How to Play the Ukulele for the Complete Ignoramus is touted to be the perfect book for newbies to this tiny guitar-like instrument. Written by Ted Parrish and Wayne Erbsen from Native Ground, the book covers all the topics when it comes to learning how to play the ukulele for beginners.
At just over 100 pages long, you can rest assured that the writers of the book spared no effort when it came to providing a guide as comprehensive as possible for all the ukulele beginners.
Spiral-bound and with 9” by 12” pages, this book also comes with a CD that contains over 60 audio tracks. This makes it a little more helpful when it comes to actually apply what you are learning while you read the book.
Ukulele for the Complete Ignoramus
This is the How to Play the Ukulele for the Complete Ignoramus book review that will help you decide whether or not the book is worth the investment of time and money for those learning how to play the instrument.
The Layout
The first thing we want to address in How to Play the Ukulele for the Complete Ignoramus book review is the layout of the book. It starts off with a very strong introduction to the instrument and the history of the ukulele.
Knowing these basics helps to keep the new player grounded as the prospective musician starts off learning this instrument.
When you are learning how to play the ukulele, you also need to have the right apparatus that a beginner needs. This is why right after the introduction and history, the book dives into the matter of how you can choose the right ukulele as a beginner.
Once you have all the information you need about choosing the right ukulele, you can go out and buy one for yourself. After the right ukulele is in your hands, the book teaches you how to properly hold the ukulele.
Of course, before you start playing it, you need to get your instrument in tune and that’s what comes next. It teaches you how to properly tune the ukulele before it teaches you how to play the ukulele. We have selected 5 of the best ukulele tuners in a short, to-the-point guide.
A highlight of the Book
The best part about the book is the fact that it explains the different strum patterns you can use. With 9 different strum patterns between standard and three-quarters time covered, you can move on to the easy-to-use tabs and chords for different songs in the book.
The Songs
The next thing we want to cover in the How to Play the Ukulele for the Complete Ignoramus book review is the songs. Once you have learned all the basic strumming patterns, it will teach you progressively more advanced songs as you go through the book.
Most songs come with the suggested strum charts which make it easier for you to learn the song without the need to flip the pages. If interested further, learn how to read ukulele tabs in 4 easy steps.
Final Verdict
How to Play the Ukulele for the Complete Ignoramus book review is one incredibly good purchase for all the beginners out there. The additional support from the audio CD along with the detailed guide on everything you need to know about how to play the ukulele makes learning the ukulele incredibly easy.
The audio is professionally recorded to make your experience of learning how to play the instrument an amazing one. The only downside to the book we felt was the lack of variety in the song choices.
Most of the songs are blues and gospel songs. To learn the newer songs, you need to move on to them after getting your hands steady on the ones in the book first. For $18.93 on Amazon, this is a pretty solid deal for a comprehensive guide along with an audio CD to help you learn how to play the ukulele.