Ukulele for Dummies: 3rd Edition

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Getting Started with the Ukulele
	Chapter 1 Exploring the Ukulele
		Understanding the Uke’s Advantages
			Loving the sound
			Joining a vibrant community
			Appreciating the uke’s practicality
		Sizing Up the Ukulele
			Meeting the family: Daddy uke, mummy uke, and baby uke
			Deciding which uke is best for you
		Taking a Tour: The Anatomy of the Ukulele
		Becoming a Well-Versed Ukulele Player
			Strumming along to hula in Hawaii
			Swinging and picking across the USA
			Rockin’ and rollin’, and getting down with the blues
			Diversifying into ever more styles
	Chapter 2 Tuning Up to Sound Great
		Knowing Some Musical Terms
			Notes as letters
			Half steps and whole steps
			Chords and scales
			Major and minor
		Pitching into Tuning Basics
		Unravelling Tunings for Your Instrument
			Exploring the most common tuning: gCEA
			Using other tunings
		Choosing a Tuning Method
			Going hi-tech: Tuning with an electronic tuner
			Listening and repeating: Tuning to the audio track
			Stringing along: Tuning to a guitar
			Seeing in black and white: Tuning to a piano or keyboard
			Tuning your uke to itself
	Chapter 3 Discovering How to Handle Your Ukulele
		Holding On to Your Ukulele
			Positioning yourself to play
			Standing up
			Sitting down
			Holding your uke left-handed
		Developing Your Strumming
			Strumming in the right spot
			Strumming in the right way
			Refusing to use a pick!
		Pressing On to Fretting
			Positioning your fretting hand
			Locating where to fret
			Discovering how strongly to fret
			Adjusting when things don’t sound right
			Playing and pain
Part 2 Starting Out with Chords and Strumming
	Chapter 4 Playing Your First Ukulele Chords and Songs
		Playing Music without Reading Music
			Reading chord diagrams
			Deciphering chord diagrams for lefties
		Playing a Song Using Two Chords
			Creating a C chord
			Fingering an F chord
			Starting your first song: “Li’l Liza Jane”
		Developing Your First Strumming Patterns
			Using strumming notation
			Filling in with ups and downs
			Finding an easy way to follow rhythms
		Discovering Seventh Chords
			Getting to grips with G7
			Adding the E7 chord
			Taking off with your second song: “I’ll Fly Away”
		Practicing Minor Chords
			Attempting A minor
			Moving on to D minor
			Majoring in E minor
			Playing your first minor-chord song
	Chapter 5 Drumming Up More Strumming Patterns
		Pocketing the Ever-Useful Swiss Army Strum
		Adding Pep with Some Strumming Variations
			Changing chords within bars
			Strumming strongly and weakly
			Introducing the time signature
			Checking out chnks
		Strumming for Various Genres
			Getting down with blues strumming: The shuffle
			Becoming upbeat about the reggae off-beat
			Rocking without strumming
			Rolling your strums
		Deciding on an Appropriate Strumming Pattern
	Chapter 6 Meeting the Chords and Their Families
		Getting to Know Chord Families
		Practicing the Three-Chord Trick: The I–IV–V Progression
		Fingering Barre Chords
			Going flat-out for B flat
			Deciding to play D7
			Playing B minor
		Moving Chord Shapes
			Budging up barre chords
			Discovering new moveable chord shapes
		Inviting Round More Chord Families
			Geeing up the G chord family
			Finding out about the F chord family
			Playing according to the A chord family
			Discovering the D chord family
		Easing the Chord Changes
			Changing D and A the easy way
			Refingering E minor
			Shuffling B7
			Breezing through D7
Part 3 Picking and Single-Note Playing
	Chapter 7 Coming to Grips with Tabs and Notation
		Tapping into Tabs
			Stringing notes along in tabs
			Fretting notes in tab
			Sequencing notes in tab
			Playing simultaneous notes in tab
			Chording in tab
			Strumming in tab
		Reading Rhythms
			Splitting into quarter notes
			Holding on for half and whole notes
			Dividing further: Eighth and sixteenth notes
			Dotting and tying notes
		Resting and Repeating
			Taking a rest
			Repeating . . . and repeating
		Putting Everything Together
			Starting with a simple tune
			Moving up the neck
			Shifting positions
	Chapter 8 Discovering Fingerpicking Patterns
		Introducing the Fingerpicking Technique
		Picking Up Some Picking Patterns
			Getting the lowdown on the up pattern
			Rising and falling: The up and down pattern
			Playing all together: The simultaneous picking pattern
			Thumbing around: The alternate picking pattern
	Chapter 9 Combining Melodies and Chords When Playing Solo
		Strumming Melody and Chords Together
			Thumb-strumming the melody
			Using up strums
			Strumming between the melody
			Finger-strumming the melody
		Picking Out Melodies and Chords
			Faking a strum
			Fingerpicking to combine melody and chords
	Chapter 10 Picking Up Some Soloing Techniques
		Getting Articulated on the Frets
			Hammering-on
			Pulling-off
			Sliding between notes
			Bending notes
			Producing vibrato
			Putting everything together
		Picking Your Way to Great Solos
			Being all fingers and thumbs (in a good way!)
