5 Songs to Learn on Ukulele this Spring
Here in California, our flowers are beginning to bloom and the sun has started peeking through the clouds: Springtime is just about here!
If you are anything like us, the Spring may have you particularly inspired to take out that ukulele, get it all tuned up, and start setting some new musical goals for a new year.
To help get you started, we chose five songs that make us think of fresh new beginnings, each with an easy-to-follow ukulele tutorial to match. We challenge you to pick your favorite, tackle the tune on your ukulele, and have some fun!
“Drivers License” - Olivia Rodrigo:
Released in January to immediate popularity and acclaim, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” is catchy to its core. Join The Ukulele Teacher in learning all the chords and techniques you will need to transfer this hit to the ukulele. Written chords can also be found here, on Ukulele Tabs and Chords.
“Dreams” - Fleetwood Mac:
A true classic from Fleetwood Mac’s decade-defining album Rumours, “Dreams” saw a recent resurgence in popularity last year among a new, younger audience as the moody companion to a popular meme first started on TikTok. All For Uke provides a great, in-depth tutorial for this tune. Written chords can also be found here.
“Flashlight” - Aryy:
An emerging artist with a growing online following, Aryy is a singer-songwriter born & raised in Brazil who predominantly writes in English. “Flashlight” is a part of Aryy’s debut EP, “get a clue.” Aryy gives a tutorial for this one herself -- give it a try!
“Hallelujah” - Leonard Cohen:
A timeless classic, “Hallelujah” seems to never be far from the minds and hearts of performers from a variety of different genres and musical backgrounds. We particularly like the fresh take from Bernadette Teaches Music on her Kala Gloss Mahogany Tenor.
“Simply the Best” - Tina Turner:
A pop hit originally released by Tina Turner in 1991, actor and musician Noah Reid recently gave the song a whole new life with his acoustic rendition performed on the Emmy-winning show Schitt’s Creek. Inspired directly by Noah’s unique take, The Ukulele Teacher released a great tutorial on transferring that memorable performance from the guitar to the ukulele.
Netflix Ukulele Tutorial with Alex Aiono:
As a bonus, if you are looking for a fun, family-friendly introduction to the ukulele and some quick tips to playing in a group, the cast of the new Netflix Original film Finding ‘Ohana produced this fun ukulele intro and jam video on their Kala ukuleles, led by the film’s lead actor, Alex Aiono. We thought it was a lot of fun!
Are you having fun, having trouble, or do you just have questions? Talk to us! We love to hear from the Kala community over on Instagram, Facebook, and in the comments below.
