Ukie Learns the Ukulele!
Over the past months, I have been working on a new project: Ukie Learns the Ukulele!
The project came to life when I created a board game for my students to use to practice their chords. That board game is included as part of my “Ukulele Video Method” available at buymeacoffee.com/ukestuff. I created a character using AI, and decided to call him “Ukie” (my son’s name is Lukas, and when he was younger, he was often called “Lukie”). I also generated a number of similar characters for the board game (game pieces).
I use a number of books—usually turned into videos—in my classes, including Sharon Burch’s “Freddy the Frog” series (particularly books 1-3 which discuss the notes of the staff) and Vicky Weber’s excellent books including “Lazlo Learns Recorder.” As I used those books this past year, I decided to create my own book about learning ukulele based on the way that I teach ukulele, and to use Ukie and his friends as characters in the book.
I wrote the book, and used AI to generate the scenes. I attempted to have ChatGPT and Google Gemini illustrate the book for me, but AI (at this point) isn’t capable of generating stable scenes and characters across 30+ pages of content, particularly when there are twelve characters in the book: ten students and two different teachers. I also needed the book to be technically accurate: if a character was playing a chord or discussing a hand shape, they needed to have the right number of fingers, making the right shape, on the right strings, on a correct instrument. And then there is character drift from image to image—you just can’t keep the scene or the characters consistent and accurate at this point using AI.
So I contacted some artists, including some that illustrated other music books, and could not find an artist willing to do the illustrations for the book. I wasn’t committed to the high-color semi-realistic images from AI—but needed an artist who would allow for character and scene stability plus technical accuracy. One artist referred me to Fiverr, which is what I used.
One artist took on the challenge of the book, and after only creating five pages successfully asked me to cancel the order. I did send them a payment as a thank you for the time they invested (they were using pure AI and were fighting AI to keep consistent accurate illustrations), and then moved on to another Fiverr artist—Saba Fatima. Saba did not meet her original deadline, but worked with me to create the book. She suggested a 8.5”x8.5” format and worked with a combination of AI tools and her own Adobe skills to create the illustrations for the book, based very much on my initial AI generated scenes.
I would guess that we had over 200 conversations on Fiverr whether through Fiverr’s messaging or the official “publication acceptance/request for revision” process. I started working on the book in April, and it was complete by mid-July (all in 2026)
I do have more invested financially in this book than other books I have written—the other books (chord melodies, beginner ukulele) required time and software I already had (e.g. Fender Notion, Apple Pages) and I did use some AI for occasional illustrations for those books and the covers. But this is the first book that I have had to pay to have created. The goal, if this book is successful, is to make a short Ukie series with at least three other books.
I have already received one post saying “Don’t like the AI usage.” All I have to say is that I tried to hire a human to bring their own perspective—and even on Fiverr, I made it clear that I was okay with a different style of the book, drawn by hand. I’m content in that I did hire a human to work with tools (AI and Adobe) to generate a book that is consistent and accurate.
If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Ukie Learns the Ukulele, you can find it in the following places:
Kindle: https://amzn.to/4ynrqEh
Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/4yoUlrI
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/ukie-learns-the-ukulele/id6790655813
Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ukestuff/e/557231
**Note: the Buy Me A Coffee link is both a PDF and a Google Slides presentation, created for the use of teachers.
And here is a short video introducing the book. There will be (or is, depending on when you read this post) a video on the UkeStuff YouTube channel that discusses the content of this post along with some examples of the changes to Ukie in the process of becoming a book.
Elizabeth Cotten Infographic
I’m working on a tutorial for an arrangement of Elizabeth Cotten’s “Freight Train” and asked ChatGPT to create an infographic for her.
I’ve looked at the output and it seems correct, and as such, I want to share the infographic with others in the event that it could be useful.
New Chord Melody Book: Ukulele Chord Melody Songs for GCEA and DGBE Ukulele
I am happy to announce the release of my brand new collection: Chord Melody Ukulele—featuring 71 classic songs beautifully arranged for both GCEA and DGBE ukuleles!
