Ukulele Exercises For Dummies

Brett McQueen is a musician, songwriter and the founder of ukuleletricks.com, one of the most popular ukulele sites in the world, where he provides audio, video, and written instructional material (along with personalised feedback) to freshly minted ukulele fans everywhere. Alistair Wood is the man (the myth and the legend) behind ukulelehunt.com and the author of Ukulele For Dummies.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Conventions Used in This Book 2What You’re Not to Read 2Foolish Assumptions 3How This Book Is Organised 3Part I: Getting Started with Ukulele Exercises 3Part II: Becoming a Better Strummer 3Part III: Becoming a Better Fingerpicker 4Part IV: Mastering the Ukulele Fretboard 4Part V: The Part of Tens 4Accessing the Audio Tracks 4Icons Used in This Book 5Where to Go from Here 5Part I: Getting Started with Ukulele Exercises 7Chapter 1: Preparing to Practise 9Equipping Yourself with the Right Practice Tools 9Tuning up with a chromatic tuner 9Keeping time with a metronome 10Tracking your progress with a practice journal 10Reviewing Ukulele Notation 11Deciphering tablature 11Understanding chord diagrams 12Comprehending neck diagrams 13Reading rhythm charts 13Chapter 2: Warming Up for Practice 15Limbering Up Your Body to Play Ukulele 15Loosening up with stretches 15Relaxing with breathing exercises 16Strengthening your hands with exercises 16Brushing Up on Perfect Playing Posture 17Looking at Some Warm-Up Exercises on the Ukulele 17Practising single-note exercises 17Practising chord exercises 19Part II: Becoming a Better Strummer 23Chapter 3: Foundations For Strumming 25Working Out Your Strumming Technique 25Choosing the right strumming technique 26Strumming with your index finger 26Strumming with your thumb 27Strumming with four fingers 27Getting Acquainted With the Golden Rules of Strumming 28Rule #1: Strumming is consistent 28Rule #2: Strumming is relaxed 29Rule #3: Strumming is intentional 30Finding the Right Strumming Pattern for Any Song 30Building a strumming repertoire 30Listening to the song 31Counting the song 31Starting with down strums 31Knowing when to change chords 32Singing and Strumming at the Same Time 32Playing the song through without singing 32Humming first, singing later 32Simplifying isn’t a bad thing 32Chapter 4: Building a Repertoire of Strumming Patterns 33Discovering How to Use These Exercises to Become a Better Strummer 33Mastering the Universal Strumming Pattern 34Counting along with down strums 34Keeping the beat with up strums 35Combining down and up strums 35Application song: ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ 36Tackling Common Time Strumming Patterns 37Developing eighth note strums 37Building a multi-purpose strumming pattern 38Practising chord changes on different beats 39Application song: ‘Jingle Bells’ 40Making Common Time Strumming Patterns More Interesting 41Accenting the beat 42Using syncopation in three different ways 43Rearranging up strums to create different feels 45Application song: ‘I’ve Been Working On the Railroad’ 47Waltzing Along With 3/4 Time Signature Strumming Patterns 48Practising versatile 3/4 strumming patterns 48Application song: ‘Oh My Darling, Clementine’ 49Getting More Advanced With 6/8 Time Signature Strumming Patterns 50Developing delightful 6/8 strumming patterns 51Application song: ‘O Holy Night’ 52Chapter 5: Taking Strumming Patterns to a Higher Level 55Getting Groovy With Shuffle Rhythms 55Finding the pocket with shuffle rhythm exercises 56‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’ 57Strumming Faster Without Getting Sloppier 58Working on relaxing strumming movements 58Minimizing wasted strumming motion 59Drawing up a plan to improve strumming speed 59‘Hello! Ma Baby’ 60Showing Off Subdivided Strumming Patterns 61Souping up your strumming with sixteenth notes 62Trying out triplet strums 63Putting the pedal down with speed rhythm exercises 64Making Your Strumming Dynamic 66Playing loudly and softly 66Varying rhythmic complexity 67‘Oh! Susanna’ 67Recognising Offbeat Chord Changes 68Switching to chords on offbeats 69Variation on the 12 bar blues 69Switching Chords Without Interrupting Your Strumming 70Setting up a chord change 70‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ 71Chapter 6: Refining Advanced Strumming Techniques 73Playing Percussively With Two Muting Techniques 73Developing your ‘chnking’ technique 74Figuring out fret hand muting 75‘ Michael, Row the Boat Ashore’ 77Perfecting Alternative Strumming Techniques 77Taking on the touch strum 77‘Billy Boy’ 79Improving the thumb ’n strum 80Application song: ‘Rock a Bye Baby’ 82Wrapping Your Mind Around Rolling Finger Strums 83Four finger roll 84Five finger roll 84Eight Finger Roll 84Ten Finger Roll 85Practising finger roll strumming pattern exercises 85Application song: ‘Sweet Lei Lehua’ 86Part III: Becoming a Better Fingerpicker 89Chapter 7: Examining Fingerpicking Technique 91Practising Two Different