First Steps To Playing The Ukulele

STEP ONE:  Select a good quality instrument.  Too often I have had students who are expected to play an inferior instrument and it deters their learning and practice. You may think a $5 Ukulele from a budget store will be all you need. It isn’t. Ensure you purchase a reputable brand of Ukulele. The quality of the strings, and the materials that the cheap/budget brands are made of are inferior and you will find the Ukulele is unable to be tuned correctly and nor stay in tune. Cheap/Budget Ukuleles have inferior parts that can break very quickly. The Tuning keys, neck or bridge can snap within a very short time too.  I recommend Kalani or Mahala brands. The beginner ukuleles come in bright colours or natural finish and have a little colour matching soft case with a handle.

STEP TWO:      Purchase a good Tutor Book. There are many Ukulele Tutor books on the market. Some are specifically designed for small children, then others for older children and then of course there are tutor books more suitable to adults. Whatever category you may be purchasing for ensure there is a CD or an on-line music resource that you can download to your tech device. This will allow you to hear the song and to practice along with the music which will encourage your practice and goals. (Contact me for a list of good Music books and resources)
 

STEP THREE:   Mark your first 3 chords on the ukulele.  Purchase some small coloured stickers (we use stars, circles are just as good.) The chords we begin with at our music school are C, F & G7. We put a red star on the C chord position. 3 green stickers on the G7 position and 2x yellow stickers for F chord. Also place any coloured star on the back centre (behind the 2^nd fret to mark where your thumb should stay while playing.
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STEP FOUR:     Colour your chords on your music. I get 3-10 yr olds to colour chords & words on a song in the same colour as the chord. Older students can colour the chord changes with a marker pen in the same colour as the stickered chords. I believe the visual cues will assist with learning the different chords and enable more confident chord changes.
                                  
STEP FIVE:       Set aside a small amount of time EVERY day to practice. 10-15 minutes each day for the first month is all you need. Or even better, 2 or 3x 10 minute practices every day. This ensures the steady development of chord knowledge and finger placement. It will also assist finger and hand strengthening too which will help you to produce good sounds. Good posture is important when playing a ukulele too.

STEP FIVE:       Find a GOOD & EXPERIENCED Teacher
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STEP SIX:          Find other people to play your Ukulele with. Playing together with others will enhance your abilities, encourage you to practice and learn more and offer social fun with your instrument. HAVE FUN J