Customer Reviews

Essential Strums for the Ukulele

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Overall, good quality. To enjoy, should have a good knowledge of uke chords; he goes through the sections pretty fast, so you can't be slowed down by figuring how to play a chord. Many strums are taught, worth the money and knowledge.

Ralph Shaw's a great teacher--this show and tell DVD demonstrates technique, so you can see how the strums are created as you play along.

This DVD is great for anyone interested in learning to play different kinds of music. Ralph Shaw is a great teacher and he makes learning fun. I have definitely gotten better by playing along with this DVD. If you are a total beginner like me, you might also want to consider his other DVD The Complete Ukulele Course taught by Ralph Shaw.

I found Essential Strums to be an excellent resource. The various strum pateerns were presented in a clear and informative manner. The DVD was just a bit pricey but worth the money overall.

absolutely excellent. I decided to believe the review that others had written and I am so glad that I did. Ralph Shaw is an excellent teacher, a very pleasant man too. More than well worth the price.I have referred the 23 people in my ukulele club to this product and his 'Complete Ukulele Course' as well.

jan

I wanted to sing along while watching DVD without consulting a booklet which came with DVD.

Unfortunately, no single chord diagram and no single lyric showed up on the screen.

Ralph even didn't sing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" to inform upcoming chord even though it was the longest song on this DVD.

One of the most awkward and annoying moment.

So, this DVD just ended up with introducing bunch of strum patterns such as "Common Strum, March, Waltz, 12-Bar Blues, Triplet Stroke, Bossa Nova, Reggae, Swing, Samba, Bo Diddley Strum, Frailing/Clawhammer and Syncopated Style".

Less cheerful than Bartt's, less detail than Aldrine's DVD and Overpriced. (Purchased it for $29.95).

Next 2 DVDs are not strum oriented but cover very useful strum patterns conveniently.

Learn to solo on the ukulele DVD - $20.00 ([..])

Ukulele Bartt's Ultimate Ukulele DVD - $14.99 ([..])

This is a good introduction to some ukulele strum patterns. There are a whole lot more strums out there, and Mr. Shaw doesnt pretend to show them all. Some are very basic, and some fairly involved. For someone starting out, his demonstration of the "Common Strum" and the triplet are very good and are essential strums for any player. I think that I am more than a complete beginner, yet his demonstration of the simpler strums were very helpful for me. Some strums are very challenging, so there is material suitable for the more experienced player to learn.

Mr. Shaw introduces each strum and then plays a song using that strum. This seems like a simple idea, but its easy to learn a strum without learning how to use it in a song at the proper tempo. Mastering a strum to the point that you can play it while singing is really what the goal should be.

Mr. Shaw is very upbeat and enthusiastic. Maybe a little corny, but in a sincere appealing way. When he finished the clawhammer banjo style strumming, he gives a "yee haw" at the end that I wish he hadnt. His explanations are clear and helpful. And the video of him playing is very easy to see. It helps that the ukulele is so small that you can get a pretty close view of both the right and left hands in the same video frame.

I think this is a worthwhile instruction video.