How to play ukulele: A beginner's guide
What's the story
The ukulele is a fun instrument that can support your singing, and be the starting point of your own compositions. The stringed companion might seem like an easy instrument to play, but you will require a lot of practice to master it. However, at the same time, it is not as complicated as, say, a guitar. Here are some tips to begin with.
Important
First of all, hold your ukulele properly
Let's discuss the holding position. The instrument should be held close to your body. When sitting, you can let the body of the ukulele rest on one of your legs and rest your strumming arm on top of the ukulele. When you are standing, you can hold it against your chest and keep it there with your strumming arm.
Tuning
Tuning your ukulele before playing is crucial
There are four strings on a ukulele. The string at the top, closest to your face, will sound as a G. Moving down, the next string is C, followed by E and A. To tune the strings, you can use a tuning app or attach an electric tuner to the ukulele. Turn the tuning pegs at the headstock to match the sound.
Chords
Now let's learn some basic chords
To play some basic chords, position your fingers like the following: For C Major, one finger should be at third fret of A string. For A Minor, place it on second fret, G string. For F Major, hold A minor and first fret of E string. G Major requires pushing second fret of C and A string, and third fret of E string.
Strumming
After learning basic chords, start strumming
After learning the basics, you can go to Ukutabs for learning more chords. As your left hand forms chords, use your right hand for strumming. Strum downward one time on a chord, count to 4, then move to another chord for 4 counts. While you are counting, plan which fingers are going to move and see if you can make the switch gracefully.
Songs
Once you start strumming, look for easy songs to play
Once you feel comfortable with strumming, start with slow and simple songs that have easy chords and don't require those many chord changes. Remember that the most important thing is to be accurate instead of being quick. So practice and start slowly. Make sure to get a clean sound with no buzzing and muting. You can gradually speed up and try more difficult songs.