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We associate ukuleles with Hawaii, where they first became popular in the 1800s, but the four-stringed instrument has a lot of influence on music today as well. Ukuleles continue to sell well (think more than a million a year) and famous musicians and celebrities alike have all hopped on the trend to perform with ukuleles, including A-listers like Taylor Swift, George Clooney, and Zooey Deschanel.
The sweet and light ukulele chords have been used as inspiration for many popular songs, too. Elvis played a uke for one of his most famous songs, “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Meantime, the Wizard of Oz classic, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow, was famously adapted on the uke by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. And many Beatles songs (most notably “Hey Jude”) were also inspired by the instrument.
When it comes to learning new music for your uke (including some of those songs mentioned above), your best bet is to buy a songbook. In some books, the ukulele serves as the main melody, and the books will feature notes, similar to say, a piano songbook. Other books use the ukulele as background accompaniment, and will feature chords. The best ukulele songbooks will break down popular songs into easy-to-follow frets, showing you the finger positions needed to hit a particular note, or to strum a chord. Pick a book based on your learning style, and your familiarity with reading music.
Most people will want to get started with a ukulele songbook with chords. The books will show you the chord progressions needed to get through each song, and give you space to improvise in between each bar. While you can download chords online, you will often find mistakes or missing sections, which can be incredibly frustrating. Many websites also transcribe their own chords, meaning it won’t be the same arrangement as what you hear in a recording. It’s much easier to buy a songbook you can trust to be right.
We’ve rounded up a couple popular songbooks for the ukulele, which are great for learning some of your favorite songs on the uke. These books are ideal those who are just getting started with the instrument, and seasoned musicians alike.
