After a few weeks of learning the basic cords and strumming techniques for the Ukulele I finally feel like I have gotten somewhere!

I was off to a rocky start and honestly I did not think I was going to get anywhere. I was pretty discouraged when I began learning the ukulele and I honestly considered just giving up.

I am beyond proud of myself now because although it may not be perfect and it may be slow, it sounds much better than when I started.

I started off a bit confused as to how to turn my ukulele but with the help of some of my friends who play instruments, and with the help of the music dept. at UVic I was able to figure it out and am now able to confidently tune it myself before I begin to practice.

I also had asked one of my friends to practice with me and I found that really helpful when I had someone else there to show me how the song should sound and how to properly place my fingers on the strings.

One thing I noticed I was having trouble with, was that I was not pressing down on the strings hard enough. This made my cords sound quite squeaky when I strummed, but after the help of one of my friends and her noticing this, my cords sound much more enjoyable and flow together much better now.

I have learned my two basic songs in both C and G7 “row row row your boat” and “this old man”. I am now beginning on working at changing between the cords faster and keeping a consistent flow throughout the song.

I am going to begin learning the cords for my final song “Sweet home Alabama” this week as I feel much more comfortable with the first two songs and like I can move on and begin attempting some other more complex cords.