Here are some steps that you can take in learning a strumming pattern to a song. You can also check out this YouTube video where Jenny teaches Rebecca how to learn some basic strums on the ukulele.

Learning strumming takes time and practice, so if you get stuck, go through all the below as you learn the song.

• First, speak the lyrics in rhythm. Strum once on each of the chord changes that are in the song to get a sense of how the chords and lyrics go together.
• Now sing the words in rhythm. Continue strumming as you did before.
• Now add all down strums as you speak the lyrics.
• Now keep the down strums, but sing the lyrics.
• Now practice your strumming pattern slowly with no chord changes. You might mute the left hand ukulele strings so you don’t hear pitches. Speak the lyrics.
• Now practice your strumming pattern slowly with no chord changes. You might mute the left hand ukulele strings so you don’t hear pitches. Sing the lyrics.
• Speak the words, add the chord changes and keep the strumming pattern.
• Sing the lyrics, add the chord changes and keep the strumming pattern.

Each line of the tab staff represents a string on the ukulele. The sounds that are higher in pitch are closer to the top of the page just as they are on the standard music staff. However, the unfortunate result is that standard tab notation places the lines upside down from how they are arranged on the ukulele.

So:

• The top line of the tab staff is the A-string (the string closest to the floor when you’re playing).
• The line below that is the E-string.
• The line below that is the C-string.
• The bottom line of the tab is the G-string, which is the string closest to the ceiling when you are playing.

Numbers on the Tab Staff

The numbers on the lines of the tab staff tell you which fret to stop with a left-hand finger. Stopping (also called fretting) a string means to use a left-hand finger and push down firmly so that the string contacts the fret. Your finger goes between the frets, not on a fret.

For example, a 5 means to put one of your left-hand fingers in the fifth fret and push down on the string as you pluck it with your right hand. A 7 means to stop the string in the 7^th fret with your left hand and pluck it with your right hand. A 4 means to stop the string in the fourth fret and pluck it with your right hand. A 0 means to pluck a string with your right hand without using your left hand at all. We call an unstopped string an open string.

The previous image shows a person fretting the A string. Usually we use finger 1 on the first fret, finger 2 on the second fret, finger 3 on the third fret, and finger 4 on the fourth fret. Having your fingers in this arrangement is referred to as first position.

For practice reading tab, try playing the sounds shown in the parts of the image. Reading from right to left:

1. Start with finger 4 in the fourth fret and pluck the A string 4 times.
2. Then use finger 3 in the third fret and pluck the A string 4 times.
3. Next use finger 2 in the second fret and pluck the A string 4 times.
4. Next use finger 1 in the first fret and pluck the A string 4 times.
5. Finally, pluck the open A string 4 times.

Playing the C Major Scale in Tab Notation

We recommend practicing the C major scale while reading the tab notation as the next step to getting comfortable with reading and playing tab. It will help your brain link the look of the tab staff to the muscular patterns needed to play certain notes. Since most melodies are made from fragments of scales, learning this eye-hand coordination will make it a lot easier for you to read tab melodies.

Putting it Together: Reading a Melody in Tab

Here’s an excerpt from a song, Lovely Evening. To read the tab, first look at which string line the number is on. Then use your left hand to stop that string in the fret that matches the number shown. Remember that 0 means an open string. We’ve labeled the lines to make it easier to see which line goes with which string.

• For the first note, don’t do anything with your left hand and pluck the C-string with your right hand.
• For the second, stop the C-string in the second fret.
• For the third note, don’t do anything with your left hand and pluck the E-string with your right hand.
• For the fourth note, don’t do anything with your left hand and pluck the C-string with your right hand.
• For the fifth note, stop the E-string in the first fret.

We hope this brief introduction to reading tab has helped you get started!

Many of our books include melody tab for each song so that you can play the melody on your ukulele in addition to singing the melody while you strum the chords. We also include some tab for playing plucked chord accompaniments.

When you first start a stringed instrument, your left hand finger tips will hurt until you develop callouses. You may also find your right hand finger tips hurting too.

Practice in small increments, say 10 minutes at a time, to gradually develop thicker skin on your finger tips. You’ll master all the skills necessary to play music much faster by working in small daily increments, rather than trying to learn everything all at once.

The idea of keeping the nails longer on the right hand and shorter on the left is something many string players (especially classical guitarists) do all the time. Even violinists tend to to keep the left hand’s nails short because it is essential to have short nails on the left hand.

The quality of the ukulele makes a big difference in the sound. My suggestion to you is to try out ukuleles music stores near you to find ones that you like. Then, when you can afford it, or when someone wants to give you a nice gift, you can upgrade to a nicer instrument.

The less expensive instruments are often not even really in tune to themselves which means they don’t sound as good as a better quality instrument. 

I find that students with higher quality instruments tend to improve faster – possibly because it is just more fun to play a nicer sounding instrument!

