GUITAR PLAYERS CAN PLAY UKE, AUTOMATICALLY

Maybe it’s obvious to some people but I thought it was worth mentioning, since we’ve been in a ukulele revival for over 15 years: If you play guitar, you can play uke. It uses all the same chord shapes, only they are pitched higher and have different names. That’s why George Harrison, a devoted uke fan, carried several ukuleles around in his car to start impromptu jams with his guitar playing friends – even if they’d never touched a uke before. And if you’re a uke player who doesn’t play guitar, you have a great head start as a guitar player but that’s a subject for another blog entry.

The first time uke had a popularity surge was the 1920s, when it was a necessary accessory for every pop singer or young person. There was another lesser surge in the 1950s, when radio and TV star Arthur Godfrey popularized inexpensive plastic ukes. This wave far surpasses those. There are uke clubs and festivals all over the world, the strumming uke is heard in movies, commercials, pop music and TV shows, and guess what accounts for 30% or more of retail business in music stores all over the US and beyond?

How this happened is an interesting story for another time. My goal here is to encourage guitar players to make the ukulele welcome in their home and in their life. I’ve heard that some people think learning a second instrument will confuse them. I think the opposite: the more instruments you play, the more you start to understand and appreciate music in general. And if you need some reasons to expand your repertoire, consider this:

The uke is inexpensive (you can get a decent starter for $50 or less); it’s portable (throw it in the back seat on a trip or, bikers, strap it to your back); it’s easier to  play than guitar because it has only 4 strings; it’s easier for kids to play because it’s their size (honestly, if you have children, a uke in the home is a necessity, it’s the ultimate kid-friendly instrument); and if you join a uke club you’ll find uke strummers are very friendly and supportive…not as competitive as guitar players! Bonus: you can buy a plastic uke and play it underwater!

GUITAR PLAYERS: HERE’S HOW TO CONVERT TO UKE

The ukulele tuning is the same as guitar if you put a capo on the guitar’s 5^th fret and tuned the 4^th (D) string an octave higher. So you can play all your guitar chords and licks on the uke, and they are pitched up a fourth. Here’s two ways to look at it:

1)    You’re a guitar player holding a uke for the first time. Somebody says “play a G chord.” You have to think “what’s a fifth above G?” The answer is D, so you play a D chord shape:

D on guitar                   G on uke

         

                       

If you want to play a Dm, think “what’s a fifth above D?” The answer is A, so you play an Am chord shape:

   Am on guitar            Dm on uke

      

                    

Two more examples: “Play a C chord on the uke.” G is a fifth above C, so play a G guitar shape. “Play an F on the uke.” What’s a fifth above F? C! So play a guitar C shape.

G on guitar                 C on uke                       

       

 C on guitar               F on uke

                                                                                                           

If you don’t know what “a fifth above” means, the circle of fifths chart will help:

The way this chart is set up, you move clockwise to go up a fifth. G is a fifth above C, D is a fifth above G, and so on. So, if you have one of these charts stuck to your uke,* you consult it when somebody says “play a Dm chord,” and you see that A is one step clockwise to D, so you play an Am guitar shape. That’s a Dm on the uke.

2)    Here’s another way to look at it: if you play a guitar chord on uke and you want to know what it’s called, you “think up a fourth,” which is one step counter-clockwise on the circle of fifths. Say you’re playing a guitarist’s F-shaped chord. One step counter clockwise from F is Bb, so that guitar F-shape is a Bb chord on the uke.

F on guitar                   Bb on uke

                     

Get a uke and try the above conversion methods. Ukuleles come in three sizes. From littlest to bigger: soprano, concert and tenor. Choose the size that matches the size of your hands. I have big hands and fat fingers so I play a tenor uke. Join the uke revolution…Do it this week!

Fred

* If you didn’t see my previous blog entry about the circle of fifths, you can go to my website (http://www.sokolowmusic.com/instructional/general) and buy a vinyl circle of fifths that sticks on your uke without glue; it’s a vinyl cling. When you order one, you get a four page explanation of how to use it, with extra music theory thrown in.