Just got my new ukulele, Ohana CK-10 from Mim's, and was wondering what would be a good first song to learn? I'm actively looking for good YouTube tutorials for beginners and other online resources, but I'd like to have a small goal in mind. Since I'm a beginner, I'd prefer it to be relatively easy yet catchy; I'm not much for singing, so I'd like to focus on the instrument rather than singing along with the instrument. Not sure if Rock Lobster by the B-52's would be too difficult of an undertaking for a beginner.
Advice - First Song to Learn?
- Thread starter KyRo
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Sounds like maybe fingerstyle is what you are looking for? Yuji has over 200 beginner tagged arrangements to choose from. Some more advanced, some quite simple!
UkingViking
Well-known member
First song I tried was "Lime in the coconut".
Just one chord to learn, so you can really focus on getting the strumming working first. I found a tutorial suggesting two different strumming patterns to alternate between.
Just one chord to learn, so you can really focus on getting the strumming working first. I found a tutorial suggesting two different strumming patterns to alternate between.
Ukulele Time does have some nice "beginner" fingerstyle songs. You can watch the play-along video to see what skills you need for the song and what it will sound like after you practice. Beginner fingerstyle songs do require more skill than beginner strum-along songs, but you won't develop those skills until you start practicing.
SeriousTube
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I find it helps to have someone really spell it out. Cynthia Lin is a well known ukulele teacher on youtube. Her first lesson is for Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. It is a three minute song which she covers in 26 minutes between the song and other things you need to know
Welcome @Kyle Poston!!! I'm not that far from a beginner myself, and I'll tell you the hardest question to answer, and the answer can change a lot depending on the context, but here's the question: What's a song?
You've started to answer that by saying that you're less interested in singing. Great start! So what do you want to play? Are you interested in playing the notes that the singer would be singing, along with the "guitar" parts at the same time? That's a thing called chord melody mentioned above. It's super popular, but also complicated.
So let's back up, and start with the intro to Rock Lobster.
(Before that, a detour. LOL This song landed in my freshman year of college, and changed EVERYTHING. You could argue, and I would, that The B-52s were the first "college radio" band -- before MTV, they blew like wildfire across the nation as college radio stations like the one I worked at were passing the news among themselves as the thing you HAVE to hear. There was no internet of course, so we were WRITING LETTERS, and picking up the phone and calling our friends at other colleges. We were losing our MINDS over this!
The first project I did in my radio-TV-film production course was centered around Rock Lobster, which most of the class, including the professor, hadn't yet heard, and the room practically exploded with fevered discussion when I played a few bars of it. It felt like standing at ground zero, and I've never forgotten it.)
One way to play the intro is just the notes. Easy enough! A BUNCH of tutorials for that. Here's one, barely over a minute long.
But me, that's never going to be what I want to do. I hate one note solos, BUT THAT'S ME. Like whatever you like, and apologize for nothing. LOL So, given that I'd personally always rather play chords, here's another tutorial, under two minutes, but for ME, dang near a bullseye.
Not as obviously beginner friendly, but if that's the mountain you want to climb, go for it!
Once you want to climb all the way up the mountain, consider this entry from UU's own @UkeFoote, who I think is an absolute genius.
He's answering part of the rest of the question, which is, "What do you wanna do with all the stuff that's not guitar????" In Brian's case, he whistles. And yeah, he sings it really, really well, too! With lots of layers of vocals that he recorded himself. And you can see what he's playing very clearly, and answering that at THIS level, mmmm, not exactly a first song. Unless you want it badly enough, in which case, go for it!
I'm not saying any of this to be discouraging. Quite the contrary! I'm saying that there are a gazillion ways to do everything. Some are easier, some harder, but it's all up to YOU. What do you want this to sound like in the end? Are you playing with a vocalist? Are you wanting to play along with the record? Do you want to play the whistling parts with your ukulele, can you whistle, or would you rather use a kazoo? (Which I think would sound awesome for this song, btw.) Nobody can answer any of this for you.
But if you can give us some answers to some of these questions, we may be able to help point you in a more helpful direction.
LorenFL
Well-known member
I think I spent about 9 years as a beginner. Since COVID, I guess I've gotten to "advanced intermediate", but that's a stretch. I don't sing. I don't use a metronome. I don't usually play with a backing track (though, I have, and it can be fun sometimes). I don't read music. I don't consciously count time. I don't know the fretboard. But, I do have a decent sense of time and rhythm and "swing". But, I do know some scale patterns (major, minor, and several blues pentatonic shapes), and a crapload of chords. But, I play tuned 3 semitones down, so I'm not actually playing the chords that I think I am!
