Ukulele For Dummies^®

Introduction

I’d like to share with you the best piece of ukulele playing advice I ever read: ‘make a joyful noise . . . make a loud noise.’ The aim of this book is to help you do both these two things. (In fact, the quote comes from the Bible (Psalms 98:4, King James Version), which I think proves beyond doubt that God plays ukulele.)

Most people who pick up the ukulele don’t do so with dreams of rock-star fame or recognition as a virtuoso, but simply to have fun making music. This book doesn’t go deep into the theory or insist on you practising endless scales. Instead, you get the confidence and knowledge you need to start enjoying making music as quickly as possible.

About This Book

Ukulele For Dummies doesn’t have to be read dutifully from cover to cover. Think of it more as a reference that allows you to dip in and find the help you need at the time and focus on the parts that interest you most. So if you don’t have a ukulele yet you can skip straight to the buying section in Chapter 17. Or jump to Part IV if you want to start with the musical genre that gets you most excited.

To take full advantage of the book, use all the following methods:

Read the charts. Songs in this book are presented in chord charts, which are a simplified way of presenting music that’s much more immediate than standard musical notation. The charts indicate how to play the chords in the song and the strumming rhythm.

Copy the photos. The position of your hands and fingers is really important for getting a good sound from your uke. The photos give you a better idea of what your fingers need to look like than just using the chord charts.

Listen to the audio tracks. Grasping what something should sound like from the written word alone is difficult, and so I include audio tracks to demonstrate the examples. I recommend listening to each exercise a few times before trying it yourself.

What You’re Not to Read

Throughout the book, some parts are marked as Technical Stuff. You don’t have to read these paragraphs in order to play, but they do give you a better understanding of what’s going on under the bonnet.

Similarly, the sidebars (shaded in grey) are extra titbits that give you a bit of background knowledge or information to impress (or perhaps bore!) people at parties.

Conventions Used in This Book

To help you spot what’s what more easily, Ukulele For Dummies uses these conventions:

I use monofont type to indicate website addresses. Some such addresses may be broken across two lines of text. If that happens, rest assured that we haven’t put in any extra characters (such as hyphens) to indicate the break. So, you can just type in exactly what you see in the book, as though the line break doesn’t exist.

I use italics for new words and phrases that I define.

I use the terms up, down, higher and lower to refer to the pitch of a note. So if I ask you to move a note up or to make it higher, that means higher in terms of pitch (that is, towards the body of the ukulele). And if I ask you to move the note down or make it lower, that means lower in pitch (towards the uke’s headstock).

I use the American terms for indicating the length of notes, with the British terms in parentheses (for example, in Chapter 7). Therefore, I refer to whole notes, half notes and quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes. These US terms have a logic and clarity to them that’s easier to understand than the UK equivalents (which are semibreve, minim, crotchet, quaver and semiquaver, respectively).

Foolish Assumptions

The only large assumption I make is that you’re using a standard tuned ukulele (soprano, concert or tenor) rather than a baritone ukulele. The baritone ukulele is a very different instrument.

Other than that, I don’t assume anything else about you, including whether you have any knowledge of ukuleles or music theory in general. I don’t assume that you’re a (take a deep breath) heavy-rock grebo, pierced punk fan or grizzled bluesman with no soul left to trade; a Hawaiian surfer with only vowels in your name, a cool jazz hepcat, a dreadlocked reggae follower or a tuxedoed concert-going classical aficionado (gasp!). That’s more than enough stereotypes to be going on with . . . but the great thing about the uke is that it can be used to perform all these genres (if you don’t believe me, take a look at the chapters in Part IV).

How This Book Is Organised

Each chapter in Ukulele For Dummies covers a specific playing skill or area of uke knowledge. In turn, they’re grouped under six parts so that you can jump straight to your place of interest.

Part I: Introducing Ukulele Basics

Part I covers the fundamentals of ukulele playing. Chapter 1 takes a look at the ukulele itself – its features as an instrument, how it can be played, the music played on it and its development – and guides you through the language of the uke, including the names of its parts, the sizes and some basic musical terminology. In Chapter 2, I give you the lowdown on the ukulele’s unusual tuning and several ways to get in tune. Chapter 3 takes you up to the playing stage, covering the fundamentals of how to hold a ukulele, how to strum it and how to fret the strings.

