How to Play Ukulele: A Simple Ukulele Guide for Beginners

Like most stringed instruments, the ukulele was developed to be played right-handed. This means that the player's left hand hovers above the fretboard, pressing down strings at different frets to form chord shapes and individual notes, while the right hand picks and strums. Most ukulele players use their fingers for this, but you can also use a pick, as you might with a steel-string acoustic guitar.

If you want to play left-handed, you'll reverse the roles for the left hand and right hand. You can take a standard ukulele and simply re-string it for left-handed playing, but if you're serious about playing lefty, it's best to buy a new ukulele that was specifically designed for left-handed playing. Because playing the ukulele does not require physical strength in either hand, most lefties choose to play right-handed for the sake of convenience.

A beginner's first ukulele is typically a concert ukulele, often with nylon strings and a rosewood fingerboard. For a concert ukulele, G-C-E-A tuning (which produces a C6 chord) is the universal standard. This translates to the following on a concert ukulele:

• The fourth string: Tune this bottom string to G4. Typically, this string is called the G string. Some players call this string "low G," but it is actually the second-highest pitch of all the strings.
• The third string: Tune the next string up is to C4. Sometimes called the C string, the third string has the lowest pitch of the strings.
• The second string: Tune this string to E4. Also known as the E string, it has the second-lowest pitch of the strings.
• The first string: Tune this top string to A4. Called the A string, it has the highest pitch of the strings.

Be sure to invest in a clip-on digital tuner to make the tuning process easy.

A ukulele player may be called upon to play solo lines and melodies, but beginning ukulele players usually start with some basic ukulele chords. Once you master your major chords and minor chords—along with a few basic strumming patterns—you can start playing a wide array of popular songs. Below are a few basic chords you can play on the ukulele using only one or two fingers.

• C major: Use your third finger (ring finger) to fret the first string at the third fret. Leave the other strings open (unfretted). Strum all four strings for a C chord.
• A minor: Use your second finger (middle finger) to fret the fourth string at the second fret. Leave the other strings open. Strum all four strings for an A minor triad.
• F major: Use your first finger (index finger) to fret the second string at the first fret and your second finger to fret the fourth string at the second fret. Leave the other strings open. Strum all four strings for an F chord.
• A major: Use your first finger to fret the third string at the first fret and your second finger to fret the fourth string at the second fret. Leave the other strings open. Strum all four strings for an A major chord.

These are some particularly easy chords that can be great for your first time practicing ukulele. Once you get comfortable, you can graduate to more challenging chords, chord progressions, and easy songs.

You can strum a ukulele in one of two ways: with a pick or with your fingers. The two techniques produce notably different sounds.

• Ukulele fingerpicking: This technique produces a relatively muted, gentle sound. Fingerpicking allows players to rapidly jump strings when playing arpeggios (broken up chords). When strumming full chords, a ukulele player uses either the backs of their fingers (including the fingernails) or their thumb. The downside to fingerpicking is that it can be hard to advance beyond a few basic fingerpicking patterns without sustained practice, and the mellower tones that fingers produce aren't right for all ukulele songs.
• Ukulele picking: This technique involves using a small pick that is typically made of plastic or nylon. Using a pick enables you to play strum patterns you might associate with a guitar or mandolin. Picks also produce louder, brighter tones. They're great for rapid tremolo picking, but they don't work as well as fingers when it comes to skipping strings.

Establishing a good ukulele practice routine helps you build your skill. Use this step-by-step practice schedule to cover a wide range of skills on the ukulele.

1. 1. Start with stretching. Before you even warm up, you'll need to stretch the fingers on your left hand and, if desired, your right hand, too. Here's how: Extend your left arm all the way with your elbow straight, your palm facing outward, and your fingers pointed straight toward the ceiling. Reach out with your right hand and gently pull the tip of your index finger toward you. Go slowly to give it a good stretch. Hold the stretched position for 10 to 20 seconds. Now repeat this with your other fingers.
2. 2. Work on chord shapes and strumming patterns. Choose a single chord shape to hold with your left hand. With that ukulele chord in place, cycle through different strumming techniques. More advanced players can also work in some muting, which is a key component of many ukulele songs.
3. 3. Work on fingerpicking patterns. In addition to strumming, the best ukulele players are masters of fingerpicking. Much like a banjo player or acoustic guitarist, a ukulele player can lock into different chord shapes with their left hand and let their fingerpicking right hand provide rhythmic momentum and variety.
4. 4. Practice chord changes with a metronome. Create a chord progression that includes a mix of major chords and minor chords—and eventually even dominant seventh chords, diminished chords, and augmented chords. Include some of the most common ukulele chords—like C major, F major, G major, D major, D minor, E minor, and A minor—to build muscle memory. Use a metronome to keep the tempo, and speed up as you improve.
5. 5. Play some songs. You've now reached the point in your practice time where you can play through complete songs. You can follow chord charts from ukulele songbooks, or you can play along to recordings and try to learn the songs by ear.
6. 6. Work on a new ukulele song of your own. If you're the type of player who's looking to create original music, conclude your practice session with some songwriting. The best songs borrow ideas from established music while seeking ways to interject new ideas—whether melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, or structural.

Grab a MasterClass Annual Membership, stretch out those fingers, and get your strum on with a little help from the Jimi Hendrix of ‘ukulele, Jake Shimabukuro. With some pointers from this Billboard chart topper, you’ll be an expert on chords, tremolo, vibrato, and more in no time.