Beluga Ukes

Thanks for joining the Belugaleles! (or the better name you come up with)
Here are some resources to help you get in the know, in the spirit, and ready to play the Elvis Presley version of "Hound Dog".
Follow the steps. Click on the links. Have fun.

Step One

Step Two

Step Three
Click the button to hear the correct pitches. Turn the key slowly and gently, being sure you are plucking the string you are tuning. Use the standard GCEA (My dog has fleas) tuning.
Or use an electronic tuner. There are many free apps for that.
Use this short video tutorial to see the song, the chords, and strums. The steps are broken down and you can play along. This is the basic version of the accompaniment.
If you're feeling confident, try playing with this guy. He has changed some chords and made the strum more complicated.
Ukes can be signed out in the music room. There may be some times when they need to be back during school hours, but for now, you can check them out indefinitely.

Parts of a Uke

OR

Step
Three
Try playing the melody. Here are the notes and tablature (TAB) which is a map of where to put what finger when.
The numbers are fret numbers, one being closest to the headstock. The lines are strings.

Step Four
If you're feeling adventurous, you can try this.

Holding Your Uke

To start you will probably be sitting down to play your ukulele, this is perhaps the easiest way to play. It allows you to rest the bottom of your instrument on your leg. To get a good sound it is best to have as little contact between your body and the ukulele as possible without dropping it. Your forearm should press the ukulele to your body, taking care to keep clear of the strings. The neck rests in the crook of your hand between your thumb and first finger, angled out from your body.

Strumming

Strumming is usually done with the nail of the forefinger on the down strokes and the pad of the finger on the up strokes. Many people use their thumb but this can stop you doing some of the more advanced strumming later on. Unlike a guitar where you strum over the soundhole, a ukulele is strummed on the neck somewhere above where the body and neck join.
It’s important that you keep a steady rhythm, tap your foot as you strum, down is your down stroke and up your up stroke, how easy is that?

Hound Dog Roots, History and Inspiration

"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton on August 13, 1952 in Los Angeles and released by Peacock Records in March 1953. "Hound Dog" was Thornton's only hit record, spending 14 weeks in the R&B charts, including seven weeks at #1. Thornton's recording of "Hound Dog" is listed as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in February 2013. Get the whole story at Wikipedia