Dec/23/09
16comments

Get a Ukulele for Christmas? Read This!

When I got my first ukulele, I was completely clueless. This was in the dark days before the internet had been discovered. I didn’t even realise that the strings weren’t supposed to go thickest to thinnest and restrung it.

So, to save you from the social disgrace I experienced, I’ve put together a mini-ebook covering the basics that every first time uke owner needs to know. Here’s what it contains:

Five Things to Know.
Five Chords to Learn.
Five Songs to Play.
Five Websites to Visit.
Five Things to Get Free.
Five Things to Buy.
Five Videos to Watch.
Five YouTube Channels to Subscribe to.

You can download it free by here (Right click and select ‘Save As…’):

So You’ve Just Bought Your First Ukulele (PDF)

It’s released under a Creative Commons License. So you can email it people, let people download it on your site, print it out and hand it round to people – so long as you keep the content as it is.

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16 Comments

  1. EdgarG's December 23rd, 2009 10:05 pm

    I bought my first ukulele 30min ago! :$
    i download this, right now!
    greetings from monterrey, mexico!

  2. Chelle December 23rd, 2009 10:38 pm

    Oh wow, that’s so useful! Ever since I got my uke a load of my friends have gone and bought some because they have come to realise how awesome it is ;D I I’ll definitely link them to this!

  3. Keith Collishaw December 24th, 2009 9:14 am

    Just a little plug for the linux community – there is a tab editor for linux (open source and free to use) called TuxGuitar – version 1.2 is now available.

    I find it easier to use than Power Tab (just an opinion) there are versions for linux, Windows and Mac systems. It has one or two features I couldn’t find in Power Tab – most usefully a transpose option once you have written the tab

    I am very new to Tab so my opinion may not count for much.

    Great little intro to ukes – bought several for friends will send them this.

  4. Tony Boland December 24th, 2009 10:04 am

    And here I was suffering withdrawal symptons from my daily Ukehunt fix and then……a Christmas Miracle! In my mailbox a surprise email from the well deserved holidaying Al!
    But, what a great, well presented essential guide for those new to the Uke (and even if your not!)
    Well Done Al and a very Happy Christmas to you.
    Enjoy your break!
    Tony

  5. Ashlee December 25th, 2009 11:28 pm

    Thank you thank you thank you thank you
    I just got one this year and I have been wanting one forever.
    I’m still in the dark but I’m excited to pick it up.
    This will definitely help (:

  6. Mike December 25th, 2009 11:41 pm

    Having failed to get my guitar out of the case for the last 12 months I have just been given a ukulele for Christmas. It’s rather small, but I think I might be in love.

  7. todd December 27th, 2009 6:25 am

    just one more reason you’re a champion…….

    oh…btw, my brother-in-law got me the uke hero t-shirt for Christmas….

    rejoice with me :)

    have a great break Al,

    todd

  8. Nick B-C. December 27th, 2009 12:07 pm

    …Loving the Le Soir ukulele sessions…not seen them before…thanks for pointing us to such a little goldmine…

  9. Lizzie December 28th, 2009 9:48 am

    Brilliant!!! Many thanks for such a great Xmas present – hope you had a good one :-)
    Best wishes,
    Lizzie

  10. Woodshed December 30th, 2009 11:31 am

    EdgarG’s: Congrats on your first uke.

    Chelle: Thanks for spreading the word about it.

    Keith: Thanks for the info.

    Tony: Thanks! Hope you enjoyed your Xmas.

    Ashlee: You’re welcome you’re welcome you’re welcome.

    Mike: Hope you’re enjoying it.

    todd: Glad you got hold of one. I’ve been entertaining the idea of getting a similar t-shirt designed and selling it myself. Although recent shirt selling experiences have put me off.

    Nick: The Le Soir Sessions seem to have slowed down of late. A bit of a shame.

    Lizzie: Thanks very much.

  11. Gary G January 1st, 2010 7:58 pm

    Thanks sooo much for this – just got my first uke this Christmas and tried to apply guitar principles – WRONG! This download really saved my act!

    Happy New Year from Wimbledon
    Gary

  12. Danny January 2nd, 2010 1:59 am

    I can’t get this to download , it goes to a HP photosmat site. What am i doing wrong? Sound like I’m missing out. Thanks

  13. Oval January 3rd, 2010 6:51 pm

    Yes, the guys at T-Shirt Hell are basically scam artists. About a year ago they claimed they were going out of business, yet they’re still here spreading the hate. But that’s ok, it’s just a joke and as Megatron says “FUCK YOU IF YOU CAN’T TAKE A JOKE!”…

  14. Delaney January 5th, 2010 2:02 am

    this pdf has helped me so much! thank you for creating such an awesome website!

  15. teralee January 20th, 2010 11:59 pm

    This is incredibly helpful, I’m so grateful Thank You!! As soon as I’ve got money in my pocket I’ll definitely be buying some more of your eBooks!

  16. Woodshed January 23rd, 2010 10:55 am

    Gary: Glad you found it useful. I certainly had to do a lot of rethinking when I graduated from guitar to uke.

    Danny: Hmm, sorry about that. I have no idea why that would happen.

    Oval: I’m coming around to agreeing with you on that.

    Delaney: Thanks very much.

    teralee: You’re welcome!

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