Hal Leonard Ukulele Method Book 2 [Paperback]

After playing through book one of this method in the morning, I took the opportunity to play through book two in the afternoon. The format is the same as book one, and continues where it left off.

The Pros, Weakness and Cons for this Ukulele Method:

*Continues to have you pluck traditional melodies, learning new keys, notes and bits of theory as you go.

*Continues to include traditional notation & tablature for most of the pieces.

*Teaches you three major moveable chords, very useful information. The author does not, however, back this up with much practicle application (though there are dozens possible).

*Covers hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides, but only provides one piece to reinforce these important techniques.

*Covers a few new strumming patterns and techniques: Ragtime & Calypso Patterns and the Five-Finger Roll & Triplet Stroke.

*Introduces the chord families of D, Bb and A as well as further exploration of minor keys. At this point, if you're using this method, you should be used to the fast pace of learning new, sometimes difficult chords.

As with the first volume, I think this is an excellent introduction to melodic picking, but does not fully capitolize on the opportunity to add harmonic counterpoint and other techniques of melodic soloing on the instrument. Chording continues to move along at a fast pace, but that is just the author's approach - though I'd prefer a more gradual approach, with more reinforcement of the principles introduced (a lot of lost opportunity here). However, if you choose this method and follow through with it, you will learn a lot that you can apply to whatever music you choose to learn later on.

M Ryan Taylor
UkulelePlay.com

From "Twinkle, twinkle little star," to "Michelle," I can hear amazing progress in the other room. She has used the book learning to play beautifully. Easy to follow because of tableture and music, so she is learning how to read music. Unlike many "how to" books, the layout is user friendly and contains the variety she was looking for. As a guitar player myself, some of the advanced arrangements are easily transferred, so we can pick and strum together. A good buy, even without the CD.

I bought both books in this series and they really offer a good start. Simple and basic instructions in an easy to follow format. The books are a little over-sized but that makes them easy to read. The songs are presented in both notation and tab so even a novice can play songs right away.

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