If you have wanted to dive into the world of ukulele chord melody, this book is for you!
Why this book?
📘 Ultimate Convenience: 71 songs in one single, easy-to-read layout. Perfect for your music stand or loading onto your tablet!
🎼 Versatile Arrangements: Every song is arranged so the melody is always on the highest-sounding note. This means it works perfectly whether you play reentrant (high G/D) or linear (low G/D) ukulele.
✍️ Notation & Tablature: Written with both traditional notation and easy-to-read tabs.
🎤 Lyrics & Vocal Lines Included: By popular demand! Sing along, or have a friend play accompaniment while you play the melody.
📺 Demonstration & Tutorial: Every song has (or will have over the next year) a corresponding demonstration and tutorial.
Why sell a book when the material is already available free on your website?
1) It allows people to have all the songs in one place, particularly for tablet users
2) From Buy Me a Coffee, the book is available pre-formatted for forScore and MobileSheets
3) The print edition is cheaper than printing copies and binding them yourself
4) It allows people to have a way to “give back” to support the work that I am doing in the ukulele world and “get something” at the same time.
Where can you buy the arrangements?
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/ukulele-chord-melody-songs/id6768120507
Amazon Kindle https://amzn.to/4uCubip
Amazon (Print): https://amzn.to/3OWf3xp
Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/ukestuff/e/537062
New Edition of “Ukulele Chord Melody Traditional Hymns”
I am thrilled to announce the release of the expanded Second Edition of “Ukulele Chord Melody: Traditional Hymns.” This project has been a labor of love, born from my childhood memories of singing in the pews and my 28 years as a music educator. If you’ve been looking for the “next step” beyond basic strumming, this collection is designed for you.
What’s new in this edition?
✅ 67 Hymns (11 brand-new additions!)
✅ Over 9 Hours of Video Tutorials—A dedicated demo and lesson for every single song.
✅ Enhanced Playability—Simplified “less is more” arrangements that sound fuller and play easier.
✅ Full Lyrics & Melody—By popular demand, I’ve added lyrics and standard notation to every arrangement.
✅ Universal Tuning—Works for GCEA (Standard) and DGBE (Baritone), as well as High-G and Low-G instruments.
Whether you’re playing for personal reflection or leading a small group, these arrangements bring the soul of the hymnal to your fingertips.
👉 Grab your copy today at:
Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ukestuff/e/276865
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/ukulele-chord-melody-traditional-hymns/id6569227334
Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GRRY5Q65
Amazon (Print): https://amzn.to/4lh5gNT
Updated Chord Melody Arrangements in “Ukulele Music: My Ukulele Tabs”
Last summer, I was asked a few times to include lyrics in my chord melody books. The Christmas collection was updated and is available (See the previous post), and I am in the process of revising the hymns book (the revisions are done, but I am in the process of making the over 60 demonstration/tutorial videos that go along with those songs—something the book did not have).
I decided to revise all of my individual chord melody songs here on UkeStuff.info to also be in a similar format, so that work is done. Most of the songs have a demonstration/tutorial—or one is coming soon. And more songs will continue to be added.
I have also revised the actual webpage. The previous version listed the songs (always a GCEA and then DGBE arrangement) and an embedded YouTube link for the demonstration/tutorial. With over 50 songs, that page was getting bogged down by the embedded videos, so I put links for the demonstration/tutorials in place of the embedded videos. This should make the page much faster to navigate as you scroll through more than fifty songs…and more are coming.
I will be making a book of these songs as well…openly declaring that they are free to download, but offering a book format for ease of use, as well as a way to support the work that goes into making the arrangements and creating the demonstration/tutorials. That book will have to be “capped” at some point, as books eventually get too big (like all my books, it will be available at buymeacoffee.com/ukestuff, Apple Books, Amazon Kindle, and in print from Amazon.
I also have started thinking about making a book of Chord Melody duets for GCEA and DGBE ukulele (so everyone can play in the same key) as well as a book/tutorial series about how to play chord melody (going slowly and in depth rather than a quick 2 minute introduction to chord melody).
