TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 1

Teach Yourself the Ukulele Using Free Sources

Anne Ku

University of Hawaii Maui College

WI-MUS176 History of Hawaiian Music

May 3, 2016
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 2

Preface

Since I arrived on Maui in November 2010, it did not occur to me to learn to play the

ukulele until very recently. My earlier attempts at learning the harp, violin, saxophone, tuba,

Chinese flute, and guitar proved lengthy, tedious, and frustrating at best. In all instances, my

sight-reading was much better than my playing. At some point, I always defaulted back to the

piano. Being married to a classical guitarist, I didnt take the ukulele seriously as an instrument.

To me, it was a toy version of the guitar, for those who couldnt handle the six-string instrument.

I, for one, only know a handful of chords on the guitar and find it challenging to do bar chords or

anything beyond the first position. Thirdly, it wasnt until a few people urged me to try it that I

entertained the possibility that I may enjoy learning this instrument.

In November 2015, I invited Daniel Ho to give guest lectures to my music classes. His

famous Pineapple Mango song was so catchy that I wanted to play it. When he told me about the

tenor ukulele he co-designed with Pepe Romero, Jr and that he could get me a discount, I

became curious. About the same time, my colleague Joel Katz mentioned a new intermediate

course he was offering the following semester. Coincidentally, a music theory student leaving for

the mainland gave me a hand-carved hard wood ukulele stand as a parting gift. These three

events lured me to order a Tiny Tenor ukulele, read Ohta & Hos two beginning ukulele books,

and learn to play enough of this instrument to enroll in the class in January 2016.

My experience of learning to play the ukulele using free sources on the Internet and

books from the college library led me to ponder if it is possible to not only teach yourself how to

play from scratch but also continue to improve in this manner. This paper introduces the

websites, mobile apps, and books that I found to be useful and readily available for learning the

ukulele. Needless to say, already I am getting the urge to start my own ukulele club.
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 3

Teach Yourself the Ukulele Using Free Sources

Several factors converged to bring the ukulele to front page news worthy of serious

attention. Sales of ukulele have soared in recent years, fueled by pop hits such as Jason Mrazs

Im Yours, Trains Hey, Soul Sister, and the warm embrace of other artists like Taylor Swift

(Speak Now World Tour 2011) and Mumford & Sons (Burgess, 2015). At the same time, the

instrument is replacing recorders in schools (Brian, 2014) and ukulele clubs are springing up

everywhere (Kruse, 2013).

In early April 2016, Grammy Award winner Daniel Ho delivered 200 ukuleles to an

elementary school in San Diego, California. He gave his two ukulele methods books to the

teachers, who had no previous musical training. He said, I get new beginners to sing the melody

and use the ukulele to play the harmony and rhythm. Making music so instantly gives them

immediate competence, gratification, and empowerment (personal communication, April 10,

2016). He added that its important to know music theory to be able to do more with music.

More than any other time in history, it is possible to teach yourself to play the ukulele

using free resources available from public libraries and the Internet. You can easily find and

download sheet music, lead sheets, lyrics, chords, video tutorials, and audio recordings of songs

you want to play. The challenge is how to efficiently plow through the plethora of attention-

grabbing freebies and get what is truly useful and effective for your needs.

Compared to the piano, violin, and guitar, learning the ukulele seems extremely easy and

satisfying. As soon as you can play a few chords, you can accompany yourself. Unlike the

ukulele, both the violin and guitar require proper technique to produce a good tone. Playing the
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 4

piano requires proper posture, hand position, and finger coordination. Learning to play a

complete song on the piano, violin, or guitar is not immediate.

Learning the ukulele is even easier if you have some musical background such as the

ability to read Western notation, chord symbols, and tablature, and play the guitar. This paper

explores and reviews different ways you can learn to play the ukulele with free and easily

accessible resources today: books, websites, and downloadable apps on the iPhone and iPad. By

reading guidebooks, watching tutorials, and using smart apps, you can not only learn to play this

instrument but also join a world-wide growing phenomenon of ukulele enthusiasts.

