Found 12 Results

An Introduction to Reading Standard Notation

The BEST way to gain a thorough understanding of rhythm and timing is by learning to read standard notation. If we break music down into three parts, it consists of: melody, harmony (chords), and rhythm. Oftentimes an ukulele player is only well-versed in reading tablature. But herein lies the problem… Tablature only shows you how to play two of the three parts of music (melody and harmony); therefore you are left in the dark when it comes to rhythm.

This course sets out to fill in that missing gap by providing a comprehensive overview on the fundamentals of written music. We’ll start at the beginning with the rudiments of music (learning what a staff is and where the notes fall onto it), deep dive into simple and syncopated rhythms, and master reading notes and chords in first position (frets 0-4). Along the way, you’ll be challenged with exercises and performance pieces that help to strengthen your knowledge of notes on the fretboard.

Classical Technique & Style

In this course, you’ll learn to play classical music in a way that faithfully recreates the original works. Classical pieces are often arranged and taught using a ukulele style of playing. While there’s nothing wrong with this approach, it lacks the authenticity that comes from performing with classical guitar techniques.

This course teaches the fundamentals every classical guitarist uses. You’ll start by learning proper right-hand form before embarking on picking techniques.

Next, we’ll move beyond playing techniques by studying stylistic approaches. Part of what makes classical music so appealing is the way it’s performed. It’s a highly expressive style of music and we’ll show you three ways to amplify emotion in your performances.

At the end of this course, you’ll combine everything you’ve learned to perform a challenging piece by Francisco Tárrega (a.k.a. “the father of classical guitar”).

Clawhammer Technique

In this course, you’ll learn a staple technique of banjo playing and bluegrass music: The Clawhammer Technique. This is a technique that is completely unique to itself. So take all of those strumming techniques you’ve learned in the past, and throw them out the window! Because, the mechanics behind performing the right hand motion for clawhammer technique is entirely different from anything you’ve done before.

So that presents the question: How are we going to learn this technique… Well, the answer is quite simple, we’re going to break it down into three easy to follow steps that relate to the three elements of music: Melody, Rhythm, Harmony. And when you put all three steps together, you’ll create the right hand motion for performing clawhammer AND in turn, create a truly unique way to perform chord melodies!

The Definitive Beginner’s Guide To Ukulele

Whether you’re just starting out on the ukulele or are a more advanced player wanting a recap of the fundamentals to make sure you haven’t missed anything critical that could slow your development, this course is for you! You’re going to learn about the ukulele itself, strumming, fingerpicking, chords, reading tab, and putting it all together to play your first songs!

Featuring a comprehensive curriculum, this course takes you right from the start then guides you through the key aspects of playing. This is the perfect resource for every ukulelist.

Fingerpicking Concepts: An Intro to Fingerstyle

In this course, we will demystify the magic of fingerstyle ukulele. Starting from the beginning, you will learn 3 approaches for fingerpicking designed to develop your right hand technique and dexterity. These approaches will then be applied to performance pieces intended to help you master the art of solo ukulele.

Upon completing this course, you will be able to:

1) Break out of the 1 finger rut! A.k.a: only using your index finger (or thumb) for fingerpicking and strumming.

2) Determine (on your own) which of the 3 approaches to use depending on the context of the material you are playing.

3) Begin to develop your own style for fingerpicking.

An Introduction to Music Theory & Jamming

This course will provide a fundamental understanding of the basics of Music Theory and a thorough introduction to Harmony. Furthermore, this course sets out to bridge the gap between understanding Music Theory and applying it. Below, we will detail how this will be accomplished.

A goal for many of us is to have the ability to sit in with other musicians and be able to play without limits. But, often times in Jams, we find ourselves playing the same parts as others (i.e. strumming basic chords).

This course deep dives into teaching you how to add to the music. We’re going to examine two playing approaches in this course: Rhythm and Lead. The rhythm section will teach you methods for creating harmony. You will learn how to play chords in different positions and how to alter them to create a colorful sound. The lead section will teach you two approaches for soloing over rhythm. Approach one will be scale based, while approach two will cover playing changes.

This course uses lessons from our Concept Series and breaks down How and Why they work. What this means, is that you will not only be learning the concepts to advance your rhythm and solo playing, but you will also be applying the concepts in performance pieces.

Natural & Artificial Harmonics

In this course, you’ll learn three ways to perform harmonics on ukulele! We’ll start off with an explanation of what harmonics are, as well as, the difference between natural and artificial harmonics.

Then, we’ll jump into learning the mechanics behind executing each technique. After that, you’ll dive into a few exercises to help deeply embed these new techniques into your playing repertoire. And finally, you’ll put it all together to perform a really unique take on, “Amazing Grace”. Which as you guessed, is performed entirely with harmonics!

Next Level Strumming Techniques

Are you ready to move beyond simple strum patterns? Do you tire of strumming down and up for EVERY song? Has anyone told you that high G ukuleles are hiding a strumming secret?

If you answered yes to the first two and want to unravel the secret, then this course is for you! You’ll learn four amazing techniques that will add percussive depth to your strumming. These techniques are the very same ones used by many of the top ukulele performers!

Upon completing this course, you’ll walk away with a newfound appreciation for strumming and the ability to change the tonal landscape of simple strum patterns into colorful ones.

Strumming Techniques: Beyond the Island Strum

For most of us, our ukulele journey begins by learning to strum a few chords. We dive into strumming patterns, such as the ever-popular “Island Strum” (D DU UDU), before progressing to “Chucking”; which is a percussive technique that creates a backbeat on beats 2 and 4. But then something happens, we hit a wall, we plateau.

This course will help you break through that wall by introducing you to four strumming techniques that will make your rhythm playing POP! These techniques not only add pizzazz to your right hand, but will change the tonal landscape, as you learn how to:

1) Accent beats to create a more dynamic feel to your playing.

2) Alter rhythms – say goodbye to only strumming quarter and eighth note rhythms.

Upon completing this course, you’ll walk away with the ability to spice up any simple strum pattern; creating a rhythmic sound that is unique to you!

Triplet Strum Magic

The triplet strum is one of the most popular techniques in ukulele playing. Typically, this strumming technique is applied to triplet rhythms. And that’s where the technique begins and ends… until now! In this course, you’ll learn how to repurpose this right hand motion to create a highly rhythmic, yet effortlessly fluid way for playing chord melody.

We’ll split this course into three parts. In module 1, you’ll learn the triplet strum technique in its most commonly used application. This will set the foundation for the next two modules, which will transform the triplet technique into a complete, self-contained right hand playing style.

How to Write a Song on the Ukulele: A Beginner’s Guide to Chord Melody

This course is intended to introduce you to the steps required to write your own chord melodies. Chord Melody allows one to play the melody and the chord simultaneously. Rather you wish to write an original song or an arrangement of a song, these steps can be applied to either.

When we think of music at its simplest form we have three parts: Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm. Each of these parts is vital to chord melody. Throughout this guide we will be referencing “DayDreaming” (demo song) and deconstructing the three parts to explain how the song was written.

The Ultimate Guide to Recording Ukulele

Looking to learn how to record audio and video at a professional level? In this course, I will show you exactly what gear I use and how to set it up. This is a step-by-step guide that takes you through the entire recording process. By the end of this course, you will have gained an in depth insight into achieving a great sounding recording of your ukulele.

This course is designed to teach you:

1) What gear to buy for recording audio & video.

2) How to set up the gear.

3) How to use the audio & video editing software.

* This entire course is FREE with Basic Membership! Sign up for Basic Membership to take this course and gain access to all of our other FREE Lessons!