F Chord

The F Chord is another very common and easy to play chord.  To play "F" you put your first finger on the 2nd string in the 1st fret, and your middle finger on the 4th string in the 2nd fret.

"Frere Jacques" is a great song for learning the 'F' chord, because it is the only chord you need! ...

C Chord

The C chord is the easiest chord and is also one of the most commonly played chords.

All you need to do is place your ring finger on the 1st string, in the 3rd fret... You can play a few songs using only this chord. 

Play along with "Row Row Row your Boat"

In this YouTube clip, you can also learn how to play "Old MCDonald" using only the C Chord:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0piM1L3a9Rc

Have fun playing these two songs! 

Strumming

You can practise strumming your Ukulele without knowing any chords!  (If you hold the fingers of your fret hand lightly over all the strings it is much quieter).

Strumming a Ukulele is different than a guitar.  With a Ukulele you strum over the neck of the instrument, with a guitar you strum over the hole.  You can strum using your pointing finger, or your thumb, or both!

The two strums we will learn in our group is a "down, down, down..." strum, and a "down-up, down-up, down-up..." (think: "chinka, chinka, chinka").

Play this track to help you practise these two strums...

The Ukulele

Did you know that the proper way to say Ukulele is "oo-koo-lay-lay" ... there's no 'y' sound at the beginning!  The Ukulele was first made in Hawaii more than 130 years ago.  It was based on an instrument from Portugal called a "machete de braga." 

The Soprano Ukulele that we will be playing in our group has these parts: