Kiwi Ukulele cover

Everything the Kiwi uke player needs to know: choosing, tuning, playing; strings and other accessories; tips for practising, performing, and playing in groups; and a pile of Kiwi songs.

Raves

“Singing and playing music with others is one of the great pleasures in life. The ukulele is one of the easiest and most fun ways to access this magic, and this book offers answers to all the little hurdles that come up when you’re learning. Mix the wisdom in here with a bit of dedicated practice, and you´ll be unstoppable!”
— Age Pryor, Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra
“This book has extremely clear and attractive diagrams which make using it interesting and enjoyable. The author knows about music, and communicating, and ukulele playing, and has obtained information, tips, and opinions from a range of well-known ukulele musicians. Conveys not just the ‘how’ of ukulele playing, but also something of the affection, reasons for enthusiasm, and craziness which are often present in the ukulele world. Worth getting for the beautifully information-rich drawings and diagrams alone.”
— George Hinchcliffe, Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
“At last a ukulele book with kiwi can-do attitude and a modern take on a fun instrument.”
— Peter, Wellington
“All that the novice (or not-so-novice) ukulele player could ask for; easy-to-follow tuning instructions, chord diagrams and strumming guides, a range of songs from Kiwi classics through '80s pop hits to tunes that your gran can sing along to, and best of all no trace of ‘Tiptoe Through the Tulips’.” [Actually the second edition now includes "Tiptoe". Sorry, Carol! MD]
— Carol Green, Uketastic, Auckland
“Finally, a beginner’s ukulele book that I can wholeheartedly recommend. I’ve been moaning about the quality of ukulele beginner books for a while now. They all seem very dated in the songs they select and nowhere near comprehensive enough to cover everything a beginner should know when they set out. Luckily, Mike Dickison has written the book that the ukulele deserves. He covers the basics comprehensively, but what really makes it stand out is that he conveys where the ukulele scene is at right now.…All the basic chording, strumming and picking are put across effectively and concisely with top notch illustrations.…As well as the playing side, he also covers the other essential parts of the modern uke scene that none of the other books mention: ukulele clubs, recording yourself on your computer and ukuleles on the net.…It deserves to get picked up and adapted by an international publisher as it’s by far the best introduction to the ukulele I’ve ever read.”
— Al Wood, Ukulele Hunt
— (read full review)
“The uke, ... what a blast! I'm into the fourth day of my ukulele-playing life and loving it! Congratulations on the excellent book. It's superb.”
— Jim, Auckland
“Many schools are making the move away from the screeching sound of the recorder to the far more pleasant ukulele. As a primary school teacher setting up a ukulele orchestra Kiwi Ukulele has become my bible. The pages of the book have been the basis of many of my ukulele lessons and the excellent song choices keep the children excited (they especially love the White Stripes!).”
— Nick Gill, Oratia District School
“We owe a big Thank You to Mike Dickison, information designer, illustrator, ornithologist, and uker for sending us a copy of his wonderful instruction book Kiwi Ukulele. In addition to being a refreshingly non-Hawaiian, non-Tin Pan Alley approach to the uke, it's peppered with Mike's thoughtful and precisely-rendered keyboard and fingering illustrations. Kinda like Cook's Illustrated for the uke. Paired with online strum sound files to help you find your groove, it's the best beginner book I've seen for anyone over the age of 14. Highly recommended! Put it on your Christmas list now!”
— Gary Peare, Ukulelia
“Don't even buy a ukulele until you’ve had a look at Kiwi Ukulele: The New Zealand Ukulele Companion.…It beats all those other books for ukulele-learners by a mile.”
— Capital Times, Wellington
— (read full review)
“Clearly, this is the best beginner's ukulele book out there right now.…Thought has been put into everything: the font choices, the illustration style, the diagrams, the page layouts. Even the page numbers are made up of fret fingering symbols.…The current exchange rate practically makes it a steal in the US. With 7-10 day shipping, the total came out to NZ$34.59, or $19.40 in US dollars. That's within the full-price range of many ukulele books already available in the States.”
— Aaron Dai, Coo Coo Ukulele
— (read full review)