Chord inversions are a great way to mix up your playing and give you an opportunity to use what you’ve already learned but in a slightly different way. If you’ve already got a handful of chords memorised and can change comfortably between them within the flow of a song then chord inversions could be just what the doctor ordered.
Articles
Ukulele Soloing For Beginners Part 1
Recently I’ve been playing a lot of improvised solo stuff on my ukulele – it’s loads of fun and it’s pretty simple to get started with. One of the things I really like about soloing is that if you have 2 ukulele players together you get a much more interesting sound when both players are doing completely different things.
My son Ben plays a little ukulele and it’s really great to be able to play some backing chords and give him a scale to play over the top. It’s so much more enjoyable than us both playing the same part of a song.
Recording Ukulele Videos for YouTube
Over the past few months I’ve been making a few video tutorials of simple songs for beginners to have a go at. I’ve talked in the past about struggling to get decent sound quality without spending a lot of money on cameras and mics. Here’s what I’ve learned so far…
The Best Online Ukulele Tools
I seem to be forever trawling the internet in search of new things to help out ukulele players (myself included) – here’s some of the best online ukulele tools that I’ve found on my travels…
The Problem With Tab
When I first started playing guitar I depended on tab. In fact, I never really did anything on guitar without tab. If I wanted to play a song, back then I’d either buy a tab book or look for it on the internet. Nice and quick, now all I had to do was learn how to play it from the tab.
Ukulele Finger Warm Up
It’s a good idea to have a little bit of a warm up before you start playing your ukulele. Get those fingers loosened up and ready for action. Here’s a left hand warm up routine that I’ve brought over from my guitar practice schedule…
How To Tune A Ukulele
One of the most common problems that ukulele beginners face when they first get interested in playing is learning how to tune a ukulele. It’s tricky at first but with a little practice it will become second nature and you’ll quickly get into the habit of tuning up every time you pick up your ukulele to play.…
Get To Know Your Ukulele Fretboard
Although it seems like a bit of a chore, learning all the notes on your fretboard is so helpful when it comes to learning to play ukulele. The ability to instantly know what note you’re playing wherever you are on the neck on your uke opens up all kinds of possibilities and should start to connect the dots for you on which notes and chords work together and why.
Adjusting The Action On Your Ukulele
I’ve been watching loads of videos on setting up a ukulele recently and I thought I’d have a go at lowering the action on my Peavey concert ukulele. Here’s how I did it…
My Favourite Ukulele Websites
Ok I’ll admit it, I spend far too much time on ukulele websites – there are worse things to do though (or so I’m told). Anyway, here’s a list (in no particular order) of the ones that I spend the most time on…