Ukulele Practicing Tips: Plan Ahead to Learn Ukulele Fast

by | Oct 15, 2013 | Beginners

Here are more ukulele practicing tips to learn how to play the ukulele fast.

In my last post, “Can You REALLY Learn Ukulele in 20 Hours?”, I talked about some of the principles of ‘rapid skill acquisition’ presented by Josh Kaufman in his recent book, The First 20 Hours: How to Learn ANYTHING Fast.  I looked at how important it is to create time to practice by weeding out other activities that are less important, and the importance of making it easy to get started practicing.

In today’s post, let’s look at two more key ideas about learning something fast, or at least in the most efficient way possible.

To Learn Ukulele Fast, Plan Ahead to Block Distractions

After you’re done creating a place where you can store your ukulele and associated gear for easy access, put some attention on how to block 20834331212_fc5cfae9ac_ndistractions before they start. It’s best if your space can be free of noise (if that distracts you), and requests for attention from family, pets, and electronic family/pets such as your smart phone, tablet, or computer.

Since the ukulele is portable, maybe your practice space can be physically distant from potential distractors. If the distracting items have on/off switches or volume controls, use them! Unfortunately this doesn’t work on cats, but I do have Clare the Cat trained to curl up and sleep on the chair next to me when I am practicing. When necessary, I reinforce training with additional dried bonito flakes. See Clare in action with ukulele playing here.

Maybe you can do your practicing when family members are away, concentrating on their own activities, or asleep.  You probably can’t train them with dried bonito flakes, but there might be other “treats” that can be negotiated. All of this planning will help you learn ukulele fast.

Plan How to Overcome Emotional Blocks

In my almost 40 years of piano teaching experience, adult music learners often have unrealistically high expectations of how fast they ‘should’ progress. (Children are used to beginning new skills and tend to be less judgmental.) Adults also sabotage themselves by comparing themselves to others (sometimes real, more often imaginary), who are of course doing better than they are.

Finally, everyone has a different learning style and background, so things that are easy for one person may be difficult for another. As a teacher, I can definitely say I have NEVER had a student for whom everything is easy. Even the most brilliant players had to work hard at something, and the ones that improve the most quickly are those who work the hardest and who are the most patient and positive.

Tell the negative voice in your head to be quiet so you can concentrate. It is irrelevant whether you are learning faster or slower than someone else, because learning is not a race: hopefully it never ends, and you’re not in it for the prize money anyway.

Sometimes it is helpful to find a supportive other; maybe there is a friend or family member who can cheer you on. There also are a lot of great ukulele groups on Facebook where people encourage each other and ask for help and advice.

All of these tips will help you learn ukulele fast. And I’d love to hear from you. Which ukulele practicing tips did you try and which ones work the best for you? What is your practice space like? What do you like about it? Have you had to overcome any emotional blocks on your path to ukulele ninja-ism? How did you do it? Any tips for others?

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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.

6. Operate iPads for music.

Many ukulele groups read off iPads, and everyone buys the same app. forScore is one of the common ones, but don’t get anything until the group leader tells you which one they use. From there, the leader or the singer/songwriter shares the music by AirDrop, so everyone is reading off the same page. Corrections land with the whole group at once, and nobody is working from an outdated copy.

 

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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