Naucz się jak grać na ukulele : How to Chunk/Chuck on Ukulele

Chunking (or as it can also be called - Chucking or choking) can be quite a useful technique to throw in whilst playing ukulele. It adds a hint of percussion, and can act as a way to change up whatever it is you are playing.

Chunking is a very simple thing, once learnt. The key to chunking is the use of the thenar to make the "chunk" sound.

To begin learning to chunk, mute the strings on your ukulele by covering the strings on the neck with your hand. When these strings are muted, it makes it easier to learn the technique.

Using either three or four (depending on personal preference) fingers on your strumming hand, you need to strum downwards, as if you were strumming a chord in a song. Now, we add the chunk. As soon as you have strummed, use the thenar (the fleshy part of your thumb/palm (where the thumb has it's own little muscle of sorts), and "dampen" the strings.

Practise the action of strumming and imediately muting with the thenar with muted strings, until you get the hang of the chunking technique.

Once you've managed to get the hitting of the strings and the immediate dampening, you can practise with chords. Simpler chords (such as C, G, Am or F) are good chords to practise on, as generally you will feel more confident with these chords, and the aforementioned chords feature in numerous songs, allowing plenty of opportunities for experimentation.

Note: Don't hit the strings too hard when strumming for a chunk - the strum should be as usual, with the dampening of the strings being the key to chunking.

• Ukulele: the story of one gift
• Easier ways to play E and D chords
• Fascinating Facts About the Ukulele
• Ukulele Strings
• Uke won't stay in tune?
• In and out picking (Beginner)