Tuesday, June 24, 2014

I need a good Ukulele instruction dvd?




Marley


Sometime within this week or next I plan on buying a Ukulele. This will be the first instrument I have evr owned and I want to make sure I have a good instructional Video. The only problem is I'm not sure what constitutes a good video. So I need recommendations. Keep in mind I need something that will start from the very very beginning because like I said I have never played an instrument before. If you know of any lessons that are uploaded online that contain this content that would also be great as it would save me money lol


Answer
I am not familiar with any Ukulele video but there are many publishers like Mel Bay and Alfred that have published various books ( some with CD's) that are very good for a beginner student of the Ukulele.

You should be aware that there are four sizes of Ukuleles.
From the smallest to the largest they are the Soprano, then Concert, then Tenor, and the Baritone. The three smallest are must often tuned G-C-E-A called "C" tuning and the larger Baritone is tuned D-G-B-E just like the first four strings of a standard guitar. If you have access to a guitar place a "capo" at the 5th fret of the guitar and strum the first four strings (starting a the capo) and you will hear how the three smallest Ukes will sound. If you remove the " capo" then play the first four open strings and you will hear how the Baritone Uke will sound.

Chords are easy to learn but be aware that the chords fingering for the three smallest Ukes is different that the fingering used for the Baritone Uke.
Many guitar players that play the Ukulele (like myself) like the Baritone for the reason that the chord formation are identical to the guitar chords except you only have four strings instead of the six in the guitar and in many cases you will only need two fingers instead of three to form a chord.

Another interesting note is that If you were to use the identical chord fingering you learn in the baritone (or guitar) in the smaller three Ukes you will actually be playing four notes higher in pitch but the sound will be OK just the note will be 4 notes apart. As an example a fingering for a "G" chord in the baritone when playing a small soprano will give you a "C" chord- Four notes higher ("G"-A-B-"C"). The reverse is also the same, playing the fingering for a "C" chord in the soprano in the baritone will sound four notes lower ("C"-B-A-"G") It will sound OK.

The Uke is one of the easiest string Instruments to learn as well as making it easy portable due to its small size. The largest Baritone is only approx. 30" long and some guitar players used them as their "travel" instrument that fit almost anywhere.

Go by your local music or book store and check out the section on instrumental instruction.See which one appeals to you the most and get it. When buying a Ukulele if you can afford it buy it with a solid wood top - not laminated- the extra $30 to $50 will be worth it in the sound projection. A solid-top smaller uke will start around $125. and a larger Baritone around $150. Laminated smaller Ukes that are not toys should start at around $60. and around $75. for a Baritone. Good Luck and Enjoy your Ukulele



Powered By Y! Answer Blogger Poster

No comments:

Post a Comment