Kev's QuickStart for Fingerstyle Ukulele 1 - Book with Online Audio and Video by Kevin Rones

A few months ago, I got a ukulele and a couple beginner books. I'd gotten to a point where I could play a melody from sheet music (single note only, please), strum a few chords and learn something a little more complicated if I really set my mind to it. But I wasn't turning into a ukulele player.When I got this book, I put the CD on my iPod, then sat with the book in front of me, the iPod at my side and the uke on my lap. I started track 1, and did what I was told through track 8, repeating tracks as needed (not so many for tablature, which I already knew; lots for the slide). After about two hours, I had learned a little ditty with pull-offs, hammer-downs and slides. Granted, the piece was only 22 seconds (according to my iPod, more like 40 seconds when I played it), and granted my slides were more like warbles. But the point is, Kev Rones had given me an inkling of what you can really do with a ukulele in just a few hours. I may not be ready to make my own You-Tube videos à la Rob MacKillop, but at least I know how to play some of the clever bits in isolation.An earlier reviewer commented that the CD quality isn't great. True enough, but save for the final tracks, the music isn't the greatest either. These exersongs aren't meant to be show-pieces, they're meant to prepare your fingers to play show-pieces. If you're sick of strumming three chords and dribbling out simple melodies, this book is your next step. Following the directions closely, play along with the CD often and you'll soon have the tools to start playing real music.

I have played the uke for about a year, and was interested in learning some fingerstyle ukulele. KEV is a well known local guitar and ukulele teacher, so this seemed like a good bet. It didn't disappoint - the book is excellent. Beginners will benefit greatly from his easy to understand basics, and progress into the more difficult techniques, such as plucking, rhythm, hammer-on, pull-off, slides, and the like. Intermediate uke players will love the fingerstyle alternative to just strumming a tune, and will find the book challenging enough to keep them more than interested. The structure of the book is solid, with the exercises easy to understand and follow, and the songs are varied and fun to learn and play. If you work/play through this book, you will be a very different, and much better, ukulele player.

Wanting to learn fingerpicking....very much....thought this was the book I needed. It comes with a cd. That's all it is. On the disk don't expect any training. It's just him playing the music no video.Some of the songs are fun. But he throws in stuff that a person just physically can't play if you weren't blessed with long fingers. Literally not possible. These are causing me great frustration and I have to fight the urge to quit. Not saying I'm not learning, this a simply a book of exercises.

I am a beginner and find that even I can follow the techniques presented in this book. The tunes are delightful, but take a bit of time to master.

The material is good and came with great techniques to learn from. However, I noticed that the rhythm of the notes presented on the book are different from what was played on the CD. For example, track 24 - A Melody Unchained and track 25 - Aloha Intro and Outro, the notated rhythm on the book was almost completely out. I am if sure if this was due to printing mistakes.I am glad that it came with a CD or I would have trouble using the book.

I haven't used the CD yet so I can't rate that. But the book itself is really great. I started playing the uke about a year ago, and was getting really tired of just chords. This book is great for a beginning to fingerstyle. Easy to learn with a great layout that includes tip bubbles and pictures. I'd definitely recommend this for first timers, or even those that already know a bit, because it gets progressively harder with pretty good lil tunes. The songs get tricky, but that's all part of the fun of learning

A good introduction to finger-picking. Strumming chords loses the melody in the mish-mash. Fingerpicking is easy and sounds so much better, especially when a full-chord strum in inserted at the right place to complete the sound. Kev is fabulous player and his teaching is geared to us lesser mortals in a way not common to that passed on by most experts.

Was a gift and the recipient likes it.

Great for a beginner like me. The exercises are challenging but not over the top difficult that I want to give up. I enjoy working and learning from this book.

I've been strumming for a few years and wanted to progress on to finger picking. I've found this to be an excellent step by step book which, when used with the audio CD, is easy to follow and has helped to improve my playing.However, this is not a lightweight book is definitely for the serious Ukulele player who wants to improve.

Un peu déçu car pour débutant, peu de tabs vont m'être utiles mais je garde, il est bien fait, si quelqu'un de mon entourage veut s'essayer au ukulele...

Wish there were more songs in the book. I am learning how to play ukulele but I play other instruments and can read music really well. There are a few spots in a couple songs where the tablature is not correct. A little proof reading should have caught this.

Excellent book with clear instruction and the author explains fully, with the helpful cd.I rushed to buy Kevs finger picking book and both are invaluable aids for learning the ukulele.He makes difficult areas, like finger picking, much simpler, a gifted teacher.