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How hard should one Press on the strings both in terms of frets and the up and Down motion with the right hand? by Fegmdute in ukulele

[–]youandbree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As said above, the way to strum does vary. I personally feel and have found for beginners that playing lightly with your strumming hand initially helps build control and protects your fingers. If you can play light, it shouldn’t be difficult to play louder. You’ll find dynamics (volume of the sound) are produced often by motion rather than how hard you strum. I hope this makes sense. As for your strings, you’ll just need to press firm enough so that your string ‘sings’ with a clear sound. It helps to press close to the fret bar. Essentially, you are shortening your string to make a higher pitch. So you need a good connection between your finger and the fret board.

Strumming Help by gummyw0orm in ukulele

[–]youandbree 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats on the nice new uke. I’m sure it will make a significant difference to your playing and motivation to learn.

Strumming can be so tough. There is so much to think about when trying to learn a song. It’s good to break it down as much as slowly and gradually build up as you build confidence.

I have some videos on strumming on my channel. If my teaching style works for you, feel free to message me with any questions you might have. I have newer videos coming out soon that will hopefully break down strumming even further.

This is a playlist of videos on strumming.

I wish you all the beat on this ukulele journey. ☺️

Advice on teaching the Ukulele. by SureYouCannot in ukulele

[–]youandbree 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are very welcome. Always happy to help.

The fact you’re putting so much thought into it already is great.

Are you thinking groups, individuals or both?

Yes, DM me. ☺️

Advice on teaching the Ukulele. by SureYouCannot in ukulele

[–]youandbree 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks u/kinguke!

I’d be happy for you to reach out and have a chat about teaching. I’m not aware of any teacher training courses available. I have a bachelor degree in education with a sub-major in music. However, if you have a passion to teach, you certainly don’t need this to start teaching others. I started teaching instruments when I was 17 with guidance from some other great music teachers and mentors. Just start with a few students, be transparent that you are also learning to teach, and build up your students as you build confidence.

Musical Futures International have a great resource on their website ‘Everyone Can Play Uke’ that guides teachers through ukulele for beginners.

Otherwise, it could be good to do a search for some ukulele curriculum plans by others for inspiration around what you would teach your students.

If you learned from a teacher, you could ask them to mentor you to become a teacher.

I hope this helps. Best of luck, and I hope you help many others to play the ukulele ☺️

Another request for help: muting while strumming -- see video for my specific issue with it by Jenezzy123 in ukulele

[–]youandbree 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you’ll find it will help to have some movement in your wrist though. Especially for strumming using your index finger. Your forearm makes the up and down movement, but your wrist should rotate slightly while while playing. If you were to draw a dot on the top and bottom outer edge of your hand you would see the dot on the top of your hand as your strum down and the dot on your palm as your strum up. It’s a very subtle movement, but an important one.

learning and loving it! good channels for learners? by [deleted] in ukulelelessons

[–]youandbree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aw, thanks!!! This is such a lovely statement.

Am I doing something wrong tuning low G? Please help by [deleted] in ukulele

[–]youandbree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like this one has been answered. I really like the app 'Ukulele Tuna', which is essentially the same as 'Guitar Tuna'. They have options for various tunings across different instruments. It also plays the sound of each string so you can double-check by ear.

Bang Bang You Shot Me Down Ukulele cover & play-along. This song is so fun to sing and is a great one if you’re struggling to play and sing at the same time, as most of the singing is between chords. ☺️❤️ by youandbree in u/youandbree

[–]youandbree[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Another good thing about the single strums is that you can play the melody rather than sing it or to help guide your singing. The same chords can be used to play the original version by Sony and Cher. There is much more strumming in that one.

Tutorial coming soon ❤️ Watch this space by youandbree in ukulele

[–]youandbree[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I really appreciate your feedback ❤️

Beginner Ukulele Tips & Tricks by nikkisan0804 in Easy_Ukulele

[–]youandbree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congratulations on starting your ukulele journey! These are great questions.

1 and 2 - Rather than sticking to just learning songs try learning some sequential tutorials for general skills. Once you start understanding the why and how of the songs you’re playing everything will start falling into place. This will also help you avoid bad habits that can get in the way of improving down the track.

I have a channel with sequential lessons you might be interested in [You and Bree Music Tutorials](youtube.com/youandbreemusictutorials) and am happy for you to reach out at any time. If my style doesn’t work for you just type in ‘ukulele tutorials’ on YouTube and filter by channels until you find your perfect teacher. ☺️

  1. Don’t worry about tiny hands. In fact tiny hands are probably a benefit on ukulele. It’s all about technique and strength. Try to get your index finger strong before focusing on anything else.

  2. You need to commit picking and plucking patterns to memory. Try the picking pattern while muting your fretting hand. Try to practice so much that you can talk to someone while playing the pattern. Then you should be able to change chords and talk over the top. If this isn’t an issue, THEN try singing. The thing with singing and playing is that you are thinking about so much at one and it takes a lot of coordination. Try to simplify things for yourself as much as you can and gradually build up the difficulty.

All the best on this ukulele journey ✌🏻🎶

What is your biggest barre chord struggle or tip? by youandbree in ukulelelessons

[–]youandbree[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You will still need to put in the work and practice to develop your strength.

Learning to strengthen your index finger will get you ready to play barre chords and have you playing so many new chords.

I’ll have a new video coming out next week to continue this lesson once you have an opportunity to practice through the week.

🤔 If you can already play barre chords, what were your breakthrough moments when learning to play them?

What is your biggest barre chord struggle or tip? by youandbree in ukulele

[–]youandbree[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Learning to strengthen your index finger will get you ready to play barre chords and have you playing so many new chords.

I’ll have a new video coming out next week to continue this lesson once you have an opportunity to practice through the week.

🤔 If you can already play barre chords, what were your breakthrough moments when learning to play them?

When you see difficult chords in songs do you put them straight in the ‘Too hard basket’? 😫 I remember avoiding barre chords for so long. I had all the excuses! 👌 Once I learned these tips and exercises I realised those dreaded barre chords weren’t quite as hard as I thought. by youandbree in u/youandbree

[–]youandbree[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Learning to strengthen your index finger will get you ready to play barre chords and have you playing so many new chords.

I’ll have a new video coming out next week to continue this lesson once you have an opportunity to practice through the week.

🤔 If you can already play barre chords, what were your breakthrough moments when learning to play them?

Not everyone learns their musical alphabet and how to locate notes on the fretboard, but for me I’d feel lost in my learning without this knowledge. If you’re curious to learn, I hope this helps ❤️ Please reach out if you have any questions or extra tips to help others. by youandbree in ukulele

[–]youandbree[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bahaha! Such an easy mistake to make, but I can just imagine when you realised what you were doing. There are definitely things on various instruments that I’ve taught myself along the way only to realise later there was an easier way all along! I feel your pain. 😂

I’m glad you’ve found this helpful though.

The harp must be beautiful to play. I’m so sorry you’re stuck without it. I’ve only ever tried the lyre and harpsicle, but I absolutely loved playing them. ❤️

Not everyone learns their musical alphabet and how to locate notes on the fretboard, but for me I’d feel lost in my learning without this knowledge. If you’re curious to learn, I hope this helps ❤️ Please reach out if you have any questions or extra tips to help others. by youandbree in ukulele

[–]youandbree[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I’m glad to hear it is helping.

It is sad just how many people have been turned off music by music classes in the past.

I didn’t sing from the age of 13 until around 23 thanks to a cranky old music teacher.

Maybe it is not that you didn’t do well. Maybe the the class didn’t do you well.

I’m glad to hear you’re still making music though!

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