The Beatles Ukulele Lesson: Extended Chords Add Emotional Punch
There's a reason why The Beatles' songs are so much fun to play on ukulele. Here's a look at some of the more emotional chord changes in The Beatles music on ukulele.
Uke Basics
The Emotional Value of Chords
By Jim D’Ville | From the Winter 2016 issue of Ukulele When I started on the ukulele, I could not identify the chord changes in a song simply by listening. I learned the changes from written materials. A more apt…
Minor Chords: The Keys to the Dismal, Cheery, Heartbreaking & Dramatic Sides of a Song
BY JIM D’VILLE | From the Spring 2017 issue of Ukulele In a recent column, I explained the emotional quality of the major chords built on the I–IV–V scale degrees. Now let’s explore the minor world of the remaining four chords,…
Loosening the Keys: An Introduction to Slack-Key-Style Ukulele
This lesson will introduce you to the sound of slack key as well as one of the open tunings, some new chord shapes, and picking patterns on ukulele.
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Learn Jake’s Triple-Strum Technique
By Greg Olwell In this video clip, Jake Shimabukuro demonstrates how to play a triple strum. It’s a fast, flashy strum, which he thoroughly and patiently breaks down into an easy-to-follow three-step motion. Jake originally filmed this lesson for…
Digging Up a Rich Stash of Ukulele Music in the Public Domain
The ease of finding music to play, videos to stream, and a supportive community have been some of the reasons why the ukulele has taken off in popularity again. We can thank the internet for that. More specifically, we can…
A Guide to Four Basic Movable Dominant Chords
By Alec “Cheef” Poletsky Dominant chords are often used as “turnaround” chords on ukulele, usually appearing right before the major tonic chord (for example, in the key of C, you would have a G7 followed by a C major). A…
Uke Basics: Open-G Tuning
This audio goes along with the article in the Summer 2015 issue of Ukulele magazine.
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Uke Basics: Audio Examples for Open-G Tuning
This audio goes along with the article in the Summer 2015 issue of Ukulele magazine.
Your First Ukulele Lesson
By Holly Rudin-Braschi Oh-muh-gawd! You just got your first ukulele and are so excited. But, you don’t have any idea how to play and you want to start now. Perhaps you were inspired to purchase your ukulele because a friend invited…