Let’s find out why ukulele is the perfect choice for a beginner who is looking for his first musical instrument to play.

So, you like music. You think you’d like to play an instrument. But, you live in an apartment or dorm, so you don’t have a lot of space. You don’t want to spend a lot of money. A quiet instrument would be a big plus. And you need an instrument that can grow with you.  The ukulele is portable, inexpensive, soothing and fun. It comes in many sizes to fit the person playing it. This is why it’s the perfect choice!

The ukulele is portable

A soprano ukulele can easily fit into a backpack. In fact, I put one on the back of my road bike when I rode across Iowa a few summers ago! That way I could stop and play a song with other people whenever I wanted. You can read more about my trip here.

Because the ukulele is so portable, it easily fits in an apartment or dorm room. You can even hang it on the wall as a work of art.

The ukulele is inexpensive

You can get an entry-level ukulele for under $50-$100. And it sounds good. You can even get a water-proof ukulele for outdoor trips.

The ukulele is quiet and soothing

If you live in a dorm or apartment, having an instrument that doesn’t bother the neighbors is essential. The ukulele is a quiet instrument that you can play at any time. You will not bother anyone and you’ll increase your own happiness and joy with the beautiful sounds.

If you join a ukulele club, the ukulele is quiet enough that 30 people can all play and sing at once without painful overstimulation. (I don’t think I’d want to hear 30 trumpeters in one room at a time!)

The sound is joyful and soothing. But don’t take my word for it. Look at what Eddie and the ukulele buzz site have to say about the ukulele’s sound.

The ukulele might be small in size but the sound it produces is rich, full, and entertaining. Another reason why people like the ukulele is because of the calmness of the sound it produces. Unlike other types of instruments, the ukulele does not produce any annoying sounds. ukulelebuzz

 

Life is serious. Life can also be tough. Maybe you’re having a horrible day at work, perhaps burnt out, or stressed out about the bills and other stuff you’ve got to take care of. Playing the ukulele makes you smile.  Eddie

The ukulele comes in many sizes

You can always try another size. The soprano, concert, and tenor ukuleles all tune the same to GCEA so you can easily switch from one to another. The main difference is that adult hands are often more comfortable on the tenor. Children are sometimes more comfortable on the soprano. Once you can play a little on your entry-level ukulele, try out different sizes to see which one fits you best.

Many ukulele players have more than one ukulele. They use one for traveling and one for singing and strumming. When you get more advanced you can use one for chord melody and one for playing clawhammer in a fiddle band. With the tenor and concert sizes you can get low G tuning instead of the re-entrant tuning pictured above. This makes the sound more mellow like a guitar.

Different types of ukuleles sound better in different styles of music. You’ll feel good about yourself because you keep switching instruments for different sounds. You’re playing the ukulele but with the different tunings and sounds, you can play all types of music and have fun.

The ukulele is fun

With its portability and beautiful sound, the ukulele is a ton of fun! You’ll be playing in no time and will be able to play music in all kinds of styles. If you’re not a singer, join in with other people who are. You can sing and play around a campfire and share the gift of music with everyone you care about.

When you take your ukulele to your next community get-together, you’ll be thrilled. You’ll realize why ukulele is the perfect choice, indeed.

Do you know what’s the difference between high-G and low-G tuning?

Sometimes you’ll hear ukulele players refer to “High G” or “Low G” tuning on their ukuleles. It can be confusing if you don’t know what they’re talking about. And, why does it matter? Recently Colleen reached out to me with this question:

When I watched the YouTube video where you teach “Edelweiss,” I noticed your ukulele sounded different and you said it had “low G tuning.” It sounded really nice the way you were able to pluck the strings with that kind of tuning. Can you tell me about Low G Tuning? Is that the tuning you use in all of your songs? Do you recommend it?

I answered her by telling her that it really depends on personal preference. Whatever type you choose for your ukulele is up to you. It depends on which sound you prefer.

Difference Between Low-G and High-G Tuning?

All soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles are tuned to GCEA. This tuning is called re-entrant because it starts high, then goes low and then goes high again. A lot of really cool effects can be done with this tuning, but that tends to be for more advanced players.

High G tuning is when the G string is higher in pitch than the C string.

You can see that the first note is higher than the second, which is one of the reasons the tuning of the ukulele sounds so unique.

