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How To Play THE UKULELE

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How the Ukulele Is Played

The ukulele is held as shown in Fig. 19 and is usually played
by strumming the strings with the fingers. There are two meth-
ods of striking the strings—the plain stroke and the roll stroke.

The plain stroke is made with the first finger of the right
hand. It should be held perfectly limp to get the best effects.
Stroke it down over the strings, just above the sound hole of the
instrument, striking the strings with the fingernail. Then stroke
it up across the strings, striking them with the fleshy part of the
finger tip.

Some players like to use the thumb when making the plain
stroke. To do this, combine the thumb with the first finger,
striking down with the ball of the thumb and the nail of the
first finger and coming up with the fleshy part of'the tip of the
first finger alone.

The best strumming effects are obtained with the roll stroke.
You play the downward roll by striking the strings with the
nails of all the fingers, beginning with the little finger, and com-
pleting the stroke by striking the strings with the ball of the
thumb. Play the upward roll in exactly the opposite way. Move
the hand up across the strings, striking them first with the nail
of the thumb, followed by the fleshy parts of the tips of all
four fingers.

Now Learn Some Chords

You have only to learn a few chords to be able to play the
ukulele and accompany almost any song or piece of dance
music. We are giving you in Fig. 20 diagrams that show how
to make the chords you will need to play in nine different keys.

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