The tropical nature of Hawaii inspired many forms of art throughout the years, and music was no exception. Although ukuleles first showed up in Europe, they didn’t gain splendor till they washed up on the shore of the American island. And considering the delicate sounds and grandeur of ukuleles, many people are now looking to learn them.
But remains the question, is it easy to learn the ukulele? Or will it become a challenge that you can’t handle? Read on to get all the information you need!
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Short Answer
Learning how to play the ukulele isn’t as challenging as you’d think. This is because it only has four strings, making learning chords and scales much easier. Also, its small size makes it more ergonomic than the guitar and ensures that you don’t hurt your wrist and fingers too much while playing.
So whether you get a private teacher or take online ukulele lessons, you’ll get a handle on it in a short time.
Now that we’ve given you a broad answer, it’s time to jump into more details!
What Makes the Ukulele Easy to Learn?
Most musical instruments are challenging to learn and take a long time to master. So what makes the ukulele different? Here’s a detailed answer.
Small and Portable Instruments
Many people miss the point of portability when they sign up to learn a new musical instrument. It’s when they find themselves riding public transportation with a giant wooden guitar on their backs that they regret their decision. However, we assure you that you won’t face this when playing the ukulele.
It’s a small instrument that anyone can carry easily, even for little kids. Also, you can walk down the streets and ride any public transportation with it. Not to mention, the small size doesn’t cause as much wrist tension as large instruments.
Easy-to-Learn Fundamentals
The ukulele’s fame among beginners rocketed for all the good reasons in the last few years. All the fundamentals to playing the instrument are easy to learn and can be picked up in no time. A massive contributor to this point is the chord shape that you’ll learn first.
Typically, you’ll begin with the C major. To play the C major on guitar, you’ll need to use three fingers simultaneously. Meanwhile, when using our friend, you’ll only use one finger. More specifically, you’ll place your left-hand ring finger on the third fret of the first string. Then, you’re good to go!
Wide Music Range
Can you imagine listening to a Bach piece on the guitar? Better yet, can you imagine playing jazz music on a harp? Definitely no!
That’s why the ukulele shines among other musical instruments. You can play nearly any music genre on it, and it’ll sound as beautiful as you can imagine.
Soft Strings
A point that many beginners complain about regarding guitars is the steel strings that hurt their fingers. Lucky for you, the ukulele has soft strings, whether nylon or another material. This is because the ukuleles don’t produce high-pitched overtones as guitars do.
Basic Chords
If you lack patience and want to test your ukulele talents shortly after you start learning, we have good news for you. To play a whole song on your ukulele, you’ll only need to know four basic chords. Those are the D chord, Em chord, G chord, and C chord. Then, after learning those, you can play any song you want on your instrument.
Inexpensive Instrument
We’re all no strangers to the high prices of musical instruments. Unfortunately, this makes learning music less accessible to many people.
However, the ukulele comes here as a knight in shining armor. It’s an inexpensive instrument that won’t break your bank at all. So if you buy a ukulele and decide it isn’t for you after a while, you won’t lose sleep over the money you’ve spent.
To Wrap Up
Learning a new musical instrument is exciting, and it’s often a bonus when it isn’t too challenging to learn. The ukulele takes a proud stance in this category as it’s relatively easy to master. We have its soft strings, easy basic chords, and portability to thank for this.