IntroCopyright

Chapter 1 Buying your ukuleleTable of Contents

Chapter 2 Ukulele AnatomyChapter 3 How to hold the UkuleleChapter 4 How to read Tabs & Strumming patternsChapter 5 Begginer songs

IntroYoull probably ignore this page and get straight to the point of this book, but if youre reading this Ill make it short. I hope this wont be like the other boring books, but remember you have to learn the basics and it can get kind of boring at times, but at the end its going to be worth it, trust me! You will be learning the basics about the ukulele, and be great. I hope you try and succeed! Please dont get frustrated if you dont succeed the first couple of times, this is your first time playing this instrument, and remember this instrument is very easy; so lets get started.

Chapter 1Buying your UkuleleBuying your first ukulele isnt that easy. You have to look at the sizes, prices, and brands.SizeThe ukulele doesnt come in just one size, there are actually four sizes.The four sizes of the ukulele: Soprano- Smallest Ukulele best for beginners Concert- Most common sized Ukulele Tenor Larger then soprano and concert, but not the largest; not really used by beginners Baritone- Largest of all four mostly used by experienced players (not recommended)Since you are a beginner I suggest Do Not Use the Baritone or the Tenor, but stay away from the Baritone as it is very different from the others. I recommend starting with a soprano or concert, but since soprano is smaller it may be easier. Remember which ever size youre more comfortable with works, so try going to music stores and holding the ukulele to see which size is best for you.PriceUkuleles can be very cheap, but can also be very expensive. Do not buy a cheap ukulele at all! Even if youre a beginner, they sound horrible. I recommend buying one around $60 since it wont be too cheap or not too expensive either. Dont waste hundreds of dollars on your first ukulele; remember you are just a beginner.Brands, Models, and MoreThere is a wide selection of ukuleles, but since youre a beginner try staying away from anything too crazily shaped, highly decorated, or any colored ukuleles. If you still cant decide on what you want to get I recommend a Kala KA-S or an Alveraze!

This part is optionalThese are just some things you can buy along with your ukulele.Tuner- For a beginner I suggest you buy a tuner since you cant tune your ukulele. A really good tuner is the Snark SN-2, which is around 11 or 12 dollars at your local music store. Another tuner, which is cheaper, is the Snark SN-1, which is around 8 or 9 dollars at your local music store.Extra Strings- Really come in handy! Sometimes you can pop your strings and youre going to have to wait to buy more strings so always have back up strings.Picks- you dont really need picks to play the ukulele, but if you want to use one, go ahead. Remember ukuleles need special picks called felt picks so dont try using a simple plastic guitar pick because it wont really sound the same. Strap- if you cant hold your ukulele while playing, or youre just scared to drop it? Buy a strap!Case- If you travel a lot or like taking your ukulele out in public, buy a case for protection. Stand- If youre a clean freak and dont like leaving your ukulele just laying around or youre too scared that you will probably step on it? Buy a stand for your ukulele, to be safe.Capo- This is actually for more advanced players, its used to play certain songs

Chapter 2 The Ukulele AnatomyNow that youve figured out what ukulele you want or already purchased it, I am going to show you the anatomy of the ukulele. You obviously need to know the parts of the instrument youre playing.

Chapter 3Lesson 1: How to hold the ukuleleNot too low

Perfect

Not too high

Chapter 4 How to read tabsTabs are very easy to read, it just depends if you can play themThe first step of reading tabs is knowing the strings of your instrument. In this case, its the ukulele.Lets go over the strings Tabs are usually written in horizontal lines. The first line at the top is your first string so A and it just goes down heres an example:A-----0---------------------------------------------------------------E-----------------------2---------------------------------------------C-----------------------------------3---------------------------------G------------2--------------------------------------------------------First you will play open A first Next 2nd fret on the G string2nd fret E stringLast 3rd fret C stringDo not play this all togetherIts supposed to be one at a time as it shows in the tab, just follow the order and pluck each string separately.If all the numbers are aligned or more than one number are aligned, you play the strings together. This is an example of a chord A-----0---------------------------------------------------------------E-----0---------------------------------------------------------------C-----0---------------------------------------------------------------G-----2---------------------------------------------------------------One last thing if there is / that means to slide down to that fret for example on the A string you slide down from the 3rd fret to the 5th fret.A---------------------------3/5--------------------------------------E----------------1---------------------------------------------------C-----2--------------------------------------------------------------G--------------------------------------------------------------------So those are the basics of reading tabs now lets move on to strumming patterns.

How to read strumming patterns

Ok so in middle school I was in mariachi for 3 years, and well the teacher would give us music that was basically strumming patterns accompanied by chord on the top, so it wasnt really hard at all. Well I decided to write my music for you guys like that too because why not? Its obviously easier to read since you dont have to focus on all these notes, so lets get started.Here are the basics;Means a down strum and means an up strum so let me give you an example

here is an example

Now youre probably wondering what that x means, well thats a choke. Choking is like basically muting your strings. I cant really explain, so perhaps you should go on YouTube and figure it out.Ok so youre going to see different patterns for example

Well basically all I can say is if the notes are tied together play them together. The next thing you got to know for both tabs and strumming patterns is a forward repeat sign Here is an example of one

This sign just means to repeat; go back to the last forward repeat sign and repeat as many times as the song says. So thats it on strumming patterns! Pretty easy huh? Well lets get started on the actual music. Oh and by the way a chord chart will be provided in the back of the book!Chapter 5 Beginner songsOk this first song is pretty easy, were going to start off with a tab to help you prepare for your next song. Be aware that I hand wrote the music all by myself and I apologize in advance for sloppiness, but I hope you can comprehend.

This next song is going to involve strumming and plucking so you will be reading tabs and strumming patterns.

The next song is just a more complex strumming pattern not too hard.

Basically you repeat this the whole song

Chapter 6 Intermediate songs

For this song I am just going to give you the strumming pattern and the chords with the lyrics separately.

C

EmSomewhere xxxx xxx xxxxxxxx

F

CWay xx high

F

CAnd xxx dreams xxxx xxx xxxxxxx xxx

G

Am

FOnce xx x xxxxxxx

C

EmSomewhere xxxx xxx xxxxxxxx

F

CBlue xxxxx fly

F

CAnd xxx dreams xxxx xxx xxxxxxx xxx

G

Am

FDreams xxxxxx xx xxxx true

CSomeday xxxx xxxx xxxx x xxxxx

Em

Am

FWake xx xxxxx xxx xxxxxx xxx xxx behind xxxx

CWhere xxxxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxx

Em

Am

FHigh xxxxx xxx xxxxxxx xxxx xx where xxxxxx find xxxx

C

Em Somewhere xxxx xxx xxxxxxx

F

CBluebirds xxxxx

F

C And xxx dreams xxxx xxx xxxx xxxx

G

Am

FOh xxxx xx xxx can't xxxx

CSomeday xxxx xxxx xxxx x xxxxx

Em

Am

FWake xx xxxxx xxx xxxxxx xxx xxx behind xxxx

CWhere xxxxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxx

Em

Am

FHigh xxxxx xxx xxxxxxx xxxx xx where xxxxxx find xxxx

C

EmSomewhere xxxx xxx xxxxxxxx

F

CWay xx high

F

C And xxx dreams xxxx xxx xxxx xxx xx

G

Am

Foh xxxx xx xxx can't xxxx

End on

C

Chapter 7 Advance songs

Thank you and have fun being basic!