Customer Reviews

The Complete Ukulele Course taught by Ralph Shaw

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The title of this DVD tutorial is pure hyperbole (dreamt up most likely by a marketing wonk working for the publisher) but don't let that put you off. Ralph Shaw is an excellent ukulele player and an outstanding teacher. He is incredibly pleasant and is adept at breaking down the process of playing the ukulele into easily learned chunks. He has clearly taught others and thought through the order he uses to teach techniques. Best of all, he has a way of making learning to play fun. A friend of mine that has seen me play for years and never expressed an interest in playing uke did so after seeing part of this DVD while I was watching. Yes, Ralph Shaw is that charming and that alone is worth the price.

I have been playing ukulele casually for 20+ years (I am mainly a guitar player) so the parts of this DVD that are meant for beginners were a bit rudimentary for me. But Shaw teaches the right way of playing and I was able to correct a few mistakes I had been making. I bought this DVD (and the other in his "Complete Ukulele Course" series, "Essential Strums for Ukulele") mainly to learn the syncopated style of George Formby. That I learned and I was delighted with the rest of the DVD as well. Shaw's endearing style of teaching (and the fast forward button) make his DVDs worth the money even if you have been playing for a while.

If you are a highly experienced player hoping to reach Bob Brozman's level, this DVD is not for you. (I love Brozman's ukulele DVD but recommend it for advanced players.) But if you are just getting started or have been playing a little while and want to take your ukulele skills above the average player you couldn't do better than this DVD.

Caution: There is some overlap with the second DVD in the series. If you are beginner and care to work towards professional level, buy both and Brozman's as well. If you just want to learn the basics or progress beyond simple chords and strums start with this one. If you have been playing for a while and are thoroughly comfortable with chords up the neck consider buying Essential Strums instead.

Judging from prior reviews, some people really like this disk, so I'll try to explain the low score I have given it. By no stretch of the imagination is this a complete course. It is an introductory course for people who have never played a stringed instrument. In fact, with just three songs you can hardly call it a course. My main interest is Hawaiian music and so this DVD was not a good choice on my part since I should have known from the description that Mr. Shaw is more into 1920's style uke. Mr. Shaw is so darn pleasant that I hate to say anything negative so I will just try to be objective and tell you what you get on the disk. There's a very brief introduction about the uke followed by instructions on how to hold and tune it. He shows you how to play a few basic chords, demonstrates how to strum in 4/4, 3/4 and 6/8 times and demonstrates a few ornaments. He plays three songs, "Froggie Went a Courting", "Hello Ma Baby" and "Country Garden". The first two pieces are extremely simple (two and three chords, respectively) and the third piece is only slightly challenging for anyone with experience playing uke, guitar or similar instrument. The booklet is four pages long and has the lyrics and chords (but no chord diagrams) for the first two songs and detailed fingering diagrams for "Country Garden". At about the same time I bought this DVD, I also bought Hawaiian Style Ukulele (Vol.1) and Learn to Play Fingerstyle Solos for Ukulele both of which fit my needs much better. The Hawaiian Style Uke is a lot of fun because you can play along with a decent band on the accompanying CD and all twelve songs are Hawaiian classics. The book has chord diagrams for all the songs and suggested strumming patterns for most of the songs. Nelson's Fingerstyle book also comes with a CD and contains a variety of genres including Hawaiian, folk and classical. The book has musical notation and tablature for all the songs as well as helpful supplemental material. This music is definitely more challenging to play and will keep me busy for many months.

I've been playing uke for the last 10 or more years. During that time I entered into a ukulele-rut where I was good, but really not getting better. Enter the self-proclaimed "King of the Ukulele" Ralph Shaw. Mr. Shaw is enthusiastic and clear in this DVD and overall does a very good job at showing ukulele possibilities. It was well balanced between fingering (the left hand stuff) and strumming patterns (the right hand stuff). He does a good job explaining how to add more ZING to your playing with "ornament" notes (notes that are not part of the traditional chord but add depth and interest to it). Also, the way he breaks down more complicated strum patters like the roll and the George-Formby-Syncopation strum is really helpful. This is not a DVD where you will go away with a load of different songs (you have to find those other places), but you will go away with more tools and techniques in playing your uke better and having more fun with it.

Ralph Shaw is a disarming teacher - one of those special people who can be entertaining while instructing. Ralph is British and has a wonderful warm brogue. He's got a great cheerful attitude about the Uke.

I'm finding this DVD to be just the ticket for me to improve my technique and he gives lots of smart suggestions for ways to practice on your own. The first lessons are on strumming rhythums and then it moves onto more complicated picking (I haven't gotten there yet!). The DVD is broken into short lessons, so it's easy to go back to a certain place. There is a very cute practice song about Froggie, and I'm looking forward to the day I can play it as well as Ralph!

I highly recommend this DVD for anyone who wants to have more fun practicing and playing their Uke!

I picked up the ukulele on vacation, but the book I bought with it left a lot to be desired. This guy is fun to watch, and I can play now! It's not easy, and he progresses rather quickly, but I can take it one step at a time! His enthusiasm is contagious, the uke is a great little instrument! If you've spent the money on a uke, you need this. Chords, notes, strumming, rythmm, etc. Thanks, Ralph!

I bought this based on the many rave reviews, but was disappointed. I've been playing the ukulele for about 2 months, and was looking for something to really accelerate my progress. In particular, I was hoping for good instruction on right-hand technique.

I really enjoyed learning the split strum. Unfortunately, although the section on right-hand strums covers the basic split strum slowly and in detail, all of the variations and embellishments are explained outside the context of the basic strum, then shown in context only at full speed. This made it very difficult to figure EXACTLY out how to incorporate embellishments such as the initial double strum, the thumb roll, etc. into the context of the basic technique. It would have helped tremendously if each new element was shown slowly and in close-up (in useful context).

The DVD format has tons of data capacity and potential for a great instruction disc. Why not at least have a section where each technique is shown in slo-mo?

With all honesty I was hoping that I could trust the fellow reviewers of this product, unfortunately my opinion differed that than the majority who like it. This course was taken basically in one shot . I didn't notice any editing, basically it was a camera on a tripod, and a guy sitting on a stool with a black backdrop, and he either read from queue cards or had a poster bored that listed the topics had to go over.

I was disappointed that there was never any zooming in on the fingers or any type of editing to stretch the course out for those who don't catch on after the first try of things. Honestly it felt as if this was a rushed course that had a deadline. I was very dissatisfied by it and am in search of a better ukulele teaching book/video.

This is a great course for beginners and people who have played awhile. It goes way beyound basic strums and invites the student to improvise as they get more comfortable.

Ralph Shaw is a very great teacher. He is very exuberant when explaining techniques on the uke, and he also adds a lot of little tips and insight along the way.

I recommend this video to any beginner, and to those with some knowledge of the uke.

When I first put in the DVD I was a little put off by the low-budget production, but the actual content is really pretty good. The very basics are VERY basic, but he moves really quick into good techniques to master. Don't get this to learn lots of songs, but to learn good habits. The rewind, pause and fast-forward are essential with this tape. Although it's only about 1 hour long, there's probably 10-20 hours of good practice work from it. Despite the black curtain background, the DVD is one of the better instructional videos I've bought.