Very new to the Ukulele.

[DarrenMarkBuckley]

Hello everyone.
The only instrument I'd ever played in my 55 years was the Air Guitar. (Which I mastered, by the way.) I decided to change this and bought my first Uke a month ago, a Fender Fullerton Concert Stratocaster. I went for this partly because Fender has a reputation for producing quality instruments and partly because the iconic shape makes me feel like the Rock Star I always wanted to be. A week later, my niece gifted me a Tenor, which I immediately restrung with a low G. Two days later, I bought a second hand, beat up Soprano from a junk shop for pennies. I intend applying my woodworking skills on it by refurbishing, rebuilding and refinishing it to my own specifications. (Tenor neck? Pre-amp? Pick up? Who knows?) I also bought a Tanglewood Soprano, just because. Four weeks into my "Uke-venture", to say my enthusiasm far outweighs my ability is an understatement, but I've picked enough up in that time to strum along to a few tunes and I'm convinced that my determination and patience will eventually get me to where I want to be. I look forward to browsing the forums for any hints, tips, tricks and advice, that will make my journey even more enjoyable than it already is.

 

[kkimura]

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you're having fun. I'm 73 and still haven't mastered the air guitar. Everyone keeps yelling, "louder, louder".

 

[ploverwing]

Nice! Sounds like your enthusiasm has carried you well so far. Enjoy the journey! We've got a lot of amazing people on this forum, very helpful, generous with their knowledge, and informative. I'm sure you'll find stuff here to keep you entertained.

 

[TopDog]

Welcome aboard Friend! Enjoy your experimentation with different instruments and different sounds, and I hope you get as much pleasure from your playing as the rest of us do!

 

[Ms Bean]

Welcome to UU, DMB!

Use that enthusiasm to fuel a daily practice routine for a month. Look out for Bernadette Teaches Music on YouTube. She offeres a 30 day ukulele challenge (for beginners) and a 30 day ukulele course (for experienced beginners or intermediate players).

Once she's helped you establish the daily routine, you can broaden your horizon and move to different teachers, channels etc depending on where you want to go. The possibilities are endless!

 

[stevejfc]

Welcome Darren!

 

[Ila]

Hello everyone.
The only instrument I'd ever played in my 55 years was the Air Guitar. (Which I mastered, by the way.) I decided to change this and bought my first Uke a month ago, a Fender Fullerton Concert Stratocaster. I went for this partly because Fender has a reputation for producing quality instruments and partly because the iconic shape makes me feel like the Rock Star I always wanted to be. A week later, my niece gifted me a Tenor, which I immediately restrung with a low G. Two days later, I bought a second hand, beat up Soprano from a second hand shop for pennies. I intend applying my woodworking skills on it by refurbishing, rebuilding and refinishing it to my own specifications. (Tenor neck? Pre-amp? Pick up? Who knows?) I also bought a Tanglewood Soprano, just because. Four weeks into my "Uke-venture", to say my enthusiasm far outweighs my ability is an understatement, but I've picked enough up in that time to strum along to a few tunes and I'm convinced that my determination and patience will eventually get me to where I want to be. I look forward to browsing the forums for any hints, tips, tricks and advice, that will make my journey even more enjoyable than it already is.

A great way to ensure you practice is to commit to participating in an open mic. I had less than a month of experience before I joined the UU International Open Mic (https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...onistas-on-line-get-together-open-mic.144426/) and I found the people there to be kind, warm, patient and a blast to hang out with on Zoom. I've been playing a year now, and I absolutely credit my progress to the supportive people there and my commitment to practice, to battle my inner fear of sounding like an idiot when I play. Come join us on the Seasons of the Ukulele (https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/index.php?forums/seasons-of-the-ukulele.47/) and participate in our weekly challenges. It's great fun.

 

[DarrenMarkBuckley]

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you're having fun. I'm 73 and still haven't mastered the air guitar. Everyone keeps yelling, "louder, louder".

Thanks for the welcome. Turn your imaginamp up to 11!

 

[DarrenMarkBuckley]

Nice! Sounds like your enthusiasm has carried you well so far. Enjoy the journey! We've got a lot of amazing people on this forum, very helpful, generous with their knowledge, and informative. I'm sure you'll find stuff here to keep you entertained.

