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Easy Ukulele

Overview

The music in our Easy Ukulele series includes single line melodies and simplified chords (where possible). Most of the music is suitable for someone who has been taking lessons for at least 6 to 12 months (the time will vary based on your progress). A total beginner may be able to play some of the music as well, but will likely require more time to learn the melodies and chords.

What Is Included

Music in our Easy Ukulele series includes:

  • Melody in notation and tablature
  • Lyrics if the original music includes words
  • Ukulele chord diagrams above the music

Required Skills

  • Basic first position chords (assuming you want to strum the chords). You should be able to play these chords and switch between them easily. We try to limit the speed and number of chord changes, but this isn’t always possible.
  • Ability to read tablature. You will also benefit from the ability to read standard notation to help with the rhythms.
  • Ability to play notes in first position with somewhat regular position shifts to play notes higher than this.
  • Ability to play simple rhythms. Note that many rhythms are simple, but you may encounter some triplets, 16th notes, etc. in some songs. It isn’t possible to simplify these in all cases. Some titles may include more complex rhythms, faster tempos, etc. These may not be suitable for all players, but are still relatively easy because they have only a single line for the melody.

Chords

Below is an overview of how chords are chosen for this series:

Preserving the Character of the Music - More complex chords are simplified where it's possible to do so without compromising the character of the music. However, this isn't always feasible due to the complexity of the music. Some music changes keys or mode, while other music would sound much different if certain chords were changed or omitted. The choice for some songs is between simplifying chords so much that it doesn't sound like the original music or having more difficult chords. We try to strike a balance between these things as much as possible, but the priority for this series is always on the melody. This occasionally means that the chords exceed the difficulty of the melody.

Simplified Chords - Chords for some songs have been simplified as much as possible, but the progressions and frequency of changes may still pose a challenge to some players. Other music already includes simple chords, so no changes are necessary.

Chord Changes - A basic guideline we follow is to try to avoid more frequent changes than half notes in 4/4 at a moderate tempo. This isn't always possible where frequent chord changes are essential to the sound of the music. Simple chords or slower tempos may allow for more frequent changes.

Included Chords - Chords are generally limited to simpler first position chords such as C, D, E, F, G, A, Dm, Em, Am, C7, D7, E7, G7, and A7. Songs may occasionally include sus2, sus4, m7, and other similar chords that have easy fingerings. Barre chords or other more difficult chords are only used when there is no alternative.

Keys

Keys are selected based on their suitability for ukulele. The most commonly-used keys include C major, D major, E major, G major, A major, E minor, and A minor.

The primary focus is on putting the melody in an easy key for ukulele. This occasionally means the music is in a key that isn't as easy for singers.

Lyrics

We try to include up to 5 or 6 verses of lyrics within the music. Other lyrics may be included as text at the end of the music. Some lyrics may be omitted, but this is usually done only when there are too many verses to easily include (e.g., songs that include dozens of verses).

Lyrics may vary from the version you know. A limited number of songs include many variations in lyrics, none of which are standardized. It isn't always possible to create a version of the lyrics that is familiar to everyone.

Melody

Our priority for melodies is to make them easy to play on ukulele. Vocal range is a secondary consideration. We do try to avoid including notes that are too high or low, but some songs have a wide enough range that this isn't possible.

Melodies are arranged in several ways:

  • Standard - The notes are arranged with consecutive notes on the same string or group of strings
  • Campanella - Most consecutive notes are played on a different string. This is mostly used when the melody has a lot of notes that fall on the open strings. - Read more about campanella style playing
  • Mixed - This approach uses a mixture of the two styles above

Rhythms, Tempo, and Time Signatures

Complex rhythms are simplified where possible. For example, we may double the value of rhythms in order to avoid 16th notes. This isn't always feasible for all situations.

More difficult time signatures such as 6/8 may be changed to 3/4 when it results in simpler rhythms. This isn't done in all cases since some rhythms may become more difficult with this type of change.

Tempos are editorial suggestions in most cases. Feel free to choose your own tempo.

Position Shifts

Position shifts (moving from one place on the neck to another) are limited as much as possible, but the limited range of the ukulele makes this difficult in some music. When it is necessary to shift positions, we try to do it in the most convenient way possible. The goal is to limit position shifts to situations that give you time to shift without disrupting the musical flow. Here are some of the solutions we use:

  • There are one or more open strings in between the position shift
  • During a rest
  • At the end of a phrase where there should be a break in the sound anyway

However, some music doesn't allow any of these solutions due to the notes involved. You may need to spend extra time practicing these shifts to play the music smoothly.

Ukulele Range

Most of the music in this series can be played on a ukulele with as few as 12 frets. However, some music requires more frets to cover the entire range of the melody. If you want to play a particular title, we recommend looking at the preview of the music to make sure your ukulele has enough frets.

Fingering

Fingering is included for a limited number of passages. It is provided when the passage might be tricky to play without the fingering we used while arranging the music.

Inclusion of More Difficult Music

Note that some music is included in this series even if it is more challenging than the rest of the music in the series. This allows titles to be included in collections that would otherwise be omitted. For example, some titles by John Philip Sousa (in the American Patriotic Songs for Easy Ukulele collection) are more challenging, but are left in because they do have some easier sections including main themes. This also allows us to offer more comprehensive coverage of a particular category rather than leaving out a few titles that are more difficult. This only affects a small number of titles.