An alternative fingering for the dreaded E chord is what I call the "long E": barre the index finger across fret 4 and place the pinky (finger 4) at fret 7 (spelled 4447). Sometimes the high E note (string 1 fret 7) doesn't sound good with the melody, so you may prefer the standard E shape for that song. It's up to you. This long E shape can also be used for the D chord to give a high D note if that sounds better with the melody: barre across fret 2 and place finger 4 at fret 5 = D chord, spelled 2225. These shapes also make an easy transition from the major chord to the dominant 7th chord simply by lowering finger 4 by 2 frets. That is, E7 = 4445, and the familiar D7 of course is 2223. Songs often use the I7 chord as a passing chord from the root chord (I) to the 4th chord (IV), so this shape can be helpful there. Example: in the key of E from E to E7 to A, just like in the key of C from C to C7 to F that comes up so often.
One suggestion I would add is Don’t compare yourself with others. Learn at your own pace and enjoy the journey, including all the bumps along the ride 🐱👅🐱
Amazing points, especially about the not avoiding difficult chords, you are absolutely correct that muscle memory and repetition will get you there 😁 give that kitty some scritches from us!
Mom: hey why are you so tense Me:I’m being watched Mom: You’re 12 years old you know you aren’t! Mom: *comes* Me: we are being watched Mom: holy crap grab your ukulele or she’ll scream at you!
i want to start an ukulele group chat on instagram for beginners or semi-beginner players but i don’t have any friends or know anyone that plays the ukulele 😔
I love that you are not just showing cliché songs like most people do. I really like the mariachi style and actually glad you showed some in some of your other videos.
Thank you, Lyly! I’m so glad you like the variety of tutorials here. You will see some cheesy and cliche songs here too because I’ve got to pay the bills, but you’ll definitely continue seeing other genres here too 😊
Hello Bernadette. Thank you for understanding the human adult learner mind. You teach us all the things we need to know and you realize that we need basic info to get to a bigger objective. You also break down in smaller steps lessons to get to a bigger goal (E chord tutorial here) I love when you say to look up, I feel you have so much experience and you know when we are not looking at you but our uke. One suggestion: avoid using your pink Uke because we cannot see the fret wire on the video. Arigato...very good name ( combining Japanese and Spanish) love it. Also great hair.
I’ve been a beginner for years, so you could say I’m an expert beginner! I keep avoiding Es, Bs, and actually every barre chord. Thank you for helping me get rid of bad habits!
Stéphane Picher watch this video and practice the barred chords this week. You’ll notice you improve pretty quickly because now you have the basics down :)
Even though I don't have a ukelele as yet, I watch and have watched every single video you make. I love you so much Ms.B and I'm praying that things are working out well for you 😁🤗
One of my dearest friends lived in San Dimas . We lived on Juanita street not to very far from San Dimas . My children growing up swam for the San Dimas swim team . I also one of the colleges I attended was Cal ploy Pomona. I now live in Oregon on the coast , west of Portland , in a very small community of Rockaway Beach . My husband and I have retired there and love it . I have a sister - in- law who still lives there in Pomona, across the street from the fair grounds . Some time when you are doing classes in or around the L.A area I will have to try and make it . 👍💞
Hi Bernadette! Great video! For me it's barred chords and strumming. I have learned strumming patterns, but I go intuitive and up strum when I think it would sound good in a song, but follow no pattern. That's me being lazy. Thanks for this! I have specific goals to work toward.
Love this video! I feel like 2019 was a pretty good year when it came to chords on the ukulele for me. I’m not scared of barre chords or the E chord anymore and I have become so much better at playing those since I started to not avoid them. There’s one thing though I have to change which is playing the island strum 99% of the time... 😅
Another great video, Sensei! I used to avoid the difficult chords, too! I would say I’ve avoided singing while playing, and that’s ironic, because I wanted to learn a non-wind instrument so that I could sing along! I’ve avoided singing mostly out of embarrassment, because I think I’m not “good enough.” I am a harsh critic of myself, but how do I expect to improve? Being a teacher/coach of taekwondo, I’d say to any struggling student: practice is key. Repetition creates muscle memory that will become second nature. Michael Jordan didn’t become a star basketball player without spending hours upon hours (upon hours!) on the court, same as I didn’t become a black belt without spending time in training. I’m not expecting to be another Cynthia Lin, but why not be someone who can lead a sing-a-long? [Oooh, I cringe at the thought!] Happy New Year! Thanks for the pep talk!
