Ukulele’s popularity has recently exploded. In the last year alone the sales have risen jumped by close to 50%. In fact, year after year, the ukulele is getting more and more loved among musicians – and for good reasons.
First of all, beginner ukuleles are incredibly affordable and go for as low as $30. Second, the instrument is small, light, and easy to carry around. Lastly, of course, it’s also one of the easiest instruments to learn how to play.
Learning to play a few chords is already sufficient to play a large variety of well-known ukulele songs, so you don’t have to practice for months.
For that reason, we are looking at seven easy songs to play on the ukulele that you can get a good grasp on without much hassle.
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Sweet Home Alabama
Lynyrd Skynyrd Ukulele Song
This is the first song we will try to learn today. It is super popular among young aspiring musicians. Besides everybody loving this beautiful song, it is one of the best picks to learn as a beginner musician. To learn this song, all you need to play are a few simple chords. And since this isn’t a hard song with repeating patterns, you can relax and learn how to play it bit by bit.
So let’s look into the song now.
First, you have to learn the D chord for this song. In order to determine the D chord, you need to learn which strings are which on your ukulele and hold down the top 3 on the second fret. If you don’t have big hands, you can get by easily by pressing one finger on each string. However, if your hands are larger, it’s often easier to hold down all three strings with one finger.
Next, we have the C chord. The C chord is one of the easiest to play as all you need to press is the bottom string of the third fret.
The final chord happens to be the G chord, which is a little trickier. Here, you have to hold down the third string on the third fret and the second and fourth strings on the second fret.
In fact, if you are a guitar player, you’d notice how G chord on a ukulele resembles the D chord on the guitar.
After learning these chords, you can combine them and play your first ukulele song that’s one of the easiest to learn if you’ve never held a ukulele in your hands before.
The pattern is simple, and you can play the whole song with these few chords in a matter of hours. Make sure that you repeat the chord variation, and you will have the first ukulele song in your portfolio.
Just The Way You Are
Bruno Mars Ukulele Song
This famous ukulele song is made of just 3 chords. “Just The Way You Are” is a famous pop song we all know and love, and, luckily for all the beginners out there, it’s easy to play as well.
The first chord is C, which you have already learned in the first song above.
The second chord is A minor, which you can play with one finger. This time – you press down on the top string of the second fret.
Lastly, to play the F chord, you press on the top string of the second fret and the third string of the first fret.
There are tips on how to do so. Upon playing A minor, keep your middle finger positioned on the top string. After that, your transition from A minor to F means that you leave the finger you used for A and use the index finger to press down on the third string.
After learning all these chords and transitions, the song is incredibly easy to play. The song goes by eight lots – of C, A minor, F, and then C. The pattern essentially repeats throughout the whole song, including both the verse and the chorus.
Someone Like You
Adele Ukulele Song
Now that you know all the easy chords, you are close to calling yourself a seasoned ukulele veteran.
Learning all the chords may be boring and sometimes overwhelming, but soon you’ll notice how easy it is to play unfamiliar songs now. For example, Someone Like You by Adele.
While the song uses four as opposed to three chords in the previous two songs, you already know them – no need to learn anything new.
Learning all of the easy chords becomes overwhelming, but we are getting ready to get into the third song. “Someone Like You” is a great classic composed by the famous Adele. This ukulele version has four different chords, but it is still not difficult to play.
It is relatively simple, and you should get the hang of it fast. The variation remains the same going through the whole song.
Play the C chord four times, then play G four times. After that, play A and then F (4 times each as well).
Make sure to play the variation properly to get the climax of the song and the chorus as well. Once you have managed to play this variation, you can create your own patterns to find the one you like and enjoy the most.
Let It Be
Beatles Ukulele Song
To play this Beatles song, you need to replay the similar chords that you have learned above.
The harmonies are the same as well but carry different energy. The song is well-known and is guaranteed to be a hit in any company.
To master the song, you need to know the chords C, G, A minor and F . A combination of all will make you the perfect Beatles song.
The “Let It Be” song is an old-school favorite, and it takes some time to get the hold of it. However, with some proper practice, it is simple to master. Just give it some time.
You’re Beautiful
James Blunt Ukulele Song
Here, you need to master the transitions between the four chords. The song “You’re Beautiful” has four chords that we have learned above.
The first chord is C Chord, followed by G chord, A minor and F chord. After combining all harmonies, finally, we have a lovely James Blunt song.
Is this getting tedious? Please hold on because we’re almost at the end of the list! The song is not complicated, so you just need to repeat the variation of four chords to master this masterpiece!
Now, we have gone over five songs already!
Stand By Me
Ben E. King Ukulele Song
It doesn’t sound complicated – in fact, it’s close to effortless. We use four simple chords for this classic ukulele song.
One of the most beautiful songs for ukulele so far, the song is a repetition of the simplest chords ever – C chord, A minor, F, and G chord.
You can literally play this bad boy in your sleep – but don’t wake up your neighbors!
Love Yourself
Justin Bieber Ukulele Song
The last song we will learn today is Bieber’s classic “Love Yourself”. There is a new chord to learn to play this song.
We need to learn the D minor chord, but it’s not too hard, don’t worry. All we need to do is press down on the top string of the second fret with your third finger and second string with the fourth while holding down the third string of the first fret with your index finger.
Alright, it may sound confusing, but the video below does an amazing job explaining it.
After that, you’ve got variations of C, G, A minor and D minor chords. If will vary from verses to the chorus, so be careful. As long as you can manage to do the variations properly and moving your fingers from chord to chord in time, you are set!
Conclusion
If you want to learn a new instrument, then a ukulele is your go-to. It is not a difficult instrument to learn, and you can get pretty good at playing it without too much hassle.
You can even perform for friends and family after completing all seven songs – but make sure that you practice hard before demonstrating your skill!
