(#8) Jayme Learns to Play the Ukulele

I bought a ukulele last year on a whim. I like that it was small, seemed easy to hold chords on, and safe around kids.

I used to play guitar, in what seems like a lifetime ago. I always thought it would be fun to play guitar to my own kids one day the way my father used to play guitar for me.

When I was sixteen, I thought I'd try it out while babysitting two toddlers. They sat on either side of me as I began to strum. Then one started pulling on my earring, and when I turned to tell him to stop, I whacked the head of the kid on the other side of me with the neck of the guitar. Music fun time quickly came to an end, an ice pack was made, and I immediately began composing my "I'm sorry I gave your child a head-injury" speech for the parents.

Anyway, the ukulele seemed like something I could play without inflicting head injuries on Ellie. And apparently ukuleles are having a moment among teenagers. Here in Newfoundland the high schoolers have the most adorable ukulele choir made up of these fantastically talented girls. Ukuleles are sold out at my local music store, and the music teachers in town have quite a few uke students. Who knew a Hawaiian instrument would be popular so far up north?

I bought the ukulele already imagining myself writing Ellie little songs, daydreaming about becoming the next Renee and Jeremy, and then I hung it on the wall and I haven't touched it since.

Like my running posts, these ukulele posts will be updated monthly, because I am not a musical genius like Mr. Vardy, and I cannot teach myself the ins and outs of the ukulele in one afternoon (how cool would that be though?).

So I thought I'd show you the lessons I'm working with through Youtube, and then post an inspiration piece that I'd love to be able to play one day at the end.

If you have no interest whatsoever in learning to play the ukulele, just scroll to the bottom. :)

So first I learned how to tune my ukulele using this video.




Much easier than tuning a guitar!

Then I decided to practice some basic chords.

I found this video to be helpful.




Now for some inspiration.

Here is an awesome kid, Orla Gartland, rockin' out on her ukulele. She has a gorgeous voice.