Ukulele Method Books

The University of Hawaii Maui College (UHMC) library has a collection of ukulele

instruction books from the earliest methods of Ernest K. Kaai to more recent self-published

spiral-bound books of George Gippy Cooke and Peter Pekelo Palisbo. A brief examination

shows that these are only a small proportion of the 160 ukulele instruction books, CDs, and

DVDs in the University of Hawaii library collection.

The proliferation of ways to communicate notes and chords has now converged to

todays chord names, tablature, and Western notation, as seen in Allen (2003). Kaais method of

using numbers and letters is no longer used today: 4 beats. 1C-1 2D-1 2G-2 2C-2 signify first

position of C for 4 beats, second position of D for four beats, second position of G for two

measures of four beats, second position of C for two measures. However, his advice to

thoroughly enjoy the ukulele, the keys and chords already had, must be memorized, thus the

following exercises should be practiced assiduously until a fair rate of rapidity in changing from

one chord to another, without hampering the tempo, is acquired still prevails.
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 5

The early methods show chord diagrams and tablature for two different tunings: English

or Canadian or D tuning of ADF#B and standard or C tuning of GCEA with no mention of

baritone ukulele tuning of DGBE. In Hawaii, the C-tuning, a.k.a. island tuning, has become

standard for soprano, concert, and tenor ukulele, as shown in more recent method books.

These early texts preferred tablature and Western notation over chord diagrams.

Meanwhile, the different ways to denote up and down strokes are still in use today: 1) D and U;

2) d and u; 3) and ^ ; and 4) diagonal-down arrow and diagonal-up arrow .

Without exception, all beginning ukulele instruction books include the following

content:

1. Family of ukuleles and their respective tunings

2. Names of parts of the ukulele: tuning peg, nut, fret, neck, etc.

3. How to hold the ukulele

4. How to tune the ukulele

5. Left hand technique: fingering the chords

6. Right hand technique: strumming and picking

7. Optional: music notation and vocabulary

8. Optional: chord names and diagrams

9. Optional: advice on how to practice

10. Application: song sheets - varies greatly by display type and amount (chord or chord

diagram, notation, lyrics, strum symbols, tablature)

Beloffs (2004) beginners method and songbook in its 14th printing gives nearly 50

pages of songs, grouped by major key signature (C, G, F, Bb, D, and Ab). Each song has a short
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 6

introduction and a simple display of lead sheet (melody in Western notation, lyrics, chord name)

with strum type and chord diagram. This is one of the most efficient ways of displaying songs for

the ukulele. The remaining pages of this 64-page book include chord charts, transposition look-

up table, and names of the notes on the fret board.

Ohta and Ho (2006) first introduce the twelve major scales as notation above

corresponding tablature on two pages and then devote seven pages to chord diagrams and a

further four pages to simplifying extended chords, such as Cm7(b5) = Ebm. The second half of

their 50-page book gives their arrangements of popular songs with chord names, melody in

Western notation, and tablature (combining melody and harmony). In their second book, Ohta

and Ho (2007) introduce second position chords and various strumming patterns. The extensive

use of notes on a single staff and corresponding tablature motivate readers to learn to pick.

From Book to Video

A video tutorial is much easier and faster to follow than reading a book or article when it

comes to the correct hand position, fingering and strumming techniques. The Internet is

proliferated with plenty of free tutorials. The UH Library also has DVDs available for loan.

Roy Sakuma (2006) teaches a complete beginner how to tune, hold, and play the ukulele

on his DVD. In his relaxed and friendly demeanor, he introduces the C major chord by placing

the ring finger on the first string (A-string) third fret. Next follows the Am chord with the middle

finger on the fourth string (G-string) second fret. In this position, its easy to transition to the F

major chord, by leaving the middle finger intact while the dropping the index finger on the

second string (E-string) first fret. He cautions that G7 is problematic for most beginners but

tilting the left hand at an angle can help. He also points out that Bb major chord is difficult unless
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 7

you push your left hand away from you to give the index finger the necessary pressure on the

first two strings.

In the DVD, Sakuma shows various types of strums: straight, bounce, waltz, jazz waltz,

vamp, DDU UD, scratch, and knock strums and invites the viewer to practice as he waits.

Towards the end of the DVD, Sakuma recommends the viewer to get his Treasury of Ukulele

Chords and learn to play over 800 chord diagrams. Without prior knowledge of music theory, a

beginner may find it slow and meaningless to memorize the different chords. The next sections

mention different approaches to learning chords on the ukulele.

