Easy Ukulele Songs for Beginners
49 SONGS
2818 VIEWSAre you looking for easy ukulele songs to learn yourself or to teach to a student? There are so many ukulele songs out there but they're not all for beginners. If you're just starting out playing, you'll only get frustrated if you try to start with something complicated. It's best to find well-known songs that have an easy strumming pattern, not too many chord progressions, and basic ukulele chords. This list is made up of beginner ukulele songs new and old, so there will likely be a few you'll want to play. Use this as a place to start if you're out of ideas for songs to learn on the ukulele! Most of the ukulele versions of these songs have nice simple strumming patterns and easy to learn chords, so you can spend less time learning and more time having fun playing! You might notice that the ukulele chords mentioned here sound different from the original song when you play them, and that's probably because the beginner version is in a different key to make it easier to play. We don't show the detailed instructions on how to play songs, this is just a starting point so you can do your own research and find instructions that work for you. One great tip if you get stuck learning ukulele songs is to practice the strumming patterns separate from the chord progressions until you feel like you've got them both down, then bring them both together. You'll be amazed how many songs you can play by knowing just a few chords. Next time you're around the fire with your friends or family you can surprise and impress them with all the songs you know how to play on the ukulele.
This bittersweet indie/alt song was originally played with acoustic guitar, so the way it's played on ukulele isn't much different. It's got a fast paced strum, and though there are only five chords, their pattern is a little more complicated, so take your time practicing this piece and have the chords in front of you when you perform it so you can refer to them.
This lively up-tempo alt/indie track from 2011 is a fun and easy ukulele song. There are four ukulele chords and the progression stays consistent throughout. The original strumming is quite fast but you can start more basic and work your way up to the full pattern.
This is a slow, sad ballad that consists mainly of piano in the original. It's played with seven really basic ukulele chords, which do transition somewhat quickly back and forth, but the song has a really slow tempo which makes it easier to learn and keep up with.
This 2019 Billie song actually features ukulele, a bit different from her normal pop-electronic sound. The strumming is the same throughout the song, it has four chords, and the chord progressions stay the same all through the song, so if you're looking for a song to play and sing along to, this could be a great pick.
If you need really easy ukulele songs, pick this one. There are four chords in this song, but only three chords are played for most of it. Furthermore, the strumming is really slow and simple, and most people are familiar with this song which always helps when you're just learning.
Most of us will know this song from our childhood! Even though it has ten chords, don't be afraid to try this song out; the chords are easy to play, so it's still considered one of the easy ukulele songs for beginners.
This is a soft, short and sweet song from Breakfast At Tiffany's. It's made up of ten easy chords played in triplet time. The tempo is nice and slow making it easier to look up at your notes sheet if you need to check the chord progression; you'll get that part down in no time and will be impressing the Hepburn fans in your life.
This song from 1985 became popular again thanks to the Stranger Things series. There are also a handful of cover versions by other artists so you should be able to find a version that you like to play with the ukulele. The original version has seven chords, but there are simplified versions that use just three chords.
Most of us will be familiar with this classic feel-good tune. What's more, it's one of the most easy and fun ukulele songs to play for beginners, but really any difficulty level. With just three chords that keep the same pattern, you'll be playing this song without a worry in no time.
This 2008 song was originally played with guitar and ukulele so it has the perfect sound to learn ukulele with. It also has a nice slow tempo which is also helpful for beginners. Although there are six chords, only four are played for most of the song, the other chords only coming in at the end of some verses, and the interlude so don't let this lovely song intimidate you.
This is a really great song with beautiful melodies, even though it's really sad too. Originally mainly piano, playing the ukulele to this song gives it a fresh new feel but no less emotional. You can play Another Love with a simple four chord progression and long, held strums which would be ideal to sing along to.
This song is fun to play and sing along to no matter what kind of weather it is! The indie/alt pop vibe converts really nicely into a ukulele song. It has five chords that repeat in the same pattern throughout, and the strumming pattern could be as similar to or different from the original as you want.
This 2009 modern pop classic is a nice easy ukulele song. The strumming stays the same for the whole song, and it consists of four chords. It would be a great song for someone who is a complete beginner to practice playing. It's also a great song for more advanced players who want to practice singing while they play the ukulele.
Adele's version of this Bob Dylan song is slow and gentle piano song that converts really nicely for ukulele. It uses eight chords that are easy to transition between, with easy strumming. This would be great for a beginner ukulele player to learn, or a more experienced player to practice singing and playing to.
This song became one of the first viral internet trends in 2012 when it came out, with everyone learning the cup flipping hand choreography! Luckily learning the four ukulele chords is going to be a lot simpler than that trend.
This folk-pop song became a popular song to cover, including Birdy's soft piano version, which really showed off the diversity in which the song can be played. On ukulele, you can play Skinny Love with six simple chords, and could either stay true to the original strumming or choose softer way to strum.
This Latin-pop hit becomes a stripped back ukulele rendition that would be great for a beginner to novice to practice. It has eight chords with patterns that stay mostly the same, other than some changes in Young Thug's verse that may be a bit more difficult to memorize.
We won't deny that Disney makes some of the best jams around! The song was originally sang in the Moana movie, and was also done by Alessia Cara for the ending credits. This song has ten chord changes, and the strumming pattern for ukulele is fairly fast, but that also makes it a lot of fun.
This early 2000's alt-rock hit is really high energy and fast paced, but it can be simplified for beginners. You only need to know five chords to play this song, and you have flexibility in how you strum the notes since it's so different from the original anyway.
