Ukulele songs for beginners: the 10 best to learn first

A ukulele has four strings, a short neck and a C chord that takes one finger, which is why so many people play their first song on it within a week. The lists of ukulele songs for beginners are the problem: most of them put a two-chord classic next to a song that needs barre chords and a capo, and nothing tells you which is which.

This guide ranks the ten best ukulele songs for beginners, easiest first, and names the chords each one needs, what it teaches your hands and where the hard spot is. Every song links to a score on musescore.com, so you can see the melody and the chords together and play along.

The best first ukulele songs stay on the one- to three-finger chords of C major (C, Am, F, G and G7), keep one strumming pattern throughout and change chord once a bar or slower. That is why “Jambalaya” and “Riptide” sit at the top of this list.

Top picks at a glance

• Easiest first: “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” by Hank Williams: two chords, C and G7, and the change always lands in the same place.
• Most recognizable: “Riptide” by Vance Joy: the song most players learn first, built on Am, G and C with an F in the bridge.
• Best for strumming: “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz: four chords in C and one relaxed pattern that never changes.
• Best slow and melodic: “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen: five chords in C, counted in groups of three.
• Best to sing with others: “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver: four chords in G and a chorus a whole room knows.

What makes a song easy on the ukulele

“Easy” on a ukulele comes down to four things: how many fingers each chord needs, which key the song is in, how often the chord changes, and whether the tune fits the instrument’s range. Every song below scores well on at least three of them.

How many fingers the chords take. In standard tuning (G, C, E, A) the C chord is one finger, A minor is one, F is two, and G and G7 are three. These shapes sit in the first three frets and leave at least one string open, so they ring even when your hand is tired. E major, B♭ and B need the index finger to press two or more strings at once, a barre, and the barre is what stops most beginners in week two. A song that lives on C, Am, F and G asks nothing of your hand that a few days of practice cannot cover.

Which key the song is in. The four open strings spell a C6 chord (G, C, E, A), so songs in C and in G fall under the fingers and songs in E or B♭ do not. Most ukulele charts transpose a song into C and tell you where to put a capo to match the record. That is why a chart of “Hey, Soul Sister” shows C, G, Am and F even though the recording is in E. It is also why the key on a guitar chart is not the key to look for on a ukulele.

How often the chord changes. A beginner’s right hand can keep one pattern going; it is the left hand that stalls. A song whose chord changes land once a bar, or once every two bars, gives you four beats to form the next shape. The common island strum (down, down-up, up-down-up) at a walking tempo of about 100 beats per minute or slower is the comfort zone.

Whether the tune fits the range. The lowest note on a standard ukulele is middle C on the third string, and a melody played on the top two strings stays within about an octave and a half of it. Folk and pop choruses mostly live in that range, which is why the songs below can be picked as a melody once you can strum them, and that is the natural second step.

The 10 best ukulele songs for beginners, ranked

The order is by how soon a new player can play each song through, from the two-chord opener to the first song with barre chords. Each entry names the chords in the usual beginner arrangement, the feel, the one technique it asks of you, and the spot that will need slow practice. Where the record sits in a different key from the chart, the capo position is given so you can play along.

1. Jambalaya (On the Bayou) — Hank Williams

Chords: C and G7. Feel: steady 4/4 at a medium country tempo. Technique: the I–V change on the bar.

Hank Williams recorded this in 1952, and it has been the two-chord song ever since. The whole thing moves between C, a one-finger shape, and G7, a three-finger shape, and the change comes at the same place in every line, so the melody tells you when to move. That is the skill it builds: hearing a chord change coming and landing it on the beat without the strum stopping. There is no hard spot in the hands, only in the ear, so sing the words while you play and the changes will line up with them.

See “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” on MuseScore

2. You Are My Sunshine — Jimmie Davis

Chords: C, F and G7 (a plain G works). Feel: slow-to-medium 4/4. Technique: the I–IV–V trio.

Jimmie Davis recorded this country standard in 1940, and it adds one chord to the two above: F, the first shape that asks for two fingers at once. C, F and G7 are the I, IV and V chords of C major, the backbone of most folk, country and early rock songs, so learning them here pays off in every song after. The change to watch is F to G7, where every finger moves at the same time. Practice that one change on its own, slowly, and the song comes together in an afternoon.

