Techniques

Double Stops

The technique of playing only two notes at the same time is known as a double stop, when done correctly it can sound very pretty on the ukulele. The key to practicing double stops is to make sure you only pluck the two strings that are to be played. Double stops are also great practice for your music theory, as they consist of two note intervals. Remember intervals are the difference between two pitches, and since we are dealing with two notes at a time here are some of the more common intervals (using the G major scale G-A-B-C-D-E-F#-G): G-B is the major third interval, as the B is the 3rd note G-C is the perfect fourth G-D is the perfect fifth G-E is the major 6th G-G is the octave or perfect 8th If we want a G minor third interval? Well the G minor scale is G-A-Bb-C-D-E-F#-G so that[…]

By now playing your ukulele may often consist of looking up chords or tabs to a song and learning the specific chords necessary to play it. This is great in the beginning because it helps increase you chord knowledge; however, you will eventually want to add more to your songs. By adding melodic intros, turnarounds, and endings we end up accessorizing our songs and filling them out. In this situation the terms intro, turnaround, and ending can often be used interchangeably. We are simply learning popular harmonic progressions that help to start, transition, or end a song. Over time you may want to creatively make your own turnarounds and intros for the music you play. Once you have the basics down it is a lot easier to start substituting and experimenting with chords to find that perfect turnaround! The Turnaround The musical idea of the turnaround are chords or notes[…]

After you have spent some time learning your chords, scales, basic music theory, how to read sheet music, and tablature you realize you want to start adding some flourishes and new techniques to your Uke repertoire. There are multiple ways to improve your sound and make your audience think you are a master at the ukulele! Hammer-Ons A hammer-on is a method of moving up from one note to another without re-plucking a string. Basically you play the string one time, yet by hammering on you can play multiple notes. Place your index finger on the second fret of the E string, pluck the string and immediately press down on the 4th fret of the E string. Here you played two notes with only one pluck of the string. If you play fast enough you can also hit the 5th fret of the E string, thus striking three notes on[…]

Barre chords, or Bar chords, are usually a nightmare for guitar players, nigh impossible on the mandolin, but lucky for us, much more manageable on the ukulele. A barre chord is made by pressing down on one or more strings across the ukulele fret, often completely across, but occasionally only partially (known as a partial barre). To put it simply place your finger on the bottom string 3rd fret to make the well known C chord. Now place your index finger completely across all the strings on the second fret and your pinky finger on the bottom string 5th fret. You have basically taken the C chord shape up two frets to make it a D chord. That’s really the simplicity of barre chords, once you have the shape of a chord you can move it to make another chord (also known as moveable chords). Your index finger acts as[…]

For those who are beginning to play ukulele, here is an article for you about two basic rhythm patterns that everyone should know, and which you’ll be able to play along on most of the songs. The song becomes alive when an interesting rhythm is added to it, so the person listening to you will pay more attention. In this post, I wish to introduce you to four rhythm patterns for ukulele, the most basic and the easiest you will ever play, the must-know rhythm patterns for any ukulele player. We will also see a few tips to improve on the strumming. The way to learn how to play any rhythm pattern is by diving the measures into eighth notes. Let’s take, for example, 4/4 meters. In each measure, we will have 8 eighth notes (check this tutorial for more infos). If each rhythmic stroke were to be played, the[…]

Double Stops

Intros, Turnarounds, and Endings

Common Ukulele Techniques

The Barre Chords

Basic rhythm patterns for ukulele