In this video
Learn 'Let It Be' by The Beatles on Ukulele. We'll use the chords C major, G major, A minor and F major with a simple strumming pattern and some melodic notes.
Here's how to play Let It Be by The Beatles, a simple four chord song on Ukulele!
Here we'll use the chords C major, G major, A minor and F major with a simple strumming pattern and some melodic notes, which will enable us to play this full song. The video includes a full song demo - so be sure to play along!
Before we start, take a look here at how we can tune the Ukulele! Here are the notes below:
String 4 - G
String 3 - C
String 2 - E
String 1 - A
Chords - Fretboard finger positions
These four chords, in this order, are some of the most popular chords ever and we can describe songs that uses these as a 'four chord song'.
Usually, songs of this type change the order of the chords (as shown in the video) to make the music more interesting and to evolve the melody.
For this chorus, we swap out the C major for the A minor chord for one time round of the chords.
Third finger - 3rd fret - String 1
First finger - 2nd fret - String 3
Second finger - 2nd fret - String 1
Third finger - 3rd fret - String 2
Second finger - 2nd fret - String 4
Second finger - 2nd fret - string 4
First finger - 1st fret - String 2
The fretboard diagram shows the notes for the famous 'hook' in this song.
Starting at the 1st fret of string 2, we descend the scale to play this melody
1st fret string 2 -> Open string 2 -> 2nd fret string 3 -> Open string 3
Learning the full C major scale, will be really beneficial for this song and for many other occasions in our learning!
Strumming tips
We play our strumming pattern as: Down -> Down -> Down -> Up
On the up-strum of this pattern, we can lift our chord hand up early to move to the next chord
This quick change means playing all open strings quickly
Our hand is then ready for the next chord on beat 1
Playing tips
The key to this lifting off idea feeling more natural, is by playing up to speed but it will always sound better practicing slowly and getting everything sounding out nicely initially.
Secure the Ukulele against your body on the inside of the elbow
Use the side of the fretting hand to support the neck of the Ukulele for chord playing changes
Position our fingers on the side of the fret closest to us, near to the fret wire
Use our finger tips to fret the notes in chords, with slightly bent fingers to help all notes sound out
Here is the video for the full C major scale!
Need more help than this video provides? Check out Andy's comprehensive online Ukulele Course here!