Are you a beginner looking for a jumpstart?
January 2, 2017 10:31 PM Subscribe
However, as I traveled and taught workshops to more and more groups of ukulele players, I began to question the conventional “C, F and G7” approach to teaching beginners. More importantly, I began to find success using what I called “Chord Twins.” Eventually, this approach became the foundation of Booster Uke. The idea was simple: one shape, two chords. Ten online lessons from James Hill are available for free through January 31st.
(I have not yet gone through the videos myself yet, but it looks promising based on skimming the text summaries, and the paywall goes up at the end of the month. Also, Hill's giving a workshop on the subject in NYC this Friday, and I've just signed up for that.)
Bonus James Hill performance videos, if you have not seen his work:
Billie Jean
Playing with chopsticks and a comb
(I have not yet gone through the videos myself yet, but it looks promising based on skimming the text summaries, and the paywall goes up at the end of the month. Also, Hill's giving a workshop on the subject in NYC this Friday, and I've just signed up for that.)
Bonus James Hill performance videos, if you have not seen his work:
Billie Jean
Playing with chopsticks and a comb
I kind of appreciate the idea of starting with simple fingerings rather than musically basic chords, but at the same time I can't help but feel that starting off with C7 and F-frigging-add9 (from the second video, which introduces the concept of "chord twins") is kind of insane.
posted by The Horse You Rode In On at 11:14 PM on January 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The Horse You Rode In On at 11:14 PM on January 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
As an aside: I'm currently learning (kind of re-learning... long story) guitar, and I find that the best way to make progress to identify specific songs that I want to play and work towards them.
posted by The Horse You Rode In On at 11:18 PM on January 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by The Horse You Rode In On at 11:18 PM on January 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
Those bonus videos are awesome!
posted by greermahoney at 11:19 PM on January 2, 2017
posted by greermahoney at 11:19 PM on January 2, 2017
James Hill's method is based on a program originally created by J. Chalmers Doane used for teaching music skills to children called Ukelele in the Classroom.
posted by fairmettle at 11:53 PM on January 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by fairmettle at 11:53 PM on January 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
This is relevant to my interests...
Noodled my way through a couple lessons- a pleasant way to spend my morning!
posted by Bibliogeek at 2:56 AM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
Noodled my way through a couple lessons- a pleasant way to spend my morning!
posted by Bibliogeek at 2:56 AM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
Ooh, maybe I will finally restart my uke learning....
(easy, my ass, I tell you)
posted by Kitteh at 4:45 AM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
(easy, my ass, I tell you)
posted by Kitteh at 4:45 AM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
easy, my ass, I tell you
Well it only has 4 strings.
posted by thelonius at 5:29 AM on January 3, 2017
Well it only has 4 strings.
posted by thelonius at 5:29 AM on January 3, 2017
easy, my ass, I tell you
And you can play hundreds of songs with just those three beginning chords, or so they told me. I'm going to try to jump start my uke playing this year too. I didn't get much beyond those first three chords last year.
posted by COD at 5:31 AM on January 3, 2017
And you can play hundreds of songs with just those three beginning chords, or so they told me. I'm going to try to jump start my uke playing this year too. I didn't get much beyond those first three chords last year.
posted by COD at 5:31 AM on January 3, 2017
And if you're not a beginner, or if you are and you're just looking for something different, try clawhammer uke. The re-entrant tuning makes it work really well, and the driving rhythm makes it great for playing melodies unaccompanied or for singing.
And you can play hundreds of songs with just those three beginning chords, or so they told me
You can! Just transpose into C (or G) and you're laughing. Add Am and Em (Bm if you're playing in G) and you can play just about anything. Playing by ear is a skill that takes practice (a lot of practice), but it's immensely rewarding. Imagine being able to accompany any song somebody calls out so long as you're familiar with the melody (okay, almost any).
posted by uncleozzy at 5:43 AM on January 3, 2017 [4 favorites]
And you can play hundreds of songs with just those three beginning chords, or so they told me
You can! Just transpose into C (or G) and you're laughing. Add Am and Em (Bm if you're playing in G) and you can play just about anything. Playing by ear is a skill that takes practice (a lot of practice), but it's immensely rewarding. Imagine being able to accompany any song somebody calls out so long as you're familiar with the melody (okay, almost any).
posted by uncleozzy at 5:43 AM on January 3, 2017 [4 favorites]
James Hill's method is based on a program originally created by J. Chalmers Doane used for teaching music skills to children called Ukelele in the Classroom.
That's true of his Ukulele in the Classroom program, cocreated with Doane. AFAIK, the chord-twins thing is a different approach.
posted by Shmuel510 at 6:13 AM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
That's true of his Ukulele in the Classroom program, cocreated with Doane. AFAIK, the chord-twins thing is a different approach.
posted by Shmuel510 at 6:13 AM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Is there an equivalent to this 'chord-twins' method for guitar? I've been stuck at the 3 or 4-chord wall for decades.
