At first glance, a ukulele can appear to be one of the easiest instruments. It's small. Just four strings. How hard could it be?
But anyone who has picked up a uke with dreams of sounding like the next Vance Joy, Bob Marley, or even Tiny Tim quickly learns it takes practice. These easy ukulele songs are a great place to start and we play them often at our Tuesday Ukulele Group meetings in Austin. What's more, they're great songs. Beginner ukulele players and uke players of all skill levels can enjoy these popular songs.
These easy songs use all basic chords, such as G major, F major, A minor, and D major. A note on abbreviations: You will see them notated in chord charts as G, F, Am, and D. Many of the songs also note strumming patterns, but beginners may want to strum each of these easy chords once, and move to the next chord.
Hey beginners: Starting with these fun songs will help you learn the basic chord shapes you will use often. Going back and forth between just a few easy chords will build finger strength and muscle memory you'll need later for the more-complicated songs that use more advanced chord progressions and barre chords.
Even with easy songs, it will be hard at first. You're asking your fingers to bend and stretch in new ways, learning major chords and minor chords, persuading both of your hands and your voice to all work together ... it takes repetition and time. So take it easy on yourself and enjoy the journey. Playing fun ukulele songs like these should stay fun.
We also have some video lessons for beginners!
The popular ukulele songs we list here are those we've played multiple times at our club meetings. They are divided into sections with 2 chords and 3 chords.
Stay All Night |
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video |
Waltz Across Texas | .chopro PDF | video |
Angeline The Baker | .chopro .pdf | video |
Hush Little Baby | .chopro .pdf | |
Iko Iko | .chopro .pdf | video |
The Beat Goes On | .chopro .pdf | video |
Achy Breaky Heart | .chopro PDF | video |
Jambalaya | .chopro PDF | video |
Buffalo Gals | .chopro .pdf | video |
Dance the Night Away | .chopro .pdf | video |
Deep In The Heart Of Texas | .chopro .pdf | video |
Dream Baby | .chopro .pdf | video |
Down in the Valley | .chopro .pdf | video |
Life During Wartime | video | |
Don't Mess With My Toot Toot | video | |
Ain't Gonna Rain No More | .chopro PDF | video |
Hold On (Keep Your Eyes on the Prize) | video | |
Horse with no Name | video | |
Something in the Way | ||
Born in the USA | ||
Tom Dooley | ||
You're Everything and More | ||
Honeypot | .chopro .pdf |
What's Up | .chopro .pdf | video |
59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) | .chopro .pdf | |
All Along The Watchtower | .chopro .pdf | |
All Together Now | .chopro .pdf | |
Auld Lang Syne | .chopro .pdf | |
Ballad of Gilligan's Island | .chopro .pdf | |
Hearse Song | .chopro
.pdf | |
Boogie Shoes | .chopro .pdf | |
Casey Jones | .chopro .pdf | |
Cold, Cold Heart | .chopro .pdf | |
Colours | .chopro .pdf | |
Da Doo Ron Ron | .chopro .pdf | |
The Devil Made Texas | .chopro .pdf | |
Diamond Joe | .chopro .pdf | |
Don't Worry Be Happy | ||
Dreams | .chopro .pdf | |
End of the Line | .chopro .pdf | |
Frankie and Johnny | .chopro .pdf | |
The Gambler | .chopro .pdf | |
Grandma's Hands | .chopro .pdf | |
Hand Me Down My Walking Cane | .chopro .pdf | |
Heather on the Moor | .chopro .pdf | |
Homegrown Tomatoes | .chopro .pdf | |
I Walk the Line | .chopro .pdf | |
If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time | .chopro .pdf | |
In Spite of Ourselves | .chopro .pdf | |
It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go | .chopro .pdf | |
Johnny B Goode | .chopro .pdf | |
Keep Your Hands to Yourself | .chopro .pdf | |
LA Freeway | .chopro .pdf | |
The Last Thing on My Mind | .chopro .pdf | |
Lion Sleeps Tonight | .chopro .pdf | |
Long Black Veil | .chopro .pdf | |
Louie Louie | .chopro .pdf | |
My Ramblin' Boy | .chopro .pdf | |
Never Going Back | ||
Nice Things | .chopro .pdf | |
Old Chisholm Trail | .chopro .pdf | |
Our Town | .chopro .pdf | |
Pamela Brown | .chopro .pdf | |
Paradise | .chopro .pdf | |
Particle Man | .chopro .pdf | |
Reuben's Train | .chopro .pdf | |
Sailin' On Through | .chopro .pdf | |
Shady Grove | .chopro .pdf | |
This Land is Your Land | .chopro | |
To Live is to Fly | .chopro .pdf | |
Trouble In Mind | .chopro .pdf | |
Vigilante Man | .chopro .pdf | |
The Wearing of the Green | .chopro .pdf |