Beginning the ukulele
Thanks to my most generous family, I was recently blessed with a ukulele. Knowing that there are ukulelelelelelist around here, I thought I'd seek advice... which JoCo-songs lend themselves well to the ukulele for a beginner? Also which non-JoCo standards would be a good start?
I've plenty of guitar-experience, I should mention, so I know my way around frets and strings, I just need to get familiar with ukulele-chords and -strumming.
I've plenty of guitar-experience, I should mention, so I know my way around frets and strings, I just need to get familiar with ukulele-chords and -strumming.
Comments
Plus, it's such a fun song to sing.
What do you recommend for someone who has no idea what sort of uke to get?
I just started playing recently and I got a mid-range Kala (Koa Soprano). It has a beautiful sound and is gorgeous to boot. I played with some mahogany bodied Lanikai's at my local music store as well, and liked their sound too. Honestly, I would recommend finding a local music store that has a selection (if possible) and (after asking one someone to tune them) play around with ones that catch your eye. Pluck and strum, just to get an idea for their sound. Your uke should be what sounds best to you. Also, this will give you a better idea for their size and which one you feel most comfortable playing.
Here's a nice little video talking about what to look for: UkuleleOversoul - What makes a good ukulele?
I completely understand the Fluke/Flea maybe being too expensive for a beginner. For exactly the same reason, I started with something cheaper, in the $50-60 range, but outgrew it eventually, and donated it to my sister. But at the time, it served my needs. Depending on what your goals are with the instrument and what your budget is, it might make more sense to start directly at the Flea, or to start out with something cheaper. Whatever you get will be "good enough" until you've had it long enough to discover that it isn't. I forget where I read that, but its absolutely true.
(I actually seem to be going through this phase with a lot of my musical equipment at the moment... I recently upgraded my microphone, and I'm starting to look for a better keyboard, and maybe a 3-octave melodica, or a set of actual studio monitors...)
And yes, Aquila Nylgut seem to be the universally-praised ukulele strings. It was cool to see JoCo (unofficially) "endorsing" them. :-) (Which reminds me: it's really well past time to replace the strings that came on my Fluke with the nylgut set that I bought but haven't used yet)
As for the first uke, Imagine how much you would be willing to spend on one if you were moderately good and go ahead and spend it because if your first uke is a real cheapy then the sound and difficulty tuning and playing will frustrate you enough that you'll just pick it up less and less till you quit. And if you don't quit within a short time you'll get good enough that you'll probably want to upgrade anyway.
Fuzzyslug's advice of finding a store too look at some is a good one as is the vid with Aldrine.
We went uke shopping at the local Guitar Center and played with a bunch of Lanikais. I almost got a $125 concert uke, but I ended up getting *two* $60 LU-21s instead. They stay in tune, and I'm still amazed at how loudly they can ring out when strummed with vigor. There's much to be said for inexpensive instruments. I have no qualms about my kids using them. I feel fine taking it to the park, where I can wander around with my featherlight $60 uke practicing chord changes. I love handing it over to any random kid who comes up to see what I'm doing.
The only songs I can play so far are "I Would Never Have Sex With You" by Garfunkel and Oates, and the theme to "Adventure Time". The only uke song easier than the "Adventure Time" theme is "My Dog Has Fleas".