Ukulele Guides and Guidebooks

Aside from instruction books and video tutorials, there is another kind of educational gem

found on websites in the form of guides or guidebooks. These guides give tips and techniques

and deliver pockets of wisdom and advice on topics such as the most important chords every

ukulele player must know by heart, how to shop for an ukulele, and best strumming techniques.

Some of the more popular ones are found on ukuguides.com, ukulele-tabs.com, and

ukulelehunt.com. Instead of reading all such articles in one go, it may be more effective to

subscribe to a free newsletter such as that offered by ukuleleinthedark.com and free updates from

the Ukulele Magazine.

Transitioning from Guitar to Ukulele

The ukulele is easier to hold and handle than the guitar. If you already know the guitar,

you can apply the same strumming techniques to the ukulele. There are also many similarities in

chord formation that can help your transition from the guitar to the ukulele.
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 8

Chords are formed on four strings on the ukulele instead of six. Thus finding individual

notes on the ukulele is also easier than on the guitar. Because the ukuleles four strings

(GCEA) are tuned a perfect fourth interval from the guitar (EADGBE), it is possible to

transpose the same chord shape from one instrument to the other. For instance, the G major

chord on the ukulele is precisely a perfect fourth above a similarly-shaped chord on the guitar,

i.e. D. Its even easier on the baritone ukulele whose four strings are equivalent to the bottom

four strings of the guitar: DGBE.

If you already know the guitar, then you can derive the equivalent chords on the ukulele

using this perfect fourth interval shift in thinking. For instance, to play a D on the ukulele, think

of the chord that is a perfect fourth interval below the D or a perfect fifth above it. Pianists, who

are able to think with their fingers and hands, can do this quickly. The equivalent chord diagram

on the guitar is an A major. Drop the lowest strings and you get the D major on the ukulele. An

In other words, the A major chord on the guitar looks like a D major chord on the C-tuned

ukulele, i.e. with just the top four strings. There are other ways to learn chords, if you dont

know the guitar as shown in the next sections, which are also relevant to the guitar. See the

correspondence in table 1 in the appendix.

From the Simple and Popular to the Complex and Rarely Used

Most ukulele method books and tutorial websites start with the simplest chords, i.e.

those that are easy to form, with few strings to press, in the first position, with open strings.

These so-called stationary chords include Am7, Am, A7, A, C, C7, Cmaj7, and F. Accordingly,

G, G7, Gm are included to complete the I IV - V progression in C major. Similarly, D major,

D7, Dm, Dm7 complete the G major. Further, Bb completes the F major cadence. E major
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 9

completes the A major cadence. The above sequence coincides with the Circle of Fifths: Bb - F -

C - G - D - A E.

It follows naturally that the simplest chords are coincidentally also some of the most

frequently used chords, as seen in figure 1. It is no wonder that all beginners start with the easiest

and most popular chords, those with few depressions on the neck, leaving many open strings.

One way to memorize chords is to practice until it becomes more or less automatic. If

you play enough of songs using C- F - G7, you will have memorized the chords. You can learn

new chords by transposing the song to another key, such as G major using equivalent chords of

G - C - D7. This is a good way to travel up and down the Circle of Fifths with I- IV V7.

Common chord progressions can cycle you through many popular and folk songs. Its a

good way to reinforce the most commonly used chords.

After you have mastered the above chords, you can examine songs that make use of

suspended chords, major 6ths, and other less commonly used chords (more accidentals in key

signatures) in keys further up the Circle of Fifths or substitute more difficult chords, e.g.

diminished 7ths for dominant 7ths.

Once you have memorized handful of chords, you can derive new chords rather than look

them up. For instance, if you know the G major chord, you can derive the G augmented chord by

moving the D on the third string (C-string) second fret down a fret to D#.

Movable Chord Shapes

Another way to learn chords is to employ basic chord shapes and use the principle of

movable chord shapes to derive similar kinds of chords in different positions.

TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 10

There are three closed major chord shapes which are not obvious for C, A, and F because

of the open strings. When you move them down the neck, however, with use of barring, you will

see the shapes. The names of the chords moves up chromatically, e.g. C becomes C# major, A

becomes Bb major, G becomes G# major, etc. as shown in figure 2.

By learning these chord shapes, you can locate different chords on the fret board. There

are chord shapes that correspond to other kinds of chords such as minor, sevenths, and major

sevenths. Manus (1992) devotes a large section to movable chords and writes, Regardless of the

fret on which the chord is played, the root always remains on the same string.

Chords in the Diatonic Scales, Circling Fifths

Another way to learn chords is associate them with scale degrees, i.e. I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi,

and seventh (diminished) chords. These are the most important chords used in that particular key.

Using the movable chord shape principle, you can chromatically shift them down the neck, each

fret representing a half-step higher. Figure 3 shows the chords in the C major scale. Once you

know these shapes, its a matter of shifting them to the right fret.

Look Up Chords via Chord Charts or Tables

Without knowing the above principles of movable chord shapes or intervals / frets and

ways to alter a chord, you may resort to looking up chords via a chord dictionary, chord chart,

chord table, or even using a website or a smart app. In fact, that is what most beginners do.

Chord charts or dictionaries typically group the chords so they can be easily found. Chords are

typically listed alphabetically and chromatically by chord types and vice versa. Tedious and
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 11

time-consuming, this manner of looking up chords doesnt necessarily encourage you to

memorize the chords.

The Uke Buddy website offers five tabs on its menu. The Uke Chord tab displays the

keys as buttons from C, C# chromatically to B, and the kind of chord from major, minor,

augmented, to m7b5 in the row beneath. By choosing a combination of letter and chord type, you

can see the chord diagram on the ukelele. The next tab Chord Namer displays the name of the

chord based on what string or fret you click on the ukulele neck diagram. The third tab Ukulele

Scales display the frets to play different scales from C, C# chromatically to B for major, minor,

and a range of exotic scales. The fourth tab is a ukulele tuner for four different tunings. The fifth

and last tab contains guides for the ukulele.

Without prior music theory knowledge, you can be confused by the different names given

to the same chord diagram. Why is C6 fingered the same as Am7? Sakuma (1998) explains that

it depends on the context or the key of the song being played. Chords, like words, can have

more than one meaning. The chords are ordered alphabetically and chromatically from A, A#

(Bb), B, C, C# to G# in categories of major, minor, etc. He describes major chords as bright and

summery and major 9th chords as ahhh very satisfying and relaxing.

There is more than one way to play a chord, depending on position, i.e. which part of the

neck. A chord can be represented by different voicings, including root position and inversions. A

triad on ukulele will always have a doubling of one of the notes because of the extra fourth

string. Compound chords (those above an octave with more than four notes) and slash chords

require a bit more imagination to determine which note(s) to drop or keep.

TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 12

Smart Apps for iPhone and iPad

The Internet version of chord dictionaries is the smart or mobile app. Real Ukulele is one

of many free apps that work on the iPhone and iPad. This app allows you to choose an ukulele

for right-handers or left-handers.

U-Chord app for iPad instantly shows four different positions for a single chord. Here

you can match a letter (C or C#) with a type (m, dim, sus2, sus4, etc). Its also possible to do the

reverse, i.e. click on the strings and frets (in the diagram) to create a chord position and use the

app to find the name of the chord. For example, 3212 (3rd fret on G string, 2nd fret on C string,

1st fret on E string, and 2nd fret on A string) will generate several chord names: C#13-9, Db13-

9, G7+9, and BmM7-5 and their equivalent naming conventions.

Ukulele Chords app for iPad displays the chord in three ways: chord diagram, tablature,

and photo of fingers pressed on the strings.

Conclusions

This brief review of the most popular ukulele websites, videos, and smart (mobile) apps

and university library books shows the many free tools available for the beginning ukulele

player. While they vary greatly in content, their aims are identical. Once you can play melody,

harmony, and rhythm at the same time, you will gain satisfaction and instill the desire to enlarge

your repertoire. With minimal knowledge of the basic chords and strums, you can explore the

vast minefield of songs with chord names and (or) diagrams. Many of these have free tutorials

that show you exactly how to play the songs. When youre ready, you can join a ukulele club ---

- or start your own if it doesnt exist in your area.

TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 13

Appendix

Table 1. Correspondence of similar-looking chords

Guitar A Am A7 B7 C D Dm D7 E Em E7 F G G7

Ukulele D Dm D7 E7 F G Gm G7 A Am A7 Bb C C7

Figure 1. Most Used Ukulele Chords

Source: Ukulelehunt.com
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 14

Figure 2. Movable Chord Shapes: moving up a fret.

Source: Ukulele Chords III

Figure 3. Diatonic Chords: most commonly used chords in C major

Source: The Building Blocks of Songs

TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 15

References

Allen, H.K. (2003) Pila Lii Lii Ukulele Book of Songs Book 1. Lahaina, Maui, HI: Hawaiian

Music Institute.

Applying your Guitar smarts to Ukulele. Retrieved 23 April 2016, from

http://www.theoreticallycorrect.com/From-guitar-to-ukulele/

Beloff, J. (2004) Jumpin Jims Ukulele Tips N Tunes: A Beginners Method & Songbook.

Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation.

Brian, S., & USA, T. (2014, January 23). Ukuleles tiptoe into music classes. USA Today.

Building Blocks of Songs. Retrieved 23 April 2016, from http://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud-17-

the-building-blocks-of-songs/

Burgess, K. (2015, February 2). Mumford factor sends ukulele sales soaring. The Times (United

Kingdom), 17.

Cooke, G. (2013) You Can Play the Ukulele: Traditional Vamp-Style Hawaiian Music.

Waipahu, HI: Island Heritage Publishing.

Kaai, E. (1998) Hawaiian Ukulele: The Early Methods. Anaheim Hills, CA. Centerbrook

Publishing.

Kruse, N. B. (2013). 'Without U, it's just kulele': Expressions of leisure and 'ohana in an

intergenerational ukulele club. International Journal Of Community Music, 6(2), 153-

167. doi:10.1386/ijcm.6.2.153_1

Learn to Play the Ukulele with Roy Sakuma. (2006). Honolulu, HI.

Manus, M. (1992) Ukulele Chord Dictionary. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.

Most Common Ukulele Chords. Retrieved 23 April 2016, from

http://ukulelehunt.com/2011/09/07/most-common-ukulele-chords/
TEACH YOURSELF THE UKULELE 16

Ohta, H., Jr. & Ho, D. (2006) Discovering the Ukulele with Herb Ohta, Jr & Daniel Ho: a

beginners guide to technique, tuning, scales, chords, & songs. Los Angeles, CA: Daniel

Ho Creations.

Ohta, H., Jr. & Ho. D. (2007) Exploring the Ukulele with Herb Ohta, Jr. & Daniel Ho: an

intermediate guide to strumming, arpeggios, chords, 3rds, 6ths, pentatonic scales,

picking, fingering, Hawaiian turnarounds, and songs. Los Angeles, CA: Daniel Ho

Creations.

Palisbo, P. (2007) Pekelos Hawaiian Ukulele Method: a book of intermediate fingerpicking

technique using traditional Hawaiian and Hapa Haole melodies, Level 2. Pekelo

Publishing LLC.

Palisbo, P. (2007) Pekelos Hawaiian Ukulele Method: a book of basic fingerpicking technique

using traditional Hawaiian melodies, Level 1. Pekelo Publishing LLC.

Sakuma, R. (1998) Treasury of Ukulele Chords: The Most Comprehensive Book of Ukulele

Chords. Honolulu, HI: Roy Sakuma Productions, Inc.

Uke Buddy. Retrieved 23 April 2016, from https://ukebuddy.com/chord-namer

Ukuguides.com Get to Know Your Ukulele. Retrieved 23 April 2016, from

https://ukuguides.com/

Ukulele Chords III. Retrieved 23 April 2016, from http://play-

ukulele.simonplantinga.nl/2014/05/ukulele-chords-iii/

Ukulelehunt.com. Retrieved 23 April 2016, from http://ukulelehunt.com/

Ukulele in the Dark with Guido Heistek. Retrieved 3 May 2016, from

http://ukuleleinthedark.com

Ukulele Magazine. Retrieved 3 May 2016, from http://ukulelemag.com