Defining The Beginner Player

I hesitate to put a time frame for any of these levels, because the truth is everyone progresses at a different rate. But generally, we could categorize a beginner as someone who has played 0-2 years. Beginners have a decent knowledge of the basics including: Cowboy chords (the basic chords at the beginning of the neck: think C, G, Am for example), simple strum patterns, and simple fingerpicking patterns.

Typically, a beginner feels limited in what they can play. In other words, they usually gravitate towards playing a popular song that uses only a handful of chords involving a basic strumming pattern. The problem that happens, is that they get bored and/or the ukulele part requires singing to accompany it; and not everyone wants to sing. So they end up getting stuck in this routine of learning new songs, but the technique and skill required to play it, never progresses. So what do you do and where do you go from here?

Building a Strong Foundation

The best place to start, and especially if you are brand new to the ukulele, is our comprehensive Beginner's Course: The Definitive Beginner’s Guide To Ukulele. This course contains 27 lessons that are intended to take you from the very beginning, i.e. learning to hold the ukulele, to playing your first songs! And the songs that you learn at the end of the course, are not like the songs we described above.

You will learn songs that involve: fingerpicking throughout the entire span of the neck, strumming unique sounding chords, and learning to add a backbeat to your rhythm playing (a.k.a. chunking). I highly recommend the course to the seasoned beginner too, as it will provide a recap of the fundamentals.

These fundamentals include the ability to:

Read tablature
Understand rhythmic notation
Establish proper left hand form and right hand form when fingerpicking and strumming
Proper execution of techniques such as: hammer-ons and pull-offs
The ability to put it all together to perform your first song

Upon completing the course, you'll want to start diving into our Beginner Series Songs. Don't be afraid to dip into the level 1 songs, as they will provide a greater challenge to you; pushing you to get to that next level of playing by presenting pieces that require more technique and skill to perform.

A few examples from level 1 that I recommend starting with are:

The Proficient Beginner Player

Before graduating to the next level, the beginner player must feel proficient in all of the fundamentals contained in the Beginner's Course. In addition to that, he or she should aim to have a repertoire of 5 to 10 songs completely memorized. A strong practice routine should also be established. For example, if you have one hour of practice time per day, you could devote:

1/3 of the time to developing technique
1/3 of the time to practicing timing
1/3 of the time to learning songs

This practice schedule should be switched up every so often to focus on other areas of musicianship. Keep in mind that there is no "timeframe" in which you are boxed into the label of being a beginner. Below, I have embedded 2 videos of two of our members who have been playing for a handful of months, but are doing an amazing job!

Defining The Intermediate Player

The intermediate player is generally someone who has played between 2-5 years. At this point in your playing career, you've branched into solo (Chord Melody) ukulele playing and have picked up an interest in playing with other musicians.

This is an exciting level to be at, because the foundation you have established allows you to progress at a much more rapid pace! Plus, the material that you will work on in this level is constantly challenging you by introducing new concepts. So what does the material look like that the intermediate player is working on?

Building a Strong Foundation

First off, you'll want to make sure you've established a great handle on understanding rhythmic notation. In other words, you should not rely on playing only by ear, but have the ability to understand the rhythms that you are playing. This also includes the ability to count along while you are playing.

This is an incredible skill to have as it encompasses 1/3 of music. If we were to define music in its simplest terms, it consists of three parts: Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm. Rhythm is synonymous with timing. I cannot state it enough: Timing is an invaluable skill to develop and the intermediate player knows that a metronome is your best friend.

With these ideas in mind, you'll want to continue developing your fingerpicking dexterity and technique. The best place to start for this is our fingerpicking course: Fingerpicking Concepts: An Intro to Fingerstyle. This course teaches you three approaches for fingerpicking: Using only the thumb, using 3 fingers, and using 4 fingers. With all of our courses, we set out to not only teach you the techniques and/or theory aspects, but also show you how to apply them. In the case of our Fingerpicking Course, you will be applying all 3 approaches to these fingerpicking pieces:

The big take away from this course, is that you'll gain the ability to determine, on your own, which fingerpicking approach to use depending on the content of the material you are playing. In turn, you'll begin to develop your own style for fingerpicking.

You can continue your fingerpicking study by diving into the Level 1 and 2 Songs. Here are 3 songs to consider starting off with:

One of the greatest things about playing music is that it provides an opportunity to connect with others through jamming. By now, you've probably jammed with a few friends, and it might have looked something like this: One person prints out a lyrics sheet with chords above it for a popular song, take for example "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz (here's an example of a chord/lyric sheet). Everyone gets a copy of the sheet and they all play the same basic chords while singing along. As an intermediate player, you're ready for what's next. You're ready to add to the music.

