Ukulele Exercises For Dummies E-Book

Brett McQueen

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Seitenzahl: 293

Beschreibung

Take your ukulele playing to the next level - fast! - with hundreds of fun exercises, drills and practice tunes You have a ukulele, you know just enough to be dangerous, and now you're ready to do something with it. You're in luck: Ukulele Exercises For Dummies helps you become a better player. This practice-based book focuses on the skills that entry-level players often find challenging and provides tips, tricks and plenty of cool exercises that will have you creating music in no time that include: * Creating rock-steady strumming patterns and rhythms * Becoming a better fingerpicker with patterns, arpeggio exercises, and solo fingerpicking pieces * Expanding your fretboard knowledge and crafting your own rock, blues and jazz riffs and solos * Playing actual songs on the ukulele - everything from the classic ukulele tunes to the 12 bar blues! * Downloadable audio files of the exercises found in the book, providing you with a self-contained practice package No matter if you're a beginning ukulele player or you're wanting to stretch and improve your chops, Ukulele Exercises For Dummies puts you on your way to becoming a ukulele extraordinaire!

Leseprobe

Ukulele Exercises For Dummies®

Published by:John Wiley & Sons,Ltd The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussexwww.wiley.com

This edition first published 2013

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Ukulele Exercises For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/ukuleleexercisesuk to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

What You’re Not to Read

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organised

Part I: Getting Started with Ukulele Exercises

Part II: Becoming a Better Strummer

Part III: Becoming a Better Fingerpicker

Part IV: Mastering the Ukulele Fretboard

Part V: The Part of Tens

Accessing the Audio Tracks

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with Ukulele Exercises

Chapter 1: Preparing to Practise

Equipping Yourself with the Right Practice Tools

Tuning up with a chromatic tuner

Keeping time with a metronome

Tracking your progress with a practice journal

Reviewing Ukulele Notation

Deciphering tablature

Understanding chord diagrams

Comprehending neck diagrams

Reading rhythm charts

Chapter 2: Warming Up for Practice

Limbering Up Your Body to Play Ukulele

Loosening up with stretches

Relaxing with breathing exercises

Strengthening your hands with exercises

Brushing Up on Perfect Playing Posture

Looking at Some Warm-Up Exercises on the Ukulele

Practising single-note exercises

Practising chord exercises

Part II: Becoming a Better Strummer

Chapter 3: Foundations for Strumming

Working Out Your Strumming Technique

Choosing the right strumming technique

Strumming with your index finger

Strumming with your thumb

Strumming with four fingers

Getting Acquainted With the Golden Rules of Strumming

Rule #1: Strumming is consistent

Rule #2: Strumming is relaxed

Rule #3: Strumming is intentional

Finding the Right Strumming Pattern for Any Song

Building a strumming repertoire

Listening to the song

Counting the song

Starting with down strums

Knowing when to change chords

Singing and Strumming at the Same Time

Playing the song through without singing

Humming first, singing later

Simplifying isn’t a bad thing

Chapter 4: Building a Repertoire of Strumming Patterns

Discovering How to Use These Exercises to Become a Better Strummer

Mastering the Universal Strumming Pattern

Counting along with down strums

Keeping the beat with up strums

Combining down and up strums

Playing ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’

Tackling Common Time Strumming Patterns

Developing eighth note strums

Building a multi-purpose strumming pattern

Practising chord changes on different beats

Playing ‘Jingle Bells’

Making Common Time Strumming Patterns More Interesting

Accenting the beat

Using syncopation in three different ways

Rearranging up strums to create different feels

Playing ‘I’ve Been Working On the Railroad’

Waltzing Along with 3/4 Time Signature Strumming Patterns

Practising versatile 3/4 strumming patterns

Playing ‘Oh My Darling, Clementine’

Getting More Advanced with 6/8 Time Signature Strumming Patterns

Developing delightful 6/8 strumming patterns

Playing ‘O Holy Night’

Chapter 5: Taking Strumming Patterns to a Higher Level

Getting Groovy with Shuffle Rhythms

Finding the pocket with shuffle rhythm exercises

Playing ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’