Fingerpicking Techniques 91Polishing the four-finger technique 92Perfecting the alternating thumb technique 93Looking at the Golden Rules of Fingerpicking 94Rule #1: Stay loose 94Rule #2: Slow and steady wins the race 95Rule #3: Repeat, repeat, repeat 95Chapter 8: Developing Rhythmic Fingerpicking Patterns 97Practising the Four-Finger Picking Technique 97‘Inside-out’ pattern 98‘Outside-in’ pattern 99Simultaneous pinched patterns 101Patterns in varied rhythms 104‘The Water Is Wide’ 107Practising the Alternating Picking Technique 109‘Inside-out’ pattern 109‘Outside-in’ pattern 110Simultaneous pinched patterns 110Patterns in varied rhythms 112Application song: ‘I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger’ 114Chapter 9: Improving Your Solo Fingerpicking Skills 117Tackling Solo Fingerstyle Pieces 117Learning two pieces of music 118Playing Carcassi’s ‘Andantino’ 119Strengthening Your Fingerpicking with Arpeggio Exercises 120Trying your hand at ‘p i m’ arpeggios 121Playing Tárrega’s ‘Étude in E minor’ 125Working through more advanced arpeggios 127Playing Aguado’s ‘25 Piéces Pour Guitare, no 17’ 130Developing Lightning-Fast Tremolo Technique 132Tackling three-finger tremolo 132Playing ‘Étude in C major’ 133Figuring out four-finger tremolo 133Chapter 10: Taking a Deeper Look at Single-Note Fingerpicking Techniques 135Speeding up Single-Note Passages 135Practising four alternation techniques 136Applying alternation techniques to pieces of music 137Articulating Single-Note Passages 140Hammer-on exercises 141Pull-off exercises 142Slide exercises 143Bend exercises 144Strumming and Fingerpicking for Melody 145Playing ‘Silent Night’ 146Playing ‘Danny Boy (Londonderry Air)’ 147Part IV: Mastering the Ukulele Fretboard 151Chapter 11: Learning the Fretboard with Major Scales 153Taking a Quick Look at the Chromatic Scale 154Building a Major Scale 155Learning the major scale interval pattern 155Creating a major scale in any key 156Practising Major Scale Patterns in Three Different Keys 158Learning natural notes with C major 158Seeing how sharps work with G major 161Figuring out flats with F major 164Getting Your Fingers Moving with Major Scale Sequences 167Faking Fretboard Knowledge 170Recognising fretboard landmarks 170Locating the same note on different strings 171Finding octave notes 172Using Major Scales to Play Actual Songs 173Playing ‘Angels We Have Heard On High’ 173Playing ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ 174Chapter 12: Taking On Three Minor Scales 177Building a Natural Minor Scale 177Discovering the natural minor scale interval pattern 178Relating natural minor to major 179Playing the Natural Minor scale 180Homing In On Harmonic Minor 184Mixing It Up With Melodic Minor 187Practising Five Different Minor Scale Sequences 190Playing Songs Using All Three Minor Scales 193Playing ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ 193Playing ‘Coventry Carol’ 194Playing ‘Greensleeves’ 195Chapter 13: Commanding the Fretboard with Chords 197Building Major and Minor Triads 197Constructing major triads 198Putting together minor triads 199Practising Triads Up and Down the Fretboard 200Major triad exercises 201Minor triad exercises 202Combined triad exercises 203Taking Triads and Playing Actual Songs 204Playing ‘Red River Valley’ 205Playing ‘Joy to the World’ 206Turning Triads Into Moveable Chord Positions 207Making moveable major chords 207Assembling moveable minor chords 208Practising moveable chord progressions 208Getting Jazzy with Moveable Seventh Chords 209Figuring out dominant seventh chords 209Mastering major seventh chords 210Tackling minor seventh chords 211Practising jazz chord progressions 211Chapter 14: Using Scales to Solo and Improvise 213Rocking Out with Pentatonic Scales 213Learning the minor pentatonic scale 213Constructing the major pentatonic scale 214Practising pentatonic scale licks and exercises 215Playing a rock solo 217Expressing Soul with the Blues Scale 218Building the blues scale 218Practising blues scale licks and exercises 219Playing a blues solo 221Sounding Jazzy with the Bebop Scale 221Discovering the dominant bebop scale 222Mastering the major bebop scale 223Practising bebop scale licks and exercises 224Playing a jazz solo 226Part V: The Part of Tens 229Chapter 15: Ten Ways to Improve Your Practice Times 231Setting a Location 231Scheduling a Time 231Creating Time Limits 232Keeping a Practice Journal 232Trying Out Different Musical Styles 232Practising with Other People 232Writing a Song 233Working on Active Listening 233Leaving Your Ukulele Out On a Stand 233Taking a Break 234Chapter 16: Ten Tips for Every Performing Ukulele Player 235Becoming a Better Performer 235Getting Involved in the Local Music Scene 236Finding a Place to Perform 236Building a Set List of Songs 236Preparing to Play Before an Audience 237Handling Nerves Right Before the Show 237Mastering the Art of Focus 238Remembering to Breathe 238Engaging With Your Audience 238Being Confident in Yourself 239