New Uke For Xmas (2021)

If you’ve got a new ukulele for Christmas or are considering taking up playing one, you’ll soon find there are lots of on-line resources to help you, whatever your level:

• Two useful free guides for beginners can be found from Ukulele Hunt‘s Alistair Wood – So You’ve Just Got Your First Ukulele & Ukulele Tricks‘ Brett McQueen – Your First Ukulele Lesson and Then Some.
• In 2018 we published a Twelve Days Of Ukemas guide to give you different things to try out over the holiday period, recommending some of the most useful sites and reliable tutors, suitable from total novice to intermediate & advanced players, and in many styles of playing, teaching & music genres. Check out each day for much more detail:

Day & Summary	Day & Summary
01 –  Helmut Bickel – Fingerstyle	02 – New Uke For Xmas – Useful sources
03 – Bernadette’s 30 Day Challenge	04 – Songs & Songbooks – eg MUJ
05 – James Hill’s Uketropolis	06 – Danno Sullivan – Play It Daily
07 – Cynthia Lin – Tutorials	08 – Phil Doleman’s Two Minute Tips
09 – Samantha Muir – Classical Uke	10 – Ten Thumbs Productions – Tutorials
11 – Richard Hefner – ezFolk Lessons	12 – Stuart Fuchs  – Tips & Tutorials

• Have a general look around this website, as we pick out a wide selection of our favourite tools & tips, on-line uke lessons, songbooks, chords, music theory, forums, equipment & other website resources. In particular, my musings on what helped me when I first got my uke as a complete beginner may prove a useful summary if you’re totally new to playing.
• Joining a local group is always a boost – whether you are a beginner, improver or expert player. Due to the pandemic, this might not be an option face-to-face currently – but look out for the many online gigs, strumalongs, lessons and festivals that are happening wordwide from groups, tutors and performers.
• If you need advice on buying an instrument, Barry Maz has a wealth of independent reviews on Got A Ukulele as well as other handy info to help get you started.

Good luck & happy strumming!

Jeanette

 

New Uke For Xmas (2020)

If you’ve got a new ukulele for Christmas or are considering taking up playing one, you’ll soon find there are lots of on-line resources to help you, whatever your level:

• Two useful free guides for beginners can be found from Ukulele Hunt‘s Alistair Wood – So You’ve Just Got Your First Ukulele & Ukulele Tricks‘ Brett McQueen – Your First Ukulele Lesson and Then Some.
• In 2018 we published a Twelve Days Of Ukemas guide to give you different things to try out over the holiday period, recommending some of the most useful sites and reliable tutors, suitable from total novice to intermediate & advanced players, and in many styles of playing, teaching & music genres. Check out each day for much more detail:

Day & Summary	Day & Summary
01 –  Helmut Bickel – Fingerstyle	02 – New Uke For Xmas – Useful sources
03 – Bernadette’s 30 Day Challenge	04 – Songs & Songbooks – eg MUJ
05 – James Hill’s Uketropolis	06 – Danno Sullivan – Play It Daily
07 – Cynthia Lin – Tutorials	08 – Phil Doleman’s Two Minute Tips
09 – Samantha Muir – Classical Uke	10 – Ten Thumbs Productions – Tutorials
11 – Richard Hefner – ezFolk Lessons	12 – Stuart Fuchs  – Tips & Tutorials

• Have a general look around this website, as we pick out a wide selection of our favourite tools & tips, on-line uke lessons, songbooks, chords, music theory, forums, equipment & other website resources. In particular, my musings on what helped me when I first got my uke as a complete beginner may prove a useful summary if you’re totally new to playing.
• Joining a local group is always a boost – whether you are a beginner, improver or expert player. Due to the pandemic, this might not be an option face-to-face currently – but look out for the many online gigs, strumalongs, lessons and festivals that are happening wordwide from groups, tutors and performers.
• If you need advice on buying an instrument, Barry Maz has a wealth of independent reviews on Got A Ukulele as well as other handy info to help get you started.

Good luck & happy strumming!

Jeanette

 

New Uke For Xmas (2019)

If you’ve got a new ukulele for Christmas or are considering taking up playing one, you’ll soon find there are lots of on-line resources to help you, whatever your level:

• Two useful free guides for beginners can be found from Ukulele Hunt‘s Alistair Wood – So You’ve Just Got Your First Ukulele & Ukulele Tricks‘ Brett McQueen – Your First Ukulele Lesson and Then Some.
• Last year we published a Twelve Days Of Ukemas guide to give you different things to try out over the holiday period, recommending some of the most useful sites and reliable tutors, suitable from total novice to intermediate & advanced players, and in many styles of playing, teaching & music genres. Check out each day for much more detail:

