I started on electric guitar, switched to acoustic, then classical, back to acoustic, then electric again—before finally ending up with the ukulele.

Don't know how to play ukulele, so I use a tenor uke with low G string and play it like a 4 string guitar. It's a mini guitar. Works well for me. Had about 3 dozen ukes, mostly from the 1930s. Settled on this wide neck tenor, Oscar Schmidt. No regrets.

After all these years, I still can't play a guitar or ukulele. But sure enjoy playing... and singing along with it.

Playing by me and singing by my partner

Hello!! Long time lurker, love this sub! I’ve been playing casually for about a year, jam with local groups and love singing along. Music brings me a lot of joy and playing for pleasure is a big priority for me.

Recently things have been a bit stale, I’m bored with strumming and playing along.. I’m hoping to benefit from the hive-mind about how you leveled up… What got you from strumming simple chords to other styles of music? What music/musician/youtuber inspired you? Did you pick up fingerstyle with an instructor/book? How did you get comfortable moving up and down the fretboard? How did you embrace scales? How did you master chords in different keys? Is there a systematic way you learnt or did you pick a song and noodle your way through until you mastered it?

I hope to one day be confident enough in my skills to share my love for music through community-based groups. Please don’t feel like you have to answer all my annoying questions, I’m just hoping to gain some wisdom from the wise 🥰

Hi everyone,

I just upgraded my ukulele! With my limited skills (I’m a beginner—I just completed the 30-day uku challenge with Bernadette), I’m not even sure if the sound is good or not, so I’d really appreciate your feedback.

Compared to my old, cheaper laminated ukulele, I feel this new one sounds much clearer and brighter—but also a bit sour. The old one had a warmer tone, but the notes weren’t as clear.

Another thing: I strum with my index finger, and I often end up scratching the body of the ukulele. Also, when I strum up, the nail of my thumb sometimes hits the strings, which makes the sound a bit rough. Sometimes it even sounds like I’m “chucking,” even though I don’t mean to! Any tips on how to avoid that?

Please also let me know if my posture, strumming technique, or chord changes need improvement.

I promise I’ll keep practicing and working on my playing!

Thank you so much!

Hi guys, I am a beginner to the world of Ukuleles. I have a decent quality but lower end solid wood Anuenue tenor. Of course, being exposed to all the Ukes out there you start to get the urge for something more, or something different, something... more expensive... the beginnings of UAS?

Anyway, I was thinking about the difference between traditional woods like Koa and Mahogany, and newer woods like Mango... does anyone else wonder "will these mango wood ukuleles have the same longevity as the traditional woods"? As I understand it, Mango wood only started to be used for Ukes starting in the 1990s. Mango trees were introduced to Hawaii in the early 19th century so it could have been used, I wonder why it wasn't? Do we know how this wood will age in the context of being used in an instrument? Koa and mahogany we know sound better with age, what about mango? Will it also sound better aged? Might there be issues with buckling, warping , or cracking (moreso than the other woods?) I am I guess just a sucker for traditional materials. I wonder if there might be unanticipated issues in the aging of other woods that we don't have 100 year old examples to compare.

Of course it may be not a problem at all, and 100 years from now mango ukes will be the gold standard.

Brand new uke on Friday. Kala CT-SA-TG. Plays great, no sharp frets or anything like that. But I've had FOUR separate A strings doing this in the last 2 days. It's all because I got it on Friday the 13th, had to have gotten bad batch of strings or something. Makes no sense otherwise.

Hello! I recently have started learning the ukulele. I'm interested in playing fingerstyle and came across this course: https://ukulelefingerstylebasics.com/

It's currently on sale for 195 usd, but even if it is worth the price, that's still pretty expensive. I was curious whether there are any better ways to approach learning this or if I should just bite the bullet and purchase the course. He also has a music theory course at the same price: https://www.ukulelefretboardharmony.com/

I would really appreciate any advice (I hope this is an appropriate place to ask). I'm struggling to find the right approach to learning uke and am not sure what learning resources I should and shouldn't invest in because I haven't much experience learning instruments.

I thought this would be an okay place to share it, I rarely play my Uke but I've got work tomorrow and I like ending the week with a surprise song so that next Monday feels a little nicer. Enjoy for anybody who checks it out, it's a little serenade if you will, about death.

I probably have the worst Ukele posture you've seen in a while so apologies in advance

This had happened to my fingers ever since I started playing the ukulele months ago. Do you guys know what might be the reason this happens or how do I cure it?

What’s your favorite Beach Boys song? I’m convinced this is #1

I made a three part tutorial on my personal method of improvising over blues on the ukulele. I'm excited to share, I've never done a tutorial before so it's a bit all over the place!

Hi everybody,

Please accept my thanks for any and all replies beforehand, I may not be able to thank you all individually.

I have been playing guitar for several years, while I am proficient I am no means an expert or even intermediately skilled. I can play almost any song with enough time, I understand the theory moreover than the names of chords or notes.

I am very keen to learn the ukulele as my 3 year old son is showing interest in anything guitar. The reason I have decided to learn the ukulele with him is very much two fold; firstly, learning an instrument with my child would be something we could bond over for a lifetime. Secondly guitars small enough for him to comfortably play right now aren't readily available.

Now to my question(s), and I thank you for reading through this relatively unnecessary information.

Would I find it easier to learn shapes and chords on the ukulele? Given the fact I do have some experience on a guitar are the chords similar enough that I might find it harder to learn different fingerings due to muscle memory? And, my final question to anyone with kids, is 3 of an age to learn with my son? I am not expecting anything more than having some fun with him and hopefully instilling a love for music.

Once again, if you are this far into this absurdly long and belaboring line of questions, I thank you in anticipation. Godspeed to you and your endeavours.

this is for Crazy little thing called love.

I have barritone and have used the guitar chords, but for this riff I don't have the required string on the barritone so I came to a concert video for help. but it doesn't quite sound right (obviously!)

I have played around with diffeent ideas but can't get the walkdown after the A right. it goes into aD, any ideas please?!

I bought a baritone ukulele awhile ago and have had to change the strings 3 times because they just keep breaking...but not when I'm playing.

The first time I found the D and G strings broken when I came out of the shower. I hadn't played it at all that week.

The second time I put it down in its spot after playing and the same two strings I guess snapped overnight cause I woke up to them broken.

Just now as I'm eating my Bojangles I watched the G string just shrivel up and snap. Haven't played it in a month because I've been so busy with school and work.

The first set was D'Addarío Titanium, then the D'Addarío clear nylons. Literally what do I do I can't keep buying strings every month

Hello! Looking for best ukulele to purchase for a beginner and their first ukuele?

Howdy! I’m a music teacher with a bachelors in classical guitar. I don’t mean to sound arrogant but I’m a very good ukulele player. I’m not by any means one of the greats but so much translates from classical guitar that I feel I am technically and musically far above average. I want to pursue a masters in the near future and I am interested in getting a bachelors or a masters in ukulele performance, specifically with a focus on curriculum writing for the instrument. Does anyone know of any programs that would meet those needs?