Low G tuning is when you use a low G instead of a high G.

I mainly play with a Low G tuning because I like the deeper sound, especially for accompanying singing and for chord melody playing. Concert and tenor ukuleles can support the “Low G” tuning. A soprano ukulele will not work with the Low G string, because the lower-pitched G string will end up being really loose. Think of a loose rubber band to get the idea. If you want to switch out your ukulele to Low G tuning, it is very easy to do. It doesn’t work for soprano ukuleles, but for tenor and concert, all you need to do is buy a low G string. You can either replace the string yourself or have someone do it at the music store. Check out our recommendations page for low G and high G strings as well as other ukulele accessories. 

Why I Use Both High-G and Low-G Tunings

My soprano ukulele is more portable. And, it supports “High G” tuning. I have recently learned to play a lot of “clawhammer” with my soprano uke. Here is an example of what “clawhammer” ukulele sounds like. “Clawhammer” works better with the “High G” tuning.

When I play chord melody or accompany myself singing, I like to use “Low G” tuning. Here is an example of that on my tenor ukulele.

So, I use both tunings depending on the style of music I am playing. It gives me more variety of sound and is a lot of FUN. Knowing about the difference between high-G and low-G tuning can help you decide which one you prefer. Or, if you have more than one ukulele, you can have one with “High G” tuning and one with “Low G” tuning. Then you can more easily play all the styles of music you love.

There you are, practicing your musical instrument of choice. If you’re like many people, you may do the same things over and over without improving. And that’s very frustrating! But help is on the way. There are ways of practicing that are effective. By effective, I mean that you are able to improve at whatever it is you are practicing. There are also mental ‘hacks’ that can help you feel less frustration with practice. In this article, you’ll learn seven tools for dealing with frustration about practicing.

Ready to learn some great practice tips and hacks? Let’s get started.

1. Set more realistic goals

Frustration happens when reality doesn’t meet our expectations. If you alter your expectations to a more likely outcome, your frustration will go away.

You have to accept that you may not get the results you want when you want them. Learning takes however long it takes. You definitely want to be as efficient as possible, but it’s still going to take a lot of time. If you can learn to enjoy practicing, the time will be a pleasure. And who doesn’t want that?

Choose music you can realistically master

A main area where students cause themselves problems is with the music they choose to work on. Most beginners and inexperienced teachers also choose music that is much too difficult. This only breeds frustration for most students. Be sure your repertoire is realistic.

Don’t be fooled by the word ‘beginner’ or ‘easy’ in the title. Beginning books always sell more copies than more advanced books, so publishers use these words to sell more books. It’s better to progress quickly through music you think is on the easy side. This approach will build skills that you can then apply to more difficult music. You wouldn’t give a 4th grader reading material at a college level and expect them to use practice to master it.

Once an early intermediate adult piano student heard me working on the Chopin “Etude Opus 10 No. 1,” considered one of the more difficult of Chopin’s many difficult piano studies. He said, “Can I work on that?” I said “No, not until you’re much further along.” This is like a weekend tennis player thinking s/he could take on Serena Williams.

He said, “Why not? I can sight read it at home.” I was familiar with this student’s sight-reading level. By sight reading, he meant that he could play the piece through very slowly. He would also be starting and stopping when convenient.

So, when you pick songs to work on, you want to choose something that you can play at the right speed. And, without starting and stopping. Just because you can play through a piece slowly with many pauses does not mean that you could master it.

Be sure the skills you are trying to learn are realistic

I had someone come once for a special lesson on piano technique. He wanted to learn how to raise his ring finger as high as all his other fingers. I told him this was physically impossible. Test it yourself – put all your fingertips on a tabletop and try lifting each one individually. The fourth finger does not lift as high because it has tendons running over the top of the knuckle.

(Classical composer Robert Schumann injured his hand and was not able to play piano anymore. It’s rumored that he was trying to strengthen his 4th finger with a special machine.)

I showed the student a way to get evenness and power in the fourth finger by moving the finger, hand and arm together. He was very disappointed. He felt I had not answered his question and left unhappy.

The moral of the story is that there are some things that are impossible to do no matter how you practice. You could never learn to run a marathon in cement shoes, no matter how you practice.