See “You Are My Sunshine” on MuseScore

3. Riptide — Vance Joy

Chords: Am, G and C, with F in the bridge. Feel: about 100 beats per minute, one pattern of down, down, up, down, up. Technique: a locked strum through the changes. The record sits a half step above these shapes, so a capo on the first fret matches it.

Vance Joy wrote this on a ukulele and released it in 2013. It became the song new players learn first for a reason: the verse and chorus are the same three-chord loop, Am and C are one-finger shapes, and the pattern never changes. What it teaches is keeping the right hand moving while the left hand changes shape, because the groove of the song is the strum, and any hesitation shows. The hard spot is the move to G, the first three-finger chord in the loop. Form it slowly, strum once, release, and repeat until the shape lands in one motion.

See “Riptide” on MuseScore

4. I’m Yours — Jason Mraz

Chords: C, G, Am and F in the usual ukulele chart (the record is in B, a half step lower). Feel: relaxed mid-tempo with the accent on beats two and four. Technique: the I–V–vi–IV loop.

Released in 2008 and written for the ukulele, this one runs on the four-chord loop that turns up in hundreds of pop songs: C, G, Am, F, round and round. Once your hand knows that loop, a large share of the pop catalog opens up with the same four shapes. The feel is the lesson here: the accent sits on the off-beats, two and four, which gives the song its lilt. Some arrangements add a D7 in the middle section; the simplified chart drops it, and that version is the one to start with. To match the record, tune every string down a half step or play it in C on your own.

See “I’m Yours” on MuseScore

5. Hey, Soul Sister — Train

Chords: C, G, Am and F in the usual beginner chart (the record is in E; a capo on the fourth fret matches it). Feel: bright, driving pop in eighth notes. Technique: speed, and the muted “chuck” strum.

The 2009 hit whose intro riff is a ukulele, so playing it on one sounds right straight away. The chords are the same four as “I’m Yours”, which is why it sits next on the list: the shapes are known, and the new demand is tempo. The strum is a steady run of eighth notes with a percussive mute, a “chuck”, on beats two and four. You make the chuck by landing the side of the strumming hand on the strings as you strike them. Set a metronome well under the record’s tempo, keep the wrist loose, and raise the speed a few beats at a time. Some charts put it in D (D, A, Bm, G) instead; those add a barre chord, so take the C version first.

See “Hey, Soul Sister” on MuseScore

6. Take Me Home, Country Roads — John Denver

Chords: G, Em, D and C (the record is in A; a capo on the second fret matches it). Feel: medium 4/4, changes on the bar. Technique: a second key, with new shapes.

John Denver’s 1971 single is the first song on the list in G rather than C, which is the point of placing it here. G, Em and D are new shapes. Em uses three fingers across three frets, and D puts three fingers in one fret on three strings, which small hands can do with a single finger laid flat. The reward is a chorus that a whole room will sing with you, and a four-chord loop you will meet again in dozens of country and folk songs. The hard spot is the D chord; if three fingers will not fit the fret, use the flat-finger version and keep going.

See “Take Me Home, Country Roads” on MuseScore

7. Over the Rainbow — Judy Garland

Chords: C, Em, F, G and Am in the ukulele version made famous by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole (some charts add an E7). Feel: slow, with a down, down-up, up-down-up strum whose first stroke lands on the G string. Technique: playing slowly and evenly.

Arlen and Harburg wrote it for Judy Garland in 1939. Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s 1993 recording made it the ukulele’s signature song, and his arrangement is the one most players learn. Nothing in it is fast, which is exactly what makes it hard: at a slow tempo every uneven strum and every late change is audible. It teaches control, the Em shape, and playing softly without losing the pulse. The E7 in some charts is the only new shape; if yours has it, learn it on its own first, since it puts three fingers in a tight cluster.

See “Over the Rainbow” on MuseScore

8. Top of the World — The Carpenters

Chords: C, F, G, Am, Dm and Em in the usual chart (the record is in B♭, a whole step lower). Feel: bright, light country-pop. Technique: holding six chords in your head.

Karen Carpenter’s 1973 hit is the first song here with six chords, all of them open shapes, and the only new one is Dm, three fingers within the first two frets. What it teaches is memory rather than finger strength: the verse and the chorus are two different loops, and you have to know which chord comes next without looking. Learn them as two separate four-line blocks, then join them. The hard spot is the number of changes per line, so take the verse at half speed until the sequence is automatic, then add the chorus.

