By James Hill & Angela Dwyer

In July 2024, an exciting new chapter of JHUI begins! Below is a summary of the changes that are coming to the program. If you'd like to watch the full Zoom session where James and Angela talk through these changes and answer questions, please click here.

JHUI was founded by James and his father, Barry, nearly 15 years ago as a way to offer...

By Catherine Goykhman

Like many people, I have been teaching ukulele online with both my group and private lessons since the pandemic began. Thanks to platforms like Zoom, teaching and learning the ukulele online has become not only possible but highly effective. It has never been easier to connect with ukulele students around the world! The strategies and tips below have worked well...

By Zsolt Schäfer

I recently re-read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and discovered a truth in there that also applies to learning ukulele as an adult.

"The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases. For instance, the first...

By James Hill

So you wake up in the morning, you pick up your ukulele but it sounds terrible. It's time to tune!

These days, by far the most common way to tune is with an electronic tuner.  Just clip one of these to your headstock, turn it on and pluck the first string, A. It's easy to remember that A is the first string because it's also the first letter in the alphabet.

Keep plucking as...

Once again, we are reaching back to the original Ukulele Yes! print magazine, this time with an article by J. Chalmers Doane who teaches you how you can use the ukulele as a vocal harmony generator.

From Ukulele Yes! Vol. 5. (1976). p. 12.

The fact that singing is the best way to train the ear is pretty well accepted within the music educational community. However, the excitement and musical...

Video content is where it’s at these days. Whether you’re a creator, music maker, teacher, or learner, there may very well be a need to record yourself. And there are plenty of tutorials out there about how to do this and what products are recommended.

But what about those little extras that experienced content creators and musicians learn along the way? James has a wealth of...

This video is part of Ready, Steady, UKULELE!, a comprehensive online course for absolute-beginners that costs just $1. Learn more

By James Hill

People often ask me, "how many ukuleles do you own?"  My answer is always the same: "If you still know how many you have, you don't have enough!" 

Ukuleles come in all shapes and sizes.  Compared to many instruments they're...

What are interactive scores and what can we do with them? 

Interactive scores are part of nearly every online ukulele course in Uketropolis. Why? Because they bring music to life in a way that we could only have imagined even a decade ago. Powered by the amazing Soundslice platform, our interactive scores are "living sheet music."

Think of your trusty music books or paper scores: the pages...

Ready for a scale game that's competitive, addictive, and requires no electricity, batteries, apps or devices? We're throwing back to this great post by Suzanne Doane for this month's From the Vault, sharing a tried-and-true game for ukulele students of all ages: The Eliminator Game! 

We all know that the scale is a basic component of every musician's vocabulary. Playing it with ease and...

Strap on that uke, stretch those muscles, and get ready for this musical challenge of strength, skill, and perseverance: the Ukulympics!

It’s June and that means many teachers are pushing through the final weeks of classes or looking for summer activities to give to students. Or perhaps you’re up for a challenge yourself and want something fun as a guide! We’ve got a great...