How to play the ukulele?

Many people dream of learning to play musical instruments, and recently, the choice of beginners most often falls on the ukulele. At first glance, it may seem that it is quite difficult to perform various melodies on such an instrument without the participation of a teacher. However, you can learn how to play the ukulele on your own in your free time, regardless of teachers or music school hours. In addition, the low cost of the Hawaiian string instrument allows anyone to try themselves as a musician. In this article, we'll show you how to get started with learning to play the ukulele and describe the basic skills for a beginner guitarist.

The first step to learning to play the ukulele is to acquire an instrument. Therefore, in order to select the right tool, it would be wise to first familiarize yourself with the range of products.

Four strings are produced in 4 types:

• baritone is the largest representative of the instrument, its body length is 75 cm, baritone melodies are obtained with a rather low sound spectrum;
• tenor - has a shorter body than a baritone, but large enough to emit lower tone notes;
• concert instruments - they do not have a very large body, but due to the special structure, rather loud and high notes can be extracted from such guitars;
• sopranos are the smallest representatives of the ukulele, their body length does not exceed 52 cm, and the number of frets on the fretboard is from 12 to 15 pieces, the melodies on the soprano are sonorous and cheerful.

In stores, there are models of 2 price categories - expensive and budget, they differ in the material from which they are created. The body of an inexpensive ukulele is made from plywood or extruded wood, so the melodies you extract won't sound very good. This option is suitable for those who start from 0 and do not want to buy something expensive yet. A cheap four-string won't make a clear sound, so aspiring guitarists may lose their desire to make music.

The higher priced ukulele is crafted from real wood, which makes the melodies sound cleaner and more melodic than a plywood small guitar. Besides, a wooden instrument can be used much longer - the frets will not deteriorate quickly from intense playing. Moreover, on such a four-string it will be much easier for a beginner to get used to pressing the strings, because they are located only 5 mm from the neck.

Now, When you have chosen a ukulele, you need to learn how to hold it correctly. To do this, press the guitar against your chest with your right forearm. The body of the four-string should rest against the crook of the elbow of the right hand, and the neck should fit into the palm of the left hand.

Before you start learning to play, you first need to tune the sound of the strings. Tuning a ukulele is quite difficult for a beginner by ear, so download special application, which, with the help of a microphone, determines the tone of the sound and helps you to pull or release the desired strings on your own. You can also use online tuner from the comfort of your home - this is a great alternative to downloading applications.

The strings are counted down from the bottom, meaning the 1st string is farther away from you, and the 4th string is closer than the rest. Use the tuner to tune the notes you want. Start tuning with the 1st string, its note is A, then successively tune the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings to E, C and G, respectively. For those who have played the guitar before, it may seem strange that the 4th string is tuned in the same octave as the other three, but the tuning of the ukulele must be set that way.

Once you've got the correct sound on all four strings, try the sound of the instrument. To do this, play all the strings; this must be done at the level of the ukulele body just above the socket - a round hole on the front panel of the equipment.

You can start learning by memorizing a simple melody - this will help you fully feel the possibilities of the ukulele and will charge you with enough motivation for further musical progress. Learning to play the ukulele is much easier than the guitar, there is absolutely no need to purchase expensive lessons for this. Self-study from scratch gives a fairly quick result if you have the patience and perseverance to play the game 2-3 times a week.

In order to arrange atmospheric gatherings with friends while playing a string instrument, you do not have to study musical notation for many years. It is enough to learn how to clamp the strings and memorize a few simple chords - with this knowledge you can play almost any melody. On a small four-string, chords are less painful than on a regular guitar, because the strings are closer to the neck and are made of smooth nylon.

Apart from the basic chords, it will also be wise to study the scale, scales and pentatonic scale. Let's take a closer look at each item.

For beginners, it is enough to learn a few of the simplest and most popular chords, for example, Am, Dm, C and E. Once you memorize the position of your fingers on the strings and learn how to play them, try changing chords - you will understand how much the sound changes from this. As you play, you need to constantly quickly change the position of your fingers on the strings - the more often you practice, the better the instrument will sound.

