One pitfall many beginner ukulele players fall into is going out of time or stopping completely when chord changes come along. It is a big challenge to get these chord changes smooth.
To help you improve your playing and get over this problem, this article will give you three tips on smooth ukulele chord changes.
Tip 1: Play At A Slower Tempo
The biggest mistake most beginners make when learning the ukulele is trying to play too fast. Whenever you learn a new song, always start playing it at a snails pace. This will get your fingers used to making the changes.
If you're playing too fast, you will make mistakes. And the more mistakes you make, the more your fingers will repeat that same pattern and continue to make mistakes.
Tip 2: Strum Evenly
Play the song at such a tempo that you change chords without breaking the flow of the music. This might mean you have to play very slowly at first. That's perfectly acceptable.
If you can play smoothly at a slow tempo, it doesn't take much practice to increase the speed. Trying to do it at full speed from the off will always result in sloppy sounding playing.
Tip 3: Prepare for the Changes
You should have in your mind and which chord comes next and how you're going to change to it. Think of ways you could make that change easier for yourself.
A useful illustration of this idea is the change to a G chord (which is played 0232) from a C chord (0003). For the G chord, you'll need to have your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the A string. And you can have it there while you are playing the C chord (since that requires you play the third fret with you ring finger).
Similarly, you can have a finger hovering over a string where it will soon be playing it. Again, this will reduce the amount of movement you will have to make between chords so you will be able to change chords faster and more smoothly.
To help you improve your playing and get over this problem, this article will give you three tips on smooth ukulele chord changes.
Tip 1: Play At A Slower Tempo
The biggest mistake most beginners make when learning the ukulele is trying to play too fast. Whenever you learn a new song, always start playing it at a snails pace. This will get your fingers used to making the changes.
If you're playing too fast, you will make mistakes. And the more mistakes you make, the more your fingers will repeat that same pattern and continue to make mistakes.
Tip 2: Strum Evenly
Play the song at such a tempo that you change chords without breaking the flow of the music. This might mean you have to play very slowly at first. That's perfectly acceptable.
If you can play smoothly at a slow tempo, it doesn't take much practice to increase the speed. Trying to do it at full speed from the off will always result in sloppy sounding playing.
Tip 3: Prepare for the Changes
You should have in your mind and which chord comes next and how you're going to change to it. Think of ways you could make that change easier for yourself.
A useful illustration of this idea is the change to a G chord (which is played 0232) from a C chord (0003). For the G chord, you'll need to have your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the A string. And you can have it there while you are playing the C chord (since that requires you play the third fret with you ring finger).
Similarly, you can have a finger hovering over a string where it will soon be playing it. Again, this will reduce the amount of movement you will have to make between chords so you will be able to change chords faster and more smoothly.
About the Author:
Should you be looking to get more info on strumming the ukulele, Al Wood has a blog where you can find out about where to buy a ukulele and strumming chords on the ukulele.
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