I suppose I could actually just sit down for an hour and look for such pairings. But napping is easier.
posted by Artful Codger at 8:39 AM on January 3, 2017
I suppose I could actually just sit down for an hour and look for such pairings. But napping is easier.
posted by Artful Codger at 8:39 AM on January 3, 2017
Is there an equivalent to this 'chord-twins' method for guitar?
I can think of a couple of examples. E major (in the normal place you learn it) is the same shape as A minor, E minor is the same as A sus2, and I have noticed that a T-Bone Walker style 9th chord is the same shape as a diminished chord, just moved over one string. (like x-2-3-2-3-x is G9, x-x-2-3-2-3 is E dim (or G dim or Bb dim or C# dim)
posted by thelonius at 9:14 AM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
I can think of a couple of examples. E major (in the normal place you learn it) is the same shape as A minor, E minor is the same as A sus2, and I have noticed that a T-Bone Walker style 9th chord is the same shape as a diminished chord, just moved over one string. (like x-2-3-2-3-x is G9, x-x-2-3-2-3 is E dim (or G dim or Bb dim or C# dim)
posted by thelonius at 9:14 AM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Is there an equivalent to this 'chord-twins' method for guitar? I've been stuck at the 3 or 4-chord wall for decades.
Wel, Pat Martino has an interesting take where he breaks down the fretboard into augmented and diminished segments. It's fascinating, but practically no use to a beginner, I wouldn't think.
posted by sutt at 9:17 AM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Wel, Pat Martino has an interesting take where he breaks down the fretboard into augmented and diminished segments. It's fascinating, but practically no use to a beginner, I wouldn't think.
posted by sutt at 9:17 AM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Imagine being able to accompany any song somebody calls out so long as you're familiar with the melody (okay, almost any).
I wouldn't want to fake my way through the chord changes in Life On Mars, for example.
posted by hippybear at 9:44 AM on January 3, 2017
I wouldn't want to fake my way through the chord changes in Life On Mars, for example.
posted by hippybear at 9:44 AM on January 3, 2017
E7sus (0-2-0-2-0-0) and D6 (x-x-0-2-0-2) have the same shape and you can start learning "The Fool On The Hill" with your D6 chord, too
posted by thelonius at 9:51 AM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 9:51 AM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't want to fake my way through the chord changes in Life On Mars, for example.
Rick Wakeman did it
posted by thelonius at 9:51 AM on January 3, 2017
Rick Wakeman did it
posted by thelonius at 9:51 AM on January 3, 2017
Rick Wakeman did many things I am not capable of nor am I willing to attempt.
posted by hippybear at 9:54 AM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 9:54 AM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
This is wonderful, thank you! I was a very active musician through my teens and early twenties, primarily on piano and stuff like trumpet, violin, etc., that are a little pricier. It's also hard to practice now that I'm in a shared living situation in an apartment with thin walls.
I have been thinking of picking up a ukulele for a long time to start getting back into it cheaply and easily. I'm going to pick one up at the local music store today.
I also always struggled with guitar despite really wanting to learn! So maybe this will help with that a bit too; the principles are somewhat similar.
posted by one of these days at 10:14 AM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
I have been thinking of picking up a ukulele for a long time to start getting back into it cheaply and easily. I'm going to pick one up at the local music store today.
I also always struggled with guitar despite really wanting to learn! So maybe this will help with that a bit too; the principles are somewhat similar.
posted by one of these days at 10:14 AM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
Hey, cool! We got my daughter a badass electric ukulele for Christmas (she's been enjoying batrying to teach herself on my old acoustic recently) and this might be of interest to her.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:29 PM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 12:29 PM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
If you're a mandolin (or fiddle) player, check out The Bluegrass Box or How to play the mandolin in any key without using your brain. You'll never be scared of playing in B♭ of F♯ again! I think this video deserves an FPP of its own but I play with the guy sometimes, so...
posted by OverlappingElvis at 12:53 PM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by OverlappingElvis at 12:53 PM on January 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
I kind of appreciate the idea of starting with simple fingerings rather than musically basic chords, but at the same time I can't help but feel that starting off with C7 and F-frigging-add9 (from the second video, which introduces the concept of "chord twins") is kind of insane.
