Popular Ukulele Songs (4)
One of the most enjoyable aspects of playing the Ukulele is learning popular songs that we can sing along to. However, finding free songs and songbooks with lyrics and chords can be challenging at times. That’s why Basic Ukulele have compiled a list of resources where you can access hundreds of songs for free. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced player, you will find something to suit your taste and skill level. Here are some of the best websites and books that offer free Ukulele songs, and songbooks from the members of our Facebook group Ukulele Lowers.
A great way to discover the most popular Ukulele songs is to visit UkuTabs.com. This website has a huge collection of songs with lyrics and chords that you can browse by genre, artist, difficulty, and popularity. However, some of the songs may be too hard for you to play, especially if you are a beginner. In that case, you can try transposing the song to a different key and see if it becomes easier.
Transposing popular ukulele songs
Transposing means changing the key of a song by shifting all the chords up or down by a certain number of steps. You can do this manually or use the transposer tool on UkuTabs.com. The main reason to transpose a song is to match it with your vocal range, so you can sing comfortably without straining your voice. But another benefit of transposing is that you may find a key that has simpler chords that you already know how to play. This way, you can enjoy playing the song without having to learn new chords.
Of course, learning new chords is also important for improving your Ukulele skills, but sometimes you just want to have fun and play a song that you like. Transposing can help you achieve that goal.
Top 10
To give you some inspiration, here are the top 10 songs on UkuTabs.com:
- Israel Kamakawiwo’ole » Over The Rainbow Our post at Basic Ukulele with the story and song here.
- Twenty One Pilots » Can’t Help Falling In Love
- Jason Mraz » I’m https://ukutabs.com/j/jason-mraz/im-yours/Yours
- Misc Cartoons » Someone To Lava
- Radiohead » Creep
- Plain White T’s » Hey There Delilah
- Vance Joy » Riptide
- Taylor Swift » Love Story
- Frank Sinatra » Fly Me To The Moon
- Twenty One Pilots » House Of Gold
Our advice
Playing songs is not only a great way to practice your Ukulele chords, but also a wonderful way to express yourself and have fun. Songs can help you improve your rhythm, strumming, and musical ear, as well as make you happy and relaxed. That’s why we suggest that you learn some songs that you love, even if they are not easy for you. You can browse our website for songs with lyrics and chords, or look for other sources online. There are many songs to choose from, so don’t limit yourself to one style or genre. You may discover new things and grow as a musician by playing different songs.
For beginners
If you are a beginner, you may want to start with some easy ukulele songs that we have selected for you in our articles. (Links to the articles about easy ukulele songs and beginner ukulele songs.) These songs are perfect for beginners because they have simple chords, easy strumming patterns, and catchy melodies that you can sing along to. We have five articles about songs in total, so you can find plenty of options to suit your taste and level.
One of the songs that we have featured in a separate article is Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. This is one of the most popular and beautiful ukulele songs ever. In this article, you will find the chords, lyrics, and video tutorial for this song.
We hope that these articles will inspire you to learn the Ukulele and play songs that you love. Remember that learning an instrument requires time and practice, but it also gives you joy and satisfaction. Have fun with your Ukulele!
What a Wonderful World
Besides this particular song, others are also very popular. What a Wonderful World is an extremely popular song and if you know one of these two, you can almost play them both. Here is the official video for Somewhere over the rainbow:
Sweet Home Alabama:
Classic country lyrics
Country music is a genre that many people enjoy and appreciate. It has a rich history and tradition, as well as a distinctive sound and style. If you are a fan of country music, you will be happy to know that you can find almost all the lyrics and chords for classic country songs at this link to Classic Country Lyrics.
This website has a huge collection of songs by various artists, from Hank Williams to Dolly Parton. You can browse the songs by title, artist, or genre, or use the search function to find your favorite song. You can also request a song if you don’t see it on the website.
One of the songs that you can find on this website is “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash. This is one of the most famous and influential country songs ever. It was released in 1956 and became Cash’s first number one hit on the Billboard charts. The song is about Cash’s loyalty and devotion to his wife, Vivian, whom he married in 1954. The song has a simple but catchy chord progression and a distinctive “boom-chicka-boom” rhythm.
