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In this lesson, we'll learn how to play Dream a Little Dream of Me on the ukulele. The Mamas & Papas made this beautiful, timeless song famous, and we'll follow their version for our ukulele arrangement.
Dream a Little Dream of Me is perfect for ukulele players of all levels. Its gentle, dreamy quality suits the ukulele's warm tone perfectly, and the chord progression, while interesting, is manageable once you get the hang of it. The song has a lovely jazzy feel that will help you develop your musical ear and chord vocabulary.
The song follows a classic structure with an intro, verses, and a chorus. The intro sets the mood with a beautiful progression that repeats twice, creating that dreamy atmosphere the song is known for. We'll start with a C chord, move through some jazzy changes, including a diminished chord (which adds that vintage feel), and then smoothly transition into the verse.
The verses tell the story with a flowing progression that supports the melody perfectly. There's a slight variation between the first and second verses, which adds interest and keeps you on your toes. The chorus brings a change of feel with some different chord choices that really lift the song.
What makes this song special is its use of some slightly more adventurous chords than you might be used to. Don't let that intimidate you, though–we'll go through each change. We use some lovely diminished chords that give the song its characteristic jazzy feel. Once mastered, you'll have some really nice chord transitions that will add to your overall playing vocabulary.
The intro starts with a C chord, moves to an F# diminished, then progresses to an A♭ before resolving to G. This beautiful progression repeats twice to create the song's dreamy opening.
In the verses, the chord progression goes: C, F# diminished, A♭ to G, then C to E7. It continues with A7, moves to F, then F minor, and finally goes to C, A♭, G, and G7. There's a slight variation in verse two near the end: A♭ on beat three, G on beat four, and two beats each on C and E7.
The chorus progression starts with an A chord for two beats, then moves to F#m, followed by B minor 7 and E7. This pattern repeats twice and then goes through A to F#m to B minor 7 to E7 again before ending with A to F#m to A♭ to G.
Sounds like a lot, eh? But don't worry–we'll break it down in the video.
The key to making this song sound its best is to keep your strumming relaxed and flowing. Start with a simple down, down, down-up, down pattern. This gives you the basic groove of the song while allowing you to focus on your chord changes. Once you're comfortable with that, you can start exploring different strumming patterns to add your own flavor to the arrangement.
One of the great things about this song is how well it responds to different interpretations. Once you've got the basic version down, there are plenty of ways to add your own touch. You can experiment with different rhythms, try adding some fingerpicking, or explore some of the chord variations we discuss in the video. Start simple and gradually add more complexity as your confidence grows.
Watch the video carefully–we'll see various ways to make the song more interesting. We'll learn some cool little tricks that you can use not just in this song but in many others as well. These are the techniques that will help you develop your own style as a ukulele player.
Now that you have an overview of what we'll be learning, grab your ukulele and follow along with the video. We'll break everything down step by step, and before you know it, you'll be playing this beautiful song. Remember, take your time with the learning process - it's better to play slowly and accurately than to rush and develop bad habits.
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