In short, you can use your dominant hand either with a pick or with fingers only. We have covered the topic of the strumming hand in more detail in our guitar related articles. Once you learn a few basic strum patterns, you will be able to play almost any song. The reason for that is that a lot of them are simply a combination of smaller, shorter and simpler strum patterns. That means that you need to invest a certain amount of time into synchronizing your left and right hand.Īs a beginner, you don’t necessarily have to worry about countless strum patterns. The strumming hand determines the rhythm, speed and dynamics of the chords fretted by the fretting hand. With only these four chords you can play dozens of songs, including Riptide, but you can also use them for your own compositions. The chords that we need for the song Riptide are: The song’s first few chords and opening two lines were originally written at Joy’s Glen Iris, Melbourne, home in 2008. That makes it easy to play all four strings at the same time while having to use only one or two fingers of the fretting hand.īecause of the different tuning, on different ukulele types, the same shapes will produce a different chord, but the shapes on both instruments are the same and are interchangeable, so you will be able to use a few shapes to get different results on different instruments.Īnd interestingly enough, the same shapes can be applied to guitar, as well! That means that learning to play Riptide on one ukulele type will make it easier to switch to another one later on, and even make it easier to learn it on guitar later on. In music for stringed instruments, especially guitar and ukulele, an open chord (also called open-position chord) is a chord that includes one or more strings that are not fingered. The key of the song Riptide is also one that fits the ukulele rather well and that is why we can play almost all of the song’s chords in open chord positions. The ukulele only has four strings, but they are tuned in such a way that playing chords is made rather easy. If you are a total beginner, make sure to check out websites like which offer chord charts for the easiest chords on the ukulele.Īlso, try to watch some chord videos and don’t forget that the shapes are different between baritone ukulele on one side and soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles on the other side, which is the result of tuning them in a different way.Īnd if you don’t know any chord, we will try to learn and revise the few chords that we will need for Riptide right now! As long as you can play the song from beginning to end without the ukulele going completely wacky, you are fine.Īfter tuning your ukulele, try to play a few easy chords. It is just part of how all musical instruments work. Don’t get frustrated if your ukulele goes out of tune constantly. Keep in mind that your ukulele might go out of tune very fast during the first few days or even for up to two weeks, especially if it is brand new or if the strings were changed recently.Īnother reason for going out of tune is change in temperature. Make sure that you tune your ukulele carefully and try not to snap a string. Of course, asking a friend who is a musician for help is not wrong, either! Soprano, Concert, Tenor Ukulele The best way for beginners to tune is to use an electronic clip-on tuner and to watch an instructional video. Tightening the string will make the note go higher, and loosening it will make the note go lower. To tune each string, you need to turn the tuning peg on the headstock that the string is attached to. You must make sure that you know what type of ukulele you are using because you will need to learn the correct shapes to play the song along with the recording, as well.
The reason for tuning the ukulele is that all the strings have to produce very specific pitches or notes, and if the ukulele is out of tune, then you won’t be able to play Riptide, or any other song, along with the recording. Depending on the size of your ukulele, you are either going to tune to G – C – E – A (tenor, concert, or soprano ukulele) or to D – G – B – E (baritone ukulele).
#Riptide ukelele cords how to#
In case that this is your first song or you are a total beginner, it is important to know how to tune a ukulele.
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