When you hold the ukulele up to your body to play, the G string will be the closest to your head, and the A string will be the closest to your waist.
Try not to touch any other strings with your fingers, as this can cause them to make sounds while you’re playing. Keep in mind that the numbers don’t correspond with which finger you’re supposed to use. You can use whichever finger feels natural to you to press the string into the fret.
If you don’t get a good sound out of the string the first time you pluck it, try adjusting the pressure on the fret. Make your grip slightly tighter or looser, and pluck the string again to see how the sound quality changes.
Be sure to keep your fingers away from the frets on that string if it has a “0” on the tab. If your finger touches the string, it can cause the string to stop vibrating and the sound will stop.
Don’t move on in the tab to the next note until you feel like you’ve mastered the first one.
It may be helpful to focus on learning only one song at a time so you can begin to memorize the song as you play it.
When you’re first learning a chord, your fingers might feel a bit awkward. Don’t be afraid to try different hand positions, as long as you’re still touching the right frets and strings. For instance, the C chord is one of the easiest chords to play and the first one many learners are able to master. It looks like this: A |–3–| E |–0–| C |–0–| G |–0–|
If one of the strings doesn’t have a number on it on the tab, don’t touch that string while you play the chord.
Take your time as you’re figuring out the chords for a song. Practice switching from the fingering for one chord to the next one without playing any notes. This will help your fingers get used to the motions of playing the song.
For instance, a hammer-on labeled for the A string might be “2h3. ” In that case, you’d place your finger on the 2nd fret of the A string, pluck the string, and then quickly place a different finger on the 3rd fret of the A string as you lift up the finger on the 2nd fret. Sometimes, hammer-ons are also noted with a “^” symbol.
For example, a pull-off labeled for the E string might be “3p2. ” You would place your fingers on the 2nd and 3rd frets of the E string, pluck the string, and then lift up the finger on the 3rd fret to make the pitch lower. Like hammer-ons, pull-offs are sometimes labeled with a “^” symbol, especially when you’re going to switch between hammer-ons and pull-offs.
For example, in a 4/4 time signature, there are 4 beats in a measure and 1 beat is represented by a quarter note. If there is a number other than 4 on the bottom of the time signature, like a 2, then a different note will represent 1 beat. For instance, in a 3/2 time signature, a half note is used to represent 1 beat. Keep in mind that not all tabs will have a time signature, and some may use lines to signify how long you should hold the pitches for.
Some tabs also have measures above the tabs with standard notation. If this is the case, be sure to look at the far left of the measure for the time signature. If it isn’t two 4s on top of each other, the measures aren’t 4 beats. No matter how many beats there are in the measure, a quarter note will always be held for 1 beat of the measure.
In some rare cases, such as 2/3 time, you would hold the half note for 1. 5 beats, since the bottom of the time signature denotes how many beats the whole note receives.
When you’re first learning how to play, your pitches might not last for all 4 beats. Just remember to count for 4 beats in your head before you move onto the next pitch.
This will help you understand what the melody is supposed to sound like when played at the right pace and rhythm. If you’re having trouble understanding the rhythm, beats, or tempo, consider using a metronome. The metronome is a device that produces beats based on the desired tempo for the song. You can set the tempo to be fast or slow, or you can match it to a specific song.
