Changing Chords on the Ukulele: Three Tips

The biggest challenge beginner ukulele players face is getting their chord changes quick and smooth. Too often players’ strumming is halting whilst playing.

In this article we hope to help you overcome these problems and take your playing to the next level.

Tip 1: Slow Down

The biggest mistake most beginners make when learning the ukulele is trying to play too fast. Whenever you learn a new song, always start playing it at a snails pace. This will get your fingers used to making the changes.

If you’re playing too fast, you will make mistakes. And the more mistakes you make, the more your fingers will repeat that same pattern and continue to make mistakes.

Tip 2: Play Evenly

When you are strumming, make sure you strum slowly enough so that the chord changes fit between the strums and the music is smooth. At the beginning, this may mean you have to play exceptionally slowly. Don’t worry about it.

If you can play smoothly at a slow tempo, it doesn’t take much practice to increase the speed. Trying to do it at full speed from the off will always result in sloppy sounding playing.

Tip 3: Prepare for the Changes

When you’re playing a chord, think ahead to the chord you are about to change to. Are there any ways you can prepare for the change.

For example one very common change is from C (0003) to G (0232). Here, while you’re playing the C chord with your ring finger, you can also fret the A string at the second fret so it’s there ready when you need to change chords. That means you only have to worry about placing two fingers rather than three.

You can also get ready for the chord change by having your fingers just over the fret and string they will be playing. So, in the example of the C to G change, you could have your index finger just above the second fret of the C string.

Technorati Tags: entertainment, hobbies, Music, Musical Instruments, playing music