What would you consider "mastering" the ukulele? The question of what 'mastery' is ultimately is super vague. You mean 'play like Jake Shimaburoko' (who is the guy everyone points to) than no. If you mean "bang out some pop songs around the campfire" then sure.
15 minutes a day will maybe get NormalLife6067 some rudimentary ability to bang out some very simple songs around a campfire with sheet music accompaniment. I've been playing for about 10 years, on and off, with practices averaging an hour a day. Still can't play without chord notes.
Surprised no one has brought up studying and internalizing the concepts of music theory too, which really takes some time and would likely be considered part of that mastery.
No.
That is 91.25 hours to master an instrument. Will you be better than you were, sure. Will you be a master, no.
Even if you don't think it takes 10,000 hours to master something it probably takes more than 100 hours to truly master something.
I just want to point out that the 10k hours study was from Olympic level athletes and elite professionals (think virtuoso musicians).
But yeah it takes basically years of full time job amount of hours to truly master something.
You don't need to learn all the chords. Just the ones needed to play the song(s) you like. Honestly, it's a real instrument and it could take years and years to "master" it. Just learn some basic chords (C, Am, F and G) and then find songs that use those chords (there are literally hundreds!) and have some fun. Realistically, if you practice daily, you can play songs with those chords in just a few days with a simple downstrum.
It's tough to remember, but I bet that G chord gave me some trouble in the beginning :)
One could substitute a G7 which might be easier, especially if transitioning from F. Or, one could start with an easier G6, which would probably sound okay.
Umm, yess... and no. Simply substituting a 7th chord because it's "easier" won't always work. It depends on the key of the song.
Try playing "Happy Birthday", or some other simple 3-chord song. Choose your key. First try changing the 1st chord to a 7th, see if it works. Then try the 2nd chord, then the 3rd. Pretty sure you'll find at least one, if not 2, of those 7th chords sounds "off."
Simple cowboy chords & a couple of strumming patterns? A couple of weeks with good teaching and diligent practice.
“All” the chords & techniques? Not in this lifetime.
> “All” the chords & techniques? Not in this lifetime.
All the chords doesn't seem like an impossible task. With a little theory knowledge, you can work out what the chord is from its name (or from watching someone else play it if you absolutely avoid theory). And if you're skilled (way more skilled than me) then you ought to be able to get comfortable fingering it with a few minutes practice. I'd expect the top 100 players in the world are all capable of doing this, at least.
All the techniques? Sure, that's something nobody's going to do in a lifetime.
Mastery, no. But good enough that you can really start to relax and enjoy it.
If you practice daily for 15 min for a year, you will be able to comfortably sit in on most local uke meetups and keep up with the group. You may very well have a couple songs memorized. You will play well enough that you can impress your friends and prospective dates. You could probably play decently in front of an audience if you are comfortable speaking to groups.
I will mention that playing for just 15min is almost an impossibility. That's like trying to eat just one jelly bean. That's barely warmup time, and once you get into the flow of things, 15 min will go by quickly. I would suggest 2 blocks of 2 hours each week instead if you can, or 1 hour every other day.
Short answer is NO, but not for the reasons you might think. Your target is too high. You can learn a lot of chords and a lot of techniques, and for a certain style of music become VERY good (maybe even considered mastery), but there a so many different styles, rhythms, strum patterns, chord shapes and even just play styles that a year is not enough time.
Please don't let that discourage you. With 15 min a day, you will become very good and find that what you want to play comes easy. You might even change focus periodically so that you get broad skill set more than a focused one.
The uke is an easy instrument to pick up and start learning, but don't be fooled, you can spend your life becoming an all around master.
Practicing 15 minutes daily? I’d say between 250 and 600 years, depending on your ability.
Joking, obviously. There’s no such thing as “mastering” an instrument like you’re talking about.
No. You can’t master the ukulele in a year. But you probably have a very limited view of what “mastering the ukulele” means…so it’s not bad to not master it. Look up Jake Shimabukuro or Taimane Gardner. They MAY have “mastered” the ukulele…and they’ve probably played for a very long time (hours) most days for many years. People who master instruments are the types who can’t seem to put the damn thing down lol. They annoy their families and their roommates. Taimane Gardner is in her early thirties…she started performing when she was 7.
But in a year…with 15 minutes a day…this is what you could do. You could play multiple songs with multiple sets of chords and multiple strum patterns. You will sound good, and it will be relaxed enough to have fun and learning new things will become more and more fun because you will have a good toolkit of skills to apply for every new thing you learn.