Thanks for your comment. I've been overwhelmed by the welcome messages I've received. I'm giddy with my ukeleles and, much to the annoyance of my wife, spend every free moment I have just practicing transitioning between the chords I learn daily. I've amazed myself at the progress I've made so far. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

 

[DarrenMarkBuckley]

Welcome aboard Friend! Enjoy your experimentation with different instruments and different sounds, and I hope you get as much pleasure from your playing as the rest of us do!

Thank you for your kind welcome. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support, encouragement and good vibes I've received from members of this forum. I have a question though: Is it possible to play a ukulele without smiling? If it is I can't imagine how.

 

[DarrenMarkBuckley]

Welcome to UU, DMB!

Use that enthusiasm to fuel a daily practice routine for a month. Look out for Bernadette Teaches Music on YouTube. She offeres a 30 day ukulele challenge (for beginners) and a 30 day ukulele course (for experienced beginners or intermediate players).

Once she's helped you establish the daily routine, you can broaden your horizon and move to different teachers, channels etc depending on where you want to go. The possibilities are endless!

 

[Nickie]

Hello everyone.
The only instrument I'd ever played in my 55 years was the Air Guitar. (Which I mastered, by the way.) I decided to change this and bought my first Uke a month ago, a Fender Fullerton Concert Stratocaster. I went for this partly because Fender has a reputation for producing quality instruments and partly because the iconic shape makes me feel like the Rock Star I always wanted to be. A week later, my niece gifted me a Tenor, which I immediately restrung with a low G. Two days later, I bought a second hand, beat up Soprano from a junk shop for pennies. I intend applying my woodworking skills on it by refurbishing, rebuilding and refinishing it to my own specifications. (Tenor neck? Pre-amp? Pick up? Who knows?) I also bought a Tanglewood Soprano, just because. Four weeks into my "Uke-venture", to say my enthusiasm far outweighs my ability is an understatement, but I've picked enough up in that time to strum along to a few tunes and I'm convinced that my determination and patience will eventually get me to where I want to be. I look forward to browsing the forums for any hints, tips, tricks and advice, that will make my journey even more enjoyable than it already is.

"The only instrument I'd ever played in my 55 years was the Air Guitar. (Which I mastered, by the way.)"
Ha ha ha ha ha!
Did you have any trouble finding strings for it?

 

[DarrenMarkBuckley]

Thank you for your welcome message. I'm as commited as I can be to practicing, I'm spending a lot of time working on the majors A,B,C,D, F and G and moving to the dreaded E, and back. I'm getting there, slowly but surely. Thanks for the heads up on Bernadette on YouTube. I'll get stuck into her challenges this coming weekend, when I have more time. Thanks again.

 

[DarrenMarkBuckley]

Welcome Darren!

Thank you!

 

[DarrenMarkBuckley]

"The only instrument I'd ever played in my 55 years was the Air Guitar. (Which I mastered, by the way.)"
Ha ha ha ha ha!
Did you have any trouble finding strings for it?

 

[DarrenMarkBuckley]

A great way to ensure you practice is to commit to participating in an open mic. I had less than a month of experience before I joined the UU International Open Mic (https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...onistas-on-line-get-together-open-mic.144426/) and I found the people there to be kind, warm, patient and a blast to hang out with on Zoom. I've been playing a year now, and I absolutely credit my progress to the supportive people there and my commitment to practice, to battle my inner fear of sounding like an idiot when I play. Come join us on the Seasons of the Ukulele (https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/index.php?forums/seasons-of-the-ukulele.47/) and participate in our weekly challenges. It's great fun.

I'd love to get involved in a Zoom strumalong and one day, hopefully soon, I will. For now though I'm just going to plug away, doing what I'm doing to boost both my ability and confidence. I always play with a smile on my face and try to accomplish something every day, however small. Thank you for both your welcome to the forum and also for your advice and suggestions.

 

[Kenn2018]

I was invited by a friend to come to his ukulele club and see what it was all about. A week later I bought my first tenor from Amazon. A Fender Nohea koa laminate. The strings were WAY too high, but the sound was pretty nice if a bit muted.

Playing with the members of the club is fun. They helped a lot. Were kind and forgiving. And I made a number of friends. if there is a local club in your area, I highly recommend going to some meetings and having fun. (Ask your daughter if she belongs to one.)

 

[mountain goat]

Fantastic Darren! welcome, brother!