I find it hard to believe many people are going to find that F9 satisfying, especially when used as the tonic (home) chord of the song. Surely the effort of adding one more finger to make a regular F chord is more than worth it? Even if you've only got 2 minutes.
posted by straight at 8:22 PM on January 3, 2017
I find it hard to believe many people are going to find that F9 satisfying, especially when used as the tonic (home) chord of the song. Surely the effort of adding one more finger to make a regular F chord is more than worth it? Even if you've only got 2 minutes.
posted by straight at 8:22 PM on January 3, 2017
The third lesson with G6 and D7 (plus bonus super-easy C6) is a much better example of using this idea to quickly teach something easy and satisfying to play.
posted by straight at 8:29 PM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by straight at 8:29 PM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
By the way, if all you've got is a guitar but you're interested in playing the uke or something that sounds almost like it, you can put a capo at the 5th fret of a guitar and just play the first (smallest) four strings, and you'll be in the same key and can use the same fingerings as playing a uke.
posted by straight at 8:31 PM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by straight at 8:31 PM on January 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
(It won't sound quite right because the fourth string will be an octave lower than it is on the uke.)
posted by straight at 9:16 PM on January 3, 2017
posted by straight at 9:16 PM on January 3, 2017
the fourth string will be an octave lower than it is on the uke
wouldn't they all be an octave lower?
posted by thelonius at 10:30 AM on January 4, 2017
wouldn't they all be an octave lower?
posted by thelonius at 10:30 AM on January 4, 2017
If so, the fourth string would be two octaves lower.
It does depend on how one's uke is tuned. Some people use a "low G" string, in which case the lower four strings of a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret will be pretty much the same thing. (Except one octave lower—if thelonius is right, and my skimming of Wikipedia suggests so—and using steel strings instead of nylon, unless you've got a classical guitar.)
Most commonly, ukuleles use re-entrant tuning, with a "high G" string that's an octave above the "low G". Capoing a guitar is not going to get you that effect.
posted by Shmuel510 at 11:37 AM on January 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
It does depend on how one's uke is tuned. Some people use a "low G" string, in which case the lower four strings of a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret will be pretty much the same thing. (Except one octave lower—if thelonius is right, and my skimming of Wikipedia suggests so—and using steel strings instead of nylon, unless you've got a classical guitar.)
Most commonly, ukuleles use re-entrant tuning, with a "high G" string that's an octave above the "low G". Capoing a guitar is not going to get you that effect.
posted by Shmuel510 at 11:37 AM on January 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Standard uke tuning is G4-C4-E4-A4, which means that the C, E, and A strings are tuned the same as a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret, not an octave different.
A baritone Ukulele is typically tuned D3–G3–B3–E4, same as a guitar that's missing the top two strings. (I think. Maybe it's just me.) The main difference is that the uke is small enough to easily play in the car, which will undoubtedly delight anyone you might go on a road trip with. (Also, if you play a baritone ukulele, and you also know how to play some guitar chords, you will quickly realize that the chord shapes are usually the same.)
Also, as a not very beginner anymore, I think these videos are pretty awesome. I used the first one to show my mom how to play a simple bit of music this afternoon, and that just wasn't happening when she had to move more than one finger around. You can add A7 and C with basically no effort, too.
posted by surlyben at 6:28 PM on January 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
A baritone Ukulele is typically tuned D3–G3–B3–E4, same as a guitar that's missing the top two strings. (I think. Maybe it's just me.) The main difference is that the uke is small enough to easily play in the car, which will undoubtedly delight anyone you might go on a road trip with. (Also, if you play a baritone ukulele, and you also know how to play some guitar chords, you will quickly realize that the chord shapes are usually the same.)
Also, as a not very beginner anymore, I think these videos are pretty awesome. I used the first one to show my mom how to play a simple bit of music this afternoon, and that just wasn't happening when she had to move more than one finger around. You can add A7 and C with basically no effort, too.
posted by surlyben at 6:28 PM on January 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
E7sus (0-2-0-2-0-0) and D6 (x-x-0-2-0-2) have the same shape
Also, A7 (0-0-2-0-2-0)
a couple of more guitar shape pairs:
A (x-0-2-2-2-0) and Dmaj7 (x-x-0-2-2-2)
Am(x-0-2-2-1-0) and Dmmaj7 ((x-x-0-2-2-1)
The minor-major7 chord mostly appears in jazz, but it turns up in rock now and then (Pink Floyd, "Us and Them" , at "And after all, we're only ordinary men..."). Probably from Rick Wright.
posted by thelonius at 3:49 AM on January 6, 2017
Also, A7 (0-0-2-0-2-0)
a couple of more guitar shape pairs:
A (x-0-2-2-2-0) and Dmaj7 (x-x-0-2-2-2)
Am(x-0-2-2-1-0) and Dmmaj7 ((x-x-0-2-2-1)
The minor-major7 chord mostly appears in jazz, but it turns up in rock now and then (Pink Floyd, "Us and Them" , at "And after all, we're only ordinary men..."). Probably from Rick Wright.
posted by thelonius at 3:49 AM on January 6, 2017
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posted by greermahoney at 11:07 PM on January 2, 2017 [1 favorite]