Overview
Basic Ukulele Anatomy, How to Tune Your Ukulele, How to Hold Your Ukulele, How to Fret Notes, Strumming, How to Read Chord Diagrams, 4 Chords: C, Am, F, G, How to Play Your First Song, How to Play Your Second Song, Tips and Tricks
This class is designed for absolute beginners with no prior experience playing ukulele as well as for folks wanting to brush up on the basics of the instrument.
No previous experience or skills needed. You'll learn everything you need to know., Access to a ukulele and a tuner (you can use a free tuning app for your phone or tablet) is required.
In this class, composer Jason Rivera guides you through the essentials of learning to play the ukulele. The course starts with learning the anatomy of the ukulele and ends with playing two simple songs.
This class is designed for absolute beginners with no prior experience playing ukulele as well as for folks wanting to brush up on the basics of the instrument.
If you’ve been wanting to learn how to play ukulele but have been putting it off because you’re not sure where to start, then this class is for you. The goal of this class is to get you playing songs as quickly as possible. Once you complete this course, you’ll have the basics in place so that you can start learning how to play your favorite songs.
Included in this class are downloadable resources: chord diagrams and sheet music.
In order to take this class, you’ll need a ukulele and a tuner (you can use a free tuning app for your phone or tablet).
In this course, you'll learn:
Basic Ukulele Anatomy: The essential parts of the ukulele.
How to Tune Your Ukulele: How to easily tune your ukulele using a free app.
How to Hold Your Ukulele: How to hold the ukulele properly and tips on posture.
How to Fret Notes: How to produce the best possible tone on your ukulele.
Strumming: How to strum correctly and get a more even sound from your instrument.
How to Read Chord Diagrams: Clear explanations of what all the symbols on a chord diagram mean.
4 Chords: C, Am, F, G : You’ll learn your first 4 essential chords! We’ll look at the chord diagram for each of them, how to fret the ukulele correctly and which strings to strum.
How to Play Your First Song: This is where you put everything you’ve learned in the class to the test--changing chords, and strumming.
How to Play Your Second Song: You should feel a little more confident by this point in the class and ready to dive into learning your second song.
Tips and Tricks: A round up of all my tips and resources to get you learning to play the ukulele as quickly and easily as possible!
Jason Rivera
Hi!
I'm Jason Rivera. I compose music and teach from my studio in Los Angeles, CA. You can check out my music on my website and you can join my email list for updates.
“So good. His soothing voice establishes a real grounded trust. The kind of voice you want to hear in the trenches doing the hard work of making music.” - Philly B, Student
“I'd been playing an acoustic guitar for years now. But this class helped me refresh my memory and see points where I'm still messing up. Jason is a gentle guide and is clearly aware of beginners' pain points when they first pick up the guitar. Thank you for sharing these lessons.” - Winta A, Student
“Excellent class. He made concepts that have been difficult to understand previously so clear and concise. Really got a lot out of this class. This is foundational to becoming a good composer. Can't wait to try doing the assignments.” - Mona Lisa P, Student
“Things I have been confused about for years finally made sense to me through Jason's instructions. I can't thank you enough, Jason.” - Ronja B, Student
“Great work, with engaging visuals and great audio and video quality. Jason does a great job in keeping the audience engaged!” - Marco S, Student
MORE ABOUT JASON
Jason Rivera is a Puerto Rican, Los Angeles-based composer and multi-instrumentalist. Born to a musical family, his dad was an upright bassist in a Salsa band and his grandfather a guitarist. His dad’s basses and upright piano were fixtures in Jason’s house growing up. Occasionally, his dad would dust off a bass and jam with him as he learned to play drums and guitar. In his dad’s record and 8-track tape collection, he discovered everything from John Williams to the Salsa classics of Fania All-Stars. Because of these influences, he started playing and writing music at four years old and has not stopped since.
Recently Jason’s focus has been on writing music for media. In 2020, he was invited to score music for Liberty Mutual’s employee diversity, equity, and inclusion program. In 2021, a project he scored, the e-Learning course Disarming Microaggressions, won 3 Telly Awards.
His upcoming solo release, “Beam”, marks a new aesthetic. A direction in which he has given himself the freedom to follow his creative impulses and inspirations to wherever they may lead him.
Prior to working as a solo artist, Jason enjoyed his earlier musical successes as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with the band Some Go Haunting – culminating when he, along with bandmate Aria Pullman Ostrander, won the beIN the Beat competition, and was flown to Miami to record at the legendary Hit Factory Criteria studio. This live recording was broadcast worldwide during the Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona El Clásico pre-game show in 2014. During this time Some Go Haunting also collaborated with Wu-Tang Clan affiliates, the hip-hop duo Black Knights, on the song “Kids of Summer’.
Jason’s music has received radio play on KCSN (88.5 FM) and The Independent FM. His achievements have been profiled in Buzzbands, The Deli Magazine, Arena Music, Voyage LA Magazine, WeHeartMusic, Care2Rock, and Skillshare.
Jason says, “Music is an agent of alchemy. Every single note holds the potential to transform the differences that separate us into commonalities that unite us. Through my journey in music I have learned this lesson firsthand. And I look for every opportunity to conjure that alchemy.”