Strumming Faster without Getting Sloppier

Working on relaxing strumming movements

Minimizing wasted strumming motion

Drawing up a plan to improve strumming speed

Playing ‘Hello! Ma Baby’

Showing Off Subdivided Strumming Patterns

Souping up your strumming with sixteenth notes

Trying out triplet strums

Putting the pedal down with speed rhythm exercises

Making Your Strumming Dynamic

Playing loudly and softly

Varying rhythmic complexity

‘Oh! Susanna’

Recognising Offbeat Chord Changes

Switching to chords on offbeats

Variation on the 12-bar blues

Switching Chords without Interrupting Your Strumming

Setting up a chord change

‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’

Chapter 6: Refining Advanced Strumming Techniques

Playing Percussively with Two Muting Techniques

Developing your ‘chnking’ technique

Figuring out fret hand muting

‘Michael, Row the Boat Ashore’

Perfecting Alternative Strumming Techniques

Taking on the touch strum

‘Billy Boy’

Improving the thumb ’n strum

Playing ‘Rock a Bye Baby’

Wrapping Your Mind Around Rolling Finger Strums

Four finger roll

Five finger roll

Eight Finger Roll

Ten Finger Roll

Practising finger roll strumming pattern exercises

Playing ‘Sweet Lei Lehua’

Part III: Becoming a Better Fingerpicker

Chapter 7: Examining Fingerpicking Technique

Practising Two Different Fingerpicking Techniques

Polishing the four-finger technique

Perfecting the alternating thumb technique

Looking at the Golden Rules of Fingerpicking

Rule #1: Stay loose

Rule #2: Slow and steady wins the race

Rule #3: Repeat, repeat, repeat

Chapter 8: Developing Rhythmic Fingerpicking Patterns

Practising the Four-Finger Picking Technique

‘Inside-out’ pattern

‘Outside-in’ pattern

Simultaneous pinched patterns

Patterns in varied rhythms

Playing ‘The Water Is Wide’

Practising the Alternating Picking Technique

‘Inside-out’ pattern

‘Outside-in’ pattern

Simultaneous pinched patterns

Patterns in varied rhythms

Playing ‘I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger’

Chapter 9: Improving Your Solo Fingerpicking Skills

Tackling Solo Fingerstyle Pieces

Learning two pieces of music

Playing Carcassi’s ‘Andantino’

Strengthening Your Fingerpicking with Arpeggio Exercises

Trying your hand at ‘p i m’ arpeggios

Playing Tárrega’s ‘Étude in E minor’

Working through more advanced arpeggios

Playing Aguado’s ‘25 Piéces Pour Guitare, no. 17’

Developing Lightning-Fast Tremolo Technique

Tackling three-finger tremolo

Playing ‘Étude in C major’

Figuring out four-finger tremolo

Chapter 10: Taking a Deeper Look at Single-Note Fingerpicking Techniques

Speeding up Single-Note Passages

Practising four alternation techniques

Applying alternation techniques to pieces of music

Articulating Single-Note Passages

Hammer-on exercises

Pull-off exercises

Slide exercises

Bend exercises

Strumming and Fingerpicking for Melody

Playing ‘Silent Night’

Playing ‘Danny Boy (Londonderry Air)’

Part IV: Mastering the Ukulele Fretboard

Chapter 11: Learning the Fretboard with Major Scales

Taking a Quick Look at the Chromatic Scale

Building a Major Scale

Learning the major scale interval pattern

Creating a major scale in any key

Practising Major Scale Patterns in Three Different Keys

Learning natural notes with C major

Seeing how sharps work with G major

Figuring out flats with F major

Getting Your Fingers Moving with Major Scale Sequences

Faking Fretboard Knowledge

Recognising fretboard landmarks

Locating the same note on different strings

Finding octave notes

Using Major Scales to Play Actual Songs

Playing ‘Angels We Have Heard On High’

Playing ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’

Chapter 12: Taking On Three Minor Scales

Building a Natural Minor Scale

Discovering the natural minor scale interval pattern

Relating natural minor to major

Playing the Natural Minor scale

Homing In On Harmonic Minor

Mixing It Up With Melodic Minor

Practising Five Different Minor Scale Sequences

Playing Songs Using All Three Minor Scales

Playing ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’

