
Now, when I play by ear with the ukulele, I might not play a song in the key it’s recorded, but I know how the song goes. If I want to pluck the melody, I outline the chords and find the starting note (melody) and fiddle my way around the neck (hopefully while playing the chords – it’s amazing what notes are already there for you!) to play the rest of the melody.
3. What’s a good ukulele exercise to learn to sing on pitch?
Alright… so you want to sing in tune, eh? Well, I do think that the more you sing, the better you will get. As for singing in tune with the ukulele, a great place to start is to make sure your ukulele is in tune. No joke. Also, if you can pluck the starting note or melody on the ukulele, you could pluck the note you need to sing and then sing it…. then repeat. and repeat. Practicing the intervals between notes is great too. Try breaking the song into sections and work on small sections instead of tackling the whole song right away. Most importantly, listen to yourself. You shouldn’t have to ask someone “how do I sound?” Use your own ears. How do you sound to yourself? If it sounds out of tune, it most likely is. Sing with confidence, but keep your ears open to really listen to what you are singing.
that's to the point and useful!herman http://www.ukulelebelgium.be
Thanks for the compliment, Herman.Jim
Agreed — concise and useful. Learning to play by ear is, unfortunately, becoming a lost art in music education as teachers focus so much on reading music. They're both important, but ideally you want to be able to play your instrument whether or not you have sheet music on hand, especially a fun instrument like the ukulele. If you can't play by ear, you're so restricted. Thanks for posting this important article!Happy Plucking!www.howtoplayukulele.net