So you want to join the ukulele resurgence? Here’s a crash course.
If you're sure you want to play the uke, avoid the cheapest colourful ones. Even if you replace the strings, they’re too hard to keep in tune. I'm told the Kala KA-15S is a good buy at about NZ$70, but I especially like the Flukes and Fleas (pictured) from Flea Market Music, which you can get for about US$200 and US$170 respectively. They have a plastic back and fretboard, and an excellent tone for the price. Order online (Flea Market ship to New Zealand for about USA$45, and there's no customs duty, though you'll have to pay GST), but support your local music store like Piano Traders if you can. A soprano is a good size for beginners, or a tenor if you want a more guitar-like sound. Many people get one of each.
You really need to get a tuner, preferably an electronic one—I've recently become a fan of clip-on tuners—and maybe a capo. A strap is also useful, especially for a larger uke. That’s about it for accessories.
Most ukes are tuned in C, strung GCEA with a re-entrant (high) G. I string my tenor with a low G, and the only low G strings I like are made by Worth. It’s probably not a bad idea to get a new set of strings (Aquila are also good) and replace the generic ones your uke comes with (here’s how). I like the sound of unwound nylon strings better.
I started playing by printing out a chord chart and reading various suggestions for technique. You don’t need to learn how to fingerpick at the beginning, but it’s good to memorize the names of the notes on the fretboard eventually. I’d also recommend learning to read music, and some music theory so you can understand how chords are constructed (this book is dry but good). Maybe a DVD course (many people like Ralph Shaw’s course). Sing, even if you can’t really. Play for your friends, so long as you don’t become a ukulele bore.
Where to find music? There’s some music with chords at Ukulele Boogaloo, Brook Adams’ site, and Ukulele Hunt. You can find plenty just by searching on guitar chord sites like Chordie or Ultimate Guitar; the names are the same, the fingering different. I love this excellent interactive ukulele chord finder, which gives multiple versions of every chord; you can download it too. If you get familiar with the guitar fretboard it’s even possible to convert guitar tabs for the uke.
What to play? If you like old-timey standards or Hawaiian music, go for it, but I don’t. Play what you normally listen to; most bands have one or two songs that work well for the ukulele . I regularly play at least a couple of songs by the Magnetic Fields (Stephin Merritt, right, loves his uke), the White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Belle & Sebastian, Jonathan Coulton, the Mountain Goats, and They Might Be Giants. It’s fun to be ironic and play Nirvana or the Sex Pistols on the ukulele, but the gag wears thin unless you have the knack of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.
To learn more, keep track of some of the uke sites, like the Flea Market Forum or Ukulelia. Find local players, on the web or through your music store, and jam. If they’re all middle-aged guys who only play the Beatles and vaudeville tunes, well, form your own group.
Have fun. With a ukulele , it’s basically impossible not to.
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Kete
Ukulele
The Kiwi
Ukulele Companion
Everything the New Zealand uke player needs to know: choosing, tuning, playing; strings and other accessories; tips for practicing, performing, and playing in groups; and a pile of contemporary Kiwi songs.
- AUT Media
A4, 64pp, NZ$19.99
ISBN 978-0-9582829-4-9
Coming July 2008
More Info (PDF)
Watch this space!
Lyttelton Ukes
Meeting fortnightly to make uke-centric music in Lyttelton, NZ. Beginners fine. No Hawaiian songs or E Major chords allowed. Enquiries to:
- NEXT: TBA • Mike's
- Hotel Yorba, Hoki Mai, Anarchy, Blitzkrieg Bop.
- 7 May 08 • Mike's
- Inaugural. Uke chat, the four above plus demos of Palmcorder Yajna, Ghost Riders, Brian Eno, and others.
Old Uke Jam Faves
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Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
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Big Rock Candy Mountains
- Harry McClintock
(also try the John Hodgman variant) -
Darkness on the Delta - Rabbit Muse
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Blitzkrieg Bop
- The Ramones
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Walk on the Wild Side
- Lou Reed
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Anarchy in the U.K.
- The Sex Pistols
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Jolene
- The White Stripes/Dolly Parton
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Hoki Mai [NEW]
- Henare Waitoa
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- MP3s posted here are solely to help Uke Jam folks learn songs, and will be taken down if deemed in violation of copyright; let me know.
The Wellington International
Ukulele Orchestra
These guys play the first Thursday of every month at Deluxe in Wellington, at 8:00. In the morning. Check them out whenever possible.
- Age Pryor leading the WIUO as they rock the Maranui Surf Lifesaving Club, 29.VIII.07
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Wrapped Up in Books [NEW]
- Belle & Sebastian
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All The Small Things
- Blink-182
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At the Bottom of Everything
- Bright Eyes
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Brains, Brains
- Jacob Borshard
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Vincent and Theo
- Jacob Borshard
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Top of the World
- The Carpenters
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You Might Think
- The Cars
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Better
- Jonathan Coulton
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Betty and Me
- Jonathan Coulton
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Christmas is Interesting
- Jonathan Coulton
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Kenesaw Mountain Landis
- Jonathan Coulton
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The Presidents
- Jonathan Coulton
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Legionnaire’s Lament
- The Decemberists
(also in E Minor) -
The Globus Song
- Mike Dickison
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Someone to Love
- Fountains of Wayne
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Shipwrecked
- The Gothic Archies
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I Predict a Riot [NEW]
- Kaiser Chiefs
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One
- Aimee Mann/Harry Nilsson
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God Rest Ye Merry Three Kings
- Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan
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Ukulele Me!
- Stephin Merritt
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Baby Got Back
- Sir Mix-A-Lot
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Autoclave
- The Mountain Goats
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Letter From Belgium
- The Mountain Goats
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No Children
- The Mountain Goats
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Old College Try
- The Mountain Goats
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Sinaloan Milk Snake Song
- The Mountain Goats
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There Will be No Divorce
- The Mountain Goats
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The Story of the Pigs that Ran...
- The Mountain Goats
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Woke Up New
- The Mountain Goats
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Wild Sage
- The Mountain Goats
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Le Vent Nous Portera
- Noir Désir
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The Numa Numa Song
- O-Zone
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No Surprises
- Radiohead
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Sway
- Bic Runga
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Tainted Love [NEW]
- Soft Cell/Gloria Jones
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The Underdog [NEW]
- Spoon
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I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die
- They Might Be Giants
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Jockey Full of Bourbon
- Tom Waits
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Hotel Yorba
- The White Stripes
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- Feel free to use these song sheets non-commercially with attribution; most of the lyrics are copyrighted though.
- Ukulelia
- Uke Hunt
- Chord finder
- A Uke Links Page
- Ukulele Boogaloo
- Brook Adams
- Flea Market Music
- ezFolk tutorials
- Ukulele Cosmos
- Ukeland
- The W.I.U.O.
- The Nancies
- NZ Folk Songs
- The Rinky Dinks
- The Re-Entrants
- Jacob Borshard
- Ukulele/Tom
- Durham NC Uke Jam
- Click below to vote for this site and check out some others...