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Keep shoppingBeginner's Ukulele - Happy Birthday - A Festive Serenade!
83 students
Beginner's Ukulele - Happy Birthday - A Festive Serenade!
Learn 3 beginner versions of this celebration classic using fingerstyle, strumming and a funky developed arrangement.
Created byPaul Lennon, Amanda Jones
Last updated 8/2017
English
What you'll learn
- LEARN TO PLAY: Learn three versions of ‘Happy Birthday’ so you can celebrate with your friends and family on their birthdays!
- FINGERSTYLE: Play a bright fingerstyle version where you practise repeated notes and small jumps while keeping a clear, celebratory feel.
- STRUMMING: Play a simple chord version using C, Cm, D7, G and G7 with steady strumming and smooth chord changes so you can accompany this birthday song.
- DEVELOPED: Play an energetic version where you use rhythmic muting and a funky rhythm to give the song a modern feel.
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Course content
6 sections • 26 lectures • 2h 26m total length
Requirements
- A ukulele, a tuner and the enthusiasm to learn a well-known celebration tune.
- No music reading skills needed.
Description
Imagine being able to pick up a ukulele and play ‘Happy Birthday’ whenever the moment arrives. This course walks you from the very first steps to confidently performing the tune, even if you’ve never played an instrument before. No music reading is required - just bring a ukulele, a tuner and your enthusiasm for learning something new.
We begin by helping you feel at ease with your instrument: tuning it accurately, understanding how it works and becoming familiar with the clear, supportive resources included in the course. Once you’re comfortable, we move straight into learning the melody in small, manageable steps.
You’ll explore three different interpretations of the song. First comes a clean fingerstyle melody, then a strummed chord version designed for group celebrations, followed by a developed arrangement with a more rhythmic, contemporary feel. Each interpretation teaches you something new about musical expression and offers another way to share this familiar tune.
As you work through the lessons, you’ll naturally develop useful musical skills: coordinating your left and right hands, moving cleanly between individual notes, transitioning smoothly between basic chord shapes and learning how to join short musical phrases into a complete performance. These core abilities will support you as you explore more ukulele music beyond this course.
To support your learning, you’ll have diagrams, TAB, playalong tracks and optional sheet music. Everything is designed to guide you clearly from your first note to a confident, celebratory performance.
Who this course is for:
- Beginners who want a fun, useful song to play confidently at birthdays.
- Anyone curious about fingerstyle and strumming through a familiar melody.