As you might have noticed there are two types of chords - consisting of one capital letter (F, G, A, B) or two - one uppercase and one small (Fm, Gm, Am, Bm). The first option is the major chords, as a rule, they sound higher and "fun". If the name contains a small letter "m", then this is a minor chord, in most cases it sounds lower and "sadder" than a major one.

Tuning is the key to which you tuned the strings before starting training. But there are two ways to customize the instrument, let's look at each in more detail.

• Standard tuning. This string tension is constructed as follows: GCEA (g-do-mi-la) from the fourth to the first strings, respectively. This classic construction allows you to play the same melodies as on a regular guitar, with only one slight difference - the G note does not produce the lowest sound, because it is in the same octave as C, E and A. Standard settings are most often used for soprano.
• Guitar tuning. This arrangement allows you to extract a sound from the ukulele that is more similar to the sound of a conventional guitar. The order of string tension is built differently: DGBE (re-sol-b-mi), but, as in the standard tuning, the bottom note in the structure remains in the same octave as the other three. Guitar tuning is often used for baritone, less often for tenor.

To start playing scales, you first need to understand what it is. In musical terminology, scale refers to the sequential playing of seven notes per octave. Sounds within this octave are softly combined with each other, and when played correctly, they produce harmonious chords or intervals from the ukulele. It is from the scales that most compositions and works of musical art consist.

It is necessary to practice scales on the ukulele in order to better understand the combination of different notes with each other. Moreover, scales make it easier to memorize notes on the neck of a musical instrument - in the future, this will help you improvise and select melodic compositions on your own. Another helpful tip is to say each note when playing scales, and to be more productive try singing them.

You can play the scales on the ukulele on one string or all four. It is necessary to start learning scales with the correct position of the fingers of the left hand - the principle is similar to clamping chords, but you need to put your fingers a little wider. You need to clamp the strings so as to extract the sound from the notes in the appropriate fret.

Like chords, scales exist in two categories - major and minor, there are 24 types in total. But if you delve deeper into these categories, you can understand that each major scale is very similar to a parallel minor key and vice versa. This means that you only need to learn 12 minor or major notes and understand their parallel relationship - this will greatly simplify and speed up the learning process.

The pentatonic scale is a kind of scale - in fact, it is the sequential playing of strings that produce a sound in one tone. By learning how to play the pentatonic scale on the ukulele correctly, you will be able to create harmonious compositions, the notes in which will be beautifully intertwined into pleasant melodies. Teaching music in this style creates an excellent base for future brilliant solo performances.

Knowing the pentatonic scale will help you create your own compositions - all you need to do is play notes in one octave and improvise by plucking adjacent strings. Listen carefully to the combination of sounds when you hit new notes - this method will help to discard unsuccessful combinations and find melodic ones. With the help of improvisation on the pentatonic scale, you can create many interesting and original solo compositions on the ukulele without worrying about "missing" when combining notes.

You can play the ukulele in two ways - by fighting and brute-force. Each type can be quickly and easily mastered if chord exercises are performed in parallel. A simple instruction will help you figure out how to play, following which you can easily learn how to make a pleasant sound from a four-string.

This type of playing is performed with the fingers of your right hand - you need to fold them with a pinch and hit the strings with it. Play a chord from top to bottom with your index finger nail, and from bottom to top with a pad. You can also try playing the fight with all your fingers, opening them like a fan and alternately touching the strings. This way of playing trains your hands to perform different actions at the same time: while the right one learns to rhythmically extract the sound from the ukulele, the left one grips the chords and smoothly changes the position of the fingers on the strings.

It is quite simple to play the small guitar by striking, the main thing is not to forget that the right hand must perform the movements accurately, but at the same time remain relaxed. To gradually get used to the rhythm, simply hit the strings from top to bottom in time to the music. Over time, you will begin to understand exactly how you need to move your wrist, then try playing the strings in a different direction - from bottom to top.

If you are going to learn how to play a particular melody or song and found chords for it on the Internet, the direction of the battle in them is indicated by an up or down arrow. Also in the diagrams there are such designations as an asterisk or a cross - this means that after playing a chord, it is necessary to drown out the strings with a blow of the palm.

