Hi from Florida

[emilyh]

I am a ukulele student. Been trying to learn from various instructors online with limited success. I started ukulele lessons online in 2020 and can play a couple of songs but not very well. I don’t have anyone to play with so it is just up to me. I strum just about everyday and have amassed a small collection, but something is missing – talent, direction, a plan.

I like the song collection available on this site and hope to be able to add some songs to my list of accomplishments.

Emily

[Andrew]

Welcome, Emily!

First off, I’d recommend checking out Learning Paths. It’ll give you a few ideas on where to start with our lessons 🙂

I’d also recommend creating a practice schedule that consists of 3 parts. It can cover any 3 areas of study, but here’s an example to get you started:

1) Technique Building – For example, developing 3 and 4 finger fingerpicking. There are multiple exercises for this in our fingerpicking course.

2) Rhythmic Study – Rhythm is 1/3 of music and is almost always the part that is overlooked. Developing a good sense of rhythm and timing is best accomplished through learning to read music.

3) Songs – Pick 1 or 2 songs at a time to work on. Think of these as the cookies, they are what help to keep you motivated and having fun! Try to pick songs that reinforce the 2 other areas of your practice schedule. A good place to start is with the performance tunes contained in the courses.

If you ever need help on the lessons, please don’t hesitate to ask.

[emilyh]

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for the guidance. I have a question about the Learning to Pick and Strum video. You mention using the first or second finger to pick one of the strings (the A string) and the thumb to pick another string. I tried to play bass guitar for years and was never any good at it then I discovered ukulele. I found myself using a bass strum – alternating my first and second fingers to pick the A string when playing through Jingle Bells. Is that considered ok or is there a reason I should avoid doing this on a ukulele?

By the way, I am already learning a great deal from your courses.

Emily

[Andrew]

Yes, that’s called Picado Technique. You can def use it! If you need an overview on it, I covered it in the second video in this lesson (from our Reading Course).

[Author]

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