Copyright Notice Easy  Ukulele  Songs:  Step-­‐By-­‐Step  Published  by:  Eduardo  Uke  EasyUkuleleSongs.com    Copyright  ©  2015  by  Eduardo  Uke  in  New  York,  NY      No  part  of  this  publication  may  by  reproduced,  stored  in  a  retrieval  system,  or  transmitted  in  any  form  or  by  any  means,  electronic,  mechanical,  photocopying,  recording,  scanning,  or  otherwise,  except  as  permitted  under  sections  107  or  108  of  the  1976  United  States  Copyright  Act,  without  prior  written  permission  of  the  publisher.  Requests  to  the  publisher  should  be  submitted  using  the  provided  email  address  or  official  website  contact  page.    Email:  eduardo@easyukulelesongs.com    Web:  http://easyukulelesongs.com/contact/                                    

 

Easy Ukulele Songs: Step-By-Step Contents by Cheat Sheet Number

   

An Introduction

Cheat Sheet #1: Care and Keeping of the Uke

Cheat Sheet #2: Rhythm and Strumming

Cheat Sheet #3: Put this Sheet on Your Wall

Cheat Sheet #4: Your First 6 Chords

Cheat Sheet #5: Strumming, Chords and Singing, Oh My!

Cheat Sheet #6: Making Head and Tail of Uke Tab

Cheat Sheet #7: More Chords? I’m Yours!

Cheat Sheet #8: Strumming (and Muting!) Patterns for

Intermediate Players

Cheat Sheet #9: Oh, the Time Signatures, They Are A’Changin!

Cheat Sheet #10: Eduardo Uke’s 10 Laws of Picking Up Speed

Cheat Sheet #11: Hallelujah! The Last Time Signature!

Cheat Sheet #12: Plucking Up the Courage to Fingerpick

 

Easy Ukulele Songs: Step-By-Step An Introduction

Imagine  the  basketball  being  passed  to  you  in  the  last  10  seconds  of  the  game.  This  is  right  in  the  peak  of  your  career  and  a  championship   is  on  the   line.  The  crowds  are  cheering   for  you.  Your  team  is  only  down  by  1  point.  It  is  all  up  to  you  for  the  big  win!    This  is  an  intense  situation,  wouldn’t  you  agree?  What  if  you  missed  the  shot?  Would  you  quit?    Let’s  see  what  Michael  Jordan  would  say  about  this,  shall  we?    “I've  missed  more  than  9000  shots  in  my  career.  I've  lost  almost  300  games.  26  times,  I've  been  trusted  to  take  the  game  winning  shot  and  missed.  I've  failed  over  and  over  and  over  again  in  my  life.  And  that  is  why  I  succeed.”      My  ukulele  friends  -­‐  please  take  a  note  to  self  on  this.  You  may  stumble  learning  a  particular  skill,  you  might  take  longer  than  expected  to  play  the  uke  and  sing  at  the  same  time.  Perhaps  switching  from  one  chord  to  the  other  frustrates  you.    I  want  to  tell  you  that  you  are  not  alone.  You  might  take  a  couple  of  shots  on  playing  barre  chords  and  not  get  it  right  the  first  time.  And  you  know  what?  That’s  okay!   Easy  Ukulele  Songs:  Step-­‐By-­‐Step  is  not  so  much  a  book  as  it  is  a  group  of  “Cheat  Sheets,”  inspired  by  the  likes  of  Michael  Jordan  It’s  a  book  that  has  confidence  in  you  –  I  believe  that  you  can  teach  yourself  to  play  the  ukulele  and  learn  the  skills  you  need.  I’m  just  here  to  help.    So  go  ahead:  and  have  fun  a  little.  Peek  ahead,  look  back,  print  these  cheat  sheets  out,  bring  one  with  you  on  vacation,  take  them  apart,  put  them  back  together,  use  my  videos,  or  not.      Like  basketball,   tennis,  or   golf   –   learning   the  ukulele   is   an  experience  and  as  you  “take  your  shots”  or  “make  your  swings”  you  are  only  getting  closer   to  your  success.  Have  fun   learning,  because  that’s  what  the  ukulele  is  all  about.  Stick  with  it,  keep  smiling  and  you  will  succeed.    Don’t  learn  my  way.  Learn  your  way.  But  whatever  you  do,  learn  all  the  way.      In  the  end,  no  one  can  say  it  better  than  a  kid  can.  Whenever  I  feel  like  giving  up,  I  remember  something  a  young  student  said  to  me  about  perseverance:  “People  are   like  postage  stamps.  We  stick  to  something  before  we  get  somewhere.”      See  you  on  the  road  to  your  success!    

- Eduardo Uke

 

Cheat Sheet #1: Care and Keeping of the Uke

In this Cheat Sheet:

Before  you  start  jamming,  it’s  time  to  get  sized  up,  tuned  up,  and  held  up…  I  mean,  it’s  time  to  not  get  held  up  trying  to  figure  out  which  ukulele  size  to  play  and  how  to  tune  it.     What do I call the parts of this thing? Every   ukulele,   regardless   of   the   size   or   shape   (sometimes,   they   come   in   funky   shapes,   like  pineapples)  has  the  same  anatomy.  Here  it  is:    

  What size ukulele should I play?  Ukuleles   come   in   four   sizes   –   soprano,   concert,   and   tenor,   and   baritone.   The   first   three   all  share  the  same  tuning;  they  differ  based  on  scale  length  (the  distance  between  the  nut  and  the  bridge).  The  soprano  uke,  the  most  petite,  is  probably  what  you  think  of  when  someone  says  “ukulele.”  Concert  ukes  are  a   little  bit  bigger   (giving  you  more  room  between   frets),  but  still  sound  similar  to  sopranos.  The  largest  in  this  group  (those  showoffs!)  are  tenors,  which  sound  fuller   and   darker,   a   little   more   like   guitars.   And   finally,   the   baritone   ukulele   is   a   slightly  different   instrument   (it’s   tuned   differently   from   the   other   three).   For   beginners,   I   always  

• Anatomy  of  the  ukulele  (or,  what  do  I  call  the  parts  of  this  thing)?  • What  size  ukulele  should  I  play?    • How  can  I  keep  my  uke  in  tune?    • How  should  I  hold  my  ukulele?      