So, as you can see, there are a LOT of ways to enjoy playing the uke, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
For a first song, I'd sift through some song lists, there are several good ones out there. Look for something with 3-5 chords (less is boring, more can be daunting), and make sure they're easy chords. If you know the song and can play the chords, the rhythm will come. You can learn to embellish from there.
My first song was "I don't like Monday's". 5 chords, but they're all VERY easy chords.
Another fun thing to do is explore common chord progression and just play around with them in different keys and see what songs "appear" for you as you experiment with playing them with different rhythms and tempos.
Just play!
So, as you can see, there are a LOT of ways to enjoy playing the uke, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
For a first song, I'd sift through some song lists, there are several good ones out there. Look for something with 3-5 chords (less is boring, more can be daunting), and make sure they're easy chords. If you know the song and can play the chords, the rhythm will come. You can learn to embellish from there.
My first song was "I don't like Monday's". 5 chords, but they're all VERY easy chords.
Another fun thing to do is explore common chord progression and just play around with them in different keys and see what songs "appear" for you as you experiment with playing them with different rhythms and tempos.
Just play!
bbkobabe
Well-known member
Jambalya by Hank Williams... two chords (c-g7) and no waiting for the fun to begin!
merlin666
Well-known member
What is your motivation to play ukulele and learn songs? There is no point in learning songs you don't like, so a starting point is to make a list of songs you like and then get some assistance here to order them by difficulty and start with the easiest.
Then also the term Song implies singing, so if you don't want to sing what else appeals to you? Typically with ukulele we learn chords and strumming or picking to accompany some singing. Some people also like to play the melody of songs, so if that appeals to you it is something where resources exist and you can learn both chords and melodies and the theory that connects the two. But to get recommendations you need to provide more information.
Then also the term Song implies singing, so if you don't want to sing what else appeals to you? Typically with ukulele we learn chords and strumming or picking to accompany some singing. Some people also like to play the melody of songs, so if that appeals to you it is something where resources exist and you can learn both chords and melodies and the theory that connects the two. But to get recommendations you need to provide more information.
Oldscruggsfan
Well-known member
^^^this! Pick 5 tunes that you like, and go to Jim Carrey’s webpage <www.ozbcoz.com> to find the chord progressions. Site is very user friendly, not locked behind a paywall, even allows you to change keys (transpose) if you prefer.
Chord shape charts can also be customized to appear top, side or bottom of the page, whichever you prefer. It’s been my go-to site for nearly 2 years.
Also, download the free version of UkeLibChords for smart phone.
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Great advices here, fellas, and I feel the same. I don't care how easy it is if I don't want to play it. That's not fun or motivating to me. I'd rather wrestle with something "too hard" than learn whatever's easy.
But yeah, even within the realm of "songs I want to learn" there are some that's are easier than others, and that's where I started. (Me, it was Let It Be and Knockin' on Heaven's Door.)
In addition to looking for arrangements, it's worth looking at YouTube too, because I can figure out chords easily enough, but making something sound musical, or finding that in this song, you need to change chords on the off-beat to make the timing work is something I can't see on a page, but CAN see in a video....and as I noted for Rock Lobster, there aren't many songs that don't have multiple examples, with or without actual tutorials (and again, several of those dirt Rock Lobster!).
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miqbri
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I wanted to share this channel for complete beginners for finger-picking like me: https://www.youtube.com/@ukuleleeasytabs8538/playlists
e.g.
These arrangements are, I think, as easy as it gets. They are not even the full songs, they might not even be the right key so I didn't event want to try them at first because they looked so simplified.
When I did actually try them I realized I can't play them! At least not correctly in time, super clean, with consistent volume etc.
So I joined the Patreon for $2, got about 20 tab pdfs and I have been having blast with them last couple of days.
When I can play these perfectly I'll fell more comfortable moving to more complicated arrangements.
Just a tip for musically challenged total beginners like me. They feel kind of like finger style exercises but sound close to the song, which helps with tempo.
e.g.
These arrangements are, I think, as easy as it gets. They are not even the full songs, they might not even be the right key so I didn't event want to try them at first because they looked so simplified.
When I did actually try them I realized I can't play them! At least not correctly in time, super clean, with consistent volume etc.
So I joined the Patreon for $2, got about 20 tab pdfs and I have been having blast with them last couple of days.
When I can play these perfectly I'll fell more comfortable moving to more complicated arrangements.
Just a tip for musically challenged total beginners like me. They feel kind of like finger style exercises but sound close to the song, which helps with tempo.
Pedagogical opinion here, and this is from my experience teaching: If you can learn the notes of the fretboard, maybe first 5 frets, all strings, and slowly learn them note by note, you can become very familiar with single notes when playing simple melodies. THEN, when you want to play chords, you already know what finger should go where for each note of the chord, so that way playing chords becomes even easier, as you already know them, you just don't know you know them!
