Learn to play ukulele : Playing BEHIND YOUR HEAD!

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Learn how to play with simple and easy to understand Ukulele Lessons for beginners.

There's loads of cool/stupid stuff that guitar players do when performing live. Playing with their teeth, rolling on the floor, and setting fire to their guitars. But the one that has always captured my interests is playing behind your head. Of course, as with quite a few guitar things, you can do this on ukulele, but how?

Firstly, you should know your chords well. REALLY well. In fact, to play behind your head, you really should be able to play with your eyes closed. You need to be comfortable with the song you are playing, and you need to have a strumming pattern that you are happy and comfortable with. I use DD-UU-D-U.

Secondly, what is the correct position? To play behind your back the classic and professional, you should have the body directly behind your neck. This position is, however, slightly awkward, and doesn't make for simple playing. An easier way to strum is to slot your neck into the curvy bit at the beginning of the neck. This is more comfortable than the first position and makes for easier strumming.

Once you have mastered this technique, you can play around with it a bit and make it as epic as you want (i.e. rapidly changing positions from normal to the back of the head mid-song, doing an epic solo while nodding to the beat, etc.). It's rather cool, and it draws attention to you and gives the cool-guy image that every self-respecting ukulele player wants.

willcarmen (Buffalo)

Before I read this, I went to camp and did this, playing havana with two kazoos in my mouth, and became a legend. I think every uke player should know how to do this.

15 Nov 2018