How To Play Ukulele Chord Changes Smoothly
When you first start playing the ukulele, it can be very frustrating to get your chord changes flowing smoothly and sounding right. You’ll often hear beginner ukulele players strumming along and then have to slow down or stop completely when they have to change chords.
In this article we hope to help you overcome these problems and take your playing to the next level.
Tip 1: Get Super Slow
The problem of jerky playing arises when you try to play at too high a tempo. The best thing to do when tackling a new tune is to start slowly – VERY slowly! Once your fingers get used to it, it will be easier.
It’s much easier to start very slowly and get your fingers used to the moves they will have to make than it is to keep trying – and failing – to do it at a fast pace.
Tip 2: Play Evenly
This tip follows on nicely from the first. The idea is to play at such a speed that you can change chords without interrupting the flow of the music. If that means you have to play very slowly indeed, that’s not a problem at all.
Doing it this way will mean you playing is much tighter and less sloppy once you start to increase the tempo up to full performance speed.
Tip 3: Think Ahead
You should have in your mind and which chord comes next and how you’re going to change to it. Think of ways you could make that change easier for yourself.
Take the change from a C chord to a G chord. With the C chord you’ll be fretting the A string with your third finger. Whilst you’re doing this, you could also be holding down the A string at the second fret with your middle finger – so it will be there already when you have to change to G.
Another preparation you can make is to have your fingers placed just above the string where they will have to be for the next chord. Now they will be much closer to where they need to be for the next chord.
