By now, you should know that learning music has a lot of benefits. However, learning instruments to create music is hard. There are so many obstacles in your way - the money, the time, etc. If I were to recommend an instrument to you, it would be the ukulele. It is the easiest instrument to pick up.
Just for general knowledge, the ukulele belongs to the lute family which consists of other instruments such as the guitar, pipa and the banjo. A lute is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a rounded body.
Here are the reasons as to why the ukulele is the easiest instrument to pick up and why you should learn it:
1. 4 strings only
Out of the whole lute family, the ukulele is probably one of the instruments with the least number of strings. A guitar typically has 6 strings but a ukulele only has 4 strings! Even with its 4 strings, it has a wide range of chords. With just these 4 strings, you are still able to play all major chords, minor chords and the seventh chords.
Not all of these chords may be relevant to ukulele beginners so read more to find out which are the essential chords! For anyone who already know how to play the guitar, the ukulele is bound to be very easy to pick up.
2. Affordable
A ukulele comes in 4 different sizes - soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. The soprano is the smallest while the baritone is the biggest. The soprano and the concert size are 2 of the more common sizes, measuring 21 inches and 23 inches respectively. For a soprano-sized ukulele, you can get it at a price of just $55, which is so cheap relative to other musical instruments.
3. Light
Being small in size, the ukulele is naturally light and easy to be carried around. There are no fear of muscle aches. You can bring the ukulele on your summer vacations, to your school, or even on a date. Not only is it portable, it can also be easily maintained. You can tune it by ear, or by following these steps of tuning a ukulele with a tuner.
4. Easy strumming
There are many ways to strum a ukulele, the basis being the down strokes and the up strokes. Even with constant down strokes, the song you have played with the ukulele will sound beautiful. If you wish to be more adventurous and play with different strumming patterns, you can refer to these few strumming patterns:
Of course, there are many other more different strumming patterns. You can also come up with your own patterns of strumming, just be sure to play to the beat!
5. Play many songs with few chords
With just 4 strings, there are many chords you can play with the ukulele. But, you only need to know 4 basic chords (C, F, G, Am) to be able to play million of songs. Examples of songs include 'Someone Like You' by Adele, 'One Love' by Bob Marley and 'All Of The Stars' by Ed Sheeran.
The genres of the songs you can play with these 4 chords ranges from pop/rock songs to reggae songs. There are so many areas to explore once you have mastered those 4 chords. Hence, these are the basic chords that every ukulele players should start with.
6. Lots of resources available
When it comes to playing the ukulele, it seems that there are never-ending amount of resources available to improve your ukulele-playing skills. You can visit blogs, youtube and download free guides etc. With the Internet, there are so many options you can choose from. Many ukulele professionals have put together good and useful resources online, including this free ebook which consists of everything a ukulele beginner has to know about.
Learning from the Internet may not be for everyone. It has its disadvantages also. Hence, you may wish to sign up for ukulele workshops to ensure that your motivation and focus on learning the ukulele is maintained.
What are you waiting for? Start learning the ukulele now!