Current technology gives us a wide variety of tools to help you learn to play the ukulele, right at your fingertips.
While we all used to have tuners, metronomes, paper songbooks and chord charts, now we can access all of that with the device in our pocket.
Below are some of the best apps on both ios and android to fuel your ukulele journey.
#1 uke as the professional application
operating system: ios and android
uke like the pros offers easy to follow ukulele lessons for beginners. In addition to the essential basic techniques, you’ll have fun while gaining confidence and learning to play the ukulele the right way.
Once you’ve completed the course, you’ll be ready to rock out on ukulele solos and jam along with others; In addition, you will be prepared to continue learning and become the ukulele player you always wanted to be.
get 20% off ukulele mastering level 1
#2 the ukulele app
operating system: ios and android
if you’ve ever searched for ukulele on youtube, you’re sure to have come across john ‘the ukulele teacher’. this app is a great toolbox for ukulele players no matter what the skill level. a chord library, tuner, strum patterns, common progressions, and scales are included.
One unique feature that sets this app apart is the ability to spell out notes on the fretboard and have the app tell you exactly what chord you’re playing. plus, you have access to over 400 lessons from john himself in your pocket!
#3 learning ukulele in 7 days
operating system: ios and android
a great app for beginners to boost your musical journey “learn ukulele in 7 days” contains 7 lessons to get you started on the right track. all of these lessons include playing jam tracks and by the end of the week you should be playing 6 tunes! The usefulness of the application does not end there, since it includes both a chord finder and a tuner that will last you for many years.
Master the ukulele in 30 or less, guaranteed!
#4 real ukulele
operating system: ios and android
did you leave your uke at home? don’t worry, you can always have one in your pocket with ‘real ukulele’. Ideal for learning on the go, this app lets you strum and play notes on a ukulele right on your phone. In addition, it has a large database of chords and tabs to play and even allows you to route the audio to other applications to record your performance.
#5 yousician
operating system: ios and android
‘yousician’ is a great online tool, not only for ukulele players, but also for anyone interested in learning to play an instrument. This app is a comprehensive learning tool that not only plays long songs, but individual lessons created by real teachers. yousician’s unique interface lets you visualize the entire fretboard as you play a song with a bouncing ball indicating the beat. you can slow down all exercises to go at your own pace. This app teaches a variety of techniques, from picking and strumming to hammering and creating melodies. the app has a vast free library as well as a premium version to unlock much more.
ukulele partner #5
operating system: ios
The “Ukulele Companion” is, just like its namesake, a great companion for your favorite little instrument. containing an extensive library of over 1900 chords, a built-in tuner, a metronome and a virtual instrument to play. what’s unique about this app is that it lets you experiment with alternate tunings and tailors the chord library for each one, which really opens up the possibilities. also available in the paid version there are a lot of drum tracks to practice and really get your groove going.
#6 juke
operating system: ios
‘iuke’ is one of the best ukulele self-study apps. This app not only has a vast library of songs along with rhythmic accompaniment so you’ll never play alone, but also short video tutorials that show you how to finger and play each chord. This app allows you to slow down each song to practice at your own pace, as well as transpose chords and melodies to suit your voice. Not only that, but ‘iuke’ also allows you to record your performance and post it directly to social media.
#7 my ukulele
operating system: android
a virtual ukulele app for android ‘my ukulele’ allows you to have a pocket version of your fretboard in your pocket. this is far from being a novelty, but a real practice tool. This app gives you standard and banjo ukulele sounds as well as the ability to play chords up and down the neck. the sounds increase in speed the harder you strum or hit, and it also allows you to isolate single notes by yourself as you work on melodies.
ukulele tool set #8
operating system: ios
The “Ukulele Toolkit” contains just about everything you could possibly need to help you with your ukulele practice. Included is a tuner that is accurate to 0.1 cents that also plays the note to help train your ear, a metronome with variable time signatures, a library of chords, scales, and much more. On top of all this, the app includes a common chord progression library, transposable to all keys using the circle of fifths, renaming chords based on capo positions, tap tempo to find the beat, as well as a special mode for left-handed ukeists. among us. For when you’re getting ready to play, the app also has a built-in drum machine that lets you practice playing along with accompaniment. not much left out on this one!
#9 ukulele tabs and chords
operating system: android
‘ukulele chords and strings’ offers one of the most comprehensive song libraries for the ukulele. Over 100,000 chord and tab sheets are included in the app for just about any song you can think of. once you find the tab you’re looking for, you can edit and tailor each one to your specific needs and even save for personal offline use. For performance, you can set the app to automatically scroll along with the song, as well as transpose each chord to a key of your choosing. If that’s not enough, there’s also a built-in tuner, chord library, and 20 common strumming patterns!
ukulele tuner #10
operating system: android
Despite its seemingly simplistic name, “ukulele tuner” does much more than just provide a tuner for your instrument. This app includes most of the standard alternate ukulele tunings: D, Low G, Canadian (Low G up a step), as well as Baritone. if you prefer to tune by ear, the app has a built in reference pitch adjustable from a440 as standard.
What I really love about this app is the pitch display, which almost looks like a tape measure with notes giving great feedback on how far you really are from the target pitch. As well as being a great tuning app, the ‘ukulele tuner’ also offers a pretty comprehensive chord library of root position voicings.
final thoughts
all of these apps are fun and functional tools that can help you on your way to ukulele. the vast majority of them are free, with in-app purchases, so you can try what they offer before spending your hard-earned money. With all these options available, we have no excuse not to practice!