Playing ‘Coventry Carol’

Playing ‘Greensleeves’

Chapter 13: Commanding the Fretboard with Chords

Building Major and Minor Triads

Constructing major triads

Putting together minor triads

Practising Triads Up and Down the Fretboard

Major triad exercises

Minor triad exercises

Combined triad exercises

Taking Triads and Playing Actual Songs

Playing ‘Red River Valley’

Playing ‘Joy to the World’

Turning Triads Into Moveable Chord Positions

Making moveable major chords

Assembling moveable minor chords

Practising moveable chord progressions

Getting Jazzy with Moveable Seventh Chords

Figuring out dominant seventh chords

Mastering major seventh chords

Tackling minor seventh chords

Practising jazz chord progressions

Chapter 14: Using Scales to Solo and Improvise

Rocking Out with Pentatonic Scales

Learning the minor pentatonic scale

Constructing the major pentatonic scale

Practising pentatonic scale licks and exercises

Playing a rock solo

Expressing Soul with the Blues Scale

Building the blues scale

Practising blues scale licks and exercises

Playing a blues solo

Sounding Jazzy with the Bebop Scale

Discovering the dominant bebop scale

Mastering the major bebop scale

Practising bebop scale licks and exercises

Playing a jazz solo

Part V: The Part of Tens

Chapter 15: Ten Ways to Improve Your Practice Times

Setting a Location

Scheduling a Time

Creating Time Limits

Keeping a Practice Journal

Trying Out Different Musical Styles

Practising with Other People

Writing a Song

Working on Active Listening

Leaving Your Ukulele Out On a Stand

Taking a Break

Chapter 16: Ten Tips for Every Performing Ukulele Player

Becoming a Better Performer

Getting Involved in the Local Music Scene

Finding a Place to Perform

Building a Set List of Songs

Preparing to Play Before an Audience

Handling Nerves Right Before the Show

Mastering the Art of Focus

Remembering to Breathe

Engaging With Your Audience

Being Confident in Yourself

Cheat Sheet

Introduction

Whether you’ve played ukulele for years or just started playing a couple of weeks ago, Ukulele Exercises For Dummies is a practice book for anyone who wants to become a better ukulele player. With hundreds of exercises and dozens of songs, you have a practice roadmap for improving your chops and becoming a more confident ukulele player. Through the exercises in this book, your fingers will come out stronger and more agile, and your mind will be sharpened and opened up to new and exciting ways of playing the ukulele through the different styles and techniques to which I introduce you.

One of the best parts of the ukulele is that it has such a relaxing, peaceful and joyful aura when played. Because the ukulele originates from Hawaii, some people say it carries the Hawaiian Aloha Spirit. It’s hard to listen to someone play the ukulele and not crack a smile or grin from ear to ear (I dare you to try). In this way, this book isn’t about rigorously practising an overwhelming amount of exercises; it’s about equipping you to go from practice to playing those songs that carry the joyful spirit of the ukulele.

About This Book

Ukulele Exercises For Dummies isn’t necessarily meant to be read from cover to cover like a normal book. The cool thing about this book (if I do say so myself) is that it’s written so you can look over the table of contents and flip to the chapters that cover the techniques and aspects of playing the ukulele that interest you most. In fact, as you practise, you might choose several different exercises to practise at a time from multiple chapters.

At the same time the chapters of this book are organised and developed the way they are for good reasons. When learning about music, different concepts and ideas tend to compound and build on each other. This is only natural, and you should expect it. For example, in Part II ‘Becoming a Better Strummer’, Chapter 3 addresses a lot of foundational ways of thinking and approaching the strumming exercises that come in Chapter 4, 5 and 6. The goal throughout each part of the book is to develop and improve a particular aspect of your technique, so at times, there is a gradual but noticeable progression of growth throughout each chapter. In this way, if you do come across something that seems unfamiliar, flip a few pages back because it was most likely covered a little earlier. When later chapters pull on information taught in earlier chapters, I do my best to include a reference for you.

There are a lot of exercises in this book. The exciting thing about these exercises is that almost all of them are designed so you can come back to them even after you’ve ‘mastered’ the techniques. I say ‘mastered’ because I’ve been playing ukulele my entire life and I still use the exercises in this book in my practise sessions. These exercises will always assist as a way to challenge your fingers and improve your overall playing technique.