See “Top of the World” on MuseScore

9. (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay — Otis Redding

Chords: in G: the verse runs G, B, C, B, B♭, A, the chorus G and E, the bridge G, D, C, G. Feel: relaxed soul groove. Technique: the index-finger barre.

Otis Redding recorded this in 1967, and it is the first song on the list that needs barre chords: B♭, B and E all ask the index finger to hold more than one string. The reason to meet barres here is the chord sequence. B♭ is the B shape moved down one fret, and the verse walks B, B♭, A down the neck, so you practice sliding one barre shape rather than forming three unrelated ones. The hard spot is E, which has no comfortable open version; use the stretched open shape or the barre at the fourth fret, and accept some buzzing for the first week.

See “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” on MuseScore

10. Hallelujah — Leonard Cohen

Chords: C, Am, F, G and E7 (some versions use Em instead of E7). Feel: slow, about 56 beats per minute, counted in 12/8. Technique: the triplet feel, strummed or picked.

Leonard Cohen released it in 1984, and his recording is in C, so the ukulele chart needs no capo. The song closes the list because its challenge is rhythm rather than chords: it moves in 12/8, four beats with three pulses in each, which you count “one-and-a, two-and-a”. Strumming that pattern evenly, then picking the same chords one string at a time, is the skill it builds. The E7 to Am move at the end of the chorus is the hard spot, since E7 is a new shape. If the triplet count is unfamiliar, the guide to note values and time signatures explains how 12/8 is grouped.

See “Hallelujah” on MuseScore

The ten songs side by side

How to choose your first song

Pick by the skill you want next, two songs at a time: one you can already play through, one that adds a single new thing. If you have never changed chords in time, take “Jambalaya” and “You Are My Sunshine”. If C, Am, F and G are already under your fingers, pair “Riptide” with “I’m Yours”. When those feel automatic, add one song in G, then one with a barre.

Two habits make every song on the list faster to learn. Tune to G, C, E, A before each session, one string at a time against the tuning drone, because a ukulele drifts and a chord learned on a flat string sounds wrong once it is fixed. Then set the online metronome below the song’s tempo and move it up a few beats at a time. Speed arrives on its own once the changes are clean; a change that is sloppy at full speed never gets cleaner there. If you have no clip-on tuner, the online ukulele tuner does the same job through your microphone.

All ten songs come from the Hal Leonard songbook First 50 Songs You Should Play on Ukulele, which carries the other forty with chord diagrams and lyrics.

Play another instrument too? See the best bass songs, harmonica songs and violin songs for beginners.

Frequently asked questions

What is the easiest song to play on the ukulele?

“Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” by Hank Williams is the easiest well-known song, because it uses only two chords, C and G7, and the change comes at the same point in every line. “You Are My Sunshine” adds just one chord, F, and is the usual second song.

What chords do most beginner ukulele songs use?

C, G, Am and F cover most beginner songs in C, with G7 and Em close behind. All six are open shapes that take one to three fingers and sit in the first three frets. Songs in G add Em and D. Barre chords such as B♭, B and E are the ones to leave until the open shapes are automatic.

What key are most ukulele songs in?

Most ukulele charts are written in C, and the next most common key is G, because the open strings (G, C, E, A) and the easiest shapes belong to those keys. A song recorded in another key is usually transposed into C on the chart, with a capo position given to match the record. “Hey, Soul Sister”, for example, is charted in C with a capo on the fourth fret to reach its original key of E.

Do I need to read music to play ukulele songs?

No. Every song above can be played from a chord chart, which shows chord names over the lyrics, and the chord diagrams tell you where the fingers go. Reading notation becomes useful when you want to pick the melody rather than strum under it; the guide to how to read sheet music covers what the ukulele scores on musescore.com show.

How long does it take to play a first song on the ukulele?

Most people can strum a two-chord song in time within the first week or two of short daily practice, and a four-chord song with clean changes within a month or two. The pace depends on practicing the chord changes slowly and often; ten minutes a day on one change beats an hour once a week.

Play them in order

The list is a path as much as a ranking: two chords, then three, then the four-chord loop, a second key, a slow song, a six-chord song, a barre, and a triplet feel. Each step adds one thing, so take the songs in order and stay on each until it plays through without a stop. By the tenth song you have the chords, keys and strums behind most of the ukulele repertoire, and every score on musescore.com is one search away.