A couple of months ago I did a blind sound test of all my ukuleles for you to pick out your favorites, but what if I was the blindfolded one, could I pick out the premium instruments from the budget ones?

Let's find out!

I decided to give it a test and booked a train ticket to the Southern Ukulele Store and filmed it all so that you could follow along. Alex and crew were kind enough to welcome me and have me put seven soprano ukuleles through their paces to find what I liked without seeing the ukuleles or their prices tags!

.In the video Alex and I also talk about what I really look for in an instrument when trying it out and the sometimes point of diminishing returns as prices rise. This was a fun little experiment and was a true testament to how great some of the lower priced instruments are these days.

Learning a song by ear can be a daunting task at first, but it is a skill that every musician can master with the right approach. One of the most significant benefits of learning by ear is how much faster you’ll memorize music by internalizing the phrases directly, you move beyond seeing symbols on a page and start thinking in music.

In this lesson, we are diving into the A section of Fats Waller’s legendary jazz standard, "Honeysuckle Rose" This tune is a fantastic entry point for ear training because it is a riff-based song built on just two primary phrases. Once you master these, you’ll have the foundation of the entire song under your fingers.

Join the Magic Ukulele Club for a six lesson series on honeysuckle Rose this month including

-Basic Chords

-Django's Chords

-Fats Waller's 1935 Melody and Harmony

-Soloing by Developing the Melody

-2 Chord Melody versions

-Bass tabs

-and More

If you asked me for one issue that holds ukulele students back more than any other the answer would be simple - we all press too hard.

In this lesson we’ll learn how to break that habit.

The solution is not as simple and, more often than not, forces us to go back to a beginner mindset and address something often overlooked which is how we hold the instrument and, equally important, how we use our body.

Playing any musical instrument puts us in positions that we do not encounter much in everyday life and we need to work with our body to find the most efficient and fluid way to move while we play and above all else, relax.

Whether you are a beginner or facing the dreaded intermediate plateau this lesson will help you play the instrument in a more effortless manner. 

Spend less time fighting the instrument and more time playing music

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Want to come to London and play ukulele? We have 4 spots remaining for the Magic Ukulele Retreat this October with 4StringBoy. 

Tickets and details here

When is a blues not just a blues?

When it's WC Handy's 'St Louis Blues'!

In this free lesson we'll learn this tune from 1914 that helped solidify the blues form in the lexicon of the jazz world. 'St Louis Blues' has three distinct sections - not just a 12 bar as you may be used to, including the habanera B section where I'll show you a unique new strum to add to your toolbox.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what St Louis Bluse has to teach us. Over on the Magic Ukulele Club this month we'll be taking a deep dive over the course of 6 lessons including:

• Playing the Blues in all Keys

• How to use One Chord shape to find all chords

• Soloing with Single Notes and Chords

• Adding Color to chords

• Baritone Chords and Bass Tabs

• 16 Page PDF

• Backing Track to Practice with

• and more

Join us today and get access to our weekly lessons, livestreams, and archive of over 500 Jazz ukulele lessons. (Hate subscriptions? Me too. that’s why we also have a lifetime membership option)

Give me five minutes and I'll give you Duke Ellington's theme song!

Billy Strayhorn gave us a gem a of a tune in 'Take the A Train' which quickly became Ellington's theme song.

For us ukulele players it's a great way to dip our toes into the world of swing and jazz. In this tutorial I'll walk you through the chords to both sections of the tune and then we'll try a play-along with the full band. Embrace that b5 chord!

Join us on the Magic Ukulele Club where we're taking a deep dive into Take the A Train in this month's lessons. (Hate subscriptions? Me too, that's why we also have Lifetime Membership)

Week 1 - Basic lesson, history, understanding harmony 

-Live stream- Understanding altered dominants

Week 2 - Melody and chord melody

-Live stream- building a solo with chord tones

Week 3 - Play Ohta San’s chord melody

Week 4 - Ellington Big Band background figures

Week 5 - Learn the Ray Nance trumpet solo from the Ellington recording 

• 3 hours + of video lessons

• Backing track to practice with

• 15 page PDF

• Bass tabs for U Bass players

• Archive of 500+ Jazz ukulele lessons 

Join us today to start your journey and join the community 

In this week's free ukulele lesson, we’re looking at 5 classic introductions by the great Lyle Ritz.