You can also start your own ukulele circle/group/orchestra. I am a flautist, guitarist, recorder player who started playing ukulele 2 and ½ years ago after taking part in a Summer NAMM Ukulele Circle event. Now I play my ukulele in church with my praise teams in many different keys and styles. I also am using my Lohanu uke to lead my church's Christian Ukulele Circle weekly and have had them play with me at a church concert (it was a 3 chord song) in Dec. 2019 after just 2 months. I'm learning that I need to slow things down chord acquisition wise because for half of my uke player, it's their 1st instrument.
Thank you very much, Bernadette! My Dad taught us all how to play when we were really little, but at that time I really wasn't interested. Well, I was invited to play in a Luau band and I'm scrambling to learn as much as fast as I can. It's not hard, but I've got a lot of catching up to do! Wish me luck!
Wow! Thanks for much for the hints about the barre chords! Now I am ready to practice them *and* that dreaded "E" chord....I wish I could thumbs up this video ten times! Thank you SO much! :-)
I wonder if you should have included don’t buy an 8 string as your first ukulele? Seriously, are bar chards harder on an 8 - like on a 12 string guitar? I loved the sound of 12 string but found it too challenging. Now I am in 8 string land.
Love this video Bernie! Excellent advice. Joining an on line community is excellent advice and is loads of fun watching and learning from others. A couple years ago, I picked up a Boss RC-3 Looper Station (yeah, there is a learning curve to get over) but it has made me a better player as I can accompany myself on many songs these days. As always, thanks for sharing your skills; your lessons are top shelf!
Hey Bernadette, I'm having problems with fingering my D & E cords using my three middle, ring and pinky fingers. the space between the fret is just two small to for me to do that effectively. I've tried every rotation. My solution has been to depress the G & C strings with my middle finger, and us my ring finger to close the E string. This works somewhat, but I run the risk of getting a negative feedback moving from cord to cord. Is this a bad habit? My Uke measures as a concert "24, but feels like a Soprano. Its a great little Lohanu, but I"m struggling with this aspect of my growth as a new Uke player.
Great Do's and don'ts! I am learning so much from you and feeling inspired to join the community and maybe post some videos. I'm so glad I found you! My 6 year old wants to play with me. Hopefully we can form a little duo!
Confession #1: I watch your videos at 1:00am when I should be sleeping and am sooo tempted to play while watching but can’t because housemates wouldn’t be happy. Confession #2: When I have time to practice, I binge watch Netflix!!!
Bad habit: Practicing a lot on a single day, instead of practicing a little everyday. Also, practicing for many hours when your fingers are not yet used to it. I got a really bad thumb pain out of this. That led me to a good habit though: warming up, stretching and having a proper rest too. I don't know if you have posted a video on warm up, it would be just great. What I'm doing, besides moving and stretching arms and hands, is practicing scales with your music theory videos, and also barre chords. And during my recovery, I have been focusing on strumming :)
Thanks for this video! My ukulele habit since May 2 is to play every day, even if I have no time to study properly. The most difficult thing for me now is strumming.
So glad to see Kit-Kat and Ari-Gato again. I love how Kit-Kat started looking into the camera after you made the introduction... LOL. I'm almost two years into learning the ukulele, and I'm still here learning from you. Thanks for all the lessons.
I start every session with a few cycles through C, Am, F, G using the 4 beat finger style. I used to practice all the chords in your chord review lessons from the challenge.
I had to watch this video 3 times. The first time, I watched, was just to watch and see what the video was about. The second time I watched, was while I had my ukulele with me and could follow along, and the third time was to watch the cats. Hehehe. Thank you for the easy to follow lessons.