 

suggest   the   soprano,   or,   if   you’re   a   bit   lankier,   the   concert   size.   In   that   spirit,   these   Cheat  Sheets  apply  to  soprano,  concert,  and  tenor  ukes  only.      How can I keep my uke in tune?  Before   you   can   tune  up,   you  need   to   know   the  names  of  the   notes   your   strings   are   tuned   to.   Here’s   my   favorite  quick-­‐n-­‐dirty  way  to  remember  them:    

Goats Can Eat Anything.

If   you   know   that   Goats   Can   Eat   Anything,   you’ll   always  know  what   to   call   your   strings,   starting   from   the  G-­‐string  (the  one  closest  to  your  head  when  you  play)!    In   Easy   Ukulele   Songs   Step-­‐By-­‐Step,   we’ll   use   standard  tuning,  also  called  C-­‐tuning,  by  tuning  the  G-­‐string  above  C  and  E  strings.  (Your  ukulele  was  probably  already  set  up  for  standard  tuning  when  you  got  it).  Standard  tuning  is  one  of  the  things  that  give  the  ukulele  its  distinctive  sound.      Tuning  the  strings  before  you  play  is  a  great  way  to  make  sure  that  you  always  sound  your  best  –   and   can   easily   tell   whether   you’ve   made   a   mistake   while   playing!   Also,   things   like  thunderstorms  and  bumpy  car  rides  can  do  weird  things  with  stringed  instruments,  so  it’s  best  to  stop  to  tune  before  you  get  in  the  groove.    The   first  way   to   tune   is  with   a   chromatic   tuner.   I’m  a   fan  of   the   Snark   SN6  Clip-­‐On  Ukulele  Tuner,  which,  last  I  checked;  you  can  get  on  Amazon.com  for  about  $10.  There  are  also  several  chromatic  tuner  apps  for  smartphones.  Chromatic  tuners  automatically  “hear”  the  note  of  your  string  and  tell  you  whether  it’s  too  low  (flat)  or  too  high  (sharp).  Then,  all  you  have  to  do  is  play  each   string   for   your   chromatic   tuner,   and   turn   the   string’s   tuner   (or   “tuning   peg”)   counter-­‐clockwise  to  raise  the  pitch  and  clockwise  to  lower  it!    Alternatively,  some  people  like  to  tune  by  ear.  Learning  to  tune  by  ear  is  a  great  thing  to  do  to  get  your  ears  more  in  tune  with  your  uke,  but  if  it’s  tough  for  you,  don’t  stress  –  even  people  with  great  ears  usually  aren’t  perfect  at  it.      To  tune  by  ear,  use  a  piano,  web  or  phone  app,  or  my  tuning  videos  to  play  the  note  you  want  to   tune.  When   you  play   your   string,   if   you  hear   a   quavering  or   dissonant   sound,   your   string  doesn’t   match.   You   can   turn   the   string’s   tuner   until   the   two   notes   get   closer   and   closer  together,  and  eventually,  the  quavering  sound  will  disappear.  Congratulations!  Your  string  is  in  tune.   In  Section   1   of   the   “P2lay  With  Me!”   Library,   I   also   share   the   classic   ukulele   players’  

 

mantra,  “My  Dog  Has  Fleas”  –  a  great  way  to  remember  the  relationships  between  the  notes  in  standard  ukulele  tuning!            If   you  happen   to  be  using   an  online  application   that   refers   to  notes  by   their   frequency   (e.g.  “440  Hz”)  or  their  number  (e.g.  “A4”),  here’s  a  chart  to  help  you  translate  that   into  standard  ukulele  tuning.  If  this  is  confusing,  no  worries!  You  can  use  a  chromatic  tuner  or  the  “My  Dog  Has  Fleas”  tuning  on  my  YouTube  Channel  to  tune  your  ukulele  for  every  lesson  in  this  course.    Handy-Dandy Tuning-by-Ear Chart:

Note  Name   Piano  Note  (Numbered)   Frequency   Musical  Notation  

G   G4   392  

 

C   C4  (“Middle  C”)   261.63  

 

E   E4   329.63  

   

   

A   A4   440  

   How should I hold my ukulele?  One  of   the  great   things  about   the   soprano  uke   is   that   it’s   fun-­‐sized  and  easy   to  hold!   I  hold  these  small,   traditional  ukuleles  by  cradling   the  bottom  end  of   the  body   in   the  bend  of  my  right  elbow.  That  way,  when  my  arm  comes  around,  my  fingers  end  up  in  a  perfect  place  for  strumming.   I   also  use   the   spot  where   the  base  of  my   thumb  meets  my  palm   to   support   the  neck  near  the  nut,   leaving  my  fingers  free  to  play  chords.  If  you’re  playing  a  concert  or  tenor  ukulele,  you  may  want  to  rest  the  bottom  gently  on  your  right  knee.      Now  that  you’re  holding  your  tuned-­‐up  uke,  you’re  ready  to  play.  In  the  next  sheet,  you’ll  be  strumming  away  and  tapping  your  feet  before  you  know  it!  See  you  soon!    

- Eduardo Uke