Ukulele is a staple as well as a lead instrument. Depends, how you are using it. However, I think you should practice not only chord progressions but also learn to play lead Ukulele.

That’s why. I’ve come up with this guide. In this guide, you’ll learn, how to play Lead Ukulele.

In my previous article, you’ve learned to play chord progressions, fingerpicking and strumming techniques, and many more things.

Now, it’s time to use those skills in learning lead ukulele.

So, without further ado, let’s dig out some pro tips about lead ukulele playings.

What Is Lead Ukulele Playing?

Playing lead ukulele gets confidence in your playing.

Pros always use their lead skills in between songs to fill the gap ups and make the listening experience far better than an average player.

Lead playing gives your ukulele a more prominent role in your performance.

This is the technique in which the player plays melody and solo in between the song to fill the gaps OR play the whole song in solo rather than just strumming chords in the background.

In lead ukulele you have to work with some complex fingerpicking techniques, slides, vibrato, hammer-ons and pull-offs.

Great ukulele players such as Jake Shimabukuro and James Hill have used their lead ukulele playing skills in their performances which actually gets them popularity.

I actually don’t know, if anyone used this type of playing in Hawaiian tradition but I think it was actually not present in traditional Hawaiian music.

If you know about the history of playing lead ukulele, comment below.

It was first introduced when used in pop and rock genres.

Like guitar, lead ukulele playing style is quite popular among music lovers all around the world.

Understand Melody and Harmony

To play lead ukulele, you need to understand the two pillars of lead music; Melody and Harmony.

In easy words, Melody is the tune of a song. It is like you can sing by just humming. Right?

Actually, melody is a series of notes which you can play on your ukulele or any instrument in sequence to form the whole structure of melody.

Depending on the music, it can be simple or complex, but most of the songs come in between the 7 notes Major or minor, or sometimes both.

Harmony is the combination of notes which you can play together to create a chord or series of chords.

It is the support to any melody and is played through chord progressions. Ukulele chord progressions that you’ve learned in my other articles are not other than Harmony.

So, to play solo ukulele you need to learn both, in-depth. You should use both time to time in between the song to become a good lead ukulele player.

Develop Your Own Fingerpicking Skills

To play lead ukulele the first and very important skill that you should have is fingerpicking.

And, nothing great then that when you have your own fingerpicking technique

Fingerpicking opens your doors to play complex melody compositions without much hassle.

The key thing is, you have 5 fingers that you can use to pluck different strings rather than a pick that is only able to pluck one string at a time.

I have written some articles on fingerpicking such as,

• Ultimate Guide to Ukulele Fingerpicking Techniques For Beginners
• Advanced Ukulele Strumming and Fingerpicking [Ultimate Guide]

These articles would definitely help you to develop your own fingerpicking skills.

There are some rules to master fingerpicking and develop your own skills on it.

Like,

Always Start Slow

You should start practicing fingerpicking at is slow speed and concentrate on accuracy rather than speed. With time you can naturally increase the speed but with accuracy.

So don’t hurry, start slow.

Focus on The Given Fingerpicking Technique

Good fingerpicking skills need you to adopt the right technique such as correct finger positions, hand placement etc.

So, it’s better to get advice from a teacher or follow genuine online materials like YouTube tutorials and blogs.

You can also read my blogs posts on fingerpicking that I have shared above.

Regular Practice

To master any skill regular practice is essential. So, make your practice schedule and stick to that.

Don’t overdo your practice but aim to practice for a few minutes every day and gradually increase the practice time.

Try to Learn New Patterns

When you practice different fingerpicking patterns, with time you can develop muscle memory which is essential to play melodies on ukulele. So, try different patterns daily.

Watch Others Playing

Learning from others is the best thing. Watch other players playing melody and apply their skills to your own playing.

It will enhance your borders to a wide variety of genres and techniques.

Play Single Notes and Add Embellishments

Playing just notes is not playing melody. Because it does not have a feel. If it was then AI and computers could become musicians.

Adding Embellishments and creating a feel is the way a musician should follow to master melody.

If you are able to do this, you would become a melody king of ukulele.

So, how do you do that? Well, read the tips I’ve shared below.

