Ukulele

Workbook

#1

Name:_____________________________

Chords You’ll Learn In This Book-

Notes On A Ukulele

This diagram shows where individual notes are on the

ukulele. To play the note, you press down on the fret

and pluck the string you’re pressing on- just like a

chord, but without strumming.

The four notes that look like they’re not on frets are

the notes you would hear if you pluck the string all by

itself- this is called an open string. To make things

simple, these strings are referred to by the notes they

play when they’re open- i.e., the C string, the E string,

ect.

For these songs, you’ll only need the

sticker chords-

Shake It Off

Performed by Taylor Swift

(play 4 strums per chord, on a steady beat)

Lips Are Movin'

Performed by Meghan Trainor

(play 2 strums per chord, slower than “Shake It Off”)

Tablature! What is it?

A method of notating music for fretted instruments.

How does it work?

The lines represent the strings on the instrument, and the

numbers represent which fret you play!

See?

So if a “2” is written on the second line, it means play

the 2nd fret on the 2nd string. Like so-

A “zero” means play the string open (don’t press any frets).

While standard notation is important to learn, tablature has

been used since the 1300’s. So it’s important too.

Try playing this-

Hunger Strike

Performed by Temple Of The Dog

(play 2 strums per chord, so 4 strums per measure)

Wait 4 measures until vocals come in….

Riff-

This is the F major chord. To play it, place your middle

finger on the red sticker (like you were going to play an

Am chord) and add your first finger as shown in the

diagram.

Respect

Performed by Aretha Franklin

x3

x2

Home

Performed by Phillip Phillips

x3

Pop Chord Progression

This chord progression appears frequently- watch out for it!

Try playing it-

Or…

To make it “darker,” start on the Am chord instead, so it sounds like…

Here’s two good examples-

One Day (performed by Matisyahu)

Stronger (performed by Kelly Clarkson)

Hound Dog

Performed by Elvis Presley

This is a __________ progression in the key of ____

Red Balloon

Performed by Charlie XCX

Sheena Is A Punk Rocker Performed by The Ramones

(wait 4 measures until the vocals come in)

*Keep playing G, but slide your fingers up 3 frets

Labeling Chords

This is the D minor chord (written as Dm). To

play it, position your fingers like you are playing

an F chord, and add your third finger to the

green sticker as shown by the diagram.

Just My Imagination

Performed by The Temptations

My Girl

Performed by The Temptations

x2

Compass

Performed by Lady Antebellum

One

Performed by U2

X2 X2

X3 X2

X3 X2

X8, End on a C chord.

This is the E minor chord (written as Em). To

play it, place your first and second fingers on the

green stickers and add your third finger as shown

in the diagram. Your fingers should make a

diagonal-looking shape.

I Will Wait Performed by Mumford & Sons

First Chorus

Second Chorus

Pachelbel’s Canon By Johann Pachelbel

(two strums per chord)

Root Notes

Every chord is a certain combination of 3 (or more) notes.

The root note of a chord is the note that the chord is named

after.

IMPORTANT! The root of a minor chord is ONLY the letter

name. Notes, all by themselves, are not major or minor.

Exercise 1: Write the root note above each chord in

Pachelbel’s Canon. Find a partner. One of you plays the chords

on the ukulele and one of you plays the root note on the

recorder (use half notes!).

Exercise 2:

Find a partner. One of you plays the notes on the

staff with a recorder, and one of you plays the

ukulele chords written above (4 strums each per

note). Then switch.

Exercise 3:

Circle the notes on the staff that are root notes

of their matching chord.

Can’t Buy Me Love Performed by the Beatles

(two strums per chord)

Song Form

The E7 chord looks a little tricky, but is

actually very natural to play once you get the

hang of it. Use the green stickers to

position your second and third fingers, and

place your first finger as shown in the

diagram.

Fur Elise By Ludwig Van Beethoven

Song Form

Imagine

Performed by John Lennon

Song Form

Somewhere Over The Rainbow Performed by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

Use this rhythm for every bar-

(Wait 10 measure until vocals come in)