Because of the amount of exercises presented throughout this book, avoid tackling all of the exercises from a chapter in one sitting. It’s best to take a couple of exercises from a chapter and spend time practising those for a day, week or month – however much time you need – before moving on. It’s okay to mix and practise exercises from multiple chapters during your practice times, but if you do this, I recommend using a practice journal to write out the things you are practising to keep track of your progress. In Chapter 1, I discuss more about how to use a practice journal.

Overall, with this book, I want to help you unlock the parts to playing the ukulele that allow you to approach your playing more creatively and expressively, so you are able to go beyond the pages of this book and be more inspired as a musician and artist. To that end, along with the practice exercises, I include many songs in a variety of popular ukulele styles that you are able to learn and apply your skills.

Conventions Used in This Book

One of the most challenging aspects to learning and progressing at the ukulele can be sifting through the musical terms and lingo that gets thrown around. In this book, when I introduce an important, new term, I italicise the term and follow it with a definition. At the same time, there are a few common terms that show up over and over again that are worth going over since they can be confusing if you’re a relatively new ukulele player.

For example, when I refer to your fretting hand, I’m talking about the hand that forms the chord positions and presses against the strings on the ukulele fretboard. If you’re a right-handed player, your fretting hand is your left hand. If I refer to your strumming hand or picking hand, I’m talking about the hand that strums or plucks the strings. If you are a right-handed player, this is your right hand. For left-handed players, reverse hands.

All of the exercises in this book are written for a ukulele tuned in standard tuning: g-C-E-A. If I refer to the top string of the ukulele, I’m talking about the g-string, and if I refer to the bottom string of the ukulele, I’m talking about the A-string. Additionally, if I refer to the 1st string, I’m talking about the A-string; the 2nd string indicates the E-string; the 3rd string indicates the C-string; and lastly, the 4th string indicates the g-string.

In the context of strumming the ukulele, the terms down and up refer to the direction to strum across the strings. Strumming down requires you to strum starting from the top string to the bottom string. Strumming up requires you to strum starting from the bottom to the top string.

The terms high and low are often used in this book to refer to the pitch and positioning of a note on the ukulele fretboard. When I say a note is played high on the neck, I mean that the note is played on the fretboard of the ukulele closer to the sound hole. If a note is played low on the neck, it is played closer to the headstock. Thus, notes played higher up on the fretboard are higher in pitch, whereas notes played lower on the fretboard are lower in pitch.

There are two separate ways to indicate which fingers are used for an exercise. The numbers 1–4 are used to indicate the fingers in your fretting hand – often used for chord diagrams and in certain music notation. The number 1 indicates the index finger, number 2 the middle finger, number 3 the ring finger and number 4 the little finger (or pinky). When referring to your picking hand, four letters are used. The letter p indicates you pluck the string with your thumb, i indicates the index finger, m indicates the middle finger and a indicates the ring finger. This way of identifying fingers is unpacked more in the pages ahead.

Lastly, in an effort to present the exercises, this book makes use of ukulele tab and notation, chord and scale diagrams, and metronome markings, which are discussed and explained in more detail in Chapter 1.

What You’re Not to Read

Each exercise in this book is created and presented with as much necessary information as possible, so if you wanted, you could play the exercises without having to read the surrounding text. At the same time, the explanations surrounding the exercises often give you helpful pointers and help you understand what you’re playing on a deeper level, which gives you the ability to take the concepts behind the exercises and apply them to actual pieces of music.

More importantly, be sure to listen to the audio demonstrations that go along with the exercises. The audio is the biggest aspect to this book. These audio recordings provide a demonstration so you can get a really good, quick idea for how the exercise should sound and feel when you play it. Additionally, you can use these audio examples to play along with me. Notice that I play all of these audio examples to a metronome so you can get an idea of how to practise with a metronome too, if you have one. In Chapter 1, I talk more about using a metronome in your practice.

