9 to 5 (Ukulele)

Here's how to play the great 9 to 5 intro by Dolly Parton, on Ukulele! Here we will learn the notes of this three note melody, which is just on one string!

Here we can tune the Ukulele before starting! Tuner notes:

• String 4 - G

• String 3 - C

• String 2 - E

• String 1 - A

Chords - Fretboard finger positions

We can use just our first finger to play this riff but by using our other fingers assigned to a different fret, we can play faster and smoother.

The fretboard diagram shows the notes of the intro. We use our first finger of our picking hand to pluck these notes, starting on:

• Fret 3 of string 2 and using the third finger

• Open string 2

• Now, our first and second fingers are free to play fret 1 and fret 2

• Back to fret 3, starting the riff over again with our third finger

For this riff we play the 3rd fret 13 times. However, in music we usually only count to four. So, we can break this 13 beats down into 3 groups of four and 1 extra, before the rest of the notes that follow.

Playing tips

• 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 or just single notes, with slightly bent fingers to help all them sound out

Need more help than this video provides? Check out Andy's comprehensive online Ukulele Course here!