chapter 11: Rocking Out with Your Uke 159Rocking Out with Chords 159Keeping it simple: Three-chord punk 160Adding a fourth chord 160Powering up with 5 chords 160Building tension: Suspended chords 161Strumming Rock and Punk Rhythms 162Bo Diddling 162Iggy Popping 163Making Your Uke Talk: Soloing Tips 163Phrasing like speaking 164Articulating questions and answers 164Moving up the fretboard for tension and release 164Chapter 12: Playing the Blues to Lift Your Spirits 167Playing Blues Chord Progressions 168Performing a simple 12-bar blues 168Varying the 12-bar blues 168Shuffling the blues 172Turning the Blues Around 176Leading the Blues 178Soloing with the Blues Scale 179Discovering the first position blues scale 180Using the second position blues scale 180Scaling the heights with solos 181Chapter 13: Saying “Aloha” to the Hawaiian Style 185Strumming in the Hawaiian Way 185Turning Around, Hawaiian-Style 188Progressing to the Hawaiian turnaround 188Soloing the Hawaiian turnaround 189Stretching Out to Play “Alekoki” 190Chapter 14: Jazzing Up Your Uke Playing 193Turning Around, Jazz-Style 193Using Hot Jazzy Chords 195Strumming in That Jazzy Way 196Playing a ragtime tune 196Hitting the split stroke 198Chapter 15: Strumming Up the Jawaiian Style 201Starting Up Some Jawaiian Strumming 202Practicing the touch strum 202Drumming up the thumb ’n’ strum style 203“Jamming” with Bob Marley 205Chapter 16: Getting Classy: Classical Masterpieces for Ukulele 207Strumming Up the Classics 207Picking the Classics — Classical Guitar Pieces for Ukulele 210Playing Campanella Style 213Chapter 17: Ukuleleing the Holidays 217Playing the Twelve Days 217Ringing in the New Year with “Auld Lang Syne” 219Making a Noise with “Silent Night” 220Part 5: Buying and Looking After Your Ukulele 223Chapter 18: Weighing Up Your Options When Buying a Ukulele 225Buying Your First Uke 225Assessing how much to spend 226Picking a size 226Avoiding problems 227Deciding Where to Buy 227Buying from a shop 227Purchasing online 228Obtaining Your Second (and Third, Fourth, Fifth ) Ukulele 228Thinking about solid versus laminated 229Considering types of wood 229Plugging In: Electric Ukuleles 231Lowering the Tone: Bass Ukuleles 232Chapter 19: Splashing Out on Essentials and Accessories 233Picking the Right Strings 233Getting Hold of Optional Accessories 234Clipping on a tuner 234Bagging a case 235Recording your performance 235Leaving it standing up or hanging down? 236Strapping on your uke 236Capturing the right capo 236Feeling for a pick 237Going Mobile 238Finding uke chords 238Tuning up 238Keeping time with a metronome 239Recording tunes 239Chapter 20: Restringing, Maintaining, and Adjusting Your Uke 241Restringing Your Ukulele 241Deciding when to restring 242Removing the strings 242Tying the strings at the bridge 243Looping the strings round the tuning pegs 245Stretching the strings 246Maintaining Your Ukulele 246Cleaning after playing 247Storing your ukulele 247Tackling humidity 247Diagnosing and Solving Uke Problems 248Adjusting strings that go out of tune 248Deciding that the strings are too high: Lowering the action 248Fixing a buzzing sound: Raising the action 249Fighting against out-of-tune strings high up the fretboard 250Part 6: The Part of Tens 251Chapter 21: Ten Ukulele Players to Know 253Ernest Ka‘ai (1881–1962) 253May Singhi Breen (1895–1970) 254Roy Smeck (1900–1994) 254George Formby (1904–1961) 255The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (1985–) 255Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole (1959–1997) 256Jake Shimabukuro (1976–) 256Amanda Palmer (1976–) 257James Hill (1980–) 258Zach Condon (1986–) 258Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Get Involved in the Ukulele Scene 259Joining a Ukulele Club 260Visiting a Ukulele Festival 260Making a Video 261Playing Live 261Going Online 262Spreading the Uke News 262Entering a Contest 262Teaching Someone 263Writing Your Own Songs 263Seeing a Show 264Chapter 23: Ten (or So) Tips for Improving Your Playing 265Playing Very Slowly 265Refusing to Rush Things 266Recording Yourself 266Playing with and for Others 267Practicing in Sections 267Knowing When to Stop Practicing 267Stealing from Everyone 268Varying Your Inversions and Verying Your Invarsions 268Opening Your Ears 269Enjoying Yourself 269Busting a Rut 270Chapter 24: Ten Greatest Ukulele Chords 271Invigorating C (with a High Note) 272Shimmering A Minor 7 (High Up) 272Melancholy F Major 7 273Complex G9 273Chilled Out G6 274The “Hawaiian” D7 274Uncomfortable A Augmented 7 275Jazzy C9 276Menacing F Minor 9 276Nostalgic E Diminished 7 277Part 7: Appendixes 279Appendix A: Chord Charts 281Appendix B: Reading Standard Musical Notation 285Appendix C: Audio Tracks 291Index 297