Watch the lesson and download the PDF here

These intros are a great look into the chord voicings and swing rhythms used in all of Lyle’s playing. We’ll be looking at his chord melody intros on Stompin and the Savoy, Where or When, Lulu’s Back in Town, How About you, and of course, Tonight You Belong to me.

You can dive further into Lyle Ritz’s playing with this other lesson on his arranging and chord melody

This is a great lesson to challenge the intermediate player with some new chords. Take your time working through the chord changes and try to understand how each shape related to the harmony of the song so that you can get the most out of this lesson.

Join the Magic Ukulele Club to start putting these skills to use with weekly videos, livestreams, and an archive of over 500 Jazz Ukulele lessons

In today's free ukulele lesson we're learning the 1931 song popularized by Bing Crosby - 'Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams'. While the tune is fairly straight forward this arrangement will challenge you with a couple new chord voicings for basic chords as well as being a great introduction into augmented chords.

The bridge of the song is a great practice vehicle from our 7th chord lesson a few weeks ago - showing us how the different chord voicings flow into one another.

This month on the Magic Ukulele Club we're diving deep into this song in a series of lessons including:

• Building Chord Melody

• Chord Substitutions

• Soloing with Chord Movements

• How to modulate between keys

Join us to day to join in on the fun (and get access to over 500 previous lessons)

https://www.thetinman.co/join-the-magic-ukulele-club

Sometimes figuring out what to practice is the hardest part of learning a new concept on ukulele

In this lesson, we dive deep into the four dominant seventh chord shapes — the foundation for every moveable shape on the instrument. Together, we’ll explore them over the classic Rhythm Changes Bridge, giving you hands-on practice to get these shapes firmly under your fingers.

These ten exercises will take you through the shapes on every section of the fingerboard allowing us to see how the different chords interact with each other and recognize harmonic patterns. We'll even learn a bit about tritone substitutions along the way.

Join the Magic Ukulele Club to start putting these skills to use with weekly videos, livestreams, and an archive of over 500 Jazz Ukulele lessons

This month we have been diving deep into 'I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me' from chords, to melody, soloing, and even a Lester Young Solo. Did I mention that it has a Rhythm Changes bridge and is in the key of F?! That means you can start applying these concepts right away.

Cheers!

Christopher.

PS I'll be announcing the next London Ukulele Retreat in a few weeks so stay tuned!

If it's good enough for Billie Holiday it's worth learning!

In this week's free lesson I'm teaching the great swing standard I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me.

This is not just a great song in an of itself but also built around two fundamental jazz chord progressions - IV iv I and the rhythm changes bridge - that are essential building blocks for other tunes.

This month on the Magic Ukulele Club we're taking a deep dive into this song with a 30 minutes version of this video plus additional lessons and live streams throughout the month including:

-Playing the Melody in One Position

-Creating Smooth Voice Leading with the A string

-Learning a Lester Young Solo

-Chord Melody

-and more

Join us today and dive head first into an archive of over 500 lessons and join the largest jazz ukulele community:

Learning your fingerboard doesn't have to be a memorization exercise - like everything we do on the instrument - it can be musical.

Watch the free lesson and download the PDF here

The other day a student asked me how I learned the fingerboard. Usually folks ask how they can learn the fingerboard. This forced me to pause and really think about it.

Did I sit down with a diagram and memorize the notes? Nope.

Did I work out a system of patterns to guide me? Nope.

Did I memorize one note a day? Nope.

I learned melodies. That's it. The key is the way that I teach in this lesson - don't just learn the melody - learn every single way that you can play it on the instrument.

Will you magically know every note on the fingerboard after this lesson? Of course not, and I would never promise that you would! That said, if you work out a few melodies like this you will have a much better grasp of where not just where all of your notes are but where we can find specific sounds on the instrument. That is really the key - the notes are secondary to the sound we are making on the instrument.

