In this article, we’re going to share some of the best tools to learn guitar and ukulele. Both of these instruments share many similarities and some opt to learn them at the same time. For instance, both are great to play along with popular songs and are relatively easy to learn.
Naturally, they also have some significant differences, starting with the number of strings. A guitar has six strings and a ukulele has four. Therefore, chords are fingered differently in these instruments. However, learning one of them will help you develop some of the fine motor skills that you need to produce sound on strings. Without further ado, here are the best tools to learn guitar and ukulele.
Roadie Coach
This is a smart personal music tutor featuring a seamless combination of a multi-track recorder and a BLE MIDI controller put together in order to help you in your progress as a musician, whether it be guitar or ukelele. Roadie Coach attaches to the body of your acoustic guitar, electric guitar, or ukulele for convenience.
This fantastic tool comes with an education platform that helps you learn your favorite songs, one step at a time and at your own pace.
Coach will show you how to read both chords and tabs and how to position your fingers. It will even help you transpose a song from one key to another so it is more comfortable for you to play or sing.
Additionally, the songs on the Coach library come with a backing track that you can play along with for a more immersive practicing experience.
Coach features a high-end microphone to capture your playing and then will analyze your performance to provide you with instant feedback on your playing via the app.
The Metronome by Soundbrenner
The Metronome by Soundbrenner is an app that is designed with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. It features a wide range of tempos, different time signatures, and plenty of subdivisions.
Naturally, a metronome is used to develop accurate time when playing. This app features a metronome clock that Sounbrenner developed and refined for more than half a decade to run perfectly on both iOS and Android devices.
There is also a feature that lets you make a song playlist and set tempos/subdivision combinations for each song.
This app also gives you 20 different metronome sounds to choose from, a light or dark theme, and even a count-in so you can start on time.
You can also choose to pair this app with a Soundbrenner Bluetooth wearable, in order to get the complete package.
Ultimate Guitar
Ultimate Guitar is one of the most popular websites for looking up famous songs and classics. It is important to point out that even though the fingering for the same chord will be different in the guitar and the uke, the harmony is the same. In other words, the chords on any given song remain the same, regardless of the instrument they’re played on.
And when it comes to a source with an evergrowing library of songs, Ultimate Guitar is among the top choice. They have earned the respect and trust of musicians everywhere, and are equally useful for guitar players and ukelele players.
Besides offering a very comprehensive collection of tabs submitted by users, they are based on user-submitted material in order to enrich the site.
Here, you will find much more than tabs. You also get lessons, insights, and more. This site even allows you to choose which is your main instrument, so it can tailor its resources to your own personal interests, whether you play guitar or uke.
Yousician
Yousician is a great online tool that comes in the form of an app and also a website. It is equally useful for ukulele and guitar players, and it is based on learning popular songs to advance your chosen instrument. Here you get to play along with a large library of songs, and you can also get individual lessons assembled by actual teachers.
Yousician’s unique interface lets you envision the whole fretboard while playing along to a song with a bouncing ball that indicates the rhythm. You set your desired speed on all exercises so you can go at your own pace.
Additionally, this app teaches an assortment of techniques for both the uke and the guitar.
TrueFire
TrueFire is a fantastic online resource for musicians, offering tons of lessons for guitarists and a few for ukulele players. They feature interactive video lessons conducted by renowned teachers and even Grammy award-winning instrumentalists.
With TrueFire you get lessons on a variety of musical styles and at varying skill levels. Topics are also varied, and the student can find lessons that fit their instrument and skills.
Lessons come with different options such as slow motion, so you can go at your pace. Besides allowing the student to choose their instrument, topic, and level, TrueFire features an incredibly large library of lessons. Furthermore, they are constantly releasing new lessons as their popularity has led to increased demand.
Fender Play
Fender Play provides step-by-step lessons for guitarists and ukelele players. As a matter of fact, they even have lessons that teach you how to play the ukulele and sing at the same time.
Fender Play can be used either online or via their app, so you can choose whatever is more convenient at any given moment.
This platform comes with a 7-day free trial so you can try it and examine the learning style before committing to a membership. If you decide to get a membership, you will have access to all classes, song tutorials, play-along tracks, song tutorials, and more.
Additionally, the Fender Play app is customizable, allowing you to select which instrument you want to learn. You also get to choose the genres you want to work on. This selection includes rock, folk, pop, country and blues.
These tools to learn guitar and ukulele are very well built and offer a fantastic resource. Take the time to explore them, and remember to put in the work through dedicated practice. Have fun!
