Learn How to Play Ukulele: Learn How to Do Fingerpicking On the Ukulele Part 1

Alright, so remember how I said don't rush it, take your time when it comes to learning new techniques on the ukulele? Well, here's a quick tutorial on how to do fingerpicking on the ukulele. 

The most important thing to remember when learning fingerpicking is to do a tone check. That means, make sure that the finger(s) pressing down on the strings between the frets are firm enough so that the string isn't muted (unless you want to mute the string), but not so firm that you cause buzzing. A lot of this depends on the action of your ukulele, meaning how far above the fretboard the strings hover. So if you have lots of problems getting a nice, clear tone out of your ukulele, you might want to have a professional luthier just take a quick peek and make sure that the saddle and bridge of your instrument are properly positioned.

Start learning how to do fingerpicking by practicing plucking each string, one at a time, without pressing down on the fretboard, until you get a clear, even tone. To start, just take your thumb, place is on the side of the string closest to the ceiling, and give it a pluck. Let the vibration and sound stop before you move on to the next string. You can experiment with how loud or soft you pluck the strings by using more or less pressure.

Next, start by pressing down on the first fret of the fourth string with your left hand. Again, give it a good firm pluck and let the sound ring out before moving on to the next string. Press down on just the first fret of each string as you move from the fourth string to the first. If you hear buzzing or if you don't hear much of a ringing tone, play with how much pressure you're putting on that string with your finger. Once you have the tone, play with how loud or soft you play with your thumb.

Tone Check for Fingerpicking With the Thumb

This is one of my favorite fingerpicking exercises to just get warmed up on the ukulele, and I play it all the time. Starting with the first string (A) and moving towards the fourth string (g), begin with your first finger of your left hand on the first fret. Pluck the string, then quickly move on to the second fret of that string, then the third, and finally the fourth. 

Once you have the first string mastered, move on to the second string (E) and repeat. Then the third, and then the fourth.

The challenge with this exercise is to play each note on each string individually without accidentally hitting any of the other strings. Once you can comfortably play this at a modest tempo, try speeding it up a little. Then maybe speed it up a lot! 

You can also mix it up by:

• Changing the order in which you put your fingers down on the strings instead of just playing 1234 all the time.
• Each time you go up and down the strings, move up one fret. So the second time you start playing, instead of playing on the first fret, start on the second fret. Then the third. Then the fourth. Then the fifth. (You get it.)
• Mix up the order of the strings. Try going ACEg, or ECgA. 

For this exercise, stick with just your thumb at first, and then we can move on to using the other fingers in tomorrow's blog!