Ukulele Primer Book for Beginners: with Online Video Access Paperback – May 30, 2019

Very helpful book. The video is great

I give this book an enthusiastic A+.After examining several other beginner ukulele books it was refreshing to find this book which combines the benefits of several, all in one. Ideal for brand new beginners or for others (like me) who have more musical training, the information and instructions in this book can benefit all.I am currently teaching a class of 15 beginning ukulele players and am using the Table of Contents from Bert Casey's Ukulele Primer as the curriculum for my class. All the written instructions can be reinforced with viewing and following along with Bert Casey on the DVD.Some highlights that distinguish Bert Casey's book, DVD and instructional approach are:Strumming instructions concurrent with the melody line and learning the chords for each song15 songs are included, fun to play & sing, starting with "He's Got the Whole World" using only 2 chordsInstructions for Calypso and Reggae strums are included and there is a strum library in the appendixIncludes information on understanding and reading ukulele tablatureThe illustrations and diagrams of how to hold the uke and finger the chords are clear and easily understoodThere are substantially more chords presented than other beginner books, including bar chordsHas an excellent 2 full page chord chart in the appendixAppendix includes basic music theory detailing how chords are formed within each key signatureThe DVD follows track by track the instructions printed in the bookDVD can be put in repeat mode to play particular pieces of music continuously so you can play alongBert Casey's manner on the DVD will put all players at ease, no matter what skill levelAs I've been listing these details, I've been thinking how far superior this book is to any of the others I've tried. If you are interested in learning to play the ukulele or progressing further than other beginner books have taken you, I would highly encourage you to purchase and enjoy this book and DVD. May you (and or anyone for whom you might be buying this book) have many happy years of ukulele playing!

This Book and DVD combo is a good way to start! I find when watching the DVD I really don't have time to look at the book, which is OK since I don't really need the book then. The DVD pretty much covers everything in the same order as the book. So you can refer to the book later to review parts you are having issues learning or mark your review points in the book.The DVD moves pretty quickly and before you know it you'll be playing some simple songs just fine and then suddenly, WHAM! You hit "Amazing Grace" or something else and find you are getting lost. No problem, back up a bit and review all you need to.So far as I've been able to tell there is not another product package quite like this with a book/DVD combo. There are books with audio CD's but this DVD works better, especially if you are a visual learner like me.The instructor, Bert Casey uses very gentle and effective teaching. He is clearly experienced and the course is fairly well organized.Even though I'm not a rank beginner having plowed through lots of the free online tutorials, I have picked up a couple of tips from Mr. Casey that were worth the cost of the course to me already. Very good stuff here and it is a pleasant enough experience. Skilled players aren't going to benefit from it much, but if you are a skilled player you aren't looking at a Uke Primer anyway.What you wind up with at the end of this course is enough basic skill to buy a song book of modern popular music and chord your way through most of the songbook easily. I don't think you could really expect more. This video course and book won't turn you into a virtuoso overnight, but you'll get better faster with it than without it. Like most uke introductory tutorials chords and rhythm patterns are the meat of it and yes again the "C" chord comes first. Mr. Casey does a good job explaining the rhythm patterns.You would need 4 to 6 uke lessons from a professional instructor to get as much content as there is in this course. Go do the math on that and you'll buy this course. (4 lessons here would be about $300.)The songs are all public domain folk songs. This is because most grownups know them and because of copyright laws. A few though are sort of obscure, especially to younger students not familiar with the American folk music songbook repertoire of the previous 150 years. Likewise it might not work as good in the UK or Germany where "Pay Me My Money Down" isn't exactly a classic. Many of these same folk songs are used in various basic guitar self-study tutorials I've seen over the past 45 years that I've been looking at guitar tutorials.A bunch of video time is wasted showing different size ukes at the beginning. Most people buying a DVD uke course will already have a uke. 99 out of 100 viewers are not going to buy this course, watch the first part and then rush out to buy a uke. They more likely are sitting there holding a uke waiting to be taught something and then Mr. Casey starts showing all the different uke sizes! What they might take from it is that they should have gotten something other than what they have to work with and maybe even doubt they are equipped properly.I wish the DVD had been broken up with a menu of various sections instead of one long VHS VIDEO type start to finish course. It makes stopping and resuming later a bigger chore and waste of practice time than it should be. DVD chapters or at least sections that coordinated somewhat with the book would have been nice and I honestly was expecting that there would be some sort of index on the DVD, but there isn't. When you put the video in and it plays from beginning to end. The video is well lit, in focus, professionally shot, well edited and the on screen graphics are clear and easy to understand. It just needed an index or menu. Guess indexing a DVD costs more.My only other criticism is that Mr. Casey uses a tenor uke and most of the people watching this are rank beginners and they won't be using a tenor. They are using the cheapest soprano they could find or a hand-me-down. This is a very minor criticism but this could intimidate some players and make them feel slightly inferior with their little soprano. If he had used a concert or soprano it would put him more on the same plane as his students and they would feel more comfortable with their uke as it relates to his uke. Ukulele envy? I don't know but it sort of bothered me a little at first. After a while I forgot his was bigger than mine.I've yet to find a better home uke beginner course. This DVD is so much better than the free online stuff! It is almost like having a live instructor. Any first grader can read this book and follow along with the video, but they might not know all the old folk songs. No problem, Mr. Casey will teach them! I give it 4 Stars and to me it seems suitable for all ages! If it had an index/menu on the DVD tied to the sections of the book I'd give it 5 stars. It really is a good deal.

Nicely binded, and clear instructions.

I used to play but had gotten away from it a few years ago. So I bought a new Ukulele. And I needed a good reference for chords and notes. This is my choice as a reference. I highly recommend this vendor.

Pros:The book is for the absolute beginner...someone who has never played any instrument.The chord chart in the back is excellent, and it allows you to make up your own song.Different strumming patterns and exercises are easy to follow.The video is very helpful.Things I would like to see added:A finger chart showing you which notes are on which frets.A more advanced section on picking or picking patterns.More songs...15 songs is not a wide selection, and the first songs are very simple. It would be nice to have MORE "Island" songs rather than the typical folk songs. When I think of the ukulele, I think of "Aloha 'Oe", not "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".In general, this book is written for the absolute beginner; not someone who has ever played any other musical instrument. It does not progress far and is only meant as a starter. It would be nice to see some more advanced material added. After one day, I've gone through more than half of the book, and I don't think that it will take much time to get through the second half.Finished the book now. I've upgraded the rating to 3 because the end of the book was more challenging. It could still use a more substance, though. Even a bit of music theory would help.