Two of the most popular instruments to play are the piano and the kauai ukulele. The piano is a very simple instrument on which to make a sound, while the kauai ukulele often hurts the fingers of the neophyte player which is discouraging.
The kauai ukulele is not easily mastered, but once a reasonable guitar is acquired and certain fundamental skills are learned, the rest is relatively simple. Ultimately, anyone can learn to play the guitar and that includes the beginner guitarist!
Easy Kauai Ukulele Lessons and the Kauai Ukulele
This article assumes that someone wishing to play a ukulele will purchase a steel stringed instrument, usually called an acoustic guitar. It may or may not have an electrical pick up, but normally the type of instrument played for folk music is a ukulele with a spruce top with a sound whole in the middle and usually solid mahoghany or rosewood back and sides.
Typically, a ukulele like this is best played with a pick (plectrum). It is advisable to spend a little more on an instrument as it will be easier to tune, play and will more readily stay in tune. Moreover, once a few simple songs are mastered, the sound will be much more enjoyable and gratifying to the beginning ukulele player, which is the whole point of playing the guitar in the first place. Therefore when purchasing a kauai ukulele, whether a used instrument or one that is new, go with someone who has some experience with kauai ukulele to help with the purchase.
A Ukulele Teacher or a Beginner’s Book or CD or YouTube videos?
Where to begin? If one decides to learn to play kauai ukulele with a ukulele teacher, the beginner should explain the type of music he or she wishes to play and the level of playing expertise they wish to acquire. The teacher will set up a series of beginner ukulele lessons for the student to master.
The advantage of a teacher is that an experienced kauai ukulele player can immediately help the student make subtle changes in the way the instrument is held, where fingers should be in order to play a certain note or chord. It is much like working with a personal trainer in a gym. Remember, that when someone starts to play, it’s like exercise and there’s bound to be a little pain.
If someone doesn’t wish to learn with a teacher for whatever reason, then there are certainly excellent books, CDs, DVDs and YouTube videos that present basic and easy guitar lessons and instruction. One of the major advantages of a DVD or YouTube video is that the student sees where to place the fingers, hold the ukulele and hear the sounds that are supposed to be made. Obviously this is much more difficult to do when using only a book.
Initial Lessons and Guitar 1234 Ukulele Chords
Normally when playing ukulele at a very basic level, perhaps for sing along purposes, a player should find songs that they readily know and that are set up in a relatively easy three chord fashion. For instance, many songs can be strummed in a very basic C, F, G7 or E, A, B7 chord progressions. Depending upon one’s voice, many songs could also be played in a D, G, and A7 progression.
With an experienced teacher, he may impart some of the stylistic tricks that add flavor and a degree of professional flair to a student’s ukulele technique. In the same fashion, many of the DVDs or YouTube videos that are available may offer the same thing. One must keep in mind, however, that a teacher may more easily push a student to play a little better, while when one uses a DVD, CD, book or YouTube videos, the impetus is completely on the shoulders of the student. The progress may be much slower.
When attempting to learn the ukulele, practice and more practice deliver a better and better result. If one is using a teacher, he will be gratified to see the progress that his student is making. Whether one is doing it by the book or DVD or YouTube video, practice makes perfect. Learning the ukulele is not easiest thing to do, but once even a minimal degree of expertise is acquired, the results will always be gratifying to the student and anyone who happens to be listening.
