uke playing after some success on guitar.

quincy451
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 12:25 am

I am curious. Neil picked up a uke after playing tons of guitar stuff and some other instruments. But what kind of chord changes might he have faced. I hear the struming parterns are basically the same but you use a different finger.

I know from personal experience years ago after some success on the guitar I tried a 5 string banjo. But after playing nylon string guitar I was in no way prepared for the hard steel strings of the banjo. In short never got off the ground with it.


AndyT
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:42 am

Uke is basicly a guitar capoed at 5.


Chasplaya
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Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:47 am

Personally never really been interested in a Uke, but might like to try a Mandolin one day


rclink
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Wed Sep 23, 2009 12:34 pm

The chords are significantly different and sometimes take some work to get those old "memory" fingers to go new places, but The brain is a mighty creation, and learning comes pretty easy if you stick with it!
Remember repetition is the mother of skill.


clydeortego
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Tue Sep 24, 2013 1:02 pm

Remember, most of the baritone ukulele chords are basically the same as the top four strings of a guitar and the fingering is the same also.

The only difference is that the G ,Em and E7 chords is one finger and the c chord is two fingers along with the E chord.


How do I know this you may ask, I own and play a Baritone Ukulele.

Thanks

Clyde Ortego :laugh:


michelew
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Location: Sydney, Australia
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Tue Sep 24, 2013 6:56 pm

Hey Quincy,

We haven't heard from you for a while.

The uke is a lot of fun. It's also a great instrument to take away travelling with you. It's pretty easy to learn enough so you can play a few sweet songs.

The nylon strings do make it easier on the fingers than steel stringed instruments. I also enjoy the more mellow tone of the nylon strings. I do find myself strumming more and in a more relaxed manner than when playing guitar. I just use my finger nails and often just the first two fingers and thumb.

You do have to learn new chord shapes of course, but it's really not hard, just repetition. Andy is right, if you capo a guitar at the fifth fret and just play the top four strings you have the same fretboard as a tenor, concert or soprano uke; tuning GCEA (except the G is generally an octave higher on most ukes). Because of this, you can use the chord shapes you already know once you realise that they sound a fourth higher (because they are played two and a half steps higher - since in effect the uke is a guitar capoed at the fifth fret). So a D chord on the guitar becomes a G on the uke and a G on the guitar becomes a C. Actually, there are lots of uke chord charts around and some good apps, so you just need to look up the chord you need and apply it.

In short, the uke is fun and you already know a heap of stuff from learning the guitar that you can apply to the uke.

Once you've gotten into this fun little instrument, I'd love to see you post a video.

BTW - there are some good and fun uke lessons available in the TG library. Pearly Shells by the UKulele Lady is a great one to start with, it's easy and fun. The chord shapes are on the chart.

Enjoy

Michele


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