If you are feeling frustrated about not meeting a practice goal, do some research. See if other people are able to do what you are trying to learn. If so, then you can learn to do it too. If not, maybe there’s some other way to get the results you want. Keep researching until you find an approach that works for you.

2. Learn how to practice effectively

Practice is different than playing your song(s) from beginning to end. That’s playing music, not practicing music. Think about sports. Baseball practice is completely different than a baseball game. Practice means analyzing the problem you’re having, and working to overcome it.

Work in shorter sections

Most students choose sections that are too long and/or too difficult which creates frustration with practice. Let me introduce my friend George Miller, a psychologist. He discovered that most people could remember at least 5-6 “units of information”, and no more than 8-9 “units”. Seven was most typical number of bits of information that people could handle.

How does this apply to music practice?

When practicing, you are putting new musical information into your short-term memory. Once you have done this enough times, it becomes permanent, i.e., learned. This means that practice sections should have no more than 7 bits of information.

Some examples

If you are learning to read melody tab, it might mean that you only play 5-7 notes at a time. You could repeat your chosen notes 3-7 times, and then move on to the next set of notes.

Here’s another example. Let’s say you are having trouble making a chord change quickly. Isolate what individual movements are required and practice them one at a time. Then combine them – but no more than 7 movements at once. Soon you may start thinking of two or three individual movements as one thing.

That’s great! That’s effective practice! Now you can add in some more elements to your group of seven.

Combining strumming with singing

And here’s a final example: learning to combine strumming with singing. I’ve gone into a lot of detail on this one for two reasons. First, to give you a feeling for how to break things down and learn them in small chunks. And 2nd, because many ukulele beginners have trouble combining strumming and singing.

Here’s how to learn this crucial skill.

Make sure you can do each skill separately

The first thing to do is make sure that you can do each of the skills separately. Can you strum your chosen song all the way through without stopping? Can you sing the whole song through without stopping? If not, practice each skill until it is are easy.

First check that you can strum the chords for your song in time to a video, backing track or metronome. Then learn to sing the song without playing. Listen and hum along with a recording or video to learn the melody. Then try singing along with a recording. You can refer to a book or sheet to help you remember the words. If that is too hard at first, try chanting the words in the rhythm of the song. Then add singing the words to the melody you have learned.

When you can sing the song, try clapping along as you sing the song, using the rhythm of the strum you will use. This will prime your brain to coordinate rhythmic hand movements with singing.

Integrate singing with playing

Now we’re going to integrate singing with playing. Try humming the tune along with your recording while holding an easy chord with your left hand. Next, try humming and strumming an easy chord. You can always start with an easier strum, say all downs, and then switch to a harder strum later. Finally, change from humming the tune to singing the words while you strum the chords for the song. Now you’ve got it!

If things still fall apart, there are several things to try.

Go back and repeat each step until it is easy, not possible.

Next, focus in on one line of the song at a time. For example, sing and strum the first line of your song as many times as you need to until it feels easy. (Or at least improved). Then move on to the next line. Continue until you can perform each line of the song easily.

Then try singing and strumming the first two lines of the song in a row. You will probably make errors that did not occur when you did each of the lines alone; this is normal. Go back and review each of the lines a few times, and then try repeating the two lines in sequence. After several tries, you should be able to play and sing the two lines together. Go slowly enough that you can play with reasonable accuracy.

Next, review the third line to remind yourself how it goes. Now try performing all three lines in the correct sequence. Again, new mistakes or confusion will most likely surface. Go back and review any trouble spots, and then try combining all three lines again. Repeat as needed.

Do a small number of repetitions

Again, the number 7 comes up. You should only repeat a section for as long you can maintain your concentration. For most people that’s 3-7 times. You want to be sure that you are playing as correctly as possible. If you do 20, 30 or 100 repetitions, your mind will glaze over, and you will be practicing playing in a mindless way. This is not the way to achieve good results – and it’s boring and frustrating.

3. Avoid frustration with deliberate practice.

James Clear has written a lot about an idea he calls deliberate practice.  He says “deliberate practice refers to a special type of practice that is purposeful and systematic. While regular practice might include mindless repetitions, deliberate practice requires focused attention and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance.”

Our strategy for combining singing and strumming is an example of deliberate practice.

Here’s another deliberate practice strategy:

Slow down until you can play your chosen section perfectly. Then gradually speed up, while continuing to play your song with 100% accuracy. If you start making mistakes, slow the section down again.

If you have a teacher, ask him or her to show you some practice strategies. If you are part of a ukulele club or group, ask the more advanced players for some tips on how to practice. There are lots of friendly ukulele groups on Facebook. The book or method you are using may have some tips on how to practice. And please feel free to reach out to us with your questions about practicing. We’re happy to help.

4. Build your ability to concentrate.

You need concentration for deliberate practice. Concentration has to be developed. Heeding George Miller’s 7 items rule will make it much easier for you to concentrate and progress. You can also ask your teacher or musician friends for tips.

Consider setting up a plan for gradually increasing your practice sessions. You can also break your practice into two separate shorter sessions. This will make it easier to maintain your concentration.

Why can’t you concentrate?

It’s also important to figure out why you can’t concentrate. Here are some possible factors.

External distractions: If you’re constantly getting interrupted it is very hard to make progress.

Our brains need a certain amount of energy to switch focus from one task to another. Changing tasks many times is much more difficult than staying focused on one thing. One modern source of distraction is your phone or computer alert. If you can, it’s best to turn your device off or on ‘Do Not Disturb’ when you begin your practice session.

Low tolerance for frustration: It’s important to know that progress is not linear. It’s more like a staircase where you stay at one level for a while and then jump to another level. Knowing this can help you deal with frustration.

No clear order or plan: It’s good to set a specific attainable goal for yourself. “I will spend 15 minutes working in small sections on the guitar solo from ‘Hotel California’”. That way when you accomplish your goal you can feel good about it.

Lack of energy: Practice at a good time of day for you. If you are a morning person, see if you can squeeze in some practice in the early hours. And vice versa for night owls.

No interest: Remind yourself WHY you are practicing. What is your purpose for learning an instrument? What is your goal in practicing ‘Hotel California?’

Commitment: How committed are you to mastering whatever your task is? If you’re not committed, it’s easy to give up. Why are you practicing? What is the long-term reward you are hoping for? Reminding yourself of the why is a way to stay focused on working in the present.

5. Set rewards for meeting practice milestones.

Try to notice the small signs of musical growth. You can set goals that are realistic for you such as:

• Open my case 7 days a week
• Spend at least 15 minutes a day working on the B-flat chord
• Record myself once a month

When you meet your goal, give yourself a reward. This strategy can work well for younger players. But it works for adults too. We all enjoy feeling successful and getting rewards.

Try recording yourself at regular intervals. Then listen to older recordings to hear your progress. Many adults who are new to music are harshly judgmental about their playing. I recommend you reward yourself both for making a recording and for listening to it!

6. Take a break

The average human’s attention span is somewhere around twenty minutes. So, you’ll be more productive and less frustrated if you take some breaks to recharge.

Stop playing for a moment. Put your brain into recharge mode. You could set a timer for 3-5 minutes. Close your eyes, then listen to your breathing and the sounds around you. Maybe do some favorite stretches or grab some water.

If you are stuck, try working on something new i.e., new music or a new skill. Sometimes this will help you master the thing you were stuck on. There’s always time to go back to the old.

7. Find a practice buddy

You can agree to text or call this person each time you practice. Knowing that you are accountable to someone else can help you feel motivated. That motivation can translate into better progress and less frustration.

Well, there you have it. I hope you’ve found something to help you deal with frustration with music practicing. Perhaps you’ll even begin to enjoy your practicing! Once that happens, music will have a more permanent place in your life. To paraphrase a familiar saying, learning music is a journey, not a destination.

So, can adults learn musical instruments? Most of us humans love music. Many people didn’t have the chance to study music as a child and wonder if they can learn as an adult. Read on for the answer.

Neural plasticity continues into adulthood

Many adults think that only children are able to learn music. It’s true that children’s brains are very flexible. However, brain flexibility continues into adulthood.

Norman Weinberger is a neuroscientist at University of California Irvine. He has done pioneering research on the auditory system and the brain. He says that while it’s harder for the mature brain to learn an instrument, it’s not impossible. “A lot of people believe the brain isn’t very plastic after puberty. In fact, the brain maintains its ability to change,” Weinberger says. “Is it as easy to learn something when you’re 65 as it is at 5? No. But can it be done? Yes.”

