“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is a Christmas song that’s beloved by all ages. In this play-along video, I’m strumming the Island Strum with a couple of chucks thrown in. Chucking (sometimes called chunking) is a right-hand technique of muting strings while strumming, adding a rhythmic element to your playing. Since I haven’t created a chucking tutorial (yet?), here’s a link to one from ukuleleunderground.
Chucks are indicated in the strum pattern by an X, so the strum pattern is DOWN - REST - CHUCK - UP - REST - UP - CHUCK - UP. Sounds kind of gross when you say it out loud, doesn’t it? If chucking’s not your thing, play this song with your strum of choice!
Resources:
Learn to play this song and twelve other Christmas classics with Oh, What Fun! Christmas Songs for the Ukulele, my beginner-friendly holiday songbook available in paperback and as a digital download.
Learn to play the ukulele with my book, Let's Play! The Ukulele Handbook for Beginners, available in paperback and as a digital download.
Today I have a very easy song to share with you! It uses only two chords, it’s really short, and it has very simple lyrics. I’ll show you how to play it in two different keys, and then I’ll show you how to turn this into a holiday song so you can sing about your own family traditions.