Fast forward ukulele

Tips to get the most out of ukulele lessons

The ukulele is the easiest and quickest instrument to learn from scratch. You can go from zero to playing confidently in just a few weeks. But don’t underestimate how much you’ll be learning along the way.

Here are some tips to help you get on the fast track to the incredible fun of music making.

1. Get yourself a ukulele that’s “good enough”. This means it can be tuned and stays in tune. Here’s a blog post about buying your first ukulele.
2. Learn to tune your ukulele. Buy a tuner or download a tuning app. Here’s a post about tuning. If you have problems with tuning, ask the teacher for help. I suggest people turn up to class a few minutes early if they want some coaching with their tuning.  
3.  Practice in between lessons. This is important in the first few weeks. You don’t have to do hours of practice. Five to ten minutes, three or four days a week, is enough. Here’s more about practicing. 
4. Keep showing up, even when you haven’t done any practice. (But if you have to miss a week, that’s okay.)
5. Ask questions. If something the teacher has said doesn’t make sense to you. Or if what they’ve suggested doesn’t feel right for you. There are at least three different ways of doing everything with the ukulele.
6. Set yourself a goal. A favourite song, that you’d love to be able to play, or a special occasion to play at, will be a great motivation for practicing.
7. If it’s a group class, don’t be too hard on yourself. Try not to judge yourself by other people. Everyone’s very different in the speed they pick up new skills, especially at the beginning. We all get there sooner or later.
8. Give yourself time. Your new skills will gradually build up over weeks and months. Nobody gets it right, straight away. When you play the ukulele you’re multi-tasking on many different levels. It’s great brain gym.
9. Repeating tip 5: Keep showing up, even when you haven’t done any practice.

Hi, I’m Alice

I’ve been in love with the ukulele since my mother, Sue, taught me three chords when I was six.

I teach ukulele to adult learners all over the world via Zoom and Skype. If you happen to live in Hamilton, New Zealand, I also teach in-person classes.

Click this link to book online ukulele lessons with me. $US160 for six half-hour lessons.

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