Lesson 2- Strumming an Accompaniment and Singing (HOW TO PLAY THE HAWAIIAN 'UKULELE 10 Easy Lessons)

Doris starts out Lesson 2 by teaching us how to play 3 different cord while at the same time "[adjusting] the pressure and position of your third finger on the string so the string ring freely"( Doris 4). The first note she taught us was the C chord which is just three bars down from sting A, she also gave us an easy song "Row,Row, Row Your Boat" to strum one chord to.

The 2nd chord that Doris teaches us is chord F which is has two positions on the fingerboard. The first position is in the center of the first bar on string E, and the second position is in the center of the 2nd bar down on the G string. 

The third chord is c7 which is the center point of the first bar of sting A. Doris lets us practice with two chords being c7 and F , we practice not a song but beats to a song. "The slash connected by beams are eighth-note strums. you will need to play two strums to the beat."(Doris 7)

For the end of the lesson Doris tells us "the letters and slashes above the staff show which chords to strum for an accompaniment. Strum an accompaniment."(Doris 8). In other words in the last song she tells us to mix the chords together to make a song.

 

Have you guys ever played an instrument and if so what kind?

Lesson 1- Ukulele, Strings, and Meter signature (HOW TO PLAY THE HAWAIIAN 'UKULELE 10 Easy Lessons)

knowing the ukulele a good thing to know, as lesson 1 starts by introducing the main parts of the ukulele as well as teaches us the note it can play. (Doris 2) starts out by showing us a demonstration of the notes and where they are placed, as you can see the four main string cords start from G,C,E, and A.

Next, it teaches us about meter signatures some of which are the notes and other symbols. "Notice that a quarter note lasts one beat , a half note two beats. A quarter rest shows one beat if silence."(Doris 2).

The other symbols including the meter signature(4/4) show that "the upper 4 shows that there are four beats in each measure. A measure is the distance between bar lines. the lower 4 shows that the quarter note is the "beat note"." (Doris 3). These notes helps to read and understand how to play music more clearly and better. The next step that i did was to count the beats aloud so that i could memorize and understand what it means when i start playing it with a ukulele.

In example one what does the note with a line going through it mean?

Ukulele: How to Get the Best Sound

Ukuleles can either sound good or they can sound pretty twangy. When I first started to play ukulele, I couldn't make the right sound. I knew that something must've been wrong but I wasn't sure what. I thought it might have been the pitch so I tried to tune it but after tuning it, it still didn't sound right. 

Barrett Tagliarino helped me realize that my hand placement was all wrong. He says that the strings should be strummed in the area where the neck meets the body (Tagliarino 4). I had been strumming with my hand over the sound hole when I should've done what Tagliarino stated in the book. Just by changing the position of my strum made the sound 10 times clearer and way more precise. 

Here is the first recording I made with my ukulele when my hand was in the wrong strumming position.

Here is the newest recording I have made with my ukulele on the same song with my hand in the right strumming position.

There is one exception for playing over the sound hole while strumming. According to Barrett Tagliarino, "Don't strum over the sound hole, unless your left hand is playing high up on the neck" (Tagliarino 4). When you play further from the sound hole with your left hand, the strings of the ukulele have less tension so it's easier to play and gives a better tone.

I have been practicing playing with the sound of the ukulele and exploring the ways I can use the sound hole and the placement of my strumming to better my skills in playing. 

Question to Think about: Do you agree with Tagliarino that strumming where the neck meets the body creates a clearer and stronger sound? Let me know in the comments below!

Tagliarino, Barrett. Play Ukulele Today! A Complete Guide to the Basics. Hal Leonard, 2006.