Playing The Ukelele - Town Farm Primary School

TOWN FARM PRIMARY SCHOOL
MUSIC CLUB
HOW TO PLAY THE UKELELE
JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2015
OVER 8500 CHILDREN HAVE
LEARNED TO PLAY THE UKULELE
IN MUSIC CLASSES ACROSS
ENGLAND AND WALES IN THE
PAST FOUR YEARS! FROM POP TO
ROCK... THERE'S A LOT OF
MUSIC IN A UKULELE!!
IN THE TOWN FARM MUSIC
CLUB THIS TERM, WE WILL BE
PLAYING AND SINGING IN NO
TIME WHILE HAVING LOTS OF FUN WITH FRIENDS.
THE UKULELE IS "COOL" AGAIN!
Join the ukulele craze sweeping Canada,
the U.S. and now Great Britain,
An extremely popular string instrument,
made cool again by pop culture darlings,
Mr. Shuester (Glee), American Idol's
Jason Castro and Eddie Vedder of Pearl
Jam.
WHY IS THE UKULELE SO POPULAR
AGAIN?


easiest to learn and fastest growing
instrument in the world (Guinness Book of
World Records)
teaches theory, ear training and
musicianship





children can sing and play at the same time
great stepping stone to the guitar
comes in bright cheery colours
inexpensive and portable
simply fun!
Did you know that learning a musical instrument makes you
clever?
Our Basic Ukulele Lessons at Town Farm Primary cover a few simple
things that will be helpful to know, when you set out to learn a song
on the ukulele. Each of the lessons at the music club s build on the
more mechanical concepts that we started with, and if you find
yourself struggling with holding, tuning, or strumming your uke, you
may want to head back there for some review.
How to tune your ukulele.
Relax. Tuning isn't so difficult, despite how important it is. If you
are a complete beginner and don't know your A string from your nut,
you're in the right place. At Town Farm we have a uke tuner set up
that will allow you to teach your fingers and your ears to get your
ukulele in tune, before you have to think about which string is an "A".
You'll enjoy learning which string is an "A" much more, and it will
stick much better, once you've had a chance to hear how beautiful
your ukulele can sound, when it is in tune.
Now, before we get into more detail, let’s start playing!
Many people when beginning to learn the ukulele get overwhelmed by
the number of chords that can be played. They sometimes wonder
how many chords they have to learn before they can start playing
songs. The answer is just three.
It may surprise you to learn that there are a huge number of songs
you can play with just three chords. Some of the most popular and
famous songs in the world use only three chords. Songs such as Wild
Thing, Louie Louie and Johnnie B Goode all use the same basic three
chord pattern.
Understanding ukulele chords is vital when you begin learning to play
the ukulele. The uke is one of the easiest instruments to learn,
because the chords are much easier to hold than guitar chords. The
magic begins with the way you put these chords together to create
the notes you need to make the sound you desire.
How to Read the Chords
Ukulele players don't use standard sheet music. The uke has a
distinctive style of charts players use to compose their music.
This makes it vital to learn
how to read these charts
and use the chords
correctly when you first
learn to play.
Once you learn how to read
the charts, you will find
they are quite easy to use.
Chords are displayed in a
diagram form of the uke
fretboard as it would
appear when facing the
ukulele vertically.
This means that it looks
like a mini 3x4 grid. The vertical lines are the strings and the
horizontal lines are the squares of the fretboard.
How to Play A C Chord on the Ukulele
C is probably the first chord everyone learns on the ukulele. It's
very simple to play.
First, find the a string on your ukulele (hint:
it's the one nearest the floor). Press your ring
finger on the string just behind the third
metal bar on the neck of the ukulele (this is
known as the third fret). Try playing this
string by itself. Can you hear the note clearly?
If not, try adjusting your finger a little and
pressing down harder until you get a sound you are happy with.
Take the ring finger of your fretting hand a place it on the A string
(the one nearest the floor) at the third fret.
Strum all of the four strings. There you have
it, your first ukulele chord.
How to Play an F Chord on the Ukulele
The F chord is a little trickier since it
requires two fingers to play. Firstly, take your
index finger (or your pointer finger if you
prefer) and press down on the E string (that's
the second one up) at the first fret.
Next, take your middle finger and put it on
the G string (the one nearest your head) at
the second fret. You need to be very careful
here that the underside of your middle finger doesn't touch any of
the other strings. Make sure it's arched above them so that they
ring out clearly when you strum.
How to Play a G Chord on the Ukulele
The G chord is a little harder still. It
takes three fingers to play it.
First use your middle finger to hold
down the A string at the second fret.
Then take your index
finger and place it at the
second fret of the C
string (the third string
up). Finally, use your
middle finger on the third
fret of the E string.
Once you've got these three chords under your belt,
you'll be well on your way to mastering ukulele chords.
Changing Chords
It may have occurred to you that it is a little odd that when
you only need one finger to play the "C" chord, I am suggesting
that you use one of the weaker, less co-ordinated fingers, the
ring finger. The reason for this is simple - it allows you to