Join us over on the Magic Ukulele Club to dive further 'If I Had You' in a series of seven lessons.

Have ten minutes and a ukulele? Great, let's learn the 1928 classic If I Had You in this free lesson.

This is a nice easy one using mostly basic chords that you already know and common chord progressions that you'll see time and time again. In the lesson I'll walk you through each section while we practice together and then we'll join the band and do a full play-along with the chords and lyrics on screen so you can really master the tune.

While many greats recorded this song over the years (it's one of the most recorded jazz standards ever!) in the ukulele world we have two incredible recordings by the legendary Cliff Edwards AKA Ukulele Ike and this lesson is in the same key as his 1943 recording so you can play along.

Over on the Magic Ukulele Club we're using this song as a learning vehicle all month to learn learn about building chord melody, chord substitutions, Cliff Edwards unique strumming (and tuning!), and more. We now have lifetime membership for folks, like me, who hate subscriptions

If you're just starting out this is a great tune to start getting the swing style under your fingers but if you want a real crash course check out Fundamentals of Swing Ukulele which will truly start your from scratch.

Today let's tackle a chord melody arrangement of the Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn classic Satin Doll

Download the tabs and watch the lesson here.

We'll start out with a play-along with a backing track and tabs before we dive into the lesson. This is a great way to look at how we can navigate melodies inside ii V I progressions. While this can seem like a daunting arrangement, if you take it in small pieces you'll be swinging through in no time.

In the lesson I'll walk you through the fingering challenges and how to effectively practice the tune.

If this is past your skill level you can strum along with the basic chords to the tune in our previous lesson

Want to dive deeper into the jazz world through ukulele? Join us over on the Magic Ukulele Club

Start the year swinging with a free jazz ukulele lesson! Learn to play “Satin Doll” — the classic Duke Ellington tune — in under 10 minutes.

This tune is a masterclass in ii–V progressions, with harmony written by the legendary Billy Strayhorn. The best part? You only need two chord shapes and two movements within thse shapes to get it sounding smooth and jazzy. Don’t worry if it looks tricky at first — this lesson breaks it down so any intermediate ukulele player can play it.

Once you’ve learned both sections, we'll put on the backing track and play along with the band — in Duke Ellington’s original key!

Want to go further? In the Magic Ukulele Club, we’ll spend the month exploring Satin Doll in depth:

• Learn the melody by ear

• Walk a bass line on ukulele

• Master all ii–V–I movements

• Solo with pivot arpeggios

• Explore chord melody arrangements

• …and more!

Join the largest jazz ukulele community, with 600+ lessons in the archive (Hate subscriptions? Me too. That's why we have a lifetime membership option)

As we come to the end of the year, let’s celebrate with a Lyle Ritz–inspired chord melody arrangement of “Auld Lang Syne.”

Watch the Lesson and get the free tabs here

I’ll also take you behind the scenes of how I approach chord melody arranging, using Barry Harris’ scales-of-chords approach to harmony. This method encourages us to think of every chord not just as a static shape, but as a complete sound with its own internal movement—containing both tension and release. We’ll look closely at the specific chord scales used to create this arrangement, then build the piece step by step so the process is clear and manageable.

By the end of the lesson, we’ll put it all together and play through the entire arrangement with a backing track, giving you the experience of playing as part of a band rather than practicing alone.

If you were with us last week in the Magic Ukulele Club, you’ll recognize these same concepts from our chord melody arrangement of “Let It Snow.” This lesson continues that journey, helping you deepen your understanding of harmony while expanding your chord melody vocabulary in a musical, practical way.

If this all seems too much for you start at the beginning with Fundamentals of Swing Ukulele and see that everyone can play jazz.

Grab your ukulele and join me as we learn a wintery classic—Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

In this lesson, we’ll be drawing inspiration from the iconic Ella Fitzgerald version, giving the tune a relaxed swing feel that’s both fun to play and great for developing your groove.

This arrangement is very accessible, making it a perfect choice for beginner and intermediate players. The song uses mostly familiar ukulele chords, and I’ll walk you through clear fingerings to help you confidently tackle the diminished chord along the way.

