This is a vintage guide to learning how to play the banjo and ukulele. It is aimed at players with little to no previous experience with the instruments, initially walking them through the very basics from holding the instrument to strumming and picking out their first notes. Also included are various easy-to-play songs, with both the musical score and tablature. Contents include: “Tuning”, “Holding the Instrument—Left Hand”, “Strumming”, “Fingering”, “Fingering Illustrated”, “Drink to Me Only”, “Early One Morning”, “Old Folks at Home”, “Roll Strokes”, “The Minstrel Boy”, “Ellie Rhee”, “Juanita”, “Believe me if all those Endearing Young Charms”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on the history of the ukulele and the banjo.

This book is the perfect introduction to the Ukulele for kids of all ages. With no sheet music to follow, kids can easily follow the clear and simple diagrams and photos to learn their first chords, play fun tunes and gain confidence playing their first uke! * Easy to follow instructions and illustrations * Simple exercises to follow and practice * Learn at their own pace * Fun and easy songs, chords and tunes to play * Simply follow the lessons in the book and kids will be playing ukulele in no time !

This is the ideal beginner's book, presenting the basics of playing the 5-string banjo is a way that is both fun and produces quick results. Janet Davis takes you on an extensive tour of this instrument's fundamental techniques as well as some intermediate possibilities including rolls, chords, bluegrass banjo techniques, playing up the neck, licks, endings, and other basic information needed to play bluegrass and melodic-style banjo. Thorough performance notes are provided from beginning to end revealing the secrets of this versatile traditional instrument.

Learn to play the ukulele and open up a brand new world of musical knowledge with this exciting method from Alfred. Beginners of all ages can start their journey to a lifetime of musical enjoyment. Beginning with the fundamentals, you will learn about the history of the ukulele, its components, how to hold and tune it, and getting acquainted with standard musical notation. You will then move right along to playing different notes, chords, scales, and songs, lesson by lesson, all while continuing to increase your ever-growing knowledge of reading and understanding standard musical notation and playing a variety of well-known songs. You will learn different strumming techniques to help you play in a variety of musical styles. The book also contains a section teaching you how to play by ear. Upon completion of the book, you will be able to play your favorite songs on the ukulele in any key and know how to read music. The book features the following resources for reference during and after your lessons: * Transposition chart * Dictionary of tablature techniques * Ukulele fingerboard chart * Complete ukulele chord dictionary This book teaches entirely in C tuning. The D tuning edition of Alfred’s Teach Yourself to Play Ukulele (item 14135) is available from your favorite music retailer and at Alfred.com. Be your own teacher, and let Alfred be your resource every step of the way.

A D-tuning method written by one of the greatest uke soloists of all time. This fine beginner's text teaches chords, melody playing, rhythm accompaniment, strumming strokes and techniques, and moveable chord forms. The songs appear as melodies in notation with lyrics and diagrams for both rhythm chords and melody/chord playing. Also included are chord exercises by key, a section on introductions and endings, and a section of chord diagrams in three positions.

Learn to play the ukulele with this beginner’s guide that features information about basic techniques, tools, and music knowledge. What do George Clooney, Zooey Deschanel, Ryan Gosling and James Franco all have in common? Answer: they all play the ukulele and now, with this easy step-by-step guide, you can too! With just this book and your ukulele in hand, you’ll learn basic music skills, how to care for your instrument, and how to play some simple tunes. Whether you’re looking to impress your friends with spontaneous singalongs, or just want to strum solo, How to Play Ukulele is the perfect entryway to the wonderful world of ukulele.

(Fretted). The Hal Leonard Ukulele Method is designed for anyone just learning to play ukulele. This comprehensive and easy-to-use beginner's guide by acclaimed performer and uke master Lil' Rev includes many fun songs of different styles to learn and play. The accompanying CD contains 46 tracks of songs for demonstration and play along. Includes: types of ukuleles, tuning, music reading, melody playing, chords, strumming, scales, tremolo, music notation and tablature, a variety of music styles, ukulele history and much more.

Take your ukulele playing to the next level - fast! - with hundreds of fun exercises, drills and practice tunes You have a ukulele, you know just enough to be dangerous, and now you're ready to do something with it. You're in luck: Ukulele Exercises For Dummies helps you become a better player. This practice-based book focuses on the skills that entry-level players often find challenging and provides tips, tricks and plenty of cool exercises that will have you creating music in no time that include: • Creating rock-steady strumming patterns and rhythms • Becoming a better fingerpicker with patterns, arpeggio exercises, and solo fingerpicking pieces • Expanding your fretboard knowledge and crafting your own rock, blues and jazz riffs and solos • Playing actual songs on the ukulele - everything from the classic ukulele tunes to the 12 bar blues! • Downloadable audio files of the exercises found in the book, providing you with a self-contained practice package No matter if you're a beginning ukulele player or you're wanting to stretch and improve your chops, Ukulele Exercises For Dummies puts you on your way to becoming a ukulele extraordinaire!

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.