Very helpful! (and i like your hair btw! 😍). As you pointed out, tuning everytime is nice habit: A clip tuner is what i use and now I can detect when a string is out of tune before I check it with the tuner. So, it is a very nice advice to improve your ear! Now I need to improve my strumming and start to recording myself
Hi Marco! 👋🏼 Thank you for the hair compliment! I cut it myself 💇🏻♀️💁🏻♀️ I’m glad you’re using a clip-on tuner and that you’re getting good at identifying an out-of-tune ukulele
Bendición me encantó muchos amiga temazo Díos té amar bonitas Saludos desde Marbella málaga España felíz días guapicima Gracias Díos té bendigas preciosas Bendición
Hey, I may be late, but I wanna congratulate you on 100k. I first started watching this channel around December of 2017 when you only had around 15k. I stopped watching for a few months, and know you have almost 120k. Wow.
You are such a good teacher. I love when you say "look up" and How did you know I needed to stretch my neck... I didn't even notice that I needed to stretch my neck LOL. Glad I found your channel. Much love!
I have no idea why I am apologising but although as a teacher you are very good I think you are beautiful and alls I would do is stare at your big Big brown eyes
Oh thank you . Since hearing that you grew up in San Dimas California just a stones throw from Glendora where I spent my early years growing up, feel like I have some similar experiences . Just many years apart . Been wanting to become a patron , working on how to figure that out . Takes me a little longer , I seem to be challenged in that area of technology, I will get it though. Thanks again for all you do .🥰
The Pano tuner is the one I used for months. It’s so easy. I had tried two previously but always got frustrated. I have a Snark now and love it. Super easy. I tune at beginning and end of session - - mostly for curiosity.
An alternative fingering for the dreaded E chord is what I call the "long E": barre the index finger across fret 4 and place the pinky (finger 4) at fret 7 (spelled 4447). Sometimes the high E note (string 1 fret 7) doesn't sound good with the melody, so you may prefer the standard E shape for that song. It's up to you. This long E shape can also be used for the D chord to give a high D note if that sounds better with the melody: barre across fret 2 and place finger 4 at fret 5 = D chord, spelled 2225. These shapes also make an easy transition from the major chord to the dominant 7th chord simply by lowering finger 4 by 2 frets. That is, E7 = 4445, and the familiar D7 of course is 2223. Songs often use the I7 chord as a passing chord from the root chord (I) to the 4th chord (IV), so this shape can be helpful there. Example: in the key of E from E to E7 to A, just like in the key of C from C to C7 to F that comes up so often.
Wow, thank you so so so much for this!!!
So funny when you say "look up" and I do it immediately. I feel like I'm sitting in a classroom. Haha I appreciate your Ukulele tutorial videos.
Hi Doug!!! 👋🏼
I can see you all 👀 and this is a classroom!
Ooh! So you DID see me light up a cigarette during class! 😲 SOOOO not doing that again 😂😂😂😂
One suggestion I would add is Don’t compare yourself with others. Learn at your own pace and enjoy the journey, including all the bumps along the ride
🐱👅🐱
This is a wonderful suggestion and I’m guilty of falling into this one 😓
You’re so right about enjoying the journey :)
#INSTAFAM
watching this video every day until I can check off every "don't do's" * cough * E chord * cough *
😂😂😂
The cats are like, "Yeah, Mom is doing another great lesson!"
Amazing points, especially about the not avoiding difficult chords, you are absolutely correct that muscle memory and repetition will get you there 😁 give that kitty some scritches from us!
Yeah! I’m guilty of avoiding those chords too when I was starting out :)
Mom: hey why are you so tense
Me:I’m being watched
Mom: You’re 12 years old you know you aren’t!
Mom: *comes*
Me: we are being watched
Mom: holy crap grab your ukulele or she’ll scream at you!
Muchísimas gracias amiga temazo Díos té bendigas felíz días guapicima ukelele súper genial Saludos allá beautiful
i want to start an ukulele group chat on instagram for beginners or semi-beginner players but i don’t have any friends or know anyone that plays the ukulele 😔
I love that you are not just showing cliché songs like most people do. I really like the mariachi style and actually glad you showed some in some of your other videos.