And if you check out the “Ukulele Music” tab, also look at the other resources…the links to Elizabeth Ragsdale’s work, works by Tony Crimlisk and Valery Sauvage, and links to the websites of Spencer Gay (Uke Education) and the late Mike Lynch.
New Edition of Christmas Intermediate Chord Melody Arrangements
A new edition of Christmas Intermediate Chord Melody Arrangements is out and available on my Buy Me a Coffee page, Apple Books, Amazon Kindle, and in print from Amazon. The collection now includes sixty-six arrangements (sixty-seven songs), with five new songs plus added vocal lines and lyrics, as well as some other additions such as corrections and some AI generated images with Christmas ukulele themes. The video below talks about the book, how to use the book, as well as some other resources.
The Importance of a Set-up
I saw this post on a group on Facebook today, and wrote a response. I wanted to share those thoughts with you.
Here is the post:
I recently went birthday shopping for a new uke for myself. I wanted to upgrade from my Kala KA-B laminate baritone which I love and played a ton. This time I chose an all solid acacia KA-SA-B, however when it arrived the action was higher than I like and there was a few blemishes that I’m surprised made it through QC. I contacted Customer Service and told them my issues. They immediately issued an RMA return label and back it went. The replacement they sent is flawless and the action is the way I love it. About 2.5mm at the 12th fret. Note: this this is the 2nd time I returned a uke to Kala for one in better condition. Unfortunately it took a return to get it right again this time but I’m completely satisfied now and this thing looks, sounds, smells and plays amazing! Don’t settle for something that you’re not completely happy with when it comes to Kala ukuleles.
And my reply:
If you are a ukulele player and are sticking with the instrument, there is great value in learning how to change your own strings and set up a ukulele.
Kala is well known for shipping ukuleles with action that is far too high; good dealers include set-up or offer set-up as a feature.
I am stunned to hear that Kala accepted action as a returnable item (I would imagine they would be terrified to know that this has been shared on a public forum) and then sent back an instrument that had been properly set up.
I don’t blame any manufacturer for high action, as the whole global shipping process causes havoc to wood based instruments. An instrument with a “ideal” (it’s all subjective to the player) action of 0.5mm at the 1st fret and 2.65mm at the 12th fret at the factory may be too low and buzz upon arrival at its destination.
Most manufacturers aim for higher tolerances as it is easier to remove material than it is to put material back.
However, before an instrument is shipped to a customer—either by a store or direct from the company like Kala’s online store—the seller must make sure that the action at the 1st fret is really close to 0.5mm and no higher than 2.75mm at the 12th fret.
Companies have no control over what stores do, however (they cannot make a store include or offer setup)—and many stores just sell without ever opening a box. Some just order from a distributor and have the instrument shipped to a customer–this should never happen.
That’s why I always recommend a store that includes or offers setup.
I’ll also add that while action on both sides of the instrument is important, we often only measure action at the 12th fret, when in reality, for a beginning player, action at the 1st fret is even more important.
All that aside, if you, as the player, know how to set up a ukulele, you can take advantage of all the used ukuleles for sale that are being sold because they weren’t set-up and were too hard to play, and set them up yourself!
New Play Along Search
Some years ago, Joe Weiss kindly took the spreadsheet of Ukulele Play Alongs and made a searchable index of those songs. You can find that work at Ukeability.org.
The only problem with the index is that it has to be updated from time to time, and as far as I know, that has not happened in a while.
I have seen a lot of videos about ChatGPT, including allowing it to write programs. So I asked ChatGPT to make a program that would search the Google Spreadsheet and make it searchable by chord.
It quickly generated code which did not work; so I worked with it to update the code (HTML) to allow it to access a spreadsheet, and also decided to limit the chords to just the top 20 most frequently used chords.
The free version of WordPress that I use does not allow for the embedding of HTML, so it also guided me on where I could publish that HTML for free. And here we are: a working model.
Click the chords you know or want to study, and they generate a list.
I may ask ChatGPT to also arrange the songs generated by the number of chords that are used, and to show which chords are used in a song. If I do, you will see the output change…but for now, you just get a list of the play alongs that use the chords you know.
Additionally, the free version of ChatGPT only allows a certain amount of use each day, so I need to wait at least 24 hours before making any other changes.
But for now, I’m pleased. You can access this in the menu for Play Alongs at the top of the screen, or here directly: https://codepen.io/UkeStuff/full/ByodBbW
I have also created a search for Baritone play alongs: https://codepen.io/UkeStuff/full/YPyxzxp
Really Aggressive Copyright Policies
Not too long ago, YouTube finally allowed those of us creating ukulele play along videos to be able to monetize our channels. In the past, our channels were forbidden to be monetized, as they mainly contained copyrighted materials that were collecting money from YouTube views.
Most of us just dealt with that policy, and opened up a second YouTube channel for our own content, as even our own content could not be monetized on these channels: two examples are my UkeStuff channel or Rachel Webley’s Ukulele Wales channel. As of April 2025, the UkeStuff channel is approaching 7,000 subscribers, and Ukulele Wales recently passed 25K–both significantly smaller than our play along channels (UkePlayAlongs and Ukulaliens).
So, we can now monetize these channels, and copyright holders can claim the video revenue (as always) or share revenue (which is incredible), and we can monetize vides that are not copyright protected, such as related tutorials. As YouTube works with copyright holders, the status of songs change all the time (e.g. a song that was not recognized as copyrighted but becomes so).
Plank Road Publishing, a K-8 music publisher, is suddenly pursuing its copyrights on YouTube, and taking down videos. Thankfully, YouTube allows these videos to be taken down before issuing a strike. Plank Road Publishing announced this back in March:
Now, by all means, THIS IS THEIR RIGHT. By very definition of the word “copyright.” But if I were the company, I would want the passive income from someone else’s YouTube video, particularly if the medium was changing (e.g. not using music notation, but showing ukulele chords and lyrics).
But I will also add that typically, copyright holders who don’t want you to use their music simply “block” your ability to publish a video, rather than forcing a complete take down. So I think my reaction isn’t based on Plank Road Publishing’s right to block a video–but the more aggressive action of FORCING a takedown and potentially have “strikes” assigned against accounts. Yes, they give you a week to remove your video–but they could just block it–which would be immediate and far less aggressive.
The UkePlayAlongs channel had two Plank Road Songs, both which have been removed this evening. One was “Everlasting Fruitcake” and the other was “My Dog Has Fleas.” Neither play along video (whether GCEA or DGBE) showed the notated music of the songs (i.e. helping someone avoid buying sheet music), but showed chords and lyrics, in a format not originally intended by the song.
What does a take down notice look like? Here’s the takedown notice for “Everlasting Fruitcake.”
If you notice, AD REVENUE was paid to the claimant. As it should be. Perhaps the revenue from these videos wasn’t enough to justify allowing their continued use. The GCEA version had 1.8 K views in 8 years, the DGBE 362, and the Lyric based 19K views. And in the case of the song “My Dog Has Fleas,” that play along never had any version other than GCEA. None of the videos was a karaoke version (that a music teacher could use to accompany a performance without buying the content)–all of them were based off the “performance track.”
I’ll be staying away from making play alongs of any Plank Road Publishing material. And no, I cannot share the old videos.
I would be happy to send a copy to Plank Road Publishing if they wanted to sell them–for free. I have reached out to them a number of times over the years asking if they would like to use any of the videos I have made, and they have never contacted me back (for example, I made some recorder play alongs of some Recorder Karate songs, which I never published online, as they were based on ).
There are A LOT of creators who have made Recorder Karate play along videos–which display music notation–publicly available on YouTube. My warning to those creators is to take down any Plank Road Publishing material now, to avoid copyright strikes. Yes, you can download your file before you delete it. But then you cannot legally share it. Be warned: there is someone at Plank Road Publishing whose job entails finding Plank Road content on YouTube and filing take down notices.
My hope is that this is a rare occurrence, and that we won’t be seeing other copyright holders forcing takedown of their content, especially when they are earning any revenue from the videos.
ukestuff 