And that's why we've created Concept Lessons. This series is devoted to teaching you how to add harmonies, melodies, and solos to enhance a musical performance. Let's go back to our example song: "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. In Concept Lesson EP002, you will learn how to play higher voiced chord harmonies and a solo over the same chord progression used in Jason's song. And by doing this, you're really playing, you're creating color and adding layers to the music!

The Concept Lessons series also includes songs with full band backing tracks: Ukulele + U-Bass + Drums. This is great for those of us who aren't fortunate enough to know other musicians to play with. You'll still be able to rock out and have a jam session at home! I'd recommend to start with Paint It Blacker - EP007, this is a rock ukulele lesson in the style of The Rolling Stones.

The Proficient Intermediate Player

Before advancing to the next level, the intermediate player should have a good handle on:

Overall, the intermediate player is an accomplished player. In the advanced level, you will continue to push the boundaries of your playing by performing harder pieces, introducing advanced techniques, and beginning the journey to understanding what you are playing via music theory.

Below, I have embedded 2 videos of two of our members performing intermediate level songs. Both members did an outstanding job!

Defining The Advanced Player

The advanced player is generally someone who has played for 5+ years. As an accomplished player, their focus is on continuing their overall development. This includes: Expanding your fingerpicking ability by incorporating advanced techniques into your playing, becoming a versatile player by branching off into multi-genres, and developing your knowledge of the fretboard.

The latter is extremely important, as an understanding of Music Theory (as it relates to harmony) will provide the advanced player an explanation of why the things they play on the fretboard work. It also opens the doors to learning how to songwrite, how to improvise, and how to create your own harmonies, melodies, and solos. Let's take a look at how the advanced player will develop their musicianship.

Building a Strong Foundation

Continuing your fingerpicking development, you should focus on Level 3 and 4 Songs. These songs will push your playing limits by developing your speed, advancing your chord knowledge, and introducing new playing techniques. Let's take a look at some songs to see how this unfolds:

Furthermore, you'll want to increase your versatility as a musician by learning multi-genre pieces. Here are a few examples:

An often overlooked aspect of music is the study of music itself, i.e. Music Theory. Music theory is not a system of laws to rigidly restrict your musical decisions. It’s merely the facts about harmony (“These notes make this chord – Here's how I could combine them on the fretboard” and so on…).

Theory helps you interpret what you’re hearing the same way grammar helps you communicate in language. Knowledge of grammar doesn’t negate your ability to use slang or intentionally use colorful language, it merely allows you to recognize it and be in better command of what you’re trying to say.

So harmony, like spelling and grammar is a series of facts that allow you to see a bigger picture. It should not choose your words for you.

It’s been said that being too educated in an art form will tend to make you think and create within accepted parameters. My thought is, when you understand the fact that certain chords fit into a certain key or that certain notes make up a certain scale or chord, you can just as easily find the ones that don’t fit and use them, but this time with intention. As one of my former teachers told me, “you need to know the rules before you break them”.

With that said, the best place to begin learning these rules is via our course: 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.

In the intermediate level above, we discussed the value that our Concept Lessons series brings. This value involved teaching you how to add harmonies, melodies, and solos to enhance a musical performance. In this course, we're going to dissect lessons from the Concept Lessons series so that you can learn exactly how they were written and how they work.

Your understanding of these concepts will develop by focusing on advancing two areas of playing: Rhythm and Lead. The rhythm section will teach you methods for creating harmony. You will learn how to play chords in different positions (via the CAGED Method) 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 (as heard in Concept Lesson EP006), while approach two will cover playing changes (as heard in Concept Lesson EP005).

The big takeaway from this course is that you will begin to learn how to create your own harmonies, melodies, and solos. Furthermore, if you wish to learn how to write your own songs or arrangements, specifically in regards to Chord Melody, then you will want to check out our ukulele songwriting course: How to Write a Song on the Ukulele: A Beginner’s Guide to Chord Melody.

The Proficient Advanced Player

The advanced player is well-versed in multiple aspects of musicianship, including: A high performance level (fingerpicking, strumming, technique, and playing expressions are very developed), the ability to perform different styles (multi-genres), and knowledge/application of Music Theory. At this level, the mysteries of the ukulele begin to disappear as your knowledge of the fretboard and music theory continually develop.

I believe one of the biggest goals in music is to be able to sit down in a jam situation and not feel limited or lost. To have the ability to create on the spot, to improvise, to be able to take the music to a place where you can feel the creative possibilities expand! Because, at the end of the day, music is created to be shared; and the joy you feel when you perform for someone and you see them smile, that makes all the years of dedication, practice, and hard work worth it.

Below, I have embedded 2 videos of two of our members performing advanced level songs. Both members did an excellent job!