Music Theory for Ukulele: Master the Essential Knowledge with this Easy, Step-by-Step Method for Beginner to Intermediate Players

After more then 30 years of playing the drums, I really wanted to be able to play something that you could get a tune out of. I'd previously dabbled with the bass guitar and the harmonica, but to no avail. Then a few years ago, my sister bought me a Ukulele for Christmas. It was a modest soprano and two things quickly became apparent. One, I really liked (trying) to play the Uke, and two, a soprano fretboard was too small for my chunky and untutored fingers. A visit to the late, lamented Duke of Uke shop and I now have a very nice Tenor, which is a couple of sizes up and much more comfortable for me to play.Having had a few lessons (highly recommended if you're starting out - learning as a group helps enormously), I started to wonder about some of the theory behind the music I was trying to play.I'd already got a few books that contained chord diagrams and scales, but while they showed *what* the notes were, they didn't explain *how* they'd been arrived at. I was now curious about things like...Why are scales made up of certain notes, and how do you figure out what they are?How do you work out which notes are in a chord?What's all that I V IV VII stuff about?If a chord is made up of three notes, how can I be playing it on a four stringed instrument?All this, and more, really started to bug me. Many years ago, I'd bought a book on music theory and quite frankly it baffled me. But then a few months back I came across David's book, and the reviews suggested that it was intended for the novice, was Uke specific and most importantly, written in plain English!SIgn me up for some of that.Few things in this life live up to expectations - even fewer exceed them, but David's book definitely fits into that latter category. If you want to play the Uke and have even a passing interest in the music that you're creating, then treat yourself to a copy of this book. It will, in the aforementioned 'plain English', walk you through the basics in a way that even a musical dunce like me can understand.Take it slow, read each chapter a few times and then try answering the questions that David sets for you to check your understanding, and you'll be amazed at the progress that you make. It's light-hearted, easy to understand and you don't need any musical knowledge at all before you open the book.In my experience, by the time someone understands a subject well enough to teach someone else, they've forgotten what it's like to be a novice, and so make too many assumptions and leaps. David is clearly one of those talented few that knows his stuff, but still knows how to present it to those of us that don't.If you've got a Uke and you have any interest in music theory at all, buy this book.You will not regret it.

I'm learning to play the ukulele. I'm also trying to learn musical theory to understand why certain chords go together, how to play scales (and why), how to improvise, play along to my favourite songs, jam with others and create my own songs. This book is fantastic at explaining in simple terms how music works on the ukulele, but it would also be of great help to a player of any other instrument. I can't rate it highly enough. It's dense, and gets increasingly complex. When I feel that I've understood all the content in here, I'll get the next book. I recommended this book to a number of people in my ukulele club. A few have bought it. All agree that it's excellent.

Really learnt a lot from this book. Id been practising ukulele for about a year using YouTube videos and apps. Id learnt a lot of the chord shapes and names but couldn't find any theory lessons so I could understand what I was playing rather than just copying shapes. Saw it had been recommended by a ukulele YouTube channel so went and ordered the book. As an older novice I found it very easy to read, short chapters so its easy to understand and not boring (let's face it, it can be boring learning theory!). It explains the theory dude of things and also shows helpful charts and includes play along exercises. Would recommend.

This book has helped me understand my ukulele and it’s connection to other instruments, which makes the playing more enjoyable for me. I have been able to explain some of the theory to others which has, in particular, helped when playing with people who have differently strung / tuned string instruments.

Good easy way to learn a bit more about music theory.All in easy to understand terms.It was a good buy.

After playing guitar for 25 years I also picked up the ukulele a few years ago and have always known that one day I should start to learn music theory to understand the structure and the relationship with scales, chords, keys, etc. I considered the ukulele to be a simple way to get started because frustration and confusion can hinder me from attempting it. This book is written in such a friendly, helpful and enthusiastic way and the author has no interest in dragging the teaching out so that you have to buy more from him. He puts himself in the shoes of the beginner and it ends up being fun to learn. Highly recommended!

I am very impressed with this book. I have done an online course in learning to play the ukulele. I was still struggling with understanding chords and how they are made. This book explains it all in an easy to understand way.

