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Chapter 8: Ukulele

Summary: How I Learned to Play the Ukulele

• I obtained a ukulele, strings, a tuner, and other necessary equipment.
• I decided to begin by focusing on learning the most common chord progressions and strumming patterns, which allowed me to play thousands of popular songs.
• Once I was able to play chords and strum without looking at the fretboard or strings, I practiced until I could maintain the pattern and change chords without thinking about it.
• When I was comfortable with basic chords and strumming patterns, I began learning songs by humming along as I played, learning where the words and chord changes overlapped, then adding lyrics until I could sing and play at the same time.
• I experimented with fingerpicking the same chord progression instead of strumming, which let me play sounds that sounded more complex.
• I learned the I, IV, V chord progression, which helped me figure out how to play even more songs.

The Grizzly

Here's a better look at my one-of-a-kind tenor ukulele, hand-crafted by master luthier Erik Smith of Crow Hill Guitars.

What's the difference between a guitar and an ukulele?

The most common ukulele tuning for a soprano, concert, or tenor ukulele is GCEA. These strings are a 5th higher than the four highest strings of the standard guitar tuning of EADGBE. If you put a capo (a bar that bars an entire fret) on the 5th fret of a guitar, then play using the four highest strings, you're essentially playing an ukulele - the only difference is that the G string (no pun intended) is one octave higher on the ukulele than it is on the guitar, given the ukulele's "reentrant" tuning.

In fact, baritone ukuleles are tuned DGBE, the same as the four highest strings of the guitar. From that perspective, guitars are simply 6 string baritone ukuleles. Now you know!

Inspiration: Jake Shimabukuro

Practice makes perfect... bow before the master.

The Next Challenge: Looping

Some musicians enjoy simulating the layered production effect using a "looper", which samples audio for a few seconds, then replays it through an amplifier. The loops are controlled by a foot pedal, so the musician has their hands free to play. By creating multiple loops, the musician can produce full songs, effectively becoming a one-man band.

Here's Gianni Luminati from Walk off the Earth performing a cover of "Grenade" by Bruno Mars. Notable instruments include the ukulele, xylophone, a water cooler bottle, a carving knife + sharpener, and an unloaded air pistol. (Seriously.)

I recently picked up a Boomerang III phase sampler, and I'm looking forward to learning how to use it.

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