Introducing Ukulele Buddy: Resources and Tools

Ready to learn ukulele? Beginners, your search for an amazing instructor is over. JP Allen of Kapaa, Hawaii, has revolutionized the way budding musicians take ukulele lessons online. Featured on major networks including CNN and Fox, JP and fellow instructor Mitch Chang make learning fun and rewarding.

Besides online ukulele lessons, the site offers tons of free resources designed to help beginners find their way around the ukulele while learning some basic theory.

Free Online Ukulele Tuner

Photo Credit: UkuleleBuddy.com

There are a lot of free ukulele tuners online, but Ukulele Buddy offers one of the best. Whether you prefer standard gCEA tuning or an alternative such as dGBE, you’ll find all the most popular ukulele tunings here.

This ukulele tuner has a microphone in addition to standard sound, so you can tune according to your own playing, if you like.

A quick scroll down reveals some additional tips for tuning your ukulele with different types of tuners, as well as with other instruments.

Free Ukulele Arpeggios Selector with Audio

Arpeggios make ukulele music sound sweeter, and they’re essential for fingerpicking, improv, or just relaxing and making some free-flowing music of your own. Ukulele Buddy’s free arpeggios selector provides a full range of notes, plus it offers helpful tips for making your arpeggios sound appealing.

Photo Credit: UkuleleBuddy.com

Free Ukulele Scales Selector

Once you’ve learned how to play scales, you’ll find it’s easier to pick up your ukulele and play any song you feel like strumming. Ukulele Buddy offers a well-rounded scales selector that covers every scale imaginable, including major scales, minor scales, blues scales, pentatonic scales, and so much more, all in whichever key you’d like to use. C major is a great place to start! In case you’re not familiar with scales, you’ll find a helpful introduction to ukulele scales just beneath the selector.

Photo credit: UkuleleBuddy.com

Free Ukulele Chords Namer with Sound

Stuck at work? Want to play the ukulele? No problem. You can practice your chords online with the Ukulele Buddy Free Ukulele Chords Namer. Just tap on the frets to choose notes, and then click the play button to hear the sound of the chord you selected. This tool is a great one for learning ukulele notes, and it can help you decipher ukulele tabs, too.

Photo Credit: UkuleleBuddy.com

Free Ukulele Chords Selector with Sound

This is another great tool for “practicing” ukulele and memorizing chords when you don’t have your instrument handy! Although it’s meant to help you see what different chords look and sound like, Ukulele Buddy’s chord selector can also help you create your own songs. There’s more to discover below the chord selector tool. You’ll find illustrations and instructions for playing the top 13 ukulele chords here, plus there’s a handy guide to ukulele chord charts, designed to help you read music easily.

Ukulele Lessons Online

Online music lessons are amazing: You get access to professional instructors at prices that weren’t possible before the web gave the world the ability to connect. JP Allen has been performing and teaching music professionally for more than 20 years. Not only has he toured the world with Grammy-nominated singer Abra Moore, he has taught at the University of Texas and Austin Community College.

Students at Ukulele Buddy receive access to JP’s quick, simple video lessons designed just for beginners. Within a week, even complete novices can play their first simple songs – and sound good!

It all begins when you grab your ukulele and get comfortable. Once you’ve found a cozy nook, you’re ready to learn at your own pace, playing along with easy videos that you can repeat as often as you like. Professional guitarist and ukulele master Mitch Chang joins JP, providing insight that makes chord progression and other essentials easier to learn.

JP and Mitch recommend that students take three seven-minute ukulele classes per week, practicing each lesson along with the video until the newest skill has been learned. Easier than trying to follow along in a traditional class, this method lets you pause, repeat, and learn at your own pace without feeling left behind.

Not sure if you’re ready to purchase lessons? Ukulele Buddy offers a series of free online ukulele lessons to help you get a feel for the teaching style and determine whether this course is the right one for you. Either way, be sure to take advantage of the online ukulele tuner, chord selector, and other resources that JP has assembled. With just a little practice, you’ll be well on your way to playing ukulele for your friends!