Thank you, Lyly! I’m so glad you like the variety of tutorials here. You will see some cheesy and cliche songs here too because I’ve got to pay the bills, but you’ll definitely continue seeing other genres here too 😊
Hello Bernadette. Thank you for understanding the human adult learner mind. You teach us all the things we need to know and you realize that we need basic info to get to a bigger objective. You also break down in smaller steps lessons to get to a bigger goal (E chord tutorial here) I love when you say to look up, I feel you have so much experience and you know when we are not looking at you but our uke. One suggestion: avoid using your pink Uke because we cannot see the fret wire on the video. Arigato...very good name ( combining Japanese and Spanish) love it. Also great hair.
I’ve been a beginner for years, so you could say I’m an expert beginner! I keep avoiding Es, Bs, and actually every barre chord. Thank you for helping me get rid of bad habits!
Stéphane Picher watch this video and practice the barred chords this week. You’ll notice you improve pretty quickly because now you have the basics down :)
Great tips Ms B 😊 Thank You!
Even though I don't have a ukelele as yet, I watch and have watched every single video you make. I love you so much Ms.B and I'm praying that things are working out well for you 😁🤗
🐱🐱☁️🎷🎵🎵
One of my dearest friends lived in San Dimas . We lived on Juanita street not to very far from San Dimas . My children growing up swam for the San Dimas swim team . I also one of the colleges I attended was Cal ploy Pomona. I now live in Oregon on the coast , west of Portland , in a very small community of Rockaway Beach . My husband and I have retired there and love it . I have a sister - in- law who still lives there in Pomona, across the street from the fair grounds . Some time when you are doing classes in or around the L.A area I will have to try and make it . 👍💞
Hi Bernadette! Great video! For me it's barred chords and strumming. I have learned strumming patterns, but I go intuitive and up strum when I think it would sound good in a song, but follow no pattern. That's me being lazy. Thanks for this! I have specific goals to work toward.
Love this video! I feel like 2019 was a pretty good year when it came to chords on the ukulele for me. I’m not scared of barre chords or the E chord anymore and I have become so much better at playing those since I started to not avoid them. There’s one thing though I have to change which is playing the island strum 99% of the time... 😅
Van Anh Ho 😂😂😂 yes, the island strum is stubborn! But you started exploring percussive ukulele, so that’s awesome!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Another great video, Sensei! I used to avoid the difficult chords, too!
I would say I’ve avoided singing while playing, and that’s ironic, because I wanted to learn a non-wind instrument so that I could sing along! I’ve avoided singing mostly out of embarrassment, because I think I’m not “good enough.” I am a harsh critic of myself, but how do I expect to improve? Being a teacher/coach of taekwondo, I’d say to any struggling student: practice is key. Repetition creates muscle memory that will become second nature. Michael Jordan didn’t become a star basketball player without spending hours upon hours (upon hours!) on the court, same as I didn’t become a black belt without spending time in training. I’m not expecting to be another Cynthia Lin, but why not be someone who can lead a sing-a-long? [Oooh, I cringe at the thought!]
Happy New Year! Thanks for the pep talk!
Cherry Tang I hope you find the courage to sing out. I'll be watching for you on ukelandia.
Beautiful hair sweetie ; )
Amazing video.
❤️
💛
I just got a uke a few days ago and ive been holding off doing strumming patterns so much because they always seemed so intimidating, ^-^'
Thanks, this is helping me a lot☺️💖
Valubinnie UWU yay!!!! 🥰💛✌🏼 glad this is helping you
This is a good timing!! I've been struggling so much to join a group. So shy but with your video, it's giving me a kick to go an explore the wolrd
Yeahhhh!!! 😎 join our Facebook group Ukelandia! It’s so much fun in there :)
@@BernadetteTeachesMusic I'm already in the amazing group!! Would try to interact more☺️.
thanks for reminding me to look up . its always just the right time!! maria from annapolis
MARIA!!! 💛🤗💛
Thank you for being here!
You can also start your own ukulele circle/group/orchestra. I am a flautist, guitarist, recorder player who started playing ukulele 2 and ½ years ago after taking part in a Summer NAMM Ukulele Circle event. Now I play my ukulele in church with my praise teams in many different keys and styles. I also am using my Lohanu uke to lead my church's Christian Ukulele Circle weekly and have had them play with me at a church concert (it was a 3 chord song) in Dec. 2019 after just 2 months. I'm learning that I need to slow things down chord acquisition wise because for half of my uke player, it's their 1st instrument.