This alt/indie track is a great beginner ukulele song. You only need to play four very easy chords that repeat the same way the whole way through, making it ideal for someone just starting out. Even complete beginners can quickly start learning and performing songs!
You might not expect bass-heavy pop songs to be easy ukulele songs for beginners, but this one actually works really well. It uses four simple chords and can be strummed quickly or just once per beat.
This is a heartbreaking piano song, but the ukulele version is just as passionate. It has seven chords to play, and one strum per beat, which makes it a well balanced mix of difficulty for beginners.
If you're looking for fun ukulele songs, this cute and bubbly little love song will be just right. It's originally played with ukulele, so you won't have to worry about trying to convert guitar tabs to ukulele tabs. This song uses eight easy chords and a very simple strumming pattern which is great for beginners.
One of Miley's newer, more country-pop sounding songs, Malibu is really easy and fun to play. It's slow paced, uses only four chords and the strumming patterns only change slightly from verse to chorus.
This song is about loving someone who only sees you as a friend, and Trainor played it on the ukulele. There are nine chords total, but it's a slow and breezy song which gives you more time to transition between the chords.
This is one of the most easy ukulele songs for beginners to learn. It uses just four chords and the strumming stays the same all the way through, other than the bridge, the first chorus and the last chorus, where you only strum the chord once for the whole bar.
A perfectly slow love song to learn on the ukulele. You can play this 2017 song on the ukulele with just four chords and a repeating triplet strumming pattern. The chord progressions only change a few times, so it won't take too much practicing to to remember when they happen.
This 1990 ukulele version of the Wizard Of Oz soundtrack is one of the most popular ukulele songs of all time. Its breezy relaxed flow make it a lot of fun to play, even if you change the strumming from the original. There are seven simple chords in the song, the only challenge might be remembering the progressions.
This sweet romantic pop song had the whole world's hearts melting! On the ukulele, Night Changes uses nine chords that transition in mostly the same pattern all the way through. The chords do transition quickly in some parts which makes it a good challenge.
This beautiful, slow love song can be played using five chords with the ukulele. The instrument change takes the song from an epic orchestral to a more soft, personal performance. As for the chord and strumming patterns, they stay consistent through the whole song, making this a great song for beginners.
This fun, energetic alt-rock song sounds really good on the ukulele. Despite its fast tempo, Counting Stars is quite easy to play. It uses just five chords that repeat with the same pattern for the entire song.
This is a famous acoustic guitar song and definitely one of the most popular beginner ukulele songs. Wonderwall gets covered by a lot of people in a lot of different ways, so you can really have some fun deciding how you'll strum the ten chords through the song.
This is a beloved classic of the ages, originally played with acoustic guitar. It is made up of ten basic ukulele chords and is normally played using finger picking, but you could also keep it simple with some nice gentle strumming. The great thing about learning songs that might seem more complicated is that you can start very basic and work your way up to the full version.
The original version of this song came out in 1956 and was featured in American Horror Story. Eddie Vedder also revived the track in 2011 with this ukulele rendition. The song itself is quite short, having only two verses, and it is played using seven chords and the same triplet strumming throughout.
You only need four chords to play this epic indie pop song, which makes it great to learn ukulele on. Ukulele is also forgiving in how accurate you need to be with the strumming, you can make short, fast strums or long, slow ones.
This was probably One Direction's first big global hit. It's originally a really bubbly pop song, so playing it with ukulele works really nicely. It's only got four really basic ukulele chords and they have the same repeating pattern all the way through.
You only have to know a little bit of ukulele to play this song - four chords to be exact! The strumming is originally fairly quick, but you can always make your own decisions about how fast or slow you strum a song. Don't be afraid to play a song however you feel most inspired to.
A classic from back in 1961 that you'll probably be familiar with, this song has an eight chord progression. The chord pattern stays consistent through the song and the strumming is a very simple triplet down-stroke. You could play this to your special someone to surprise them.
This acoustic emo ballad is great for beginners. It uses six easy ukulele chords as well as strumming that repeats consistently. It's also great for those wanting to practice singing and playing at the same time, as the singing melody follows along with the chords being played.
Although this 2012 song is originally alt-rock it converts to a mellow ukulele song quite nicely. You can play this song with just four chords and with as basic or complex strumming as you want, there's a lot of flexibility with this beginner ukulele version of the song.
This song from 2013 quickly became a favorite for lovers of folk-pop music. It's fun and quirky with a fast but repeating strumming pattern, which makes it easy to sing and strum the chords at the same time. There are four chords that repeat throughout the song, one of which only comes in at the bridge.
This is one of the most popular songs of today to listen to and to cover. It's also one of the best ukulele songs for beginners because it only uses four chords, but they change quickly which gives more of a challenge.
This alt-pop song from the Suicide Squad soundtrack sounds surprisingly great on the ukulele! And even better, it's an easy song to pick up on the uke, too. There are only five chords and their pattern is consistent so it's easy to memorize. You can play it by strumming the chords or finger picking the strings one by one for more of a challenge.
For a song about pain and heartbreak, it's pretty high energy and the tempo and strumming are quick. You can play the entire song with four chords, and though they have various arrangements for the intro, verses and chorus, they do have a repeating pattern making them easier to memorize. Once you have the chords down, you can focus on keeping that tempo and strumming with all you've got.
This sad breakup song can be simplified down to five chords for beginner ukulele players. It's a popular song to cover for people who love to show off their vocals, with its long held notes. The strumming for this song is a bit fast, but you can always start off slow and work your way up to playing faster.