h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Ukulele Basics - A87758509
Author: RossyTheWorm - U14996671

I decided I'd write one as no one else had

I'd say a Ukelele makes sounds, which you can hear in the air, so your articles now cover Fire, Water and Air – just earth to go

I'm afraid I've never played the ukulele, so don't have a lot to contribute. You could consider linking to related articles such as:

A241057 - Ukuleles
A622568 - George Formby - the Entertainer

I'll also mention a couple of minor spelling things, if I may?
There should be a full stop after 'does exactly what it says on the tin'
Where you've written 'sound rubbish and just awkward' – you should have an 'are' in there.
Oh and "arent" where you've written 'no they arent guitars' should be "aren't".

Would you consider mentioning famous ukulele players that readers can aspire to become like, such as George Formby, Peter Sellers, Paul McCartney and George Harrison?

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haha any earth ideas for me? sure make all the spelling corrections you want, I shall make those corrections now

Before you can strum, you're going to have to tune your ukulele, and you haven't mentioned this at all.

The style's a bit folksy for me, but that's just personal taste.

Tuning aside, there are a couple of points I would make - first of all, plastic is a viable choice for an entry-level uke. My first uke was plastic and it served me well.

Also, in terms of actually playing the thing, have a go at giving some slightly more specific advice than you do here (basically 'go to this website and try it'). Even if this is just in terms of suggesting the basic chords a new player's really going to need and possibly a simple progression. By 'essential chords' I'd say C, F, G, G7, E7, D, A, Am, possibly Em - there are dozens (possibly hundreds) of songs you can play just using those, and none of them are especially difficult. The C-F-G-C progression is easy to play but very satisfying for a new player.

It might be worth to touch on some basic strumming patterns too, even if it's just the calypso strum.

Also, isn't the teeny-tiny uke called a sopranino, not a sopranio?

Thanks have made those changes in and added bit on other chords

I agree with Awix. There's no harm in providing extra information by including links to other sites, but you should not explain something as basic as playing chords by just providing a link and letting the reader go to that site. There's no guaranteeing they'll return to h2g2. The information they need should be here.

You could easily explain here how to play maybe six basic chords in the key of C and then provide a simple tune with the chords.

Turned out nice again....

I've been vaguely considering taking up the Ukelele, but I've got some doubts about how likely I am to actually put in the time needed to learn it. I'd love to be able to play (even badly) a musical instrument, but like a lot of people my age my experience learning the recorder at school was pretty grim and unsatisfying. Not to mention squeaky.

So I guess I'm in the target audience for this kind of entry. Here's what I'd like to know:

How realistic is it for someone to teach themselves, armed only with some books, a Uke, and the interweb?

How long will it take to learn the basics, on average, for people with different musical backgrounds and experiences?

Are there many local clubs to join? Is getting some tuition possible/worth it?

What's behind the upswing in interest? Is it true that the Ukelele has replaced or might replace the recorder as the 'entry level' musical instrument.

Are there different considerations for the left hander?

I shall add these into the entry as well. But:

As for learning from book and the internet, there are many good tutorials online the 3 sites i list down the bottom are very good the ukulele underground has some great tutorials , also i have the ukulele for dummies book and thats pretty good with pictures and a cd for added help. You can graps basics quickly i learnt london birdge is falling down and F.U.N off spongebob in my first 2 weeks and i learnt the piano for 5 years before i started one the uke, clubs can depend where you are, if there arent any nearby there are plenty of online communites. tuition could be worth it if you find learn off the internet and books hard. left handers...well im one but i find it easier to play as a righty (i know on the dark side ) but you can flip the strings over if that would make it easier to play left handed. um interest well i guess its becoming better known its smalland easy to carry my one goes camping with me and the basics can be grasped quickly. i guess

The Uke is mainly an instrument for accompanying singers. If you already sing, or if you have a friend who sings all the time and you want to accompany them, then it is a great instrument that you can learn quickly. If you don't sing yourself, and don't hang around with a singer, I think you'll find it unrewarding as an instrument, because it's not really designed for playing tunes on.

yeah thats true, you can learn some cool songs that dont require epic singing

I think we ought to organise a ukelele workshop with Rossy and Recumbentman. There seem to be enough people around who "thought of learning the ukelele". It's an affordable instrument and, as you say, easy to learn.

We should mention that there is a ukelele entry at the sub-editing stage at the moment: A87736486

The entry I have just mentioned is an update of A241057 but I can't tell if the update has been completed yet.

That update has been completed.

Haha you help organise and I'll participate

that looks cool, i saw the unedited but that cool. and ukulele workshop idea sounds coooooooool

I've been uking for about six months so all the issues are still quite fresh in my head.

My instant answers to Otto's questions are as follows - be interesting to see if they agree with other people's.

Self-tuition up to a point is relatively easy given the right books and net access. However the point in question is probably just strumming along to a vocal, or very (very) basic fingerpicking.

I came with no musical background whatsoever and figured out the basics very quickly - you don't need a lot of theory, just a desire to improve and time to practise.

Not sure about tuition - depends on where you live. Lots of clubs though - three in my area alone, and it's a nice easy and friendly environment to improve in.

The ukulele boom has linked to rise of the internet, primarily - at least that's the connection I've heard made time and time again. Ukes are replacing recorders in some schools - I find it easier to play.

Lefty considerations only arise if you're going to play lefty (ie strum left and fret right). That's how I play, tried the other way and it didn't work. Anyway, all it means is: If you buy online you may have to restring as soon as the instrument arrives (not a major issue and some stores may send you a lefty uke if you warn them in advance). You won't be able to borrow someone else's nicer uke for a test strum at a club. A bit of mental rejigging may be required when looking at chord charts, and you'll need lefty fretboard maps if you go down that route.

What form would this workshop take...?

im on the same line as you had mine since christmas just gone.

i dunno any ideas for that

Hello Rossy - I see that you added my name as a co-author of the article. While I am flattered by the gesture, as I cannot play a ukulele in this case I feel it wouldn't be appropriate for me to receive a credit.

But thanks again.

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yu huh sure i can do that