As Time Goes By Ukulele Tutorial for Beginners

by | Jun 2, 2019 | Video lessons

This week, we get to learn one of the best movie songs with the following As Time Goes By ukulele tutorial. As Time Goes By is an enduring and nostalgic song from the 1942 movie Casablanca.

Aside from this video tutorial on how to play As Time Goes By on the ukulele, we have made many easy ukulele tutorials that you can access from our blog page.

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AS TIME GOES BY UKULELE TUTORIAL – CHORDS

For this As Time Goes By ukulele tutorial, you’ll need to know or learn a lot of ukulele chord shapes – eleven in total. But the chord changes are pretty easy. Plus the strumming pattern is also easy, D-DU-UDU (D-down, U-up).

The chords are: Am, D7, Dm, G, G6, A7, Cm7, E7, C#dim, Em, G#dim.

Some tips on how to make these chord shapes are given by Jenny on the video. For instance, you’ll need to lift just one finger in the G to G6 sequence. And you can leave out the Cm7 chord but it’s easy to learn if you want to include as you play along. Although G#dim, which is a four-finger chord, is a bit harder, the chord shape that precedes and follows it is D7. For the transition, you’ll just need to slide two fingers from one fret to the next. Then add or remove the additional two fingers.

With a lot of practice with this easy ukulele tutorial, you’ll be on your way to playing one of the best songs in American cinema.

THEME SONG OF CASABLANCA

As Time Goes By became very popular when it was featured in the Academy Award winning movie Casablanca. Cultural icons Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman played the lead characters Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund. The character of Sam, a friend of Rick Blaine played by Dooley Wilson, sings As Time Goes By in one of the scenes. Max Steiner, who wrote the music for the film, based the whole score on As Time Goes By and La Marseillaise.

SONG HISTORY

Although As Time Goes By is famous as the theme song of Casablanca, it was actually originally written many years earlier for a 1931 musical called Everybody’s Welcome. American composer Herman Hupfeld wrote both music and lyrics. Frances Williams performed the song in the musical and also recorded it. Other notable artists who recorded As Time Goes By after the show included Rudy Vallée and Jacques Renard. Vallée’s version charted at number 15 while Renard’s reached number 13.

It was not possible for Dooley Wilson to record As Time Goes By during the filming of Casablanca, because of a musicians’ strike against recording companies at that time. To take advantage of the film’s success, RCA Victor then reissued Vallée’s 1931 recording which topped Your Hit Parade in 1942 for four weeks. In the same manner, Brunswick Records also came out with Renard’s 1931 rendition which in turn charted at number 10.

Finally, the American Film Institute voted As Time Goes By number two on its list of the 20th century’s “top 100 songs in American cinema” released in 2004. By the way, the number one song on this list is Over the Rainbow from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. Check out the ukulele tutorial for Over the Rainbow here. Happy strumming!

Do you want to sound convincing on folk songs? You know basic chords and strumming patterns. And you’re interested in folk music. You’d like to take it to the next level.

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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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