Ukulele: How easy is it to learn?

I had big dreams. I bought a Fender Squire, an amp, a guitar strap, picks, books, cds and dvds, and everything else the guy at the music store told me I would need to learn to play electric guitar. I was ready to shred, and the fact that I had never held a guitar before was of no concern; I would practice until I gained proficiency, like I've done with so many other hobbies and activities in my life.

One year later, with a nice layer of dust forming on my guitar, I still had the desire to learn but had tried so many times with no results that I had given up. I never took music classes in school, didn't have the time for lessons, and my hands are big enough that forming the chord shapes was difficult and often times painful. Every video I watched said the same thing; "Push through it, and you'll be playing in no time!"

Their optimism aside, I had lost my confidence and was content to just listening to music once again. A few weeks later Lilo & Stitch was on TV, and I heard something I had heard many times but never really payed attention to; the ukulele. I fell in love with the sound, and the fact that it was a friggin' adorable musical instrument. Who didn't love a baby guitar? I began watching videos, watching people's hands, and when I saw The Rock playing one I knew that large hands wouldn't be that big of a deal.

Back to the music store, bypassing the guy saying "Can I help you find anything?", I walked straight back to the cheap beginner ukuleles. Most were plastic or extremely cheap feeling, and I ended up choosing a Mitchell. It had white strings, a dark and light wood body, and a holographic/mother of pearl type inlay that wasn't overly flashy. I went home, pulled up a chord chart, and was playing simple songs by the end of the night.

I'm not saying that mastering the ukulele is easy, because I am not a master after 3 years, but I can say that with only 4 strings the chords are MUCH easier to remember. While it can be picked, the instrument shines with gentle strumming and light singing. It won't deliver power ballads like an electric guitar will, but I have played every thing from Lionel Richie to Five Finger Death Punch on mine. It excels at everything from country to rock, though you will be making some concessions... You can't rock as hard with a tiny instrument, and attempting to do so will cause laughter.

I use a free website, www.ultimateguitar.com to show my favorite songs in chord-friendly versions that allow me to play new songs knowing only the timing. If you can read music then more power to ya, because you'll be able to pick from any song you have access to sheet music for. I love playing my ukulele, and while I am not a singer it is nothing for me to run around the house chasing my cat while playing Journey or some other not appropriate music just because I can. Music is freeing, and for me finding the perfect instrument made it even more enjoyable.

If you're interested in trying then learn a few chords online then go to your local music store and ask if they'll tune one for you real quick. Play the shapes you learned and then decide for yourself. To give you an idea of how easy some of the chords are you can play an A minor, A7, C, and D chord with only a single finger. An A chord and an F chord only take 2 fingers. It's seriously that easy. So go try one out and see for yourself why I am a proud owner of a ukulele.

If you like this article then check out The Blog! where I make near daily posts about passive income streams, working from home/online, tormenting my cat with my ukulele, my other hobbies, home repairs, and much more.