Product Details

• Actors: Ralph Shaw
• Directors: Ralph Shaw
• Format: Full Screen, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Ralph Shaw Productions
• DVD Release Date: July 1, 2005
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000A2RVUK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,160 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and worth every penny, September 24, 2005

By 

D.B. Satzine "Practitioner" (Raleigh NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential Strums for the Ukulele (DVD)

What's good about this video is that it is organized into many chapters, each of which is stand-alone tutorial on a particular type of song and technique. If you've already got the basics that's great because you can pick what you want and get a complete lesson. Even if you haven't seen his first this has a lot of value. This is a video you can come back to over and over as your interests change or you want to try different styles in your own preference order. Includes a nifty printed chord chart and guide to the songs, which makes for a complete package. Also his personality really comes thru in a very enjoyable way. I got this along with beloff's second (which i don't recommend), and this is way better for the money. Fun and worth every penny!

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The DVD is Essential Even If The Strums Aren't, June 30, 2006

By 

JMAC "JMAC" (Denton, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Essential Strums for the Ukulele (DVD)

The title of this DVD tutorial is hyperbole, dreamt up most likely by a marketing wonk working for the publisher. Not all of the strums are "essential" and Ralph Shaw admits he doesn't use all of them all the time on the DVD. But don't let that put you off. Ralph Shaw is an excellent ukulele player and an outstanding teacher.

Ralph 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 a guitar player) so the parts of this DVD that are meant for beginners were a bit rudimentary. 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 the series, "The Complete Ukulele Course") 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 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 only 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.

Note: There is some overlap with the first DVD in the series. If you are beginner and care to work towards professional level, buy both and Brozman's as well. If you have been playing for a while and are thoroughly comfortable with chords up the neck Essential Strums is perfect. If you need to learn the basics or progress beyond simple chords and strums start with The Complete Ukulele Course.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good fun strums, May 8, 2007

By 

S. R. Drummond "sundog" (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Strums for the Ukulele (DVD)

This dvd shows some fun strums some easy some alot more advanced a little something for everyone.

A good dvd if you already have one of the beginner dvds.