RuggedReviews.com Review of The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids

This review has to have you scratching your head and muttering, "This guy's nuts. I can't believe he's recommending a kid's ukulele instructional course."

Trust me, if you want to play the ukulele or guitar, and you don't have a teacher, this DVD/book course is invaluable. When I was first learning guitar, I hit a wall. I just couldn't seem to strum, sing and change chords smoothly. On a lark, I decided to try the much less intimidating ukulele. It has four strings as opposed to the guitar's six strings, and they're nylon not steel, so they're easier to fret.

I bought a Lanikai LU- 21CE Concert Acoustic Electric Ukulele and Ralph Shaw's Complete Ukulele Course for Kids. Together, they had the intended results. Shaw, an enthusiastic, pleasantly goofy, and expert instructor uses simple children's songs to teach strumming with rhythm, singing and smooth chord changes. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to learn how to play the uke and how the skills I learned from Shaw broke the problems I was having on guitar. The chord shapes are certainly different on uke but the basic skills remain the same on both instruments.

I was so impressed with Shaw's ability to teach these skills in the Complete Ukulele Course for Kids that I purchased another one of his DVD/booklet sets called Essential Strums for the Ukulele. In this kit, he introduces several strumming patterns including March, Waltz, 12 Bar Blues, Samba, Bossa Nova, Swing, Triplets, Bo Diddley, and Reggae. The songs -- including standards like Take Me Home Country Roads and Girl from Ipanema -- are much more grown up.

These lesson kits are superb for anyone who wants to learn uke -- even kids. They can also give beginning guitar players the boost they need to advance to the next level. Get in touch with your inner kid and give it a try.

The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids is perfect for aspiring players of all ages who want to try the ukulele. It's also useful for beginning guitar players who are having trouble strumming, changing chords and singing at the same time. Four nylon strings on a ukulele are easier to fret than six steel strings on a guitar. I used what I learned on the uke to break through a wall on guitar.