Lava Easy Ukulele Tutorial

by | Oct 13, 2015 | Kids and school, Video lessons

Lava Easy Ukulele TutorialLava easy ukulele tutorial is intended for ukulele beginners. If you’re new to ukulele, Lava is a great song to learn because it only uses three chords, C, F and G7. James Ford Murphy says his song was inspired by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. And in fact, he used the same strumming pattern.  So learning to play Lava will help you get ready to take on Over the Rainbow. Because Over the Rainbow has more chords and harder chord shapes, it’s a bit harder to learn.

Lava Easy Ukulele Tutorial

You can watch the Lava video tutorial below. Firstly, click here to download lyrics and chords for Lava.

 

Short Film

Director James Ford Murphy and producer Andrea Warren premiered the computer-animated musical short film Lava at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival on June 14, 2014. Subsequently, Pixar Animation Studios released the short film to theaters on June 19, 2015 alongside another computer-animated film Inside Out. The soundtrack of the film, also titled Lava, was released on June 16, 2015.

The short film is a musical love story that takes place over millions of years. Murphy says Lava was inspired by the “isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes.” He learned to play the ukulele and began writing a song. He pitched the idea to Pixar head John Lasseter — musically. “I was terrified, but I just went in and let rip,” he says. “You’ve got to just throw yourself into it.” In short, Lasseter loved the pitch and green lit the project.

“To generate stories I think about things I can geek out over, things that really touch me,” says Murphy, who’s been at Pixar for 19 years. Murphy fell in love with Hawaii after visiting on his honeymoon. “Hawaii really touches me. The geology, the people, the amount of music that has come out of this remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean — it just blows me away,” he says. “The fact that there are still active volcanoes in this place, the fact that there’s a whole chain of islands that has sunk back into the sea… it just became this fascination.”

Anyway, if you are fascinated by volcanoes, Hawaii, and love stories, you’ll lava playing Lava!

Are you struggling with strumming?

With our book and course, you’ll become a fluent 3-chord strummer.

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  1. Teach a Rest Position

Create a standard position players use whenever they are listening:

  • Place the ukulele flat against the body.
  • Rest the strumming hand gently on the strings.
  • Keep both hands still.
  • Look toward the leader.

Call it “rest position” and demonstrate it at the group’s first meeting. Use the same phrase consistently: “Ukuleles in rest position, please.”

This physically mutes the strings and gives everyone a clear visual signal that playing has stopped.

  1. Use One Attention Signal

Choose a signal that can be seen or heard across the room. Possibilities include:

  • Raising one hand
  • Playing a short, distinctive chord
  • Saying, “Rest position”

Explain the signal before rehearsal begins: “When you see my hand raised, finish the chord you are playing, mute your strings, and look up.”

Avoid competing with the group by repeatedly talking over the instruments. Give the signal, pause, and wait until everyone is ready.

  1. Set a Clear “No Noodling” Expectation

Many players noodle because they are excited, nervous, practicing a difficult chord, or unaware that it is distracting. Address the behavior without embarrassing anyone.

Try saying:

“Between songs, please mute your strings so everyone can hear the instructions. We’ll always give you a moment to check chords before we begin.”

Then build short, intentional practice windows into the session:

  • “Take 20 seconds to find the opening chord.”
  • “Quietly check the change from C to G7.”
  • “Let’s try that strum together once.”

Players are more likely to stop playing at random when they know when practice is welcome.

  1. Amplify the Leader, Not the Entire Room

In larger groups, a small microphone, portable speaker, or amplified ukulele can save the leader’s voice and make directions easier to follow. Amplification should provide clarity—not to overpower the players.

Test the equipment before the session, position the speaker where everyone can hear it, and keep spoken instructions short. A microphone cannot replace an attention routine, but it makes a good routine much more effective.

  1. Create Predictable Transitions

Noodling often fills uncertainty. Tell players exactly what is happening next:

    1. “Finish the final chord.”
    2. “Rest position.”
    3. “Turn to page 14.”
    4. “Find a C chord.”
    5. “Watch for my count-in.”

Use a visible or audible count-in before every song. Once players learn that nothing begins until the leader counts them in, spontaneous starts become less common.

A Simple Group Agreement

At the beginning of a session, say:

“To help everyone hear and learn, we use rest position whenever someone is speaking. When I raise my hand, please mute your strings and look up. You’ll have time to check chords before each song, and we’ll always start together on the count-in.”

The goal is not silence for its own sake. It is to create a group in which instructions are brief, rehearsals move smoothly, and everyone gets more time to make music together.

Here’s a list of etiquette expectations from ukulele group members to make the group learning more effective and fruitful for everyone. 

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