Ask most professional singers what the most difficult part of their job is, and they will probably say “memorizing lyrics”. Don’t fool yourself by thinking that you are the only one who has trouble with this. Here are a few secrets and tricks to help you with this: (Pick a new song and try these techniques to learn it)

1. Read the lyrics for comprehension. What is the song about? What is the singer supposed to be feeling? What is the storyline?

2. Learn the chorus first. This is the part that we repeat several times. It’s the part the usually explains the whole reason or meaning to the song.

3. Start by speaking the words. Feel the natural rhythm of the phrases (sentences).
Speak them as you might speak (not sing) them.

4. Map out the lyrics in sections, understanding how each sentence or line leads into the meaning of the next line. “Away in a manger” (why a manger? Because there was…)”no room for a bed.” (Why was there a manger-bed?….because..)”the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head” (What else was going on?) “The stars in the sky looked down where He lay” (what rhymes with “lay”? HAY!

This song consists of repeated verses with no chorus, but you can see how this learning process can work with all parts of a song.

5. Write the lyrics down in longhand. This takes a little time, but grooves the lyrics more deeply into your memory.

6. Speak the lyrics over and over during the day. Speak them very fast, and then very slow.

7. Practice using your “muscle memory.” Just as the fingers of the guitar player “learn” through practice (not just the brain) so the lips, tongue, throat and mouth “learn” by repeating the actual words over and over. Say or sing the words slowly, over-pronouncing each one. As you continue to repeat this process begin to speed the tempo until you reach the desired tempo. Take your time. don’t try for the fast tempo without working up to it. Remember you’re training the muscles of the lips, tongue, vocal mechanism, throat and mouth to do something new. Practicing the thought process (writing, listening, etc) is essential, but the actual physical act of saying or singing the words must not be underestimated.

An ukulele is a fantastic instrument to use on a birthday celebration! Today you will learn the ukulele chords to a famous song!

We will first take a look at the lyrics:

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday Dear …

Happy Birthday To You

The names of the chords we play presupposes that your ukulele is tuned in C. This means that your first string is an A.

Now you will learn the ukulele chord C-major:

C: 0/4 0/3 0/2 3/1

This ukulele tab notation will help you to find which frets and strings to use on your ukulele.

The first number tells you which fret to press down. The number after the slash indicate the string.

0/4 means that you play the open fourth string on your ukulele. Yes, an open string is a string we don’t press down.

3/1 means that you press down the third fret on the first string.

You have to learn one more chord in order to play the first line of lyrics. It will be G7:

G7: 0/4 2/3 1/2 2/1

Time to try the ukulele chords for the first line. I will put the chord names in front of the words where you change chords:

Happy (C)Birthday To (G7)You

The next line has the same lyrics but a different chord combination.

Happy (G7)Birthday To (C)You

You will need to know one more ukulele chord. That is F:

F: 2/4 0/3 1/2 0/1

Time for the third line. We will put a name in the lyrics:

Happy (C)Birthday Dear (F)Martha

Now it’s time for you to complete this song. The last line:

Happy (C)Birthday (G7)To (C)You

You can of course play the song in other keys on your ukulele. I will just give you one more key to play you song in.

I will make a little conversion table for you to use in order to play the song in D-major. First you will get the chords in D-major:

D: 2/4 2/3 2/2 0/1

You will also use the chord A7:

A7: 0/4 1/3 0/2 0/1

and finally G-major:

G: 0/4 2/3 3/2 2/1

In order to be able to play Happy Birthday To You in the key of D you have to replace the chords in the following way:

C becomes D

G7 becomes A7

F becomes G

This change of key will give you a chance to sing in a slightly higher pitch. Of course there are more keys that you can use. We have different key preferences because of our personal singing abilities but these keys are good for an untrained voice at least.

Now you can play the ukulele chords to the song Happy Birthday To You in two keys!

There will be plenty of opportunities for you to play this song. Learn it by heart one line at a time and you will be able to play the song wherever there is an ukulele.

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