Basic Lessons for Getting Started with Ukulele

For music and learning an instrument like the ukulele or guitar, it's all about the making the connection between the Mind, the Hands and the Ear.

Up, Down, Ascending, Descending, Higher, Lower, Top, Bottom!!!

Just what are the fingers of the plucking and fretting hand called.

There're a lot different ways to show chord shapes, diagrams and images on a fretted instrument. This is the basic chord diagram I use in all my lessons and book.

Your first ukulele chord is typically an open position C major chord. It's only one finger and ukulele players love to show new players this, the easiest, usable ukulele chord for new players. Especially someone coming from guitar where an open position C major is three fingers and not that easy as the first chord.

All possible one, two, three, and four string combinations on ukulele.

The ukulele scale diagram is explained. A chord or scale grid is an alternate, visual why of showing a scale pattern.

TAB or Tablature Tablature is an alternate form of musical notation, which tells players where to place their fingers on a particular instrument rather than which pitches to play.

Rather than do a complete lesson on standard music notation. Why reinvent the wheel. There are a lot of great resources on-line and books in music stores that already exist. Here is my take on several of the offerings.

TAB, short for tablature is a form of musical notation using numbers and letters on a staff that that corresponds to the number of strings of fretted string instrument. Theses number tell a player which fret to place their fingers on the fingerboard.