The style is also called "finger piking", it consists of sequentially fingering the strings with your fingers. This type of playing requires a meaningful arrangement of the fingers of the right hand: the pinky is on the first string, the ring finger on the second, the index finger on the third, and the thumb plays the fourth string. The presented arrangement of the fingers on the strings is classic, but it is not at all necessary to adhere to it - you can do the brute-force as you like. Nevertheless, you do not need to brute force with just one or two fingers - this will significantly degrade the speed and sound quality of the melody.

In the tablature, busting is indicated by numbers that correspond to the strings, and the game always starts with the bottom note, which corresponds to the fourth string. For example, the scheme "4-123" is played like this: first, pluck the sound from the fourth string, then pluck sequentially and rhythmically from the first to the third strings with different fingers. You can also find another type of scheme, for example, "4_123", where a dash after the number 4 means that after pinching, you need to keep a short pause.

Sometimes you can find a tablature of enumerations with brackets, for example, "4-3 (21)", "4 (12) (12)" or "4-3 (12)". In such a scheme, the strings that must be plucked at the same time are highlighted in brackets.

Playing the four-string is highly dependent on your posture and hand position, so you need to pay special attention to these nuances. For a good ukulele playing result, you need to keep your back straight, place the instrument correctly on the crook of your elbow, and place your hands clearly on the neck and body. When you learn the correct form, playing the ukulele will become much more comfortable and productive - this will help to motivate you to further develop your musical skills.

If you need the most detailed instructions and feel an acute lack of knowledge, you can purchase a special tutorial for playing the four-string in a music store. In addition, you can find a large number of instructional videos that clearly show how to play, the correct position of the hands in different chords and tablatures. It is difficult to find a detailed study of the instrument from scratch, but the more you look at the lessons, the more you accumulate knowledge, because, as you know, you can collect a whole sea drop by drop.

Let's take a look at a few things to look out for when buying a ukulele:

• check the strings, ask the seller what they are made of - for a beginner, it is better to choose nylon strings;
• inspect the attachment points - there should be no loose parts on the tool and no gaps between the glued elements;
• pay attention to the quality of the coating - run your palm over the surface of the body, along the sides and along the neck, there should be no jags or deformations anywhere;
• ask the seller to tune the strings and play them - if there is ringing or bouncing in the sound, then everything is not all right with the instrument;
• try to twist the pegs carefully - after tension they should not change their position, but if the peg starts to spin, it is broken.

Most often, novice guitarists choose a soprano, and because of its size, such an instrument is also called a children's one.

The Ukulele is compact and lightweight, making it easy to take with you on a trip or just out with friends. For comfortable transportation, you can purchase a special case or case, which will also protect the ukulele from accidental damage.

Don't look for a way to become a pro in a couple of days - it's impossible, instead start exercising regularly. In the beginning, to get your fingers accustomed to the load, you can simply clamp the strings for half an hour a day.

Here are some more important tips to make your learning more productive.

• Set yourself a class schedule, for example, an hour 3 times a week. Do not skip workouts at the scheduled time, and after a couple of weeks you will notice significant progress.
• The first step in learning is chord honing. Don't try to start playing difficult tunes right away, you will quickly get frustrated if you don't get the desired result. Better to learn a few basic chords by heart and learn how to change them quickly. This will allow you to play simple popular songs initially.
• When choosing a melody to play, give preference to your favorite repertoire. You have purchased the instrument in order to enjoy beautiful sounding, and not to learn complex, boring compositions.
• Work on the rhythm. You don't have to try to play fast right away, you just won't be able to do it. Start playing slowly, the most important thing is keeping the tempo, the metronome will help you with this. The speed can be gradually developed, while practicing the rhythm of the melody.
• Listen to inspiration. If you suddenly have a desire to pick up a ukulele and play a couple of melodies or even perform something invented - do not hold yourself back, because inspiration is the most important feeling in creativity.

The following video will tell you how to learn to play the ukulele.