How to Play Ukulele

Learn to play the ukulele with this beginner’s guide that features information about basic techniques, tools, and music knowledge.

What do George Clooney, Zooey Deschanel, Ryan Gosling, and James Franco all have in common? Answer: they all play the ukulele and now, with this easy step-by-step guide, you can too! With just this book and your ukulele in hand, you’ll learn basic music skills, how to care for your instrument, and how to play some simple tunes. Whether you’re looking to impress your friends with spontaneous sing-alongs, or just want to strum solo, How to Play Ukulele is the perfect entryway to the wonderful world of ukulele.

Dan Scanlan has been many things—an English teacher, news reporter, songwriter, software programmer, layout artist, community radio personality—but the ukulele has been with him for more than sixty years. His Strum Bums ukulele orchestra was featured in the Mighty Uke documentary, and he coordinated the return of the ukulele to its ancestral home in Madeira Island, Portugal in 1998, culminating in a performance at the Lisbon World’s Fair. He also authored the interactive ebook Cool Hand Uke’s Way To Love Uke! Dan has taught the ukulele for thirty years and has several thousand online ukulele students in seventy-two countries. Visit him at CoolHandUke.com.