In terms of ease of playing, I recently upgraded from a pretty good ukulele to a much higher quality instrument. It sounds a lot better and is much easier to play than my previous ukulele. 

Since I am not a speech therapist, I am not really qualified to answer your question in a lot of detail. Here are a few thoughts that might help you. I think songs that are familiar to the people you are working with are often the best ones for speech therapy, particularly for stroke survivors and the elderly. I’ve seen many YouTube videos pointing to the power of music to bring joy and speech back to people who have lost it.

I would choose songs from the decades when these people were in their teens and early twenties. I would also choose “nursery rhyme” type songs because they are songs people of all ages know from their childhoods. Finally, if you are working with people who have religious backgrounds, our new hymnbook will be very popular because it uses a lot of older hymns for which people will recognize both the tunes and words.

Here’s a quick video to clear up where to put your fingers on the fretboard.

Do you play your uke left-handed? If so, here our blog post about that. https://ukulele.io/left-handers-right-handed-music-world/.

Basically, you can bite the bullet and fret with your left hand and strum with your right. Or you can restring your ukulele and fret with your right and strum with your left.

If you decide to restring your ukulele, then you need a left-handed ukulele chord chart. Here is one from Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/640988959433888597/

Most people find that after working with this chart, they can do the flip in their mind. They can read the right-handed (finger chords with your left hand) chart easily. It’s a mental flip that reverses what right handed players do.

I’m sorry you’re experiencing pain when you play. That is no fun! : (

Here are some suggestions that might help relieve stress on your hands. You may find you don’t have to put as much pressure on your fingertips if you try these various ideas.

Use a strap. It’s easier to finger chords if you don’t have to also hold the ukulele.

Hold the chord shape as lightly as possible. Look at the placement of your left thumb. Make sure it’s opposite the middle rather than the index finger. You can also try moving your thumb around. You’re looking for a position where you don’t have to push the strings down very hard to make the chord sound.

Put your fingers as close to the frets as possible. The fret should stop the string, not the fingers.

I would recommend upgrading to a tenor ukulele, rather than another concert. You could then put a low G string on the tenor and leave the concert with high G tuning. Then, you have two different instruments for different kinds of music.

The low G works well for sing and strum, and chord melody. The high G works well for a jazzier music and clawhammer playing. I enjoy all my different ukuleles.

Yes, there is one string per pitch and they are all a little different. The higher-pitched ones are thinner than the lower-pitched ones. When you buy a set of ukulele strings, each string will be labeled with its name. You also have to buy strings for the size of ukulele you have: soprano, concert or tenor. Finally, if you want a Low G tuned ukulele, you have to buy a Low G string.

Some teachers do recommend the pinky for the C chord because it is easier to change to the G 7 that way. But many chords can follow the C chord, so I’ve always taught it using the ring finger. That way I memorize chord shapes and the ability to switch between these shapes.

I do sometimes use the first finger or the 2nd for the C chord. It depends on what I’m doing next with my left hand.

When you have more experience, you may also vary your fingerings based on the situation. But as a beginner it is best to choose one fingering and stick with that.

I would encourage a 6-year old to try playing her ukulele right-handed first. Her brain is much more flexible now. The left-hand string technique will from one instrument to another. What you learn on ukulele will apply to any other stringed instrument she might play. And many other instruments come right-handed only.

I usually have children try the right-handed way for two weeks to see if they can get used to it. If not, I switch them to left-handed.

We have more information about this topic in our blog post article: Left-Handers in a Right-Handed Music World

The reason such different chords work is rather complicated, but it’s true that they do.

The simplest way to explain it is to say that older songs are using jazzier chords. These chords have 4 or 5 chord tones rather than the usual 3 chord tones we have in simpler music. Since you’re not playing the entire chord on ukulele, you pick the three notes that are easiest for you to play.

A bass or piano would be providing the other notes, so you don’t need to play those notes. That’s why such different chords work.

You can learn more about music theory for ukulele in our book 21 MORE Songs in 6 Days.

Nope, that won’t work. You’ll need to put a new Low G string onto your ukulele. If you try to make your current High G string sound an octave lower, it will be too loose to sound like anything at all. Even if you cannot leave your home, you can order a Low G string to be delivered to you. Good luck!

There are (at least) two different kinds of ukulele neck straps.

There are the ones that are “hands-free” and connect in two spots on your ukulele. For this kind of strap, you need to have a luthier put a button at the end of your ukulele. You connect one end of the strap to that button and the other end you tie behind the nut on your ukulele’s head-stock. If you teach ukulele or use ukulele in a classroom setting, the hands-free is easiest. It allows you to use your hands for something else without setting your ukulele down.

The other kind of strap goes over your head and connects to the soundhole of the ukulele. You do not need to put a button on your ukulele to use this kind of strap.

Here are a couple of blog post articles we’ve written about ukulele straps.