Get Plucky With The Ukulele: A Quick And Easy Guide To All Things Uke

Will Grove-White who is a member of the great Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, has written a very entertaining and informative book on the History and mechanics of playing Ukulele. While I'm an experience player, I found it to be a fascinating read both in the contents and the beautiful layout. Lots of tidbits and inside info on the ukulele world and the UOGB. Even though I have read and own all the books I could find about the history of the Ukulele, Get Plucky brings a fresh view with good narrative, plenty of information and lots of fun anecdotes. I highly recommend this book as a must have addition to any Ukulele enthusiast, be it a beginner or an advanced player. Well done Will, Well done!

A bit over a year ago I bought my first ukulele and this book. Those purchases are among the best I've ever made. The book is outstanding--fun to read, lots of background on the instrument and, from my perspective, the right amount of instructional material to get a beginner started. The instruction is sound, and Will presents it clearly, effectively and in a light-hearted manner that encourages the beginner simply to have fun. The book is meant to be a starting point, and it provides the background that will allow the reader to begin attending jams, learning more songs and otherwise building skill. I've shared it with friends who I've encouraged to take up the uke, and all have found it useful and fun.

If you are looking for a book to learn how to play songs on a uke, buy a songbook. The "Jumpin' Jim" series is outstanding. Get Plucky covers in detail the history of the uke, famous players (pluckers), types of ukes, etc. It is a very interesting book, but I repeat it is more about the instrument and less about learning songs. It is amazing how popular this instrument is and how pluckers pluck it all over the globe. I wish the author would have written a piece about the banjolele (ukulele in the shape of a short-necked banjo) as played in Brazil. It is used to play tunes also played by the cavaco (cavaquinho), a cousin to the ukulele. The big difference in sound is the volume.

I used this book to teach myself how to play the ukulele, and I'm so glad I chose this one specifically. The songs get progressively more difficult, making it a no-brainer to follow along with while improving your skills. The information on the history of the ukulele will provide you the perfect motivation to keep going. Will Grove-Whites laid back humor will keep you from beating yourself up when things get a little harder. I also purchased Ukulele for Dummies, and I can honestly say this book is more useful for complete beginners. It includes the info you need to get started and nothing more. From there you can use other books or youtube videos to learn more strumming variations, genre styles etc. If you are total beginner, you will not regret purchasing this awesome book!

Like the Ukulele, this book is fun, fun, fun! It's also loaded with great historical info about the great uke players of the past, and snapshots of some of the great performers of today. It goes on to give some excellent ukulele lessons in a way that is simple, straightforward, and very practical. If you own a ukulele, you should own this book! It is a fun read, in a style that is uplifting and laced with personal observations. It's also beautifully made--heavily bound to last a lifetime, great photos, and easy to follow instructions. Highly recommended!

Will Grove-White's humo(u)r gives this wonderful book a sparkle most uke books lack. This book will please pro players as much as those who've never plunked a note. Quick history, influential performers, techniques, and many more facets of the ukulele from an early member of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain whose experience gives expertise in the joys of the instrument. This book is a quick read with great depths when reread (and you will want to play the fun exercises and songs he provides). Whether you love the ukulele, or have a slight curiosity, this book is a great companion.

Great little book. Well written, informative and sometimes funny. Lots of background on the Uke, lessons on strumming, chords, and songs you can practice. Your can go to the author's website and take a lesson on the songs in the book; play along with Will and listen to how they sound played by a pro. It was a great purchase.

The contents of the book consists of two to three parts. The book could be used as a resource book, not really for instructions to teach. The first part of 96 pages is redundant to the title of the book... Beginners... How to play. From the title of the book, one would expect the contents to go straight to the practical aspects, which is only covered from pages 100 to 161. Steps to learn how to play an ukulele are not progressive and repetitive enough to master the basics. However, pages 86 to 99 are useful when choosing how to buy an ukulele. To my opinion, the book tries its best implicitly to imbue interests to motivate players to pick up an ukulele; for this I would rate 4 stars. However, for a Beginner's book on 'how to play a ukulele' I would rate 2 stars.

Ouvrage passionnant avec de l'humour british. Moins une méthode qu'un livre qui traite du ukulele de son histoire, ses artistes majeurs, mais aussi avec une partie plus technique et des grilles d'accords. A posséder pour qui s'intéresse au ukulele et lit l'anglais.

User friendly, but overstuffed. More than 100 pages of filler. About 70 of information (how to strum, tune, and make chords.) I'm sure there are better books out there for the novice and purchasing a second hand book can probably save a bit.

Please note: While I am a member of the Vine Voices review programme, this book was purchased with my own money. - - - - - - - Author Will Grove-White is well placed to write a book about this diminutive instrument as he was, for many years, a member of the legendary 'Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain'. Uke books can broadly be split into three categories. The first (and one of the largest) is the 'How to play' group. There are myriad books on this topic which will take you from your first, faltering steps playing a 'C' chord (very commonly used and only requires one finger, so it's inevitably the first one you learn), to challenging manuals which will teach you a variety of strumming techniques, chords that you didn't know existed, let alone would want to use, and techniques such as legato, tremolo, vibrato and other things that end in 'o'. Second are the music books which will teach you to play specific songs - again, hundreds available in every genre from Folk to Classical via Christmas tunes, pop songs and more. And then thirdly, the considerably smaller category of 'Books about the Uke itself'. Mr Grove-White's book covers a good chunk of this last category, plus an introduction to playing the instrument. It's value, I feel, is in this first section. I've just finished reading another book that purports to be a history of the Ukulele and it was one of the most long-winded, rambling 'shaggy-dog stories' that I've ever ploughed though, and for every relevant Uke fact, there were ten that I could have done without. 'Get Plucky' sticks to the subject in a light-hearted and engaging manner and is, for all but the most dedicated of Ukulele students, probably the only 'About the Uke' book you'll ever need. The first sixty-odd pages covers the origins and history of the instrument, famous (and celebrity) Uke players, its heyday, its 'dark ages' and plenty more. There's a useful section for those considering their first Uke purchase - what size to get, how much to spend, what to look for in an instrument, accessories that you might need and a warning - which should be heeded - about 'Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome', a very real problem which sees money which should be allocated for sensible things clothing or Ikea furniture, spent on 'just one more Uke'. The remaining 90 or so pages form a tutorial that'll get you started, covering basic chords, your first strumming patterns and simple songs to play, plus more advanced topics such as alternate tunings, which you can come back to when you're feeling more confident. This will get you going, but stick with it and you'll soon want to either find a more comprehensive manual or, better still, grab your four-stringed friend and go off and join your local ukulele group. Highly recommended, and deserving of a place on any ukulele player's bookshelf. N.B. This book has since been republished, with a different title and cover, as 'Ukulele For Beginners : How To Play tHe Uklulele In Easy To Follow Steps'. I am reliably informed that the content is identical.

Kaliteli bir basım. Ukulele tarihi, ukulele seçimi nasıl yapılmalı, ukulelelerin yapısı ve başlangıç seviye eğitimi vs. hakkında gayet güzel bilgi veriyor. Benim ihtiyacımı karşıladı ancak müzik eğitimi odaklı bir kitap isteyenler için başka bir seçenek daha iyi olabilir çünkü kitabın yarısı ukulele hakkında tarih dersiyle geçiyor.

Nice