Introducing the Ukulele!

To pupils - welcome! I do hope you enjoy learning an instrument. This year you will be learning the UKULELE together. There will be a lesson each week, on Tuesday afternoons, and you will be taking a ukulele home with you to practice too. I hope in a little while you will be able to join your class playing the ukulele at assemblies and concerts!

What does a ukulele sound like? Click on this symbol to hear “Ukulele Rag”. There are lots of recordings and videos of ukulele that you can watch on the YouTube website. Here are two links to get you started: A ukulele with other instruments in a Hawaiian band. A ukulele solo at a festival.

Get to know your ukulele

Looking after your ukulele … DO !! Keep it in its hard case when you are not using it. Handle it with care – it is an instrument, not a toy! Get it out in the week and practice what we did in the lesson. Ask for help if you have trouble keeping it in tune. Report any damage to Mr Asher. DON’T !! Twiddle the tuners, unless you know how to tune up. Let brothers and sisters play with it. Pick it up or hold it by the tuners, or by the strings. Leave it next to a radiator or in a freezing cold car boot.

Tuning a ukulele - soundclip The ukuleles have coloured labels for each string – blue, red, green and pink. If you click on the symbol you will hear the sound of the correct notes for the four strings: Click here to see the notes on a music stave. A new ukulele will need repeated tuning to begin with while the strings settle down and stretch. It should settle down over the first few weeks and will then only need fine tuning.

Tuning a ukulele with a piano or keyboard If you have a piano or keyboard at home, you can find the notes for the four strings by following this diagram: Click here to see the notes on a music stave. A new ukulele will need repeated tuning to begin with while the strings settle down and stretch. It should settle down over the first few weeks and will then only need fine tuning.

Basic playing position plucking a single string with your thumb Fingertips tucked under the side of the ukulele.

Shape of the left hand Good Not good Not good Good Ukulele rests on the base of the 1st finger. There is a gap between the palm and the ukulele neck. The ukulele neck is cupped in the palm of the hand – this restricts finger movement. Not good Good Gripping too tight - no gap between the bottom of the thumb and the ukulele neck. There is a small gap between the bottom of the thumb and the ukulele neck.

Fingerboard diagrams (1) Here is a diagram of the end of the ukulele fingerboard, where the neck meets the head.. Nut 1st fret 2nd fret This space is normally for your 1st finger This space is normally for your 2nd finger 3rd fret This space is normally for your 3rd finger

Fingerboard diagrams (2) This means “pluck the red string, with your 2nd finger pressed down in the 2nd space” This means “pluck the red string, open”

Finger workouts 0 1 0 1 etc. 0 2 0 2 etc. 0 3 0 3 etc. To begin with, you may find it hard to move your fingers on the fingerboard! Here are some exercises to train and strengthen your fingers. You can do these exercises on any string. 0 1 0 1 etc. 0 2 0 2 etc. 0 3 0 3 etc. *0 1 3 0 1 3 etc. *0 2 3 0 2 3 etc. *0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 etc. Tip: when you go e.g. from 1st finger to 3rd finger on the same string, try to do it without lifting your 1st finger. It takes practice but it will help you play more smoothly.