Beginners FAQs

Here we offer answers to a number of the questions often asked by beginners on our Facebook group page.

Q: Why can't I sing and play at the same time?
Q: High G or Low G?
Q: What chords should I learn first?
Q: My fingers are hurting. Should I get a pick / finger protectors?
Q: What sort of ukulele should I buy?
Q: How should I strum my ukulele?

Q: Why can't I sing and play at the same time?

A: Most of us have this problem when we start playing and even experienced players sometimes get this when learning a new strum pattern or chord sequence. The answer is to learn to play the pattern first (without singing), even if it's only a "down down down..." pattern. You should start playing it slowly, speeding up as you get better. Keep practising the pattern until you can play it at full speed without thinking, til you can play it in your sleep. Once you've trained the "muscle memory" it becomes automatic and you can easily add the singing.

Q: High G or Low G?

A: The standard tuning on the ukulele is GCEA (there are other less common tunings) with the bottom string (the G string) tuned an octave higher than you might expect, coming just a single note below the A string. This is known as "re-entrant" tuning and is sometimes referred to as "high G tuning". This tuning has the effect of keeping all the notes played in a chord very close together musically and gives the ukulele it's unique sound. The alternative is to have a low G string where the string is tuned to the G a perfect fourth (three notes) below the C string which gives more bass elements to the chord and can provide a more mellow sound.

When playing chords on the ukulele, you use the same finger positions regardless of whether you have a high G or a low G. However, if you are playing tabs, you might have a problem with a low G as many (but not all) tabs are written specifically for ukes with a high G string. Players who like to play melody lines often like a low G as it means that they can play notes up to around half an octave lower than they would be able to play on a high G ukulele.

Whether you have a high G or a low G is totally a matter of personal choice. Most ukuleles are sold with high G tuning, but you can easily buy a single low G string from music shops or from Amazon, or if you are completely restringing your uke you can buy a complete set of strings with a low G included.

Q: What chords should I learn first?

A: Don't worry about what chords you should learn first. Worry about what songs you should start out with. Find a few songs you like that have only a few simple chords and learn to play (and sing) the songs. Most song sheets have chord diagrams which show you where to put your fingers for the various chords. After learning the songs you will find that you start to know the chords without thinking about it, and the chords that you are learning this way will be the more common chords that are most useful to you. Keep practising until you can change from one chord to another without any hesitation in your playing.

Finding these simple songs is very easy. Just go to Google and put something like "3 chord ukulele songs" or "beginners songs for ukulele" into the search box. You will get pages of links to some very good sites with hundreds of songs to choose from.

If you do insist on learning chords first, probably the most common three are C, F and G (or G7).

Q: My fingers are hurting. Should I get a pick / finger protectors?

A: Having your fingers hurt when you first start playing a string instrument is normal as your fingers get used to holding down strings or strumming them. To overcome this, when your fingers start hurting, put your uke down and come back to it tomorrow. You'll find that your fingers pretty soon stop hurting.

Some people overcome this by using finger protectors (like little rubber thimbles) on their fretting fingers (normally the left hand) and using a pick (otherwise known as a plectrum) for strumming. We don't recommend either approach for a beginner.

Picks: Picks are fine in their place. It depends on your style of playing. For beginners, using a pick to strum chords is not recommended, partly because the pick will produce a harsher sound and partly because the increased volume you produce will likely drown out other players you're playing with. Picks are also difficult if you are going to play finger-style in which you might well be plucking strings with more than one finger.

Finger protectors: I have only ever known one person use these, and they only used them for a couple of days before they gave up. When you're holding down the strings, to get a clear sound you need to be putting your finger down close to the fret. With finger protectors you can't feel if you are in the right place. Add this to the possibilities of the finger protectors moving around on your finger while you're playing, and the annoyance of having to keep them safe and find them when you're going to play, and they're just too much trouble.

Q: What sort of ukulele should I buy?

A: There's no hard and fast answer to this question. What suits one person will not suit another and you should always try and get to a ukulele shop that has a range of instruments that you can try out and find the one that suits you the best. Remember that looking beautiful may be important to you, but it's not the only factor to consider. A good ukulele shop can also provide advice and answer questions.

Firstly, there's the size. The majority of ukes fall into one of three standard sizes, soprano (the smallest), concert, and tenor (the largest). There are also smaller sizes like the sopranino and the baritone uke but they are less common. The larger ukes will generally produce more sound and may well have a better tone due to the increased size of the soundbox. If you are just starting out, and you have big hands and "sausage fingers" you might find the soprano feels too small.

Then there's the question of what type of wood should it be made of. What's important here is what the top is made of. That's the front of the uke, the part with the sound hole in it. This is important because this is the part that vibrates to produce the sound and tone of the uke. It's generally reckoned that a solid wood is better than a laminate (plywood) top for this purpose, but there is variation from one make or model to another. As a rule of thumb - but not always true - a dark wood like a mahogany will produce a more mellow tone while a light wood like cedar will produce a brighter tone.

Some people also need a ukulele that can be played through an amplifier. Normally this should not be necessary unless you're playing a fair sized gig, and if you try playing your uke through an amplifier with other people playing ukes that are not amplified you won't be very popular when you drown everyone else out. If you do want to play amplified you will need a uke with a pickup - an electro-acoustic ukulele. These usually have a piezo pickup installed under the bridge and a 1/4 inch jack socket on the side and frequently a little control panel on the upper side of the uke.

If you are left handed, the choice of ukes is rather more restricted. If you can't get a left handed uke, it is possible to just reverse the strings on most ukes although this may require minor modifications to the nut and the saddle. You local ukulele shop can advise on this.

Most of the better ukuleles will come fitted with Aquila Nylgut strings. These are pretty good general purpose strings but some people have their own preferences for other strings. For instance flourocarbon strings, such as those made by Worth, will generally produce a brighter sound and many people prefer Living Water strings. Bear in mind though that just because the advert says the uke comes with Aquila strings and maybe even has a label attached to the headstock saying it's fitted with Aquila strings, doesn't mean to say that it is. See also our FAQ No 2 on the question of Low G and High G strings.

For more in-depth information see the article "Selecting a Ukulele That Suits You" here

Q: How should I strum my ukulele?

A: As with all things ukulele, there's no right and wrong way to strum your ukulele. However... Most people strum their ukes with either the index finger or the middle finger of the strumming hand, using the back of the nail stroked across the strings for the down stroke, and the fleshy part of the finger for the up stroke. George Formby, for instance, would usually use his index finger, with his thumb up against the first joint on the finger for stability. Get your hand moving down and up in time with the music, making a down movement on each beat and bring it back up in between the beats, using your wrist rather than moving the whole of your arm. Maintaining this down up action consistently is important.

While your hand is moving down and up, you have the choice of whether to let your finger touch the strings (and make a sound) or not touch the strings. If you play the strings on every down movement and every up movement, you get a "down up down up down up down up" pattern which is usually written down as "DUDUDUDU".

You can vary the rhythm and make your playing sound more interesting by varying when your fingers touch the strings and when they don't. For instance, a common strum pattern is generally know as the "calypso" rhythm and is written down as "D DU UDU". With this rhythm, on the first beat you play the down stroke but on the up stroke you don't touch the strings. On the second stroke you play both the down and the up strokes. On the third beat you don't play on the down stroke but you do play on the up stroke. On the fourth beat, you play both the down and up strokes. You should now be able to see why it's so important that your hand keeps moving down and up with the beat whether or not you are actually playing the chord on that movement.

Sometimes you can make the rhythm sound even more interesting by playing a two bar pattern. A common two bar rhythm is "D DU UDU" followed by "D DUDUDU"