In standard tuning the strings of the ukulele are tuned to the notes G, , E and A. “G” is the top string; that is, when you hold the ukulele to play, it’s the one closest to your nose and the A string is the one closest to your toes.

The ukulele tuning is known as “re-entrant”, meaning that instead of lower to higher notes like a guitar, the G string is tuned higher than it’s neighbor. In this way, a uke is similar to a banjo!

It’s useful to have a tuner, either attached to the instrument or downloaded on to your phone. Tuners are not expensive; prices range from $5 to $15 for a “clamp on” type tuner (like the Snark-brand tuner shown here). You can download a tuner app- there are dozens to choose from- for free! In the case of either the app or the physical tuner, they work roughly the same. The tuner will recognize when the target tone is close to the value you are looking for. It will give you a visible indication that your tuning is proper. When you are flat (meaning the string needs to be tightened to make the sound higher) the indication will be to the left of center. If the string is sharp, or tuned too high, the […]

Download the strums! PDF

Counting- musically speaking- is harder for some folks than others, for sure. You hear the term “natural rhythm” and what that really refers to is a person’s innate ability to count, if you get right down to it. Some people have more natural rhythmic ability that others but anybody can improve their ability to count a rhythm!

Tap Your Foot

It amazes me how often students have to be reminded to tap their foot while playing. When you play guitar, you play with your whole body, right? Your hands, your head, your heart and your feet are- or should be- engaged. Tapping your foot while playing is a simple way to start thinking (and playing) more rhythmically.

Consider tapping and hand or foot to music any time you can! In the car (please be safe), while you’re watching Netflix (a great exercise, tapping to the rhythm of commercial music) and really, any time you hear any music. Try to find the beat!

Find Rhythms in the world

There are there natural rhythms you can count to as well. This may seem a bit weird but for example, let’s say you are in the airport, strolling towards your gate. Your walking pace has a natural rhythm to it and you can start counting 1/2/3/4 in your head as you […]

Want to play better guitar?

It might seem odd, but you can play better guitar by thinking about movies. Let’s step away from music for a minute and consider the “Kuleshov Effect”:

Film theorist and director Lev Kuleshov—who helped create the first ever film school—often had his students re-edit D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation to learn how meaning was created. Kuleshov and his people even went so far as to re-edit pre-revolution Russian films in order to rid them of the “bourgeoisie” messages of the past. As a result, Kuleshov developed one of the most important concepts in montage theory; this came to be known as the “Kuleshov effect.” Kuleshov cut together several identical shots of an actor named Ivan Mozzhukhin with different shots including those of a bowl of soup, a dead child, and a beautiful woman. Although the shot of Ivan is the same, over and over, his expression seems to change because of the image following it.

This proved to Kuleshov that in cinema, it is the way images relate to each other that creates meaning—not the images themselves. This concept is one of the most important pillars of filmmaking. It is very natural for audiences to relate two sequential images to each other to create anything from an ideological meaning to even […]