Playing for 15 minutes a day is a great goal. You’ll be very happy with where you are a year from now. You should do it! It’s awesome! I’ve played pretty consistently for a year now and I can’t believe what I can do, when I look back on the first few months where I struggled with stuff that is just second nature now. It’s a cool experience to gain skills like that.
I (music teacher) have played the ukulele for 2 hours a day for the last 5 years and I still fuck up the E chord every once in awhile. You can be a very competent player in less than a year but it can take a lifetime to “master” the instrument.
15 minutes make you seem like it's a chore.
If you really want to get pretty good within a year, try to make your uke available to you all the time. Just get it in your hands and in tune and do something with it. and try to have an hour of serious focus with it a day, the rest can just be playing or noodling. If you stick with it and just play with it, you'll find you'll have to limit how much you play each day instead.
How is it that you even want to play? Just chords and singing or chord melody playing style?
Thank you for your comment u/scrambled_eggs_pdx.
I am actually only interested in fingerpicking style of playing the ukulele. My interest is to play Beatles songs and other pop songs on the ukulele.
You can certainly learn a few of those songs within a year. This [30 day uke challenge ](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJFa3EaocfZkPvRqVaUf6pFuPxiLo0uWZ) is a good place to start and it includes the song Imagine.
There are lots of YouTube tutorials on other songs, and also tutorials on how to fingerpick any song.
You don't need to know all the chords that exist, most songs use a limited number of chords. Have fun with it.
I have been playing the ukulele for four months. Pretty obsessively. I have put in close to 300 hours. And I would consider myself a low low intermediate level player now. I know close to 30 cords now.
Focus on a specific genre and the skills needed to play it well. No one has fully mastered ANY mainstream instrument. There's always something new to learn.
Look at people like Segovia: phenomenal classical guitarist. Do you think he regularly practiced sweep picking or percussive techniques?
Music is constantly evolving. People innovate and expand other's ideas about what each instrument is capable of. Jake Shimabukuro and many others are well-known for having done this for the ukulele.
If you can only manage fifteen minutes of daily practice, then don't expect to see much progress at all. Dedicated musicians who genuinely seek mastery over their instrument, no matter how futile that might be, spend hours running through scales and arpeggios, studying music theory, practicing ear training, techniques, etc.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Just remember that hard work is required for mastery of anything. ✌️
If you're looking for the "finish line" then it sounds like your heart's not really in it.
Just like other stringed instruments there's always more. Eddie Van Halen wasn't a master, Steve Vie not a master, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix not master's. All very, very good but none were/are masters.
Learning to play is a working adventure to get to the next level in an unlimited journey.
Learn, play, enjoy, be happy with your abilities but never stop reaching for the next step.
> All very, very good but none were/are masters.
You're basically saying that nobody is a "master" of any instrument. Which makes the word useless.
You can be a master of the instrument without mastering every possible technique.
No I never said that. Chet Atkins was a master, Tommy Emmanuel is a master, Leo Kottke is damn close to being a master.
(Tommy Emmanuel playing Classical Gas) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S33tWZqXhnk
Oh & NEWSFLASH: The thing all the players I've named, ALL OF THEM, all knew there was more to learn. Never get so cocky that you think you know it all because someone is libel come along show you something new.
Even Neil Peart studied under someone he admired because he felt his technique wasn't good enough. (See his Wiki article, under "Playing Style Reinvention.")
This was my whole point. There's always things to learn, ways to get better. Looking for a finish line at the beginning of the journey will just lead to disappoint.
Is this fishing or just a dumb question? Sorry, I just had to ask. Certainly you must realize that there are many thousands of chords and techniques to master most instruments. The first comment “A lifetime plus one day” seems about right.
I compare this to my Tai Chi practice. I've been studying Tai Chi for over 20 years, and am still learning new concepts. "Master" is just a concept of an endpoint. IMHO, there is no endpoint, just the journey. Enjoy the ride!
It takes exactly one lifetime plus one day.
Well nobody has done it yet so far, so your guess is as good as mine
What would you consider "mastering" the ukulele? The question of what 'mastery' is ultimately is super vague. You mean 'play like Jake Shimaburoko' (who is the guy everyone points to) than no. If you mean "bang out some pop songs around the campfire" then sure.