Day & Summary	Day & Summary
01 –  Helmut Bickel – Fingerstyle	02 – New Uke For Xmas – Useful sources
03 – Bernadette’s 30 Day Challenge	04 – Songs & Songbooks – eg MUJ
05 – James Hill’s Ukulele Way	06 – Danno Sullivan – Play It Daily
07 – Cynthia Lin – Tutorials	08 – Phil Doleman’s Two Minute Tips
09 – Samantha Muir – Classical Uke	10 – Ten Thumbs Productions – Tutorials
11 – Richard Hefner – ezFolk Lessons	12 – Stuart Fuchs  – Tips & Tutorials

• Have a general look around this website, as we pick out a wide selection of our favourite tools & tips, on-line uke lessons, songbooks, chords, music theory, forums, equipment & other website resources. In particular, my musings on what helped me when I first got my uke as a complete beginner may prove a useful summary if you’re totally new to playing.
• Joining a local group is always a boost – whether you are a beginner, improver or expert player. We’re a very friendly club based in Lewisham which meets every Tuesday for free jamming sessions. Everyone is welcome & we pride ourselves from having members from all over London, Kent & Surrey. We’re back strumming in the New Year from Tue 7 Jan 2020. Contact us for more details.
• If you aren’t near Lewisham, do check out the Mighty Ukulele for Londonwide gigs, events & UK clubs or Uke Hunt’s extensive clubs & groups listings covering  UK & Ireland; Europe; USA & Canada and Australia & New Zealand for a local group.
• If you need advice on buying an instrument, Barry Maz has a wealth of independent reviews on Got A Ukulele as well as a schedule of uke festivals and other handy info to help get you started.

Good luck & happy strumming!

Jeanette

 

Killing The Blues

Tyler at Ten Thumbs Productions is doing a Ten Day Blues Challenge in October, releasing ten different blues tutorials on various techniques & topics, including PDFs of each lesson. The crash course aims to take you from beginners’ blues to intermediate level, basic shuffles to soloing and pull-offs to pentatonics. Even if you already play a little blues, there’s bound to be something for you to learn with him.

Complete all ten challenges any time during October – as explained by him in his video – & optionally enter the draw to win a ukulele. It’s free and open to everyone.

(Winner will be picked on 1 Nov, based on effort rather than skill.)

 

Twelve Days Of Ukemas – Day Ten

For Day Ten of our Twelve Days of Ukemas, we fittingly have Ten Thumbs Productions.

Tyler Austenfeld has been producing an amazing variety of lessons – at least two every week on Weds & Sats – since 2013. He loves teaching & is very encouraging, believing everyone can be musical given the chance. Topics covered in his YouTube Channel include:

• Beginners: Here’s a thorough tutorial for brand new players (including holding the uke, tuning, first few chords, a couple of strumming patterns & links to several follow-on videos. Check the pinned comment for the PDF worksheet) and further beginners’ YouTubes.
• There’s a wealth of songs, through many decades, right up to the current day: ‘How To Play’ Ukulele Songs; Song Tutorials Through The Decades (songs from 1950s – 2010s); Tutorials Of Popular Artists (eg Bruno Mars, Eric Clapton, Green Day, Jack Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Twenty One Pilots, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, CCR, Queen etc).
• Ukulele Tips, Tricks, Techniques & Songwriting –  this covers all sorts of interesting items, often in mini-courses, such as different types of strumming (eg reggae, palm mute, chnking, triplets, Mariachi etc); hammer on & pull-offs; percussive techniques; barre chords; Twelve Bar Blues – licks & turnarounds; right-hand dynamics; fingerstyle & fingerpicking; jamming with others, soloing & improvisation; pentatonic & other scales; jazz chord progressions; songwriting tips etc.

(If you like what you see & want even more detailed information, you can join Ten Thumbs’ Patreon scheme from as little as $1 per month to gain access to tabs for every lesson, jam tracks and more.)

Here’s a Twelve Bar Blues with Barre Chord Shuffle in A major:

 

PLUC Tales – More Benny Hill Than James Hill

Dave Parnell’s Holiday Uke

I’m in sunny Vejer at the moment with my wife Chris. It’s nice here, and the locals are going mad enjoying their feria. With plenty of singing drinking and dancing it’s just the right backdrop to get me going…

 

PLUC Tips – Tina

Here is one of my favourite uke tutorial YouTubes.

This is by Ten Thumbs Productions. Tyler Austenfeld produces a wide range of ukulele materials – he does a couple of new song tutorials every week (from beginners to advanced; classics to the latest chart hits) in addition to lessons covering different playing techniques.

 

PLUCking Ukes – Ten Minute Practice Tips

Tyler Austenfield, from Ten Thumbs Productions produces several free uke lessons every week, from how to play various songs from beginners to intermediate level and different techniques, such as fingerstyle, blues & chords (barres, progressions etc). A section on music theory is planned soon. Here is part one of his recent fingerstyle course: