Easy Ukulele Songs for Beginners and Kids
The easiest ukulele songs need only one or two chords. Start with Frère Jacques (just C), then Skip to My Lou (C and G7), then Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Jingle Bells, Clementine, When the Saints and Oh! Susanna, which add F and C7. All 7 songs below are public domain, in standard G C E A tuning, with chords over the words and a strum-along.
Updated · By the Classfern Music Department
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses UK music words (bar, crotchet, stave); the US version uses measure, quarter note and staff. · US version of this page
Key facts
- 7 songs, all public domain, in order from 1 chord to 4 chords.
- Chords used: C, G7, F and C7 – C and C7 need one finger, F two, G7 three.
- Tuning: standard G C E A (soprano, concert or tenor ukulele).
- Clementine is a waltz in three-four; the others are in four-four.
- Each song has chords over the words and a strum-along with drums and bass.
What are the easiest ukulele songs for beginners?
The easiest ukulele songs use one or two chords. Frère Jacques needs only C, and Skip to My Lou needs only C and G7. Next, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Jingle Bells add F; Clementine is a two-chord waltz; and When the Saints and Oh! Susanna use three or four chords.
Learn the chords on the beginner ukulele chords page first, then play the songs in order. Strum down once on each beat to start; add the down-up pattern when the chord changes feel easy.
Chord boxes and strum-along
Sounds are made in your browser. This tool never uses the microphone.
Every chord on this page, for standard G C E A tuning. The strum-along plays the song’s chords one bar each, with drums and bass, at a speed you choose. Pick a song from the list or press a “Strum along” button.
| Chord | G C E A |
|---|---|
| C | 0 0 0 3 |
| G7 | 0 2 1 2 |
| F | 2 0 1 0 |
| C7 | 0 0 0 1 |
What are good ukulele songs for kids?
Good ukulele songs for kids are short, well known and need one or two chords: Frère Jacques (C), Skip to My Lou (C and G7), Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Jingle Bells (C, F and G7). Children can sing while an adult or older child strums, then take over the strumming.
For KS1 and KS2 classes, start with a one-chord song so everyone can join in, and strum on the beat only. Kids’ mode makes the chord letters bigger.
Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping?)
[C]Are you sleeping, are you sleeping,
Brother John, Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing,
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.
Skip to My Lou
[C]Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
[G7]Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
[C]Lou, Lou, skip to my Lou,
[G7]Skip to my Lou, my [C]darling.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
[C]Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
[F]How I wonder [C]what you are.
[C]Up above the [G7]world so high,
[C]Like a diamond [G7]in the sky.
[C]Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
[F]How I wonder [C]what you are.
Jingle Bells (chorus)
[C]Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
[F]Oh what fun it [C]is to ride in a [G7]one-horse open sleigh, hey!
[C]Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
[F]Oh what fun it [C]is to ride in a [G7]one-horse open [C]sleigh.
Oh My Darling, Clementine
In a [C]cavern, in a canyon, excavating for a [G7]mine,
Dwelt a miner, forty-[C]niner, and his [G7]daughter Clemen[C]tine.
Oh my [C]darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Clemen[G7]tine,
You are lost and gone for[C]ever, dreadful [G7]sorry, Clemen[C]tine.
When the Saints Go Marching In
Oh when the [C]saints go marching in,
Oh when the saints go marching [G7]in,
Oh Lord, I [C]want to [C7]be in that [F]number,
When the [C]saints go [G7]marching [C]in.
Oh! Susanna
I [C]come from Alabama with a [G7]banjo on my knee,
I’m [C]going to Louisiana, my [G7]true love for to [C]see.
Oh! [F]Susanna, oh [C]don’t you cry for [G7]me,
For I [C]come from Alabama with a [G7]banjo on my [C]knee.
Which chords do you need for these songs?
You need four chords for all the songs on this page: C (one finger, 4th string to 1st 0 0 0 3), G7 (0 2 1 2), F (2 0 1 0) and C7 (0 0 0 1). Learn C and G7 first, because they cover the first two songs; add F, then C7.
| Chord | Frets G C E A | Fingers | Songs |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 0 0 0 3 | Ring finger, 3rd fret, A string | All |
| G7 | 0 2 1 2 | Three fingers | All except Frère Jacques |
| F | 2 0 1 0 | Two fingers | Twinkle, Jingle Bells, Saints, Oh! Susanna |
| C7 | 0 0 0 1 | One finger | When the Saints |
How do you fingerpick a song on ukulele?
To fingerpick a ukulele song, hold the chord as normal and pluck one string at a time: thumb on the 4th string (G), index on the 3rd (C), middle on the 2nd (E) and ring on the 1st (A). Play “thumb, index, middle, ring” twice for each bar in four-four.
For a waltz in three-four such as Clementine, play “thumb, index, middle, ring, middle, index” (6 plucks, two for each beat). Good first fingerpicking songs are Clementine and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and Silent Night in the ukulele song tutorials. Keep your thumb relaxed and let each string ring.
What are some famous ukulele songs?
Many of the most famous ukulele songs are still in copyright, so Classfern cannot print them. A famous public-domain ukulele song is Aloha ʻOe, written in 1878 by Queen Liliʻuokalani of Hawaiʻi; folk songs such as Oh! Susanna and Clementine are also ukulele favourites.
Aloha ʻOe is in Classfern’s free library: open the ukulele tab and chords play-along and search for it. Classfern’s free ukulele tools on lessonplanner.info run in your browser, with no sign-up.
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