Learn to Play Ukulele in 6 Days: 21 Songs to Master Quickly and Easily!

Abby B: I would maybe try a different book next time.

Canada on Aug 25, 2023

JoLu: Great book but but my 14 year old son did not have the discipline to complete the book. He said it was difficult to follow and would rather watch videos online as a teaching method. Take this with a grain of salt, just thought I would mention because kids these days would rather work online than read a book.

United States on Mar 19, 2023

Ian Jay: Good book, well made and clear. For the price this is perfect for the enthusiastic learner or those who just want some jams to play.

United Kingdom on Mar 08, 2023

Narge: As above great for beginners luke me

United Kingdom on Jan 12, 2023

LEllen: . . this book was just right.

Ordering an instructional book online is problematic. You'd like to get a look to see ic the instructional style works with your learning style -- important since you cannot ask questions of the teacher. I ordered several different highly rated beginning books for the ukulele, and the ones I returned either were very sketchy or dove right into the deep end with way too much information for an absolute beginner like me. This one fits my needs quite well: a gradual introduction to technique with a good amount of explanation.

Several people who gave one star reviews seem to be reviewing a different book, with complaints of lack of content. Others complain about silly childish songs. Well, when you're a beginner, you need simple things to begin on. This book uses simple songs that people may already know so that you aren't having to learn the melody along with the other things about a new instrument.

United States on Sep 09, 2020

A.E.: I waited until I had worked through this entire book/set of videos before leaving a review. The fact that I did work through the whole thing and finish it says something; when I was learning the harmonica a few years ago I started several instructional books that I never finished.

For a true beginner with little to no experience in stringed instruments or reading music, I think this is a good book. It takes things very slow, and things are very well explained. The videos make it a great value, in my opinion. Sure, there are lots of free videos out there, but having a set of planned out (by someone with experience) lessons to follow that build on each other really helps.

I hate the trend of calling one lesson one "day". It took me much longer than a day to really master some of the later lessons. That's probably good. If each lesson had realistically been something I could do in a day, and I finished it in less than a week I wouldn't have felt like it was such a great value.

There are a limited number of chords covered in this book, but when you're done you know them really well. Same goes for the strumming patterns. I think this is a good thing generally, but...

United States on Aug 12, 2020

Joan Levert: This is a book for absolute beginners to music, let alone the ukulele. It's very simple and easy to read and follow, but mind you - it's designed to partner with their website, the url of which is in the book. Use of the website is free for those who have purchased the book.

The songs are extremely simple, and make a fine step one for the absolute amateur. Everything you could possibly need to know for ukulele basics is in here, and by the last page you'll have mastered it all.

If you have already studied another, similarly stringed instrument, you might want to look for a more complex book.

Canada on Oct 05, 2016

P. Robson: This is a very good clear gentle introduction to playing a Uke, though it must always be remembered that you really do need internet access to access the video and audio. You can work just from the book but won't work as well. It takes things very slowly - the first three days are all one chord songs, then F/C7 C/G7 and finally C/F/G7 in day 6. But you can play a lot of songs with C,F,G7....

Even though both of the authors are musicians (pianists I think ?) and the course is well thought out, there's something about the videos especially that is entertainingly "amateurish", the videos look like one (sometimes two) people playing the Uke in their kitchen and enjoying it without being too serious. Possibly because that's what it is. This approach , rather than a formal precise one, I think encourages you to perform yourself, it just seems less embarrassing singing along with these one (or two). The light hearted approach, and that one of the players is a beginner herself, makes it seem achievable. Formal books may teach you more in technical skills, but not as much to enjoy yourself strumming away.

Even though the title is 21 Songs, some of them are repeated, and some...

United Kingdom on May 05, 2016

Jeff Wille: I am fairly new to the ukulele (a little over a year) but have played piano and guitar for over 30 years. My musical background is comprehensive. I am also a private teacher of these instruments.

I have looked at many, many "method" books for all 3 of these instruments over the past several years. When I started to read through this book, I was very pleasantly surprised. I was very happy to see how much was covered in a short amount of pages and that it was covered in a very logical order. A lot of the method books I have seen are not logical in my opinion. Not only does this book cover the concepts in a logical sequence, but each concept and techniques from the chapter before are reviewed before moving into the new concepts and technique. Having the videos examples for each of the songs and techniques and concepts was a very smart addition to the book. I have to think hard on how many standard method books actually have videos to watch for what they explain in their books.

It is impressive that you are able to learn 21 songs in just 6 days, using just 5 basic chords. The suggested strum rhythms are logically suggested for the song rhythms.

The chord changes...

United States on Mar 19, 2014