It all started when my daughter had her birthday back in the Fall of 2019. One of the things she wanted for her birthday was a ukulele. I was SO excited because I had always wanted to learn how to play the ukulele, too (I’m talking for YEARS) and so I was totally going to get her one. She was so excited when she got it for her birthday and started to play it a bit, but then after a few days decided that it was a bit more work and practice than she wanted to do then (she would much rather do her art). I was bummed, but picked it up and strummed it and it felt right.

I noticed that the the fabric case that came with the ukulele we had gotten her had some white stuff on it that wouldn’t come off – I’m not sure what it was, but I reached out to the seller via Amazon (where I purchased it) and they were so kind. They told me that I had a couple of options. I could return the entire thing and they would send me another brand new one that hopefully wouldn’t have anything on the case OR they could send me TWO MORE ukuleles from their “return area” that were totally great ukuleles they just couldn’t resell them because they had been opened, returned, etc. They said surely one of those cases would be good.

I was like, wait a minute, I could have THREE ukuleles if I chose that option? Ha! So that’s what I did and sure enough – the ukuleles came and were in perfect condition AND both cases were great! Since we had a surplus of ukuleles in the house now, I snagged one and right at the beginning of the pandemic I figured it was a good time to finally do what I had always wanted to do … learn how to play the ukulele.

The rest, as they say, is history. Ha!

So here are the details:

• Ok, so THIS is the ukulele that I have. Right now (at the time of publishing this post) there is even a $5 off coupon. I don’t a lot about what makes a ukulele a good one, but this one has been great. I have no complaints! I don’t really use anything that it came with, LOL, but did use the picks for a bit. Now I just strum with my fingers and it’s totally fine. It took a bit to work the fingertips so where they weren’t sore, but after a bit, that will go away and it’ll be just fine. I love the sound of finger strumming more, but it’s really just a preference.
• The way that I learned how to play the ukulele was … YouTube! Ha! Yep. I totally just spent time looking up tutorials for beginners and started by learning the chords C, G, F and A. You can play A LOT of songs with those chords. My favorite ukulele person on YouTube is Dylan Laine. She is so great and she even has tutorials for the piano and the guitar. You can pay to have more access to her and her lessons, etc., but I didn’t do that.
• I practiced quite a bit. I would say that I practiced for at least 30 minutes every day. Back then there wasn’t anywhere to go or much to do and so it worked out. Ha! The more and more you practice the chords, the better muscle memory you have and it becomes natural. It’s crazy to look back on the IG stories that I did playing my ukulele back in the beginning and then see the ones I’ve done lately – the difference is remarkable and all it takes is commitment and practice, but friends – the ukulele is such a happy instrument. It’s easy to want to play! It’s so joyful! That’s what I love about it! It was literally strumming joy all throughout my house during the early stages of the pandemic when things were a bit scary and uncertain.
• I hang my ukulele on the wall of my studio. THESE are the super cute hooks that I use and I have 2 of them in my office, but only play one. Ha!
• My favorite tuner to use for my ukulele is actually an app that’s on my phone called, UkuleleV2. There is a free tuner that you can use that is so simple. The ukulele comes with a tuner that you can use as well, but using the phone is just easier to me and so that’s what I do. You do have to tune your ukulele – so be sure if you’re practicing a lot or playing a lot that you’re doing that! It makes a world of difference, of course!
• I write down all of the songs that I learn in a little notebook. I just put the name of the song, the chords and then the strum pattern, usually. It’s fun to keep them all in the book and open it up and replay the songs after I’ve learned them.

If you have any questions that I missed, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I really feel that anyone can learn to play the ukulele! It’s such a happy instrument!

Here’s to finally doing that thing we’ve always wanted to do!!