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Featured Ukulele Lessons
Learning Ukulele Strums - A Recipe for Success
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A strum is the execution of a rhythmic pattern - in a specific style at tempo.
Learning Strums, A Receipe for Success covers how to go about learning the various rhythmic patterns that are strums.
Strumming requires a specific set of skills. They are: 1) Memorization of chords 2) The ability to switch chords smoothly and 3) The ability to choose and execute a suitable rhythmic strum.
This series of lesson's focus is on the execution.
Six Essential Scales for Ukulele
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The six essential scale are: Blues, Major Pentatonic, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian, and Ionian.
There are two scales that can be the memorized and all other essential scales referenced from these two. These two scales are the Major and Natural Minor scales. The Major and Natural Minor scales are traditional scales and common scales in all forms of contemporary music. This lesson explores the Major and Natural Minor scales and their derivations.
From these two scales the Blues, Major Pentatonic, Mixolydiand and Dorian scale can be created.
Core Chords - Creating the Big Six from F7, 1st Voicing
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Taking a movable F7 chord, you can derive each of the 'big six' essential chords. 7, maj7, m7, m7b5, dim7, and aug7.
Featured Books 
Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard - C Tuning
Beyond knowing the names of the open strings most ukulele players find it hard to learn the whole fingerboard.
If your goal is to finally learn the names of the notes on the ukulele fingerboard. Then "Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard" is your answer. "Learning the Ukulele Fingerboard - C Tuning" has a step by step approach to finally mastering the ukulele fingerboard. FREE download.
The Blues Scale
Learn to play the Blues scale on ukulele. Available in "C" Tuning. Scale diagrams in the QuickStart format and chords chart for all keys. This book is a FREE download.
Ukulele Chords
NEW This small (1/2 size) chord book is a great little book to carry with you. Ukulele Chords covers basic open position and basic movable form chords. From these two chord categories a variety of songs and styles can be played.
A Guide to Ukulele Chords
This book is designed as a guide to ukulele (pronounced “oo-koo-lele”) chords. Covering basic ukulele chords that ALL uke players MUST know, movable chord forms, rock uke chords, how to transpose chords, learning the ukulele fingerboard and an introduction to 4-part “jazz” chords and more...
Ukulele For Guitar Players
Ukulele for Guitar Players is a guide to transferring the accumulated experience and knowledge gained as a guitar played to the ukulele.
A Guide to Blues Chord Progressions for Ukulele A to Z
Covers the key of C major and C minor, including a detailed accompanying text explaining the principles behind each progression and the chord substutitions.
Exploring "Jazz" Chords on Ukulele
Exploring "Jazz" Chords takes the core chords from A Guide to Advanced Chords for Ukulele and shows their use over a variety of common chord progressions based on songs from the standard jazz repertoire.
A Guide to Advanced Chords for Ukulele
If your goal is to expand your chord vocabulary, The Advanced Guide to Ukelele Chords Series is your answer. Commonly referred to as "jazz" chords. A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords Volume I provides detailed information on voicing 4-part chords.
The Advanced Guide to Guitar Chords
Commonly referred to as "jazz" chords this provides detailed information on voicing 4-part chords.
Harmonic Analysis For Scale Selection And Chord Substitution
Harmonic Analysis is the understanding of the functional sequence of chords. It is the process used to analyze the harmonic structure of a progression, song or composition. This analysis is then used to make scale selections for improvisation and chord substitution.
Ukulele - Reading Music Series
Reading Music in Open Position, Single Note Studies- Primer. Reading music is not as hard as one might think. It may be new and unfamiliar to you but is not hard when you have a proper plan of attack.
Featured Song/TAB
Blue Bossa
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Blue Bossa is an instrumental jazz composition by Kenny Dorham (August 30, 1924 – December 5, 1972). It was introduced on Joe Henderson's 1963 album Page One. A blend of hard bop and bossa nova, the tune was possibly influenced by Dorham's visit to the Rio de Janeiro Jazz Festival in 1961. The tune has since been recorded numerous times by different artists, making it a jazz standard.
Includes: Play-along Lead Sheet, Ukulele TAB of Melody, Melody and Chord Ukulele rrangement, example chords and scales for accompanment and improv.
Over 1800 pages of
ukulele, guitar and music content. And 146 lessons for FREE or any donations.
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Curt Sheller Bios
- Graphic Artist
I started my professional working career as a graphic artist. I starting copying drawings from the Sunday comics at 8 years old.
As a graphic designer and artist I mainly focus my efforts in the music industry for other musicians and artists.
- Musician
Stated guitar at 9 and have been too stubborn to give it up.
Stick with anything long enough and you tend to get good at it. To key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours, the 10,000-hour Rule.
- Author
I've written over 40 books for ukulele, guitar and music.
- Publisher
I currently publish and handle distribution for all my own books.
- Programmer
Taught myself how to program starting with HyperTalk and Hypercard up to C++. Now focus on PHP, JavaScript and Ruby for my web development. The CurtSheller.com web site is all is hand coded.
My Introduction to Ukulele
After a brief introduction to the ukulele in 1978 by two distant uncles at a family reunion. I rediscover the ukulele in 2003. Finding limited material for intermediate and advanced ukulele players I have authored over 30 books for ukulele players. I have performed and presented workshops and clinics at various ukulele festival across the USA from New York to LA.
I'm recording a jazz ukulele cd titled How About More Uke? early 2012
Here is what the Windy City Uke Festival has to say about me.
“Curt Sheller is probably the most published person on the planet for intermediate and advanced ukulele publications. His instruction manuals and training materials are the most extensive in advanced concepts of blues and improvisational jazz on the ukulele. His works include "Advanced Guide to Chord Progressions for Ukulele", "Exploring Jazz Chords on Ukulele", "QuickStart Arpeggio Fingerings for Ukulele" just to name a few.”
My Ukulele Books
Here is what Peter Rhee said about my (Curt Sheller) books.
"Just browsing over both books, they look fantastic! I'm a guitarist and uke player for over 25 years and was thinking about writing a ukulele book but you've already written what I think are the best, most comprehensive and thorough books I've ever seen for the instrument. I just might end up buying every book you've written and I'll be giving my highest recommendation for your books to my friends and students. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such great books!" - Peter Rhee
My Ukulele Performances
Curt, I really enjoyed your set at The Whiskey--your low key intros, mic persona provided
a cool contrast with your complex uke technique and ingenious arrangements!
- Best wishes, Jared Denhard
Thanks for visiting and checking the site!
Content is always being added and updated. So check-in often. Thanks, Curt
P.S. You may think from the look of it that Curt Sheller Publications is a slick, profitable business, but it's actually not (maybe a car payment a month, cheap car). I spend a lot and time money creating the content, lessons and books for this site (a labor of love), so if you dig my content and want to see more of it. I could use your help by spreading the word and maybe buying a book or two if you haven't already, to help defray the cost of running the site. Thanks in advance for your help. This is a labor of love and I'd do it even if I didn't make a lot of money, hey I don't!
You can also make a donation to the lesson-site fund. Button in the sidebar of the site.
If I'm not teaching, I'm working on this site and new lessons, books and goodies.
INDEX.PHP | Updated: Monday, 26th March, 2012 @ 09:03am