1. Start with a simple melody pattern: Always begin with a simple melody pattern that you understand easily.
2. Use slides and bends with notes: Sliding from one note to another and bending the string to bend the note, both are great ways to differentiate your playing from machine-like playing. These techniques add emotions and expression to your playing.
3. Add vibrato: Vibrato is another great technique in which you rapidly and repeatedly bend and release a note. This will create a shimmering effect. You can experiment with different vibrato techniques in between the melody.
4. Hammer-ons and pull-offs: Hammer-ons is a technique in which you use your fretting hand to play a note without plucking the string. Pull-offs is just opposite like pulling your finger off a fret which creates a new note. These techniques add life to your playing.
5. Apply dynamics: When you pay a note softly and another loudly it will also add emotion to your playing.

So, use the above techniques to add life to your melody playing. And, you will see how people want to listen to you on ukulele.

Use Chord Progressions and Lead Play Together

As I have mentioned above, harmony is an integral part of a song. So, when you are playing lead ukulele, you need to put harmony on your priority list.

And, harmony comes from the chords or group of notes played along with the melody.

But, what is you are playing solo?

Well, that’s the reason why you should practice playing chord progressions along with lead and melody together.

This style itself completes the solo lead ukulele playing.

So, you have a good knowledge of chord progressions before you incorporate the chords with melody.

Also, you should have the muscle memory to transition from chord to chord which comes from regular practice of chord progressions.

If you are already comfortable with chord progressions then you can try to put them in between the melody when you are playing solo ukulele.

You can experiment with lead notes, arpeggios, or melodic lines with chord progressions.

Don’t go for complex melody. Start with a simple melody structure that you can understand easily.

There is a time to learn complex melodies once you are familiar with some simple ones.

Once you develop the muscle memory for chords and melodies and transition between them, you can add embellishments and variations that I’ve mentioned above.

Ear is the best friend of a musician. So, use it to create lead lines that complement the chords. It’s a good idea to listen to the backing track if available. It will help you understand the chords used in the song.

10 Working Tips to Improvise and Create Your Own Solos on Ukulele

Here I have given 10 quick tips to improve your solo ukulele skills and create your own lead.

1. Get the basic knowledge of scales: Basic knowledge of scales is very important for any musician. You should have the knowledge of major, minor, pentatonic, Harmonic, Lydian, etc scales to get started with lead ukulele. There are tons of online learning materials available on this topic. You can take help from them.
2. Chord progression is the key to becoming good solo ukulele player: As I have told you above, chord progressions create harmony which is an integral part of music. So, you need to learn chord progressions to become a good ukulele solo player. After all you should be applying this to your solo playing along with the melody.
3. First practice simple melodies: Don’t be in hurry. You won’t master the melody in a few days. You need to develop muscle memory for this which takes time. So, start with simple ones which you understand well. You will see with time you would be familiar with the complex ones too.
4. Practice with different techniques: Practice different ukulele playing techniques such as hammer-ons, pull-offs, and vibrato to which adds emotions and expressions to your playing.
5. Listen to the chords and use your ear to understand them. Then incorporate them into the song.
6. Metronome is a great tool to improve timing: SOlo ukulele playing requires precision and timing. So, always try to practice with a metronome to improve your timing.
7. Record your performance: When you play solo ukulele, people notice each and every moment you do. So it’s a great idea to record your videos while playing and correct the mistakes you to while playing.
8. Learn from professional players: To become a professional you should follow other professionals. So, follow, listen and learn from other solo ukulele players. You will definitely learn a lot from them.
9. Practice different styles and genres: Different styles such as blues, jazz, and rock broaden your musical experience and develop professional skills on ukulele.
10. Practice regularly: Last but not least, you should practice regularly and be consistent with your practicing schedule. After all, practice makes perfect.

So, if you follow these tips and tricks, you will definitely be on your own way to become a good solo and lead ukulele player.

Bottomline

Improving your techniques on ukulele takes time, consistent practice and patience. It’s not a one-night game. Pros gove thousands of hours on their practice to become PRO.

I hope, you have got some knowledge of playing lead ukulele.

In short, you should warm up before practicing lead ukulele, break down different parts of the melody play them separately and then combine them together, insert chord progressions in between the melody to create harmony and use different playing techniques such as hammer-on, pull-offs etc to give it life.

If you do them in the right way, then you would become a good lead ukulele player soon.

That’s it.

Happy ukulele playing.