🎸 The 3 Biggest Mistakes Beginners Make on Ukulele (and How to Fix Them)

🎸 The 3 Biggest Mistakes Beginners Make on Ukulele (and How to Fix Them)

Learning the ukulele is meant to be fun—and it really is! But there are a few common pitfalls that can leave beginners feeling frustrated or stuck. Don’t worry—these are easy to fix, and I’ve helped thousands of students through them.

Here are the 3 biggest beginner uke mistakes I see (and how to avoid them):

1. Pressing Too Hard on the Strings

Most beginners think they need to press down hard to get a clean sound. But actually, if you press too hard, your fingers get sore fast—and your chords can sound buzzy or sharp.

✅ Fix it: Try easing off and letting the fret do the work. Place your finger just behind the fret (not on top), and use just enough pressure to get a clean note. It should feel almost effortless!

Have a watch of this one minute video where I show you an easy way to check if you're pressing too hard:

Are you pushing too hard?

2. Letting Your Fingers Collapse on Chords

If your fingers collapse or lean too far over, they can mute other strings—especially on chords like G and D7. This makes your playing sound dull or choked.

✅ Fix it: Keep your fingers curved and play on the tips. Imagine you're holding a small ball or making a claw shape. It helps to check your form in a mirror too! You'll hear me talk about holding your uke at a 45 degree angle in my lessons too - this makes so many things much easier in the long run. Here's a video to illustrate all this:

How to hold your uke

3. Trying to Do Too Much Too Soon

It’s easy to fall into the trap of watching loads of random tutorials or jumping into advanced songs right away. But without structure, you’ll hit a wall.

✅ Fix it: Follow a step-by-step course that builds skills gradually. You’ll enjoy playing more, progress faster, and avoid frustration.

🎁 Want to Learn Properly from the Start?

I’ve created a completely comprehensive but friendly beginner course to help you get off on the right foot. You’ll learn your first chords, strums, songs, and more—all in a friendly, structured way.

👉 You can try a few lessons for free and if you're ready to dive deeper, check out my Lift-Off Beginners Course for the full experience.

Check out my Beginners Course

🎶 Bonus Tip: Use the Right Tools

Make sure your uke is in tune (use my built-in tuner in the app), and consider a stand so it’s always within reach!

📱 Download my app for access to all my courses, a tuner, chord finder, and more:

→ Apple App Store

→ Google Play