Music uses a lot of the brain

That’s why, unlike with language, there is no single music center in the brain — rather, there are a lot of them. “When brain scans have been done of musicians, you find the enormity of the areas of the brain that are actually being activated,” Weinberger explains.

Music is good for us

Research shows that making music is good for the brain. It also may delay the onset of some of the mental decline of aging. Scans of musicians’ brains show that playing an instrument involves greater communication among different regions of the brain than with other tasks. This communication may lead a musician’s brain to create new neural pathways. Those extra pathways can provide musicians with “cognitive reserve” when dementia strikes. Canadian neuroscientist Aline Moussard says that musician’s brains “will be more able to cope and find new ways to do tasks.”

It’s possible that playing a musical instrument can reverse stress at the molecular level. This was the result of recent studies conducted by Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Applied Biosystems and published in Medical Science Monitor.

Playing music can also increase human growth hormone (HgH) production among active older Americans. A study by the University of Miami had two groups: one that took group keyboard lessons and one that did not. The group which played music had significantly higher levels of HgH than the group of people who did not make music.

Maybe you are convinced that music study is good for you. But you might still worried about whether you can play a musical instrument? Let’s look at some obstacles and come up with solutions.

Fear of failure

Many people are afraid to try new things because they think they might fail. But after 40+ years of teaching music, I can say with confidence that ability is not all that important. It’s much more important to have beginner’s mind and determination.

Beginner’s mind is a concept taught by Buddhism. Leo Babauta describes it as dropping our preconceived ideas about something. It means seeing things with an open mind, fresh eyes, just like a beginner.

Children have easy access to beginner’s mind. Most things are new to them. They find music study hard, but they are used to trying tasks that are hard.Children also usually have low expectations of what they might accomplish. So they don’t get that discouraged when they encounter an obstacle or have a short term failure.

Adults are used to feeling competent in their job and daily tasks. So trying something brand new that is hard can be stressful. Having realistic goals about music study will help you persevere. And choosing an instrument that suits you well will also help.

Time management

A 2009 Gallup poll surveyed adults who do not play a musical instrument. Eighty-five percent of adults in the U.S wish they had learned to play music as a child. 69 percent would like to play a musical instrument now. But another survey by the National Endowment for the Arts survey found that just 12 percent of U.S. adults were playing musical instruments. According to author Amy Nathan, the main barrier people encounter is lack of time to practice.

Here are our suggestions on how to make time in your life for music practice.

Turn your phone off

It’s possible that you spend 20-30 minutes a day on social media or cruising the web. You could use that time to practice a musical instrument! Turning your phone off can be scary at first. But if you turn your phone off for 20 minutes and focus on one specific skill or piece of music, you’ll have much more success than if you respond to every text.

Research shows that there is a cognitive price to pay for switching focus, say from practicing to answering a text message.

Life as you know it will not end if you turn your phone off. And when you turn it back on you’ll get the added bonus of feeling really popular when 16 alerts pop up.

Play less, more often

Yes, we just recommended playing less! You don’t have to play for six hours a day to stay sharp or improve. But make sure you keep up a daily schedule. As with physical fitness, shorter periods of regular, focused, distraction-free practice can make a huge difference. It’s much better to practice 30 minutes 5 days a week than 2 and ½ hours on the weekend.

Set up a schedule or a routine

Figure out what time is easiest for you to practice and plan your life around it. If you are a morning person, maybe you can get up 20 minutes earlier. If you are an evening person, you could play 30 minutes before making dinner.

Make it easy to get started

It’s much easier to start a task if you have everything you need at hand. So set up a spot for your instrument and gear. Then when the time is right you can dive right into work.

Set small goals for yourself so that you can get to done sooner

The brain releases a chemical that makes us feel good each time we complete a task. But learning to play music takes months, if not years. To get around this, create a short term task list for yourself. What mini tasks do you need to do in today’s practice? Write them down in a notebook or planner so you can have the satisfaction of checking them off.

Find music to work on that is fun for you

Once you get past the beginner level, study music that you love to play. Knowing that you will be connected to something you love as you work will help keep you motivated.

Yes, adults can learn musical instruments!

Our adult brains have plenty of resources to learn something new. Besides being enjoyable, learning an instrument as an adult will help you in many ways.

Have you started learning an instrument recently? Are you considering starting? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear about your experience.