For years I have found that musical theory text books are just a bit too dry or complicated for the mature beginner in music.Many people with no previous musical experience take up the uke at a more mature age, as the simple nature of the instrument gives a fairly straightforward access to what is a fantastic social opportunity.You can easily master the first 8 or 10 chords and off you go and have a great time at most clubs, just as we have.If you want to progress into understanding the structure of what you are playing, it is a very worthwhile thing to do and really enhances your playing.This is the book to use, as it directly refers to the instrument being played it gives relevance to the text.I wish I had found it earlier.

Understandable and very worthwhile.

Love this book! Excellent music theory book not only for ukulele but music theory for other instruments. Makes a lot of sense & easy to followand learn!

In a nutshell: I suspect this book won't be for everyone (although I believe it could be *understood* by anyone). It delves more deeply into concepts that are not technically *necessary* to pick up a ukulele and start playing using chord diagrams. However, if you are like me, and you like to learn by asking probing questions, this book presents music theory in a way that will teach you the ins and outs of things like chord progressions, not by having you simply memorize them or follow along a cheat sheet, but by helping you to build a chord progression from scratch--even if you are like me and have never even heard of a chord progression before now.I am just about 50 years old and I started playing the ukulele a month or so ago. I've been able to read sheet music since I was a kid from playing the flute and dabbling with the piano, and I had a very basic understanding of piano chords, but I have never played a stringed instrument before and I have no background at all in music theory. I started out with a beginner's book that was great for showing how to hold the uke, the basics of reading a chord diagram and strum pattern, and some very easy songs--within the first few days I could play Happy Birthday and Take Me Out to the Ballgame. However, I was pretty overwhelmed by the sheer number of chords, and I had no idea what the difference was between C major, C7, Cmajor7, etc.I have never learned well from rote memorization. Some people may be able to be told that 4x6=24 and just accept that it is, but I need to know *why* 4x6=24. I can't just be told, ok this is the fingering for a C major and this is a C7 because it just is. That was the downfall for most of the starter uke books I was seeing. I tried googling those things, but was mostly coming up with websites full of music theory that were over my head. I was beginning to despair that I was too old for this stuff to start making sense. Enter this book...I was hesitant at first because I was concerned it would be as over my head as the websites I tried, but it absolutely is *not*. Mr. Shipway does an excellent job of making basic music theory accessible even to someone starting out from scratch. With each chapter he builds on the lessons before, with simple quizzes at the end to help you gauge your understanding. I found myself flipping back and forth as I went forward, reinforcing what I had learned. I felt like a world of music was opening up to me--for example, I've done woodwind and piano scales before but always had the worst time remembering where the sharps and flats fit in for different keys; now I actually understand how a major or minor scale is built, making it so much easier to recall them. If I forget, I can reason it out myself instead of relying on rote memorization.It is important to note, this is not a songbook. The hands-on lessons are brief, and are used to give context to the overall chapter topic. It's also not a long book, so it is pretty much a jumping-off point to get you going. I got through it all in about 4 days--though I have since gone back to go over several chapters multiple times. However, I consider it an invaluable asset that gave me a vocabulary and a new way of looking at music that I know will serve as a strong basis for advancing. I truly do not think I'd be enjoying my uke nearly as much as I am now without it. I already have the sequel on the way. If you are the sort of person that considers yourself a life-long learner and you want a level of comprehension that goes beyond just looking at a chord diagram or a tab, you will not go wrong with this book. It was worth every penny.

Spitzen Titel für die absoluten Uke-Basics, die jeder kennen sollte - Skalen, Intervalle, Aufbau von Akkorden, Quintenzirkel. Super erklärt und mit kleinen Tests nach jeder Lektion. Die 11 Lektionen vertiefen jeweils einen Aspekt, das Buch ist in meinen Augen super strukturiert und überfordert nie.Das Englisch ist recht einfach und auch für nicht- Muttersprachler wirklich gut zu verstehen, alles ist außerdem mit erklärenden Abbildungen versehen. Topp! Auch der zweite Band ist toll!Ich kenne (leider) kein deutsches Buch, das auch nur in die Nähe von diesem kommt, ohne dabei extrem tief in die Harmonielehre einzusteigen, wie etwa Löfflers "Rock 6 Jazz Harmony" und was ja aber auch ungefähr 10x so dick ist...

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