My Top Tip For Ukulele Beginners

Play slowly!

That’s it. That’s all you have to do. Well, not all but I must have repeated this advice in every lesson I’ve ever given.

I believe it’s the one tip that really helps beginners but seems the hardest to grasp.

Think about it….

You’ve treated yourself to a ukulele or been given one as a present. You either buy a songbook with ukulele chords or you go searching online for inspiration for what to play. You find a song you recognise and fancy having a go at. Assuming you haven’t picked one with lots of tricky chords and changes (not a good idea either!), you make a start.

You make your first stab at the chords and where to put your fingers. Not many of us get it right first time and then repeat the success each time. So don’t be too hard on yourself.

So you think, “OK, I’ve got the gist of the chords now. Let’s tackle that song.” You know how the song goes, the rhythm, the speed. In your head you hear the drums and guitars etc.

And then crash! You reach your first chord change and the world stops spinning while your fingers take their time to meander to the next chord. It’s very frustrating, isn’t it?

This is where “Play slowly” comes in.

Your strumming hand is soon up to speed with a simple strum, but your chord (fretting) hand takes longer. It’s never seen this song, these chords before and shouts “Woah”.

So how slow is slow? Well, it varies from person to person but the aim is to smoothly change from chord to chord without the song grinding to a halt or making any mistakes.

See how long it takes you to comfortably change chord. That is how slow I would suggest you play that song (for now). Even if it makes the jolliest song sound like a funeral dirge, it’s my belief that it will sound better than charging along and crashing.

Give your chord hand time to build its muscle memory for each chord and change. Don’t worry if you don’t sound like the original – you’re making your own music now.

The speed will come later and naturally as you become more confident.

Now go and pick a very simple tune – eg. a nursery rhyme – and try it.

Relax – Don’t rush – It’s not a race.

Good luck and happy strumming!