Top Ten Ukulele Tips For Beginners

You just got your first ukulele and you want to start the right way. Good. These are the ten tips I give every beginner, built from the things I got wrong when I started and a couple of personal ones the other lists leave out. Work through them in order and you will sound better and quit less.

Here are the ten tips, in the order I would tackle them:

1. Buy a ukulele that stays in tune.
2. Learn to hold it in a relaxed way.
3. Tune up every single time you play.
4. Learn a handful of basic chords first.
5. Work on steady, simple strumming.
6. Use UkuTabs chord diagrams to learn songs.
7. Practice slowly for clean chord changes.
8. Train your ears by playing along and recording yourself.
9. Build calluses with short daily finger drills.
10. Keep it fun and play a little most days.

There is a bonus eleventh tip on fingernails at the end too. Now here is each one in full.

1. Get a decent ukulele

Spend around $100 on your first ukulele so that it actually stays in tune. There are good options in that range, but below about $50 you can be fairly sure it will fight you. The main problem is that it won’t stay in tune.

I am speaking from experience. I once bought a $45 soprano that could not hold its E string in tune for a single strum, which is the fastest way to get discouraged. Have a look at my ukulele buying guide to find the right one for your budget and read what to know before you buy too. If you possibly can, try a few in a local shop before you decide.

2. Learn to hold it properly

A relaxed, balanced hold makes every chord ring cleaner and saves your hands. Sitting down, rest the body on your leg and let your strumming arm sit lightly on top, with the neck floating up in the air. Standing up, hold it against your chest and pin it gently with your strumming forearm.

It takes a little practice, but soon you will pick the uke up and play without fussing over position first. One quick thing: do not grip it too tightly, because the body needs to vibrate to sound good. There is a full walkthrough in my how to hold a ukulele guide. You probably do not need a strap to start, but if the uke slips or your fretting hand ends up doing the holding, a strap fixes that fast.

3. Tune up every single time

Tune before every session, without exception. A beginner ukulele drifts quickly and most “I sound bad” moments are really just “I am out of tune.” It is also the habit that trains your ear. Use the free UkuTabs tuner or a clip-on tuner, then check your strings before you play a single chord. My tuning guide covers standard gCEA tuning and how to keep it stable.

4. Start with the basic chords

Learn a handful of basic open chords first, the common majors and minors, because they unlock most beginner songs. Do not chase big fancy tabs on day one. Start small and build out from there. These four are the ones I would learn first:

You can look up the shape for any chord on the chord diagrams tool.

Once a few chords are under your fingers you will be playing whole songs without thinking twice. My basic chords guide is the place to start. If you want to understand why certain chords belong together, my ukulele keys guide lays it out.

5. Decent strumming makes all the difference

Steady, simple strumming will carry you further than any fancy pattern. At the start you will mostly do down and up strums, which is fine. Later you can add palm muting and a percussive chnk for that funky, groovy feel. I keep the full how-to in my ultimate strumming guide.

Wondering why strumming patterns are not posted alongside songs? It is a copyright thing. The MPA (Music Publishers Association) does not allow the rhythm and tempo of a song to be shared online, so I cannot post them even though I would love to. The bright side is that working a strum out by ear is one of the fastest ways to improve, so listen closely and feel the rhythm.

6. Use UkuTabs to learn songs

The easiest way to learn a song is to use a chart that shows you the chords as you go. Every song on UkuTabs displays the diagram for each chord it uses, so you never have to go hunting for shapes. Hover over a chord and its diagram pops up. You can also transpose the whole song into an easier key with one click using the selector on each song page. When you are ready, go play your first full song start to finish.

7. Play as slowly as you can

Play slowly enough that every note stays clean, then build up speed from there. Once your basic chords feel comfortable you can start switching between them, so practice that a lot with lots of different pairs. Accuracy matters far more than speed at this stage. The speed arrives on its own once the changes are clean. There are real tricks to get there faster in my faster chord changes guide. The same goes for tabs: aim for no buzzing, start with slow easy songs and gradually speed up.

8. Train your ears by playing along and recording yourself

The fastest way to develop feel is to listen hard, both to others and to yourself. Play along with ukulele videos or jam with a friend to soak up the groove, watching for tempo and rhythm. Then record yourself on your phone and listen back. I got that second half from UkuleleHunt and it is gold, because it is hard to play and really listen at the same time, so often just noticing the problem is enough to fix it.

9. Build calluses with finger exercises

Sore fingertips are completely normal when you start, your skin just has not toughened up yet. Keep playing and you will build calluses within a week or two, less painfully with nylon strings than steel ones. Short daily sessions build them faster than the occasional long one, so stop if it genuinely hurts and come back tomorrow. There is more on managing this in my guide to sore fingers and calluses.

Here is a simple drill I learned from Faye Hicks. Run through it a few times at the start of each session:

1. Pluck the first string open.
2. Press just behind the 1st fret with your index finger and pluck.
3. Add your middle finger on the 2nd fret and pluck, then your ring finger on the 3rd and pluck.
4. Add your pinkie on the 4th fret and pluck that note twice.
5. Climb back down the same way: ring finger, middle finger, index finger, then the open string again.
6. Move to the next string and run the whole pattern, working across all four.

It toughens your fingertips and limbers up both hands. Aim for ten to fifteen minutes a day rather than one marathon session. If you want a whole book of drills, “Ukulele Aerobics” by Chad Johnson and “Ukulele Exercises For Dummies” by Brett McQueen are both excellent.

10. Keep it fun and play a little most days

The beginners who stick with it are not the most talented, they are the ones who practice a little most days instead of a lot once a week. So protect the habit. Leave the ukulele out on a stand where you can grab it, then play something you enjoy at the end of every session. Some people call the uke a toy, but a real instrument that makes you smile is exactly the kind you keep picking up. Do not give up too early, because progress comes faster than you expect.

11. One bonus tip: mind your fingernails

Keep the nails on your fretting hand cut VERY short. It is essential for a clean sound, because you press the strings with the very tips of your fingers. On your strumming hand you can let them grow a little, especially if you are getting into fingerpicking.

Common questions

Need more input?

I hope these give you a real head start. Feel free to contact me whenever you need more information about getting started. When you are ready, go learn your first song.