Foolish Assumptions

You don’t have to have a lot of experience playing the ukulele in order to use this book. Throughout the book, I provide detailed explanations of the exercises to ensure you’re up to speed with what’s being presented. Still though, because this is a practice book, I try to spend less time talking and more time getting the ukulele in your hands with practice exercises. If you need information on things like learning basic chords, tuning the ukulele, or buying a ukulele, I highly recommend checking out Ukulele For Dummies.

The biggest assumption I do make is that you have a soprano, concert, or tenor ukulele that is tuned in standard tuning (g-C-E-A). Unfortunately, if you have a baritone ukulele tuned to D-G-B-E, or if you tune your ukulele to another tuning, you will be unable to follow along with the majority of the exercises presented in this book.

How This Book Is Organised

There are three main focuses to this book: strumming, fingerpicking and learning the ukulele fretboard. Within each of these focuses, there are many different techniques to learn and explore. Depending on the technique, each part of the book can look a little different in terms of what kind of exercises are used. Check out the following descriptions to get a bird’s eye view of how this book is organised.

Part I: Getting Started with Ukulele Exercises

I get you up to speed on the things you need to know to get the most out of the exercises in this book. If you’ve been playing ukulele for awhile, chances are some of this information will be familiar for you. In Chapter 1, I recommend and explain the use of three different practice tools that make your practice sessions more productive. I also review how to read ukulele notation and tab, chord diagrams, scale diagrams and rhythm charts, which helps you easily follow along with the exercises in this book. In Chapter 2, you start warming up your fingers and hands with stretches, breathing exercises and strength-building exercises. You also pick up the ukulele and play through several practice exercises.

Part II: Becoming a Better Strummer

You strengthen your rhythm, timing and ability to find the right strumming pattern for any song. Because strumming is a form of rhythm, you learn how to count, feel and play to the beat. I teach you exercises that break down strumming into its simplest parts, and then, I show you how to add to these simple strumming patterns to make them more complex and interesting sounding for your listener. Throughout this part, you learn how to play more than a dozen songs in different styles. By the end of this part, you will be able to build your own strumming patterns that’s right and fits for whatever song you’re playing.

Part III: Becoming a Better Fingerpicker

There are a couple of different styles of fingerpicking on the ukulele. The first way is rhythmic fingerpicking (Chapter 8), where you fingerpick a repeating pattern that allows you to pick the chords and sing the melody of a song. The second way is fingerstyle (Chapter 9), where you take beautiful and intricate sounding classical guitar pieces and perform them on ukulele. The third way, which is another form of fingerstyle, is often referred to as solo fingerpicking (Chapter 10), where you fingerpick the melody of a song that is normally sung. Throughout this part, you practise a variety of picking exercises that improve the speed, flexibility and fluidity of your picking hand.

Part IV: Mastering the Ukulele Fretboard

To master the ukulele fretboard means to learn the notes of the fretboard and how you relate those notes with one another in meaningful ways to play songs. In this part, you learn how to build major and minor scales across the neck of the ukulele (Chapters 11 and 12), and then you see how those notes relate to one another by building chords in different positions across the ukulele fretboard (Chapter 13). This means you won’t ever have to look at a chord diagram again. You also pick up some soloing techniques in musical styles like rock, blues and jazz (Chapter 14).

Part V: The Part of Tens

In case you’re not familiar, in any For Dummies book, there is a special part of the book called the Part of Tens. This part breaks away from the exercises in the rest of the book to give you some extra, free-of-charge tips about improving your practice sessions (Chapter 15) and learning about how to take those steps to taking your ukulele skills and performing for an audience (Chapter 16). Both of these chapters include ten quick tips that you can apply to your ukulele playing today.

Accessing the Audio Tracks

Ukulele Exercises For Dummies comes with 256 audio tracks – each one an essential aid to mastering the songs, techniques and exercises that I cover in the book. If you’ve purchased the paper or e-book version of Ukulele Exercises For Dummies, just go to www.dummies.com/go/ukuleleexercises to access and download these tracks. (If you don’t have internet access, call 877-762-2974 within the U.S. or 317-572-3993 outside the U.S.) Each exercise in the book which ties into an audio track has the track number above it in a black box, so you’ll always be able to match what you see on the page to what you’re hearing.

Icons Used in This Book

In the left-hand margins of this book, you’ll find the following icons:

This icon reminds you of important information that is essential to playing the ukulele. This is the stuff you never want to forget.

Every now and then I go a little deeper in my explanations of certain musical terms, techniques, or ideas. This icon indicates interesting information that is a bit more technical. Not essential, but you might find it interesting.

These quick pointers help make the exercises and songs easier to play or understand.

I use this icon to caution you of anything that could cause discomfort, pain or injury to you or your ukulele.

Where to Go from Here

Flip right over to Chapter 1 if you need a refresher on some of the basics. To get your hands warmed up and ready to practise, start at Chapter 2 for some stretches and exercises. If you are a relatively new ukulele player, after going over Chapter 1 and 2, I recommend starting at Part II ‘Becoming a Better Strummer’ as this will get you playing some of the ‘staple’ ukulele songs right away. If you’ve been playing ukulele for awhile, or if you already have a pretty specific practice routine, skip around through the book to pick and choose exercises you’d like to add to your routine to improve different aspects of your technique.

Part I

Getting Started with Ukulele Exercises

Go to www.dummies.com/go/ukuleleexercises to listen to audio tracks.

In this part . . .

Learn three different practice tools to make your practice sessions more productive.

Review ukulele tablature and the different sorts of diagram you’ll come across.

Pick up tips on how to warm up for practice.

Pick up your uke and get started on practice.

Go to www.dummies.com/go/ukuleleexercises to listen to audio tracks accompanying this book.

Chapter 1

Preparing to Practise

In This Chapter

Looking at three essential practice tools

Brushing up on ukulele tab and notation

Many exciting exercises lie ahead in the coming chapters. With your hard work and practice, you’re going to see amazing improvements in your ukulele playing, but before picking up your ukulele, take a moment to cover some essentials. In this chapter, you discover three helpful practice tools that enable you to get the most out of the exercises in this book, and you review how to read ukulele tab and notation, which allows you to easily follow along with the exercises I present in this book.

Equipping Yourself with the Right Practice Tools

While the following tools aren’t necessary or required to enjoy the exercises in the pages ahead, they can make your practice times more productive and effective.

Tuning up with a chromatic tuner

It’s always a good idea to tune up your ukulele every time you practise. Through playing, and through small changes in temperature and humidity, the strings of the ukulele go out of tune. An in-tune ukulele is always more inspiring to play and listen to than one that is out of tune.

In standard ukulele tuning, from the top to bottom string, a ukulele is tuned to a G note above middle C on the piano, middle C, E above middle C, and A above middle C. In this way, a ukulele is tuned: g-C-E-A (the lower case ‘g’ represents the high g-string).

The ukulele can be tuned in a variety of different ways, but the exercises in this book are created for ukuleles tuned to standard tuning. To learn more about other ukulele tunings, be sure to check out Ukulele For Dummies by Alistair Wood.

Tuning your ukulele is easy if you have a piano nearby, but more often than not, this isn’t the case. The easiest and most accurate way to tune your ukulele is to use a chromatic tuner. A chromatic tuner is a small, inexpensive, portable electronic device that listens to each string you pluck on the ukulele and tells you whether that string needs to be tuned higher or lower in pitch. I strongly recommend you purchase a chromatic tuner at your local music store, or if you have a smartphone, purchase and download a chromatic tuner app to your device.

Keeping time with a metronome

A metronome is a small device that helps strengthen your sense of timing (musically referred to as tempo) by producing a short, consistent ‘click’ sound. By lining up your ukulele playing with the ‘click’ of a metronome, you improve your timing and rhythm, which creates a more pleasing sounding performance for your listener. You can buy a metronome at any music store or you can purchase a metronome app for your smartphone. Additionally, some chromatic tuners are combined with a metronome for just a little bit more money.

Tempo is measured in beats per minute (BPM). Typically, a slow tempo is considered anywhere around 40 to 60 BPM and a fast tempo is considered 120 BPM or higher. For some of the exercises and songs in this book, I notate a suggested tempo at the beginning of the figure. In music notation, tempo is often indicated with a quarter note and a number, as shown in the following figure.

