Things You'll Need:
- Ukulele
- Sheet music, chord charts and books
- Lesson fees (optional)
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Step 1
Listen to a variety of ukulele music to familiarize yourself with the different tones, melodies and rhythms it's capable of. Popular choices are albums by Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole, a Hawaiian vocalist and ukulele player. He's most famous for his "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" medley, which highlights his superior skill with the instrument.
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Step 2
Review the components of the ukulele, which belongs to the guitar family of instruments. It's usually made of wood and comes in four different sizes: soprano (the most common), concert, tenor and baritone. Ukuleles have four to eight strings--depending on the type--that the player plucks and strums to produce music.
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Step 3
Decide how you want to learn to play: by yourself, online or in person with a professional instructor. Most people use music teachers, since their advice and feedback is instrumental to effective learning. The only real benefit to flying solo is saving money on lessons, and online instruction is a relatively new phenomenon and not enough is known about its results.
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Step 4
Learn the fundamentals of reading music such as note values, rhythms and chords in order to play effectively. While the ukulele part is written above the traditional music line in the tabulature (similar to guitar music), you'll need to understand other musical concepts if you want to play with other instrumentalists or accompany vocalists.
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Step 5
Practice and memorize ukulele pieces starting from the very simple to the more complex after you've mastered the fingering patterns. If you have trouble with a particular part of a song, practice that section repeatedly until you get the hang of it.
