What Level Ukulele Player Are You?

Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced

If you are not sure of your current level then visit the Determining Your Level page. It will help you determine where you are in your development.

You might be an intermediate player as far as chords go but a beginner for scales and improvisation. A great strummer but just starting to explore fingerstyle. So one level doesn't fit all players and/or all subjects.

This is where a experienced teacher can really help out. It's sometimes hard to evaluate where you are in your own development. A outside set of ears and eyes can help determine a good course of development, depending on your goals.

Teaching your self can be frustrating at times. One problem with going the self taught route is the glut of information available on-line. There is no one controlling the flow of information, no one to guide you from the basic foundation skills and knowledge needed to more advance concepts for any particular topic. Patience is paramount with yourself is crucial — there’s nothing in the world that someone hasn’t managed to learn, starting from right from where you are. And, it's probably written down somewhere, either in a books or on-line.

Advanced Players

An advanced player should know the fingerboard across the strings and along the strings. Be able to instantaneously identify any note on the fingerboard. This needs to be second nature.

An advanced player should be able to read music and figure out where the notes are on the fingerboard. They might not be able to sightread on demand - but read to figure out and learn new material.

An advanced player can figure out any chord that is required. They have a understanding of open position chords, movable form chords and 4-part, aka "Jazz" chords.

An advanced player can hear I, IV, and V chords, has mastered chord inversions, knows there is life above the fifth fret. Plays lead and backup easily with others and keeps steady rhythm.

An advanced player knows the difference between a scale and a mode.