Getting Started with Ukulele
Welcome to our learning resources! Whether you're picking up a ukulele for the first time or looking to develop your skills, these guides will help you on your musical journey.
Download Songbooks
Junior Songbook
Download Junior Songbook (PDF)
UGN Songbook
The Basics
Holding Your Ukulele
Getting comfortable with holding your instrument is the first step to making beautiful music.
Two Points of Contact:
- Neck - Resting gently in your fretting hand
- Forearm - Your strumming arm makes contact against the soundboard/lower bout
Top Tips:
- Roll up your sleeves for extra grip with your strumming arm
- Adjust where your forearm makes contact to find the "sweet spot" for striking the strings with thumb or finger - usually around where the neck meets the body of the uke
- Remove watches, jewelry, or buttons that might get in the way.
- Breathe and relax, try to laugh off any mistakes, keep playing! :)
A place to start: C7
C7 is a great place for beginners to start strumming. It has a memorable positioning for frets, strings and fingers.
How to play C7:
- Place your 1st finger
- on the 1st fret
- of the 1st string (the string closest to the floor)
Practice Technique:
- Start with a "feather touch" - barely touching the string
- Slowly add pressure
- Find the minimum pressure needed by plucking the 1st string gently with your strumming thumb
Strumming Technique
Strum gently, graze the strings with light flowing motion.
Basic Strumming Methods:
Thumb Strum
- Make light contact to lower shoulder of the ukulele with fingertips on your strumming hand
- Strum gently down with thumb through all 4 strings
- Let your wrist and hand relaxed and loose
- Extend your index finger, let others curl naturally
- Strumming Down: Use your fingernail or fingertip, extending your finger
- Strumming Up: Use the pad of your finger, curling it back toward your palm
- Use combined movement of wrist and finger - minimal elbow movement
Advanced Techniques
The Ukulele as a Little Drum
Your ukulele can be more than just a melodic instrument - it can be a percussive instrument too!
Our First Song: "Sea Seven"
Here's a fun little song you can play using just the C7 chord! Perfect for practicing your strumming while singing along.
You could use this song to practice other 7 chords, like G7 or E7 when it comes to learning them.
Sea Seven
They're lined up in a row right here, they're called 1, 2 &
3
And 4's a little neighbour, they're happy as can be
They like to go to outer space, make music and explore
You got the fire and got the time, then strum the strings all 4
I said [insert names of group members]!
Is there something I can do?
I said [another name]!
To sail Sea Seven true?
They plot the stars they follow charts, the strumming hand
commands
There's others too that live with thumb, they're on your strongest
hand
They bring the uke to life chuckstrum, the strings they can explore
A root a 3rd a 5th sounds swell, a 7th you can't ignore!
(Continue with more names and verses as you like!)
Keep Learning
These basics are just the beginning! To continue your ukulele journey:
- Join our workshops for hands-on learning
- Download our songbooks for practice materials
- Connect with other players in our community sessions
- Practice a little each day - consistency is key!
Remember: Everyone starts somewhere, and the ukulele community is one of the most welcoming you'll find. Don't be afraid to make mistakes - it's how we learn!
"We welcome you to enjoy the benefits playing music together can bring to individuals, communities, and collectives."
