Suppose you own a ukulele and want to start playing it instead of having the instrument hanging around as part of your room’s decoration. First, you should learn how to read Ukulele music.
Also known as tabs, ukulele music is a musical notation type created to lessen the difficulty of understanding what notes you should play without knowing music. You are only required to know two essential parts of your ukulele, the strings, and the frets.
If you’ve been trying to play some good songs in your ukulele but feel like you haven’t had any success, hang in there. Your favorite musicians probably started in the same place, so there is no reason to hit the sack after trying a few times.
For today’s article, we’re going to teach you how to read ukulele tabs and other essential tips that will help you get started in little time. If you’re new and are here for learning purposes, we recommend you to look for a ukulele for sale so you can start your journey as soon as possible.
Are you ready? Let’s begin!
Reading Ukulele Tabs
Step 1 – Pull yourself together and grab your ukulele. First, we’ll start by identifying the strings. All ukuleles have four strings, identifiable as “A,” “E,” “C,” and “G.” You’ll find the strings in the same order written in this section!
Step 2 – Have you seen those random numbers that appear over the lines in ukulele tabs? Well, those numbers are crucial as they indicate the space in the frets you need to play. To identify the correct fret effortlessly, count them from the upper part of your ukulele from 1, 2, and 3 and so on, as if you were in preschool.
Step 3 – Grab your ukulele again, and start playing the notes of the following tab!
You’ll find that ukulele tabs look like this in almost any ukulele site:
A|————————————————————————-
E|————————————————————————-
C|————————————————————————-
G|—-5—-3—-1—-3—————————————————
Reading tabs is essential for all musicians, regardless of the instrument they play!
The symbology that you should know to play the ukulele.
Did you think we were done? There are a few other things you should know about ukulele tabs. Please don’t put your ukulele for sale when you see them. We promise this symbology is not complicated to learn!
Slide – Use your finger to go from a note to the next by sliding it through the string. For instance, you can try to play FA and then slide the first finger to SOL without reducing the pressure.
Release – Put your finger on the fifth fret’s Re, and pull the string up to the Mi’s position, but do not pulse it. Once there, pulsate the note, and while it is still playing, you leave it to go back to La by keeping it pressed.
These two terms are one of the most essential to playing the Ukulele. This section is so extensive it deserves its article, but for now, you can keep practicing with your new friend until you’ve gained some knowledge to brag about with your friends!