anyone taught themselves to play the ukulele?

A question about : anyone taught themselves to play the ukulele?

I'm looking for a project as a focus for my 'me' time over the coming year (i'm a teacher determined to improve my work/life balance). I really fancy learning the ukulele. was just wondering whether anyone here has taught themselves, or plays the Uke? any hints or tips to share?

Best answers:

• Is this is a joke ?
• Justin Moorhouse is doing that at the moment.
• I bought my OH a uke for his birthday a couple of years ago and with the aid of some online tutorials he's taught himself to play (and really enjoyed it!).
  You'd be surprised at how many pubs do ukulele nights as well...really good fun!
• My O/H bought me a uke for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. It only cost Ј21.99 from amazon (just a budget Vintage one).
  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vintage-VUK2...4291938&sr=8-1
  I'm loving it. It came with a load of chord diagrams, and I've been hunting out songs I want to learn of t'interweb. There is also a free uke tuner online, which has made it a doddle for working out alternative tunings.
  https://www.get-tuned.com/online_ukulele_tuner.php
  Check these guys out....very good and very funny!!
  Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - Wuthering Heights
• do you play any other instruments Bazey?
• I used to play drums(sold my kit 7 years ago when I moved to London) and I started to learn acoustic guitar march last year.
  Uke chords are quite different to guitar chords but I've not had any probs picking it up easily enough!!
  I've just learnt how to play "shook me all night" by ACDC on the uke. You will not believe how much I've been grinning...
  Good luck if you do decide to start learning. I'm certain you will enjoy!!
• just checked out ukulele underground - hands down the BEST tutorials i have seen so far. Wish I could thank you twice.
  Can't wait to get my uke now
• I picked the Uke up about 3 years ago when I was laid up after a road accident just as something to do. I learned to play it by following online tutorials, just start with a few basic chords and work up from there. My suggestions, for what they are worth : A decent instrument makes all the difference, the cheap Ј20 jobs of ebay sound terrible, don't stay in tune and will only put you off, you want to be looking in the Ј50 range for a start. Make sure you buy a tuner, an out of tune instrument is no use at all. Don't worry if you can't get your head round singing and playing at the same time, it will come in time. Most importantly, try and find other people to play with. Doing so will keep you motivated to improve, makes playing 10x more fun and is a real source of enjoyment in itself. If you want to see one of my last performances search "Tribfest Crosstown Traffic" on Youtube, I'm in there somewhere.
• Get a halfway decent one if you can afford it. Get a clip on tuner. Get a couple of books, one with songs and chords, one slightly more detailed and with skills teaching involved.
  Get a music stand. Neck ache from straining to see the chord chart is a real fun killer.
  If you don't have any experience (or callouses) on your fingers from fretting strings, keep it to ten minutes at a time. A leather plectrum sounds nicer than a felt one if you don't want to use your thumb and index finger.
  Take it slowly. Get one thing right before you move onto the next.
  Be prepared to see yourself as hamfisted, incompetent and a candidate for appearing as the Hooded Claw, as the spacings between the strings are quite tight. If you have huge hands, a baritone uke would be less painful - and good if you have a lower range voice.
  If you have loads of money to spare (which, as a teacher, is unlikely), you could even consider a bass uke. They're awesomely great. But I am biased
  Don't forget your hands will ache. It's normal. Just pay close attention to technique, posture and take it slowly. You get faster when you get better. Fast speed and crap technique won't get you far. And ALWAYS WARM UP before playing.
  I'm learning uke at the moment, mainly so I can do something else other than bass and bodhran. Or rhythm guitar. Or sing.
  (Be warned! This can become obsessive)
  And DON'T mention it in the staff room unless you actually want to be holding lunchtime classes in it for the rest of your natural.
• Any thoughts on these for a beginner - Lanikai LU-21 and Kala KA-S? Narrowed it down (I think) to these two, so any comments (or other ideas) would be appreciated.