Here are the lyrics and chords for “I Walk the Line”:
Free Songbooks.
One of the best resources for Ukulele players is Jim’s Ukulele/Guitar/etc Songbooks. This is a website that offers many free songbooks that you can download and print for your personal use. The songbooks contain hundreds of songs with lyrics and chords.
The songbooks are suitable for different types of ukuleles, such as soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. They also have versions for right and left handed players, so you can choose the one that fits your preference. The songbooks cover a wide range of genres and styles, from folk to rock to pop. You can find songs by artists like The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Ed Sheeran, and many more.
Here is the link: Jim’s Ukulele/Guitar/etc Songbooks (ozbcoz.com)
If you are looking for more songs to play on your Ukulele, you can also check out other websites that offer free songs with lyrics and chords. One of them is Richard G’s Ukulele Songbook. This is a website that has over 1500 songs that you can browse by title, artist, or genre. You can also search for songs by keywords or chords. The website has songs from various eras and styles, from the 1920s to the 2020s, from jazz to reggae to country. You can find songs by artists like Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, Adele, Bruno Mars, and many more.
Here is the link to Richard G’s Ukulele Songbook: Richard G’s Ukulele Songbook
Campfire songs.
What about sitting around the campfire and playing some songs for your friends? If you’ve been looking for campfire songs for ukulele and haven’t found them yet, here you have 99 songs: “The Incredibly Big Little Book of Scouting and Campfire Songs With Chords for Ukulele (C-tuning)”.
Books for learning to play popular Ukulele songs
Another way to learn popular Ukulele songs is to get some good books that teach you how to play them. You can find these books in music stores or online. They usually have songs with lyrics, chords, and diagrams, as well as tips and instructions for playing the Ukulele. Some of them also have audio or video examples that you can listen to or watch.
The link above will give you a lot of suggestions for books that you can buy or order. They have books for different levels, genres, and styles. You can choose the ones that suit your taste and skill level. You can also read the reviews and ratings from other customers to help you decide which books to get.
Here is the link to the books: Ukulele Books
This is just one of them. Ukulele: The Most Requested Songs (Strum & Sing) by Hal Leonard
YouTube and popular Ukulele songs
If you want to learn some more modern popular songs, you can also watch this video on YouTube that teaches you how to play many songs with only 4 chord progressions: Easy Songs for Beginners.
YouTube is a great platform for learning to play any instrument, including the Ukulele. You can find many videos from wonderful instructors who will show you how to play songs, chords, techniques, and more.
Besides learning, you can also have fun with play along videos, where you can play your Ukulele along with the original song. For example, you can try this one: The most popular Despacito. The chords are: Am, F, C and G. Have fun 🙂
Ukulele Lovers
In the files section of our global Facebook group, Ukulele Lovers, you can access a lot of songs and tips posted by our fantastic members. You can also upload your own files, such as PDFs, Word documents, or images, to share with the group.
To find the files section, go to the group page and click on the “Files” tab under the group banner. You can also search for specific files using keywords or file names. The files section is a great way to share resources and learn from each other.
Her you have 100 Folksongs from our member Elizabeth Ragsdale:
Songbooks: Fabulous Fifties, UKulele Invasion and Canadian Collection
Carl Hird-Rutter, one of the members in our Facebook group Ukulele Lowers, has made the songbooks below.
Fabulous Fifties
Here you have his instructions for the book Fabulous Fifties:
If you use Adobe to read the PDF the index will be an active index, click on the song and jump to the page. Get back to the index by clicking return to sender at the bottom of each page.
Clicking on the Medleys part of the index takes you to a jukebox that is also an active index.
You can return to the juke box by clicking deposit 5 cents.
UKulele Invasion:
Canadian Collection
Ukulele Music I Couldn’t Find Anywhere
Dave Calhoun, a member of our Facebook group Ukulele Lowers, has a website with Ukulele music. In the introduction, he states that the site is primarily intended to provide ukulele music for songs that he couldn’t find anywhere else or couldn’t find an easy enough version of. Here’s the link to his website. 😊
PS: Maybe you need some endings to the song?
What about Hawaiian endings!
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Finally, Basic Ukulele was founded in 2015 with the aim of making it easier for anyone who wants to learn or find out more about this wonderful instrument.