Mike $
Well-known member
Well, three weeks have passed. What was the first song you learned to play?
No specific song yet. Wanted more structure in learning at first. Currently working through 30 Day Uke Course by Bernadette Teaches Music on YouTube; it comes with a free course outline. Finding it very helpful and noticing small incremental progress. Not very exciting but I'm enjoying myself.
UkeStuff
Well-known member
I would want to know what you mean by “song.” While you mentioned not being a singer, do you want to be able to play just the melody? Just strum chords to an existing song? Or play melody and harmony at the same time?
These are all different approaches, and not necessarily independent of each other, but each offers a different starting point.
I would make sure that you are comfortable with the basics of the ukulele, knowing how to tune, hold, and strum or pick the instrument…and then figure out what to play.
If you are looking to strum, I would learn 4 or 5 chords (C, F, G7, G, Am) and then play songs that have those chords (see a searchable index of play alongs at ukeability.org)
If wanting to play melody, I would start learning notes on the fretboard and playing simple melodies.
If wanting to do it all (melody, harmony, rhythm), I would begin with some chord melody songs, such as those arranged by the late Mike Lynch. He has 5 collections for sale. You might also want to look at the Elizabeth Ragsdale or Tony Crimlisk resources on my site (link below) or even some of the chord melodies I have arranged on my site.
I think most YouTube teachers (I have GCEA U, which I created during COVID) focus on chords first. The ukulele books often mix melody and then switch to chords (such as the Hal Leonard Ukulele Method written by ‘Lil Rev) or even something like Jenny Peters (The Ukulele sisters) books on Amazon like 21 songs in 6 days.
Good luck in your journey! It is a fun and potentially life changing adventure!
These are all different approaches, and not necessarily independent of each other, but each offers a different starting point.
I would make sure that you are comfortable with the basics of the ukulele, knowing how to tune, hold, and strum or pick the instrument…and then figure out what to play.
If you are looking to strum, I would learn 4 or 5 chords (C, F, G7, G, Am) and then play songs that have those chords (see a searchable index of play alongs at ukeability.org)
If wanting to play melody, I would start learning notes on the fretboard and playing simple melodies.
If wanting to do it all (melody, harmony, rhythm), I would begin with some chord melody songs, such as those arranged by the late Mike Lynch. He has 5 collections for sale. You might also want to look at the Elizabeth Ragsdale or Tony Crimlisk resources on my site (link below) or even some of the chord melodies I have arranged on my site.
I think most YouTube teachers (I have GCEA U, which I created during COVID) focus on chords first. The ukulele books often mix melody and then switch to chords (such as the Hal Leonard Ukulele Method written by ‘Lil Rev) or even something like Jenny Peters (The Ukulele sisters) books on Amazon like 21 songs in 6 days.
Good luck in your journey! It is a fun and potentially life changing adventure!
PatP
Member
You Are My Sunshine was the first song I learned, too. From there, if I remember correctly, I learned Let It Be, using the video below. I found it helpful to learn songs that I could easily sing along to, even if it was just in my head and not out loud.
Mookulele
Well-known member
[Ukulele Wales channel has 5 beginner uke lessons] () that also list playalongs for the chords in those lessons from the owner's Ukulaliens channel. Can be very helpful! Rachel's lessons are a bit more streamlined, I find. The playalongs really help too!
One thing I have carried over from my failed attempt to learn guitar on my own is Justin Guitar's idea of 1-minute changes. You pick two chords to go back and forth between and see how many you can achieve in 1 minute. If you record the number you achieve, you will see that you improve over time. I started this with a metronome app at first that I slowly sped up. You'll want to adapt it for the uke chords or songs you are learning but I included the link to Justin's site so you can see the philosophy/process.
Now I keep a ukulele nearby and practice chord changes on commercial breaks when watching TV or whenever I have a few minutes during the day. Waiting for a call, meeting ends early, etc., you can work on chord changes or a stumming pattern. Not only is it easier to find time to practice that way, I find it tends to be more useful to do a bit a few times a day than to do one or two big sessions per week.
One thing I have carried over from my failed attempt to learn guitar on my own is Justin Guitar's idea of 1-minute changes. You pick two chords to go back and forth between and see how many you can achieve in 1 minute. If you record the number you achieve, you will see that you improve over time. I started this with a metronome app at first that I slowly sped up. You'll want to adapt it for the uke chords or songs you are learning but I included the link to Justin's site so you can see the philosophy/process.
Now I keep a ukulele nearby and practice chord changes on commercial breaks when watching TV or whenever I have a few minutes during the day. Waiting for a call, meeting ends early, etc., you can work on chord changes or a stumming pattern. Not only is it easier to find time to practice that way, I find it tends to be more useful to do a bit a few times a day than to do one or two big sessions per week.