Once you’ve got the chords under your fingers, you’ll have the chance to strum along with the full band and put everything into practice in a musical, real-world setting. Whether you’re building your holiday repertoire or just want a classic tune to play all winter long, this lesson has you covered.

Join the Magic Ukulele Club for the 30 minute version of this lesson plus 3 more lessons covering chord melody, chord subs, a ten page PDF with U Bass tabs and Baritone Chords, Backing Track, plus an archive of 400+ Jazz Ukulele Lessons

For the month of December use the discount code MAGICUKE for 50% off your first month of membership.

Ready for a challenge?

Give this Chord melody version of Sunday a try!

Download the free tabs and watch a performance here

Not only was this a hit for the great Cliff Edwards but was also recorded by Lyle Ritz on his album ‘How About Uke’. In this arrangement I’ve tried my best to capture the chord voicings used in that iconic recording.

If you’re new to this style check out my lesson on Lyle Ritz Chord melody playing.

Join the Magic Ukulele Club for a Soundslice play-along syncing the tabs to video as well as six other lessons on this classic tune.

For the month of December use the discount code MAGICUKE for 50% off your first month of membership.

Hello Ukulele friends!

Grab your ukulele and join me in learning the 1926 swing tune Sunday. This was a big hit in 1927 for a young Cliff Edwards and we'll be doing it in his key so that you can practice along with his recording as well as the backing track here.

This is a great jazz standard even for beginners as it uses chords that we will mostly all know although they might not be quite in the order that you're used to! The bridge is a typical rhythm changes bridge that is used on 100s of tunes. Within 5 minutes you'll be strumming this fun tune along with the band.

This month on the Magic Ukulele Club we're using this tune as our learning vehicle with lessons covering:

• Cliff Edwards Strumming

• Playing the Melody

• Understanding ii V Substitutions

• Soloing without Scales

• Chord Melody

• and more

Next Saturday on the Magic Ukulele Club we'll also be having our final guest workshop of the year with none other than the wonderful Victoria Vox!

Cheers!

Christopher.

Building on our lesson on Lyle Ritz Chord melody playing I've made an arrangment on 'All of Me' in his iconic style. This arrangement is a great way for intermediate and advanced players to get some unique chords under their fingers. For less experienced players you can still benefit from learning the Nat King Cole style introduction and Count Basie outro to this tune.

Download the free tabs here

Join the Magic Ukulele Club for a Soundslice play-along to practice with as well as 7 other lessons (over 3 hours!) on this classic jazz standard

Lyle Ritz didn’t just play the ukulele — he redefined it.

Watch the lesson and download the free PDF here

As one of the true pioneers of jazz ukulele, Lyle had a way of adding color and complexity to even the simplest chords. In this free lesson, I’ll break down his unique approach to playing over major chords, using the exact voicings and techniques that gave his playing such a rich, expressive sound.

I’ll take you step by step in not just how to play the chords but where they come from and how to apply them. In this lesson we’ll:

- Start with a listening and playing  exercise to identify the sweet notes over a C major chord
- Build chords from these notes to create classic Ritz voicings like 6th, major9, and 6/9 chords
-Apply these voicings to his iconic arrangement of “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” from the album 50th State Jazz

Want to dive deeper into the world of jazz ukulele? Join us over on the Magic Ukulele Club where we have an archive of over 400 lessons with new ones each and every week.

Grab your ukulele and let's learn one of my favorite jazz standards: 'All of Me'. No, not the John Legend song, but the 1931 tune played by everyone from Billie Holiday to Willie Nelson.

This song is a great play on the classic circle progression and in the key of C will mostly be chords that you all know. I'll show you the chords to both sections of the tune and then we'll put on the backing track and try it along with the full band.

This tune is one of the best for working out so many common chord movements that you will see throughout other tunes in the great American Songbook. Just easy enough for most players with the ability to take it as far as you want.

Join the Magic Ukulele Club for the 30 minute version of this lesson plus 3 more lessons throughout the month covering chord melody, Louis Armstrong's Solo, chord subs, a ten page PDF, Backing Track, plus an archive of 400+ Jazz Ukulele Lessons.

Cheers!

Christopher.