Ukulele Lesson Get a Smoother Sound With Legato Techniques

Even if you are familiar with the idea of a smooth legato melody, it’s probably not the first thing you would think of coming from a ukulele. Ukuleles are notoriously choppy, happy chord machines with little sustain and have no place trying to swoon and sing a long, smooth melody right? Wrong.

Learning to play smoothly and connecting your notes is one of the most enlightened paths to becoming a better musician, regardless of your instrument. There are several reasons, but the most obvious and immediately useful is the technique. It takes practice and attention to hold onto each note as it moves seamlessly to the next, building a bond between your musical ear and your fingers.

I’ve written a short, easy melody that puts a descending C major scale over rolled chords in the first section (A) and jumps around just a bit in the second part (B). (This is a sneak preview of the first study from my new book "Melodic Meditations for Ukulele," which will be available in early 2019.)