These suggested tempos throughout the book should be seen as a goal. If you set your metronome at the suggested tempo and you are unable to play the song or exercise that fast, slow down the tempo to a speed that allows you to play without mistakes. Then, gradually increase the speed in small increments to play at the suggested tempo.

While practising, don’t use a metronome all the time. Sometimes the pressure of keeping time with a metronome can create tension in your playing, which works against you. First, spend time practising the exercises and songs in this book without a metronome, and then, to tighten up your timing and rhythm, add in the use of the metronome.

Tracking your progress with a practice journal

Truthfully, this book contains a lot of exercises. To get the most out of your practice sessions, and to become a better ukulele player, it’s important you’re practising in a focused way. This means it’s best to select a few exercises to work on at a time from different sections of this book. The exercises aren’t meant to be tackled all at once.

I highly recommend using a practice journal to focus your practice sessions, and to prevent yourself from getting overwhelmed. A pen and a notebook will do the trick, or you can create an updatable text file on your personal computer.

Here are a couple of different ways to use a practice journal:

Create a practice plan for the week. For example, one day you might work on a couple of major scale patterns from Chapter 11, then, the next day, select a few rhythmic fingerpicking patterns to learn from Chapter 8, and then later on, to cap it off, practise a handful of strumming patterns from Chapter 4. You might mix these things up on the same day, but whatever you decide, write it out, so you know exactly what you’re practising throughout the week.

Identify successes and current challenges. After you practise, take a minute to list out your successes. For example, you might note in your journal, ‘Able to successfully fingerpick Carcassi’s ‘Andantino’ from Chapter 9 at a moderate tempo.’ In addition, write out challenges, like, ‘Need to work on fretting the notes in measures 7 and 8 of Carcassi’s ‘Andantino’ in Chapter 9.’ By writing these successes and challenges out, you can be encouraged in your practice and identify exactly what you need to work on for the next practice session.

Write out measurable goals. Think about where you want to be in a week, a month, six months, or a year. You might write out things like, ‘I want to learn and memorise all C major scale positions from Chapter 11 in two weeks,’ or, ‘I want to be able to play Tárrega’s ‘Étude in E minor’ from Chapter 9 at 92 BPM in a month.’ The more specific you can be in your goals the more it can inform you about how to structure your practice times and help focus you in practising the things that help you reach your goal.

Throughout the following chapters, I give you some more recommendations for how to use your practice journal. Give it a try and see how it works for you.

Reviewing Ukulele Notation

Depending on the concepts and techniques I’m teaching you, the exercises in this book are presented in a few different ways. You don’t need to be a pro at reading music in order to use the exercises and songs in this book, but it is helpful to review some of the basics.

Deciphering tablature

Tablature, often just called tab, is a simplified form of musical notation for the ukulele. Unlike regular music notation, tab shows exactly where to play the notes of an exercise or song across the ukulele’s fretboard.

In the most basic way, in ukulele tab, there are four lines, with each line representing a different string of the ukulele, as shown in the following figure.

Tab is drawn from the perspective as if you are holding the ukulele in playing position and looking over the neck of the ukulele down at the strings. In this way, the top line of the ukulele tab represents the bottom or 1st string of the ukulele, and the bottom line of the ukulele tab represents the top or 4th string of the ukulele.

The numbers on each line represent a fret number. For example, in the previous figure, the number 3 on the top line means you press down on the 3rd fret of the 1st string of the ukulele, or more accurately, in between the space between the 2nd and 3rd fret on the bottom string. Likewise, the number 5 on the third line from the top means you press down on the 5th fret of the 3rd string. If you see a number 0, that you means you pluck the open string, without touching the string with your fretting hand.

Tab is commonly used to represent single-note melody lines or fingerpicking patterns (such as those in Part III of this book), but tab can also be used to represent chords. If the numbers line up vertically across multiple strings, that means you fret and sound the notes across those strings all at once.

Using tab to represent music is advantageous because of how easy it is to read the notes, but the downside to using tab is that often times tablature doesn’t express note durations, meaning, it can be hard to tell how long to hold certain notes just from a piece of tab. For this reason, and for your benefit, the tab in almost all of the exercises in this book is presented in combination with actual music notation.

Understanding chord diagrams

A chord diagram