Here are some beginner technique tips for ukulele to avoid learning some bad habits that make things more difficult later.

Song suggestions:
Today, the length of that limited monopoly on a song is 95 years after its publication. This is very good news if you’re performing or recording gems like “Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey” (Hughie Cannon, 1902), “Fascinating Rhythm” (George and Ira Gershwin, 1924) or “Beautiful Dreamer” (Stephen Foster, 1862). The copyright protection for songs published in 1924 expired on January 1, 2020, putting some of the greatest ukulele tunes of all time, such as “Everybody Loves My Baby,” “Nobody’s Sweetheart Now,” and “It Had to Be You” in the public domain. (On January 1, 2021, it will be 1925 songs that lose their protection, and so on.) Once copyrights have expired, you’re free to perform, record, and reuse a song without permission. But what if you’re interested in something a little more recent?

This lesson dives into the 8-bar form, jazz-blues, minor blues, riffs, and rhythms

One aspect of playing ukulele that often gets overlooked is the actual technique of strumming. Learn how to strum ukulele with these 6 strumming tips and tricks.

• The thumb can often create the warmest and most tender sounds of the ukulele. Don’t try to “hit” the ukulele, but rather, rake your thumb across just like a harpist might glide along their strings.

• imagine the movement you make when you turn a doorknob. Minimize your movements by aiming to strum between the top and bottom strings, instead of strumming from above the body to below the body. Try to use the center of your nail when strumming with your index finger.

The inspiration for the advanced Hawaiian vamp techniques in this ukulele lesson comes from the song Noho Pai Pai as performed by the Ka’au Crater Boys and by the Makaha Sons featuring Jake Shimabukuro.

Here's how to build chords starting on each note of the major scale, as well as some common chord progressions found in thousands of songs

This arrangement combines the bluesy, orchestral feel of the original Marion Harris recording with the spirit of Bessie Smith's version

Stephen Inglis, who has a long relationship with the Grateful Dead’s music, plays his ukulele arrangement of "Friend of the Devil" and shares some playing tips.

The first trick to playing jazz on ukulele is overcoming “jazz imposter syndrome,” the way blues and rock players often feel when they try to play jazz standards.

Ukulele artist and teacher Victoria Vox presents some of her go-to rhythms and how to play them

The first step in learning a song is to listen to a recording until you can hum the basic melody and feel the rhythm.

Our major scale looks like this: I–ii–iii–IV–V–vi–vii dim. Using this pattern, in the key of G, for example, the chords are: G major–A minor–B minor–C major–D major–E minor–F# diminished.

After you have those chord shapes under your fingers and the sound of the chords in your ears, play each chord starting from the home chord of the key, the I chord. Play I–ii, I–iii, I–IV, I–V, I–vi, I–viidim (C–Dm, C–Em, C–F, C–G, C–Am, C–Bdim). You are now playing the intervals, or distances, from the I chord to the other notes of the scale. Listen closely as you play these chord intervals and record them in your iHead player—these intervals are the building blocks of the songs you want to learn.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to plug in your ukulele, what not to do when plugging in, and get some tips for taking your sound to the next level.

A large part of playing jazz on ukulele is understanding the underlying harmony. In this beginner ukulele lesson we demystify jazz chords by breaking them down one note at a time.

Get the E6 ukulele chord diagram and 4 variations. To play the E6 chord, place the index finger on the 1st fret of the top g-string, middle finger on the 1st fret of the C-string, and ring finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom A-string. Let the other string ring open.

This E major chord position on ukulele might be easier, but is it the best choice? In this video, I give you an easy way to play the dreaded E chord on ukulele and share the reasons why you wouldn’t want to use this position depending on what song you’re playing. I use Coldplay’s “Fix You” and Train’s “Hey Soul Sister” as two song examples with E chords. I give you tips and tricks for how to practice other E chord positions to make them possible, so you can become a better ukulele player.

The double thumbing, 2-finger picking approach makes use of the thumb and only one finger and can be the basis for some very rhythmic and exciting ukulele playing.

Cold Rain and Snow

This ukulele lesson covers how to get good tone, playing with consistency & dynamics, using a slide on ukulele, proper muting technique & more.

This lesson focuses on making your ukulele chords sound better with some tips to eliminate buzzes, clicks and wrong sounding notes while strumming.

Check the finger placement of each note to ensure each finger is centered or closer to the fret “the sweet spot”

In order to play the arrangement smoothly and make the chords sing, you’ll need to move between grips efficiently, maintaining common fingers between different shapes where possible.