			Picking alternately: The running man
			Using a pick
			Strum blocking
		Inventing Solos the Easy Way
			Soloing using chord shapes
			Playing all the chord shapes
			Soloing with scales
Part 4 Discovering Genres and Styles
	Chapter 11 Rocking Out with Your Uke
		Rocking Out with Chords
			Keeping it simple: Three-chord punk
			Adding a fourth chord
			Powering up with 5 chords
			Building tension: Suspended chords
		Strumming Rock and Punk Rhythms
			Bo Diddling
			Iggy Popping
		Making Your Uke Talk: Soloing Tips
			Phrasing like speaking
			Articulating questions and answers
			Moving up the fretboard for tension and release
	Chapter 12 Playing the Blues to Lift Your Spirits
		Playing Blues Chord Progressions
			Performing a simple 12-bar blues
			Varying the 12-bar blues
			Shuffling the blues
		Turning the Blues Around
		Leading the Blues
		Soloing with the Blues Scale
			Discovering the first position blues scale
			Using the second position blues scale
			Scaling the heights with solos
	Chapter 13 Saying “Aloha” to the Hawaiian Style
		Strumming in the Hawaiian Way
		Turning Around, Hawaiian-Style
			Progressing to the Hawaiian turnaround
			Soloing the Hawaiian turnaround
		Stretching Out to Play “Alekoki”
	Chapter 14 Jazzing Up Your Uke Playing
		Turning Around, Jazz-Style
		Using Hot Jazzy Chords
		Strumming in That Jazzy Way
			Playing a ragtime tune
			Hitting the split stroke
	Chapter 15 Strumming Up the Jawaiian Style
		Starting Up Some Jawaiian Strumming
			Practicing the touch strum
			Drumming up the thumb ’n’ strum style
		“Jamming” with Bob Marley
	Chapter 16 Getting Classy: Classical Masterpieces for Ukulele
		Strumming Up the Classics
		Picking the Classics — Classical Guitar Pieces for Ukulele
		Playing Campanella Style
	Chapter 17 Ukuleleing the Holidays
		Playing the Twelve Days
		Ringing in the New Year with “Auld Lang Syne”
		Making a Noise with “Silent Night”
Part 5 Buying and Looking After Your Ukulele
	Chapter 18 Weighing Up Your Options When Buying a Ukulele
		Buying Your First Uke
			Assessing how much to spend
			Picking a size
			Avoiding problems
		Deciding Where to Buy
			Buying from a shop
			Purchasing online
		Obtaining Your Second (and Third, Fourth, Fifth . . .) Ukulele
			Thinking about solid versus laminated
			Considering types of wood
		Plugging In: Electric Ukuleles
		Lowering the Tone: Bass Ukuleles
	Chapter 19 Splashing Out on Essentials and Accessories
		Picking the Right Strings
		Getting Hold of Optional Accessories
			Clipping on a tuner
			Bagging a case
			Recording your performance
			Leaving it standing up or hanging down?
			Strapping on your uke
			Capturing the right capo
			Feeling for a pick
		Going Mobile
			Finding uke chords
			Tuning up
			Keeping time with a metronome
			Recording tunes
	Chapter 20 Restringing, Maintaining, and Adjusting Your Uke
		Restringing Your Ukulele
			Deciding when to restring
			Removing the strings
			Tying the strings at the bridge
			Looping the strings round the tuning pegs
			Stretching the strings
		Maintaining Your Ukulele
			Cleaning after playing
			Storing your ukulele
			Tackling humidity
		Diagnosing and Solving Uke Problems
			Adjusting strings that go out of tune
			Deciding that the strings are too high: Lowering the action
			Fixing a buzzing sound: Raising the action
			Fighting against out-of-tune strings high up the fretboard
Part 6 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 21 Ten Ukulele Players to Know
		Ernest Ka‘ai (1881–1962)
		May Singhi Breen (1895–1970)
		Roy Smeck (1900–1994)
		George Formby (1904–1961)
		The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (1985–)
		Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole (1959–1997)
		Jake Shimabukuro (1976–)
		Amanda Palmer (1976–)
		James Hill (1980–)
		Zach Condon (1986–)
	Chapter 22 Ten Ways to Get Involved in the Ukulele Scene
		Joining a Ukulele Club
		Visiting a Ukulele Festival
		Making a Video
		Playing Live
		Going Online
		Spreading the Uke News
		Entering a Contest
		Teaching Someone
		Writing Your Own Songs
		Seeing a Show
	Chapter 23 Ten (or So) Tips for Improving Your Playing
		Playing Very Slowly
		Refusing to Rush Things
		Recording Yourself
		Playing with and for Others
		Practicing in Sections
		Knowing When to Stop Practicing
		Stealing from Everyone
		Varying Your Inversions and Verying Your Invarsions
		Opening Your Ears
		Enjoying Yourself
		Busting a Rut
	Chapter 24 Ten Greatest Ukulele Chords
		Invigorating C (with a High Note)
		Shimmering A Minor 7 (High Up)
		Melancholy F Major 7
		Complex G9
		Chilled Out G6
		The “Hawaiian” D7
		Uncomfortable A Augmented 7
		Jazzy C9
		Menacing F Minor 9
		Nostalgic E Diminished 7
Part 7 Appendixes
	Appendix A Chord Charts
	Appendix B Reading Standard Musical Notation
	Appendix C Audio Tracks
Index
EULA