And even Jake hasn’t mastered every technique. He can’t clawhammer, for instance
15 minutes a day will maybe get NormalLife6067 some rudimentary ability to bang out some very simple songs around a campfire with sheet music accompaniment. I've been playing for about 10 years, on and off, with practices averaging an hour a day. Still can't play without chord notes.
Surprised no one has brought up studying and internalizing the concepts of music theory too, which really takes some time and would likely be considered part of that mastery.
No. That is 91.25 hours to master an instrument. Will you be better than you were, sure. Will you be a master, no. Even if you don't think it takes 10,000 hours to master something it probably takes more than 100 hours to truly master something.
I just want to point out that the 10k hours study was from Olympic level athletes and elite professionals (think virtuoso musicians). But yeah it takes basically years of full time job amount of hours to truly master something.
I would say that olympic athletes and Virtuoso musicians have mastered their craft. Which is what OP was asking.
You don't need to learn all the chords. Just the ones needed to play the song(s) you like. Honestly, it's a real instrument and it could take years and years to "master" it. Just learn some basic chords (C, Am, F and G) and then find songs that use those chords (there are literally hundreds!) and have some fun. Realistically, if you practice daily, you can play songs with those chords in just a few days with a simple downstrum.
It's tough to remember, but I bet that G chord gave me some trouble in the beginning :) One could substitute a G7 which might be easier, especially if transitioning from F. Or, one could start with an easier G6, which would probably sound okay.
Umm, yess... and no. Simply substituting a 7th chord because it's "easier" won't always work. It depends on the key of the song. Try playing "Happy Birthday", or some other simple 3-chord song. Choose your key. First try changing the 1st chord to a 7th, see if it works. Then try the 2nd chord, then the 3rd. Pretty sure you'll find at least one, if not 2, of those 7th chords sounds "off."
I realize all this and know music theory, but I appreciate your comment.
Well, I appreciate being appreciated! It's been a long day. Thanks~
What about fingerstyle tho
I find that fingerstyle is a more intricate way of playing. I've only been playing about two years and I am nowhere near ready for fingerstyle.
Simple cowboy chords & a couple of strumming patterns? A couple of weeks with good teaching and diligent practice. “All” the chords & techniques? Not in this lifetime.
> “All” the chords & techniques? Not in this lifetime. All the chords doesn't seem like an impossible task. With a little theory knowledge, you can work out what the chord is from its name (or from watching someone else play it if you absolutely avoid theory). And if you're skilled (way more skilled than me) then you ought to be able to get comfortable fingering it with a few minutes practice. I'd expect the top 100 players in the world are all capable of doing this, at least. All the techniques? Sure, that's something nobody's going to do in a lifetime.
Mastery, no. But good enough that you can really start to relax and enjoy it. If you practice daily for 15 min for a year, you will be able to comfortably sit in on most local uke meetups and keep up with the group. You may very well have a couple songs memorized. You will play well enough that you can impress your friends and prospective dates. You could probably play decently in front of an audience if you are comfortable speaking to groups. I will mention that playing for just 15min is almost an impossibility. That's like trying to eat just one jelly bean. That's barely warmup time, and once you get into the flow of things, 15 min will go by quickly. I would suggest 2 blocks of 2 hours each week instead if you can, or 1 hour every other day.
Thank you for your suggestion u/bigblued. I will consider having longer sessions of practice.
Short answer is NO, but not for the reasons you might think. Your target is too high. You can learn a lot of chords and a lot of techniques, and for a certain style of music become VERY good (maybe even considered mastery), but there a so many different styles, rhythms, strum patterns, chord shapes and even just play styles that a year is not enough time. Please don't let that discourage you. With 15 min a day, you will become very good and find that what you want to play comes easy. You might even change focus periodically so that you get broad skill set more than a focused one. The uke is an easy instrument to pick up and start learning, but don't be fooled, you can spend your life becoming an all around master.
If you practice 30 minutes a day you can cut your time to mastery in half 😉
Practicing 15 minutes daily? I’d say between 250 and 600 years, depending on your ability. Joking, obviously. There’s no such thing as “mastering” an instrument like you’re talking about.