change to other chords much more easily. Often you will find
that playing a chord in a way that seems strange on it's own
makes a lot more sense in the context of changing to other
chords.
Try going back and forth from the "C" to the "F". See how, if
you use your ring finger to play the "C", none of your fingers
has to change positions to do the chord change - they just lift
up or set back down. That's much smoother and easier than
moving from one position to another.
Go back and forth between the "C" and the "F" for a minute or
two. Just to get the circuits in your brain accustomed to doing
that. Next we'll look at changes involving the "G7" chord.
How to play a G7 chord
This is definitely one of the coolest ukulele chords, and most
songs that we play will include at least one G7 chord.
Play G7 with your fingers in the
following positions:
 Index finger on the E-string at
the first fret.
 Middle finger on the C-string at
the second fret.
 Ring finger on the A-string at the second fret.
 The g-string is open.
Your hand should look something like the picture!
Ukulele nursery rhymes chords for parents with small
children!
Recently, a parent of one of our Town Farm children asked about
whether very young children like the ukulele, and what songs should
a parent play. Here at the school, we believe that singing nursery
rhymes to young children is a wonderful way for a parent to bond
with a child and is also great for those learning how to play the
ukulele. This of course does not mean to say that you need a ukulele
to do so (that is part of the beauty of the nursery rhyme, anyone
can sing them) but, if you already have a ukulele and are starting to
play it - then why not?
You see - Nursery Rhymes are, in their very nature, simple songs. As
such, if you are a beginner ukulele player, simple songs are perfect
to practice with. Simple strums, easy chords, well known tunes. Add
to that the fact that you probably know the words and you must me
on to a winner.
TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR
C
F
C
Twinkle, twinkle little star
F
C
G7
C
How I wonder what you are
C
G7
C
G7
Up a-bove the sky so bright
C
G7
C
G
Like a diamond in the night
C
F
C
Twinkle, twinkle little star
F
C
G7
C
are
How I wonder what you
LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN
C
G7
C
London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down,
C
G7
C
London bridge is falling down, my fair lady.
,,,
C
G7
C
Take a key and lock her up, Lock her up, Lock her up.
C
G7
C
Take a key and lock her up, My fair lady.
...
How will we build it up, . . .
Build it up with silver and gold, . . .
Gold and silver I have none, . . .
Build it up with needles and pins, . . .
Pins and needles bend and break, . . .
Build it up with wood and clay, . . .
Wood and clay will wash away, . . .
Build it up with stone so strong,_. . .
Stone so strong will last so long, . . .
HOT CROSS BUNS
C
Hot cross buns, hot cross buns
G7
One a penny, two a penny,
C
hot cross buns
...
C
If you have no daughters, Give them to your sons
G7
One a penny, Two a penny
C
Hot cross buns
MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB
C
Mary had a little lamb,
G7
C
little lamb, little lamb
C
Mary had a little lamb,
G7
C
It's fleece was white as snow
1.
HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW
C
G
How much is that doggie in the window?
G
G7
C
The one with the waggily tail.
C
G
How much is that doggie in the window?
G7
G
C
I do hope that doggie's for sale.
...
C
G
I must take a trip to Cali-fornia
G
G7
C
And leave my poor sweetheart at home.
C
G
If she has a doggie to pro-tect her
G7
G
C
The doggie will have a good home.
C
G
I don't want a bunny or a kitty.
G
G7
C
I don't want a parrot that talks.
C
G
I don't want a bowl of little fishies.
G7
G
C
You can't take a goldfish for a walk.
THE MUFFIN MAN
G7 C
Oh, Do you know the Muffin Man,
F
G7
The Muffin Man, the Muffin Man?
G7 C
Oh, Do you know the Muffin Man
F
G7
G
Who lives in Drury Lane?
....
G7 C
Oh, Yes, I know the Muffin Man,
F
G7
The Muffin Man, the Muffin Man?
G7 C
Oh, Yes, I know the Muffin Man
F
G7
C
Who lives in
Drury Lane?
OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM
D
G
D
A7
D
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!
D
G
D
A7
D
And on his farm he had some chicks, E-I-E-I-O!
D
D
With a cluck-cluck here, and a cluck-cluck there
D
D
D
Here a cluck, there a cluck, everywhere a cluck-cluck
D
G
D
A7
D
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!
And on his farm he had some
cows, (With a moo-moo here . . .)
ducks, (with a quack-quack here . . .)
pigs (oink-oink . . .)
etc., etc.
THIS OLD MAN (KNICK KNACK PADDY WHACK)
C
This old man, he played one,
F
G7
He played knick knack
with his thumb,
C
With a
Knick, knack, paddy whack,
C
G
Give the dog a bone;
G
G7
C
This old man came
rolling
home.
This old man, he played two, He played knick knack with my shoe
...
This old man, he played three, He played knick knack on my knee,
...
This old man, he played four, He played knick knack at my door,
...
This old man, he played five, He played knick knack, jazz and jive,
...
This old man, he played six, He played knick knack with his sticks,
...
This old man, he played seven, He played knick knack with his pen,
...
This old man, he played eight, He played knick knack on my gate,
...
BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP
C
G
Baa, baa, black sheep,
F
C
Have you any wool?
F
C
Yes sir, yes sir,
G
C
Three bags full.
C
G
One for the master,
F
C
One for the dame,
F
C
And one for the little boy
G
C
Who lives down the lane.