#Ukulele fingerstyle how to
#Ukulele fingerstyle full

#Ukulele fingerstyle full

Some of these contain both full arrangements and вЂњone note at a timeвЂќ versions so you might have to scroll down to find some of them. Or if youвЂ™re practicing your fingerpicking you can use the thumb and two finger picking method. If you want to keep it simple you can pick them all with just your thumb. These are a good place to start reading tab and playing them. вЂ“ The easiest ways to improve your ukulele playing. When you start tackling fingerpicking have a look at these fingerpicking patterns and familiarise yourself with:ДЄ couple more tutorials you might find helpful for solo playing: But you donвЂ™t have to read them all before getting started.

#Ukulele fingerstyle how to

IвЂ™ve written a nine part guide on how to read tab. This article originally appeared in the Winter 2015 issue of Ukulele magazine.As a companion to the вЂњSongs with Chords You KnowвЂќ post I thought IвЂ™d put together a list of posts for people just getting started learning fingerpicking, tabs and solo playing.

The thumb plays some of the melody notes, but it still plays every downbeat, four beats per measure.

Sometimes the alternating thumb goes down to the second string.

Here are a few highlights of the following arrangement below: YouвЂ™ll likely agree that this type of fingerpicking suits the uke well. вЂњCareless LoveвЂќ is a popular folk blues youвЂ™ll find dozens (maybe hundreds) of versions on YouTube by blues, jazz, rock, country, folk, and pop singers. HereвЂ™s one more example of alternating thumb-style fingerpicking. This version of the same tune adds syncopation and some slides, hammer-ons, and other touches that make it swing. When you start placing occasional melody notes between the thumb notes, things get rhythmically interesting. If the previous version of вЂњStagoleeвЂќ sounds a little stiff, thatвЂ™s because thereвЂ™s no syncopation all the melody notes coincide with the thumb notes. How hard can it be? There are only 12 bars to this tune! Example 4: вЂStagoleeвЂ™ Solo with Syncopation ItвЂ™s like building a house, one brick at a time.

Loop the first two bars, playing them over and over.ДЄdd the third bar, and so on.

Once youвЂ™ve mastered that bar, do the same with the second bar.

Play the first measure of вЂњStagoleeвЂќ over and over, slowly, until it flows evenly.

Most beginners to this style find that picking melody notes throws the thumb off track. The pattern you used to accompany вЂњStagoleeвЂќ disappears, except for the thumb notes. When you play fingerpicking solos, the thumb keeps playing those downbeats, relentlessly, while the fingers pick melody notes. Many pickers anchor their picking hand by placing the ring and little fingers on the ukeвЂ™s soundboard, just below the soundhole. As mentioned, the thumb notes are on all four downbeats of every bar. Use the indicated fingering: Thumb, index, thumb, middle finger. ItвЂ™s an old 12-bar blues, вЂњStagolee,вЂќ that has been recorded by countless blues, rock, R&B, and country artists.

HereвЂ™s an example of how to use this pattern to accompany a tune. The stems pointing down are picked by the thumb (вЂњpвЂќ).

In this type of music notation, the stems pointing up are the melody notes, played by the middle (marked as вЂњmвЂќ in the music examples) and index (вЂњiвЂќ) fingers. To get started, try a basic accompaniment pattern. Even though the uke doesnвЂ™t have вЂњbass stringsвЂќ like the guitarвЂ™s sixth and fifth strings, you can get the rhythmic feel of raggy blues by playing the downbeats with your thumb, alternating on the fourth and third, or fourth and second, strings. Those thumb beats provide a steady accompaniment, taking the place of a bass player and rhythm guitarist. Travis-style guitarists play alternating bass notes with their thumb, on all four downbeats of every measure, while playing melodies on the higher strings with their fingers. This type of picking made its way into pop, country, rock, and folk: Think of вЂњ Dust in the Wind,вЂќ вЂњ DonвЂ™t Think Twice, ItвЂ™s All Right,вЂќ вЂњ Going to California,вЂќ or the BeatlesвЂ™ вЂњ Julia.вЂќ Some people call it Travis picking, after the brilliant fingerpicking guitarist Merle Travis others call it вЂњraggy blues,вЂќ because it has a rhythm similar to ragtime piano. One popular guitar style I sometimes use on the uke is the alternating-thumb fingerpicking popularized by acoustic blues guitarists of the 1930s, like Mississippi John Hurt and Blind Blake. The result can be pleasing to the ear, and can even push the envelope for ukers, creating new styles and sounds in the process.Д¬heck out more blues ukulele lessons here Because the ukulele and guitar have so much in common, uke players like me, who started on guitar, are inclined to adapt their guitar skills to the uke.