Part II: Starting Out With Chords and Strumming

In Part II, you get down to the nitty-gritty of uke playing. Chapter 4 introduces the first few chords and starts you playing songs with them right away, and Chapter 5 covers strumming patterns and rhythm. In Chapter 6, I lead you through building up an increasingly impressive arsenal of uke chords.

Part III: Picking and Single-Note Playing

Part III covers playing single notes. Chapter 7 introduces tab and playing melodies whereas Chapter 8 looks at fingerpicking patterns you can use to accompany your performances. In Chapter 9, I discuss ways to accompany your own playing so that you can play tunes by yourself. Chapter 10 looks at techniques you can use to add flavour to your playing and step into the limelight for a solo.

Part IV: Discovering Genres and Styles

Each chapter in Part IV takes you through playing a different musical genre – from the rock and punk riffs and licks of Chapter 11, through the ubiquitous 12-bar blues of Chapter 12, to Chapter 13’s Hawaiian trip that uncovers the roots of the uke. Chapter 14 takes the ukulele into the jazz age, looking at some fancy jazz moves and ways to make your chord progressions more interesting, and Chapter 15 island-hops to introduce you to the Jamaican/Hawaiian hybrid of Jawaiian music. Things are a little more sedate in Chapter 16, which covers classical music and the campanella style of uke playing.

Part V: Buying and Looking After Your Ukulele

The point of Part V is to save you money (or help you spend it wisely, depending on how you look at things). I give you advice on buying a ukulele (in Chapter 17), what accessories you may need (Chapter 18) and how to look after your ukulele when you own it (Chapter 19).

Part VI: The Part of Tens

No For Dummies book would be complete without a Part of Tens giving you a rundown of essential information. Chapter 20 introduces you to ten ukulele players to inspire your playing; Chapter 21 contains ways to get involved in the ukulele scene; and Chapter 22 reveals some invaluable tips for making your practising fun and rewarding.

Part VII: Appendixes

The appendixes gather together loads of useful reference material that you’ll be dipping into for many years to come: Appendix A gives you chord charts for the most commonly used chords on the ukulele; Appendix B is an introduction to reading music in standard notation; and Appendix C provides you with a guide to the audio tracks that accompany the book.

Icons Used in This Book

This book uses the following icons to call your attention to information that you may find helpful in particular ways.

The information marked by this icon is important and worth remembering. This icon allows you to spot the info easily when you refer back to a chapter later.

This icon indicates extra-helpful information that can save you time or make something easier.

This icon marks places where technical matters are discussed. You can skip over this more technical material if you prefer because the book is designed to let you do so without missing out on anything essential.

Paragraphs marked with this icon call attention to common pitfalls that you may encounter or prepare you for techniques that may turn out to be difficult to master.

This icon indicates an audio track that demonstrates an exercise or tune.

Where to Go From Here

As with all For Dummies books, the chapters in Ukulele For Dummies are written to be as self-contained as possible. In this way you can devise and follow your own personal course through the book depending on your interests and skill level.

To help you plot your journey, here are a few pointers:

If you don’t have a ukulele yet, jump straight to Chapter 17 before you prise open your wallet. The sections contain lots of advice to ensure that you don’t waste your cash.

If you’re a beginner eager to get playing, head to Chapter 2 to tune up your uke.

If you’re the proud owner of a shiny new uke, check out Chapter 19 for how to keep it in tiptop playing condition.

If you’re a little more advanced and are comfortable with chords, go straight to the single-note playing chapters in Part III.

Part I

Introducing Ukulele Basics

In this part . . .

I provide all the background information you need to kick-start your ukulele playing. You find a brief overview of the worldwide development of the ukulele and a look at what you can expect to discover in this book. If you want to get to grips with ukulele terms, tune up your uke or know how to position your hands ready to play, Part I is for you!