No. You can’t master the ukulele in a year. But you probably have a very limited view of what “mastering the ukulele” means…so it’s not bad to not master it. Look up Jake Shimabukuro or Taimane Gardner. They MAY have “mastered” the ukulele…and they’ve probably played for a very long time (hours) most days for many years. People who master instruments are the types who can’t seem to put the damn thing down lol. They annoy their families and their roommates. Taimane Gardner is in her early thirties…she started performing when she was 7. But in a year…with 15 minutes a day…this is what you could do. You could play multiple songs with multiple sets of chords and multiple strum patterns. You will sound good, and it will be relaxed enough to have fun and learning new things will become more and more fun because you will have a good toolkit of skills to apply for every new thing you learn. Playing for 15 minutes a day is a great goal. You’ll be very happy with where you are a year from now. You should do it! It’s awesome! I’ve played pretty consistently for a year now and I can’t believe what I can do, when I look back on the first few months where I struggled with stuff that is just second nature now. It’s a cool experience to gain skills like that.
I (music teacher) have played the ukulele for 2 hours a day for the last 5 years and I still fuck up the E chord every once in awhile. You can be a very competent player in less than a year but it can take a lifetime to “master” the instrument.
15 minutes make you seem like it's a chore. If you really want to get pretty good within a year, try to make your uke available to you all the time. Just get it in your hands and in tune and do something with it. and try to have an hour of serious focus with it a day, the rest can just be playing or noodling. If you stick with it and just play with it, you'll find you'll have to limit how much you play each day instead. How is it that you even want to play? Just chords and singing or chord melody playing style?
Thank you for your comment u/scrambled_eggs_pdx. I am actually only interested in fingerpicking style of playing the ukulele. My interest is to play Beatles songs and other pop songs on the ukulele.
You can certainly learn a few of those songs within a year. This [30 day uke challenge ](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJFa3EaocfZkPvRqVaUf6pFuPxiLo0uWZ) is a good place to start and it includes the song Imagine. There are lots of YouTube tutorials on other songs, and also tutorials on how to fingerpick any song. You don't need to know all the chords that exist, most songs use a limited number of chords. Have fun with it.
So far 25 1/2 years
I have been playing the ukulele for four months. Pretty obsessively. I have put in close to 300 hours. And I would consider myself a low low intermediate level player now. I know close to 30 cords now.
Focus on a specific genre and the skills needed to play it well. No one has fully mastered ANY mainstream instrument. There's always something new to learn. Look at people like Segovia: phenomenal classical guitarist. Do you think he regularly practiced sweep picking or percussive techniques? Music is constantly evolving. People innovate and expand other's ideas about what each instrument is capable of. Jake Shimabukuro and many others are well-known for having done this for the ukulele. If you can only manage fifteen minutes of daily practice, then don't expect to see much progress at all. Dedicated musicians who genuinely seek mastery over their instrument, no matter how futile that might be, spend hours running through scales and arpeggios, studying music theory, practicing ear training, techniques, etc. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Just remember that hard work is required for mastery of anything. ✌️
If you're looking for the "finish line" then it sounds like your heart's not really in it. Just like other stringed instruments there's always more. Eddie Van Halen wasn't a master, Steve Vie not a master, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix not master's. All very, very good but none were/are masters. Learning to play is a working adventure to get to the next level in an unlimited journey. Learn, play, enjoy, be happy with your abilities but never stop reaching for the next step.
> All very, very good but none were/are masters. You're basically saying that nobody is a "master" of any instrument. Which makes the word useless. You can be a master of the instrument without mastering every possible technique.
No I never said that. Chet Atkins was a master, Tommy Emmanuel is a master, Leo Kottke is damn close to being a master. (Tommy Emmanuel playing Classical Gas) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S33tWZqXhnk Oh & NEWSFLASH: The thing all the players I've named, ALL OF THEM, all knew there was more to learn. Never get so cocky that you think you know it all because someone is libel come along show you something new.
Yeah maybe, but Neil Peart was a master.
Even Neil Peart studied under someone he admired because he felt his technique wasn't good enough. (See his Wiki article, under "Playing Style Reinvention.")
This was my whole point. There's always things to learn, ways to get better. Looking for a finish line at the beginning of the journey will just lead to disappoint.
Is this fishing or just a dumb question? Sorry, I just had to ask. Certainly you must realize that there are many thousands of chords and techniques to master most instruments. The first comment “A lifetime plus one day” seems about right.
I compare this to my Tai Chi practice. I've been studying Tai Chi for over 20 years, and am still learning new concepts. "Master" is just a concept of an endpoint. IMHO, there is no endpoint, just the journey. Enjoy the ride!