Your 30 day ukulele challenge is fabulous. Like having a great teacher with you in your own lounge room 😊
Thank you very much, Bernadette! My Dad taught us all how to play when we were really little, but at that time I really wasn't interested. Well, I was invited to play in a Luau band and I'm scrambling to learn as much as fast as I can. It's not hard, but I've got a lot of catching up to do! Wish me luck!
Wow! Thanks for much for the hints about the barre chords! Now I am ready to practice them *and* that dreaded "E" chord....I wish I could thumbs up this video ten times! Thank you SO much! :-)
I wonder if you should have included don’t buy an 8 string as your first ukulele? Seriously, are bar chards harder on an 8 - like on a 12 string guitar? I loved the sound of 12 string but found it too challenging. Now I am in 8 string land.
😸👅😸
😆😆😆 #INSTAFAM
Love this video Bernie! Excellent advice. Joining an on line community is excellent advice and is loads of fun watching and learning from others. A couple years ago, I picked up a Boss RC-3 Looper Station (yeah, there is a learning curve to get over) but it has made me a better player as I can accompany myself on many songs these days. As always, thanks for sharing your skills; your lessons are top shelf!
Hey Bernadette, I'm having problems with fingering my D & E cords using my three middle, ring and pinky fingers. the space between the fret is just two small to for me to do that effectively. I've tried every rotation. My solution has been to depress the G & C strings with my middle finger, and us my ring finger to close the E string. This works somewhat, but I run the risk of getting a negative feedback moving from cord to cord. Is this a bad habit? My Uke measures as a concert "24, but feels like a Soprano. Its a great little Lohanu, but I"m struggling with this aspect of my growth as a new Uke player.
Love reminders so I don't pick up bad habits ! Another great video , thx ❤
Hi Susan!!! 👋🏼
Thank you so much for your sweet comment. It’s really uplifting to see someone likes these types of videos :)
That's a good list of things that ppl need to do/remember/watch out for :)
Thanks for leaving that fail in the video :D
Great Do's and don'ts! I am learning so much from you and feeling inspired to join the community and maybe post some videos. I'm so glad I found you! My 6 year old wants to play with me. Hopefully we can form a little duo!
Confession #1: I watch your videos at 1:00am when I should be sleeping and am sooo tempted to play while watching but can’t because housemates wouldn’t be happy.
Confession #2: When I have time to practice, I binge watch Netflix!!!
Bad habit: Practicing a lot on a single day, instead of practicing a little everyday. Also, practicing for many hours when your fingers are not yet used to it. I got a really bad thumb pain out of this. That led me to a good habit though: warming up, stretching and having a proper rest too. I don't know if you have posted a video on warm up, it would be just great. What I'm doing, besides moving and stretching arms and hands, is practicing scales with your music theory videos, and also barre chords. And during my recovery, I have been focusing on strumming :)
😺👅😺
I love barre chords!!! OK not really, but I'm beginning to actually attempt to learn them... 🐱👅🐱
😺👅😸
Thanks for this video! My ukulele habit since May 2 is to play every day, even if I have no time to study properly. The most difficult thing for me now is strumming.
So glad to see Kit-Kat and Ari-Gato again. I love how Kit-Kat started looking into the camera after you made the introduction... LOL. I'm almost two years into learning the ukulele, and I'm still here learning from you. Thanks for all the lessons.
I used to play guitar strumming with my thumb, ukulele needs. A different sound, so how to strum with my finger please.
Don't knock the island strum. I've been playing a year and I'm just getting the hang of it.
My wife and I find your videos very instructive. We are both beginners. We love how your cat just loves to hangout with you.
I really like that finger-picking style! Thank you for showing me that! c:
Even if I play often the fingerstyle if I have to strum I m just stuck with the island strum and it is very challenging to strum in another way.
0:12 bhar chords
3:25 nail length
4:42 avoiding e chord
7:42 unstable goals
10:20 tunning
13:10 using one chord for every chord
13:46 island strum
Hate to say, there is too much echo in the recording, makes it difficult to hear.
Could anything be done?
Thank you.
I start every session with a few cycles through C, Am, F, G using the 4 beat finger style. I used to practice all the chords in your chord review lessons from the challenge.
