Picking Up the Ukulele for the First Time
I have to admit, when I first held the ukulele, it was a bit daunting. I’ve never played a string instrument before! I began by watching some easy YouTube tutorials, and using MusicPlayOnline to support my learning. This really helped, because I don’t have any connections to people who play the ukulele. My first step was to figure out how to properly hold the ukulele, which was pretty easy. Next, I learned a few basic chords, 5 to be exact: the C-chord, A-chord, Am-chord, G-chord, and the F-chord. This was pretty challenging at first, trying to remember the finger placements, without drooping the ukulele. I kept having to correct my hand posture, and I still struggle a bit with this. Next, I practiced transitioning from chords slowly. This was definitely a bit of a tongue twister for me. I kept going slow, but as I tried to speed it up my fingers would get all jumbled. I do believe I am slowly getting better with my transitions the more I play, though. After this, I decided that I should probably learn the notes on the ukulele! I watched a few videos, but I think what was most helpful was this:
(https://ukuleletricks.com/musical-notes-ukulele-frets-piano-keys/)
This website was extremely helpful to my learning of which notes correspond to which finger placement. Having a visual is something that really helps me when learning, as I always learn better through images or videos.
I think that the hardest part about learning the ukulele for me is transitioning from one chord or finger placement to the next. Seeing as how I have never played a string instrument, playing the ukulele has definitely had its challenges. That being said, I do like a challenge. If playing the ukulele wasn’t hard for me, then I wouldn’t be learning anything new!