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In this lesson you will learn hot to play a song written by Bruce Springsteen as it was played Levon Helm and The Band. It uses just 4 chords with a basic arrangement.

Die a Happy Man is a soulful country tune by Thomas Rhett. It has a distinct guitar line in the verse that we have transcribed for ukulele. The rest of the tune uses basic chords.

In this lesson you will learn how to play the Eagles song, “Tequila Sunrise.” This is a fairly simple song but it has quite a few chords. There is also another lesson that covers the solo separately.

In this lesson we will learn Stitches by Shawn Mendes. The song is in Db and uses 4 chords. Mostly barre chords.

Simple tune with 4 chords. E, A, B, and F#m. The strumming pattern is pretty much the same throughout.

This tune consists mostly of a riff based out of D and E. Other chords used are A and Bm.

Great tune for ukulele with its old ragtime feel. Lots of chords in this one but nothing terribly difficult.

Start Your Ukulele Buying Journey

So you’re interested in learning to play the ukulele and now you need to buy one! No worries. There are several things to consider before you go shopping:

• How much money are you willing to spend? What’s your budget?
• Will you be performing in front of audiences or just by yourself?
• How large are your hands? Some uke’s are pretty small.

How Much Should I Spend on a Ukulele?

First thing’s first; what type of budget do you have for a ukulele? The good news is that there are instruments available to meet just about any budget imaginable; from $30 beginner models to $1500 handmade instruments and everything in between. For most beginners, instruments up to around $100 are great for learning. Moving up to the $200 range you get more professional features such as pickups for amplification and built in tuners. Beyond that, there are finer and finer instruments available as you move into handmade one-of-a-kind ukuleles.

Uke’s With Pickup Systems

If you will be performing in front of audiences, you may consider getting a ukulele with a pickup system for amplification. Then you can connect with sound systems so that larger audiences may hear you clearly.

Soprano Ukulele? Concert Ukulele?

The size of your hands is also a consideration. The small soprano ukuleles can be difficult to play for those with larger hands. Consider a concert or tenor ukulele which has a larger fretboard that big fingers can fit into.

The bottom line is if you are just starting out, there’s no need to spend over $100. If you’re a professional and play out often, go for a higher end model with electronics in the $150-$250 range. If you’re a hedge fund manager, go for broke!

Bryan and I play several ukuleles in the videos including ones from Amahi, Cordoba and Kala.

-Ashley Shepherd

How to buy a guitar

We recently launched a new version of Center Stage Ukulele Academy! With this new version we have implemented new features that will hopefully improve the user experience. We have organized the lessons into categories and subcategories that make it easier to find the lessons you want to concentrate on. For example, if you are looking for specific lessons on finger style ukulele, you can now find them all together under the Skills category and Finger Style subcategory. Please watch the site tutorial to get the full tour of the new site.

Center Stage Ukulele offers a method of learning ukulele through video based, online lessons which aim to inspire and educate.

Center Stage Ukulele Academy has served almost 20,000 aspiring ukulele players with high quality video lessons for beginners, skill development, learning a new genre, and mastering your favorite songs. Private ukulele lessons can be expensive and inconvenient. We provide a great alternative while maintaining a one on one, private lesson feel. Join Center Stage Ukulele Academy and learn to play the right way.