I had to watch this video 3 times. The first time, I watched, was just to watch and see what the video was about. The second time I watched, was while I had my ukulele with me and could follow along, and the third time was to watch the cats. Hehehe. Thank you for the easy to follow lessons.
Thank you Ms.B ^^ I would also share this to my friends.
I have learned a lot from you...Thanks much!!
That "look up" is so good lol I can tell you are a teacher, the "look up" is perfectly placed every time.
um... your hair looks great.... I still hate barre chords.
100% the island strumming 😂
i give you like. for the cat. again. hey. you amazing 👌🏼
😂😂😂 thank you Elio Melio
I love the new location! 😍
Very helpful! (and i like your hair btw! 😍). As you pointed out, tuning everytime is nice habit: A clip tuner is what i use and now I can detect when a string is out of tune before I check it with the tuner. So, it is a very nice advice to improve your ear! Now I need to improve my strumming and start to recording myself
Hi Marco! 👋🏼
Thank you for the hair compliment! I cut it myself 💇🏻♀️💁🏻♀️
I’m glad you’re using a clip-on tuner and that you’re getting good at identifying an out-of-tune ukulele
@@BernadetteTeachesMusic thanks to you for the advices and for staying in touch with your students. Have a good day, Bernadette! 🤗
Marco Meneses Montiel have a wonderful day, Marco!!! 💛💛💛
Great advice! Thanks!
Thank you so much, Steve!!! 💛💛💛
Glad you found some good advice here :)
Bendición me encantó muchos amiga temazo Díos té amar bonitas Saludos desde Marbella málaga España felíz días guapicima Gracias Díos té bendigas preciosas Bendición
Gracias Joseantonio!!!
i am very confused on bar chords
Well you got me miss B... I do them all... lol
Hey, I may be late, but I wanna congratulate you on 100k. I first started watching this channel around December of 2017 when you only had around 15k. I stopped watching for a few months, and know you have almost 120k. Wow.
Very helpful as usual 🙏🏻💕
Nelly, you are too kind! Thank you so much 😊
Omg loved it thx
Thank you, Diva!! 💁🏻♀️
thank u girl i love u
14:38 (for my own reference)
The CAT! Which cat is this? Also, wonderful tips thank you!
I have two tabby kitties! I got them when I lived in japan :)
Love this video
You are such a good teacher. I love when you say "look up" and How did you know I needed to stretch my neck... I didn't even notice that I needed to stretch my neck LOL. Glad I found your channel. Much love!
you have giants fingers. How lenth is your major finger?
😂😂😂 I don’t know
KITTY!
I have no idea why I am apologising but although as a teacher you are very good I think you are beautiful and alls I would do is stare at your big Big brown eyes
I love ukulele❤❤❤
Wendy 411 me too 🥰👏🏼💛
My confession and you named it!!! I avoid different strums and am in a rut. Ugh.
We will get you out of that rut!!!
Here’s a video with some fun strumming patterns, yo! ruclips.net/video/0bko86-8F38/видео.html
@@BernadetteTeachesMusic Thank you
Love your tutorials 😻
Rheba!! It’s always nice hearing from you ☺️
Oh thank you . Since hearing that you grew up in San Dimas California just a stones throw from Glendora where I spent my early years growing up, feel like I have some similar experiences . Just many years apart . Been wanting to become a patron , working on how to figure that out . Takes me a little longer , I seem to be challenged in that area of technology, I will get it though. Thanks again for all you do .🥰
Rheba Bond I LOVE that area!!! I went to Cal Poly Pomona too. I used to live on Belleview in San Dimas!!
Dude you got curls!!!
I was going to go to that party you saw on my Instagram stories :) quería ir guapa
Are you reading my mind? 😄 Thank you, Bernadette!
👀👀👀 I can see my students!! 😆
1 hour late😅
Late to class!!! 👩🏻🏫
The Pano tuner is the one I used for months. It’s so easy. I had tried two previously but always got frustrated. I have a Snark now and love it. Super easy. I tune at beginning and end of session - - mostly for curiosity.
PIVOOOOOOT
Las WannaBees PIVOOOOOTTTTT
🐱👅🐱
#INSTAFAM!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Bernadette Teaches Music actually I saw it from Facebook 😂