First things first. My whole family is musical. Singing, instruments. Piano, guitars and horns.
The lil’wrekker has musical talent. My sibs actually get paid for their talents.
Me? Nope. Can’t tote a tune in a bucket. Sad.
I had piano lessons. I can read music.
I was in the choir but told to just to move my lips. I sing like a banshee while driving. But it’s bad bad bad. Believe me.
I want to play ukelele.
I think I can.
I’ll get good. Go on a talent show. Paul Mccartney will notice me. I’ll hit the big time!!
Next…
Yeah, I’ll cash in. I’ll be in the south of France fending off cutie pies and sunning myself, on the beach.
Yep. Life is good.
The standard tuning of a uke is a major chord on the lower 3 strings, and a minor chord on the upper 3 strings. So it should be fairly easy to learn chords on it. I’d go for it, then get some uke chord charts and strum along with songs you know.
My issue is that I’d rather learn guitar, but I’ve never put in the effort to do the chord shapes quickly enough.
Good luck. And remember - enjoy doing it. I think a lot of the anxiety around making music comes from making mistakes. People get so worked up about making mistakes that they don’t enjoy it. If all you’re doing is playing for yourself / family, then enjoy it. Hopefully, you’ll get good enough you can accompany some of the family vocalists; there’s something about making music together that makes it just that little bit more wonderful.
I own a ukulele. I also own a harmonica. The uke is mostly for decoration. It’s a beautiful instrument. I cannot play a note. The harmonica was a gift from a friend who plays in a number of bands. He gave it to me 20 years ago, telling me to put it on my dashboard and I’d be playing like a pro in no time. I cannot play a note and it’s still on my dashboard.
@Beckdawrek : used ukuleles are out there, you can get a good deal. Tuning apps are readily available, so even if you cannot play, at least you can keep it in tune.
I have a Kmise concert sized ukulele, and I can play, haltingly, a couple of songs on it using the island strum pattern. I got a lot from YouTube videos by Cynthia Lin. I made great progress when I played for about ten minutes a day. I made a ton of progress when I was trying to learn a song for a group class I’d signed up for, pre-Covid.
It’s fun and works a part of my brain that is different from my job, so it’s a stress reliever.
Or we could put on our own talent show down at the big barn! You could play the ukelele while Johnny LA and Big T perform interpretive dance to the lyrics. OK, you can’t sing, Beck, but you can Shatner it up and just say them…with…weight…and…importance.
It’ll be a smash! Paul McCartney will BEG for tickets! Spielberg will snap up the movie rights! We’ll have to get a padded folding chair for Her Majesty!
You owe it to your country…to Arkansas…to, uh, Bigfoot.
Sure, but you’d have to get the others to sign me up, too. I mean, I don’t work for peanuts, doll, not if you want to make the big time. Now where did I put those big, stinky cigars?
