Lesson 1: Hold, strum, first chord

Week 1 of 24

Goal: You hold the ukulele relaxed, strum the strings and play your first chord: C.

Step by step

  1. Sit up straight. The ukulele rests against your tummy, the neck points up to the left. Your right forearm holds it gently. More: How to hold the ukulele.
  2. Pluck a single string with your thumb – nice and calm. Listen until the sound fades. Then the next string.
  3. Now across all strings: brush down with your index finger (nail side). The movement comes from the wrist, loose like shaking off water drops.
  4. Your first chord: C. Put your ring finger on the A string (the bottom one) at the 3rd fret. The other strings stay open. Look at the chord chart: C.
  5. How to read a chord chart: the vertical lines are the strings (G on the left, A on the right), the horizontal ones are the frets. A dot shows where a finger presses – the number says which one: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little finger. “o” means play the open string, “x” means don’t play it.
  6. Count in first: “one, two, three, four” – then strum C four times and keep counting out loud. On the chord page the microphone can check it for you.
C3

Time to make music: your piece

“Bruder Jakob” with just C: one strum down on every beat. The backing waits for you. Then with the rhythm tool: four times C – short pause – four times C.

Bruder Jakob in C

Practise rhythm Pattern: Only down

Homework for next time

Five days, about ten minutes each:

  • Every day: hold the ukulele properly, relaxed for 1 minute.
  • Pluck each string on its own and listen.
  • Fret C, strum four times, let go – five times.
  • Fun: play “Bruder Jakob” with C and sing along.

Done when …

  • you can strum C four times in a row and it rings
  • you play “Bruder Jakob” with C all the way through

If you get stuck

  • The ukulele slips? Press it gently against your tummy with your right forearm. Your left hand should not have to hold it.
  • C sounds muffled? Put your ring finger up more steeply so it doesn’t touch the E string next to it.
For teachers: lesson plan
  1. ≈ 10 min Warm-up: everyone holds the ukulele, the teacher shows posture and strum. Pluck each string together and listen until it is quiet.
  2. ≈ 15 min Practice: fret C, strum once each around the circle, then all together four times on “one, two, three, four”.
  3. ≈ 20 min Song together: “Bruder Jakob” with C, half sing, half play – then swap. As a round it sounds even nicer. C is a bit low for singing – humming is fine; in lesson 5 the song comes in F, which suits children’s voices better.

Differentiation: those who are confident play the piece with down-up or help a partner; those who need more time strum only on beat one of each bar.

For the board: openstring.de/ukulele/en/lesson/1/

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