We give you a run down of 5 easy Disney songs to learn to play on the ukulele. Re-visit your childhood with these timeless classics!
Written by Jay Searle / Published February 27, 2024
Last updated: February 27, 2024
I’d say it’s a fair bet that everybody knows at least one Disney tune from their childhood. Whether it’s “I Wanna Be Like You” from the classic 1967 film “The Jungle Book”, or a song like “Under the Sea” from Disney’s Golden 90’s Era, you’re bound to be able to at least hum along. So why not play along with your ukulele?
We have compiled a list of 5 easy Disney tunes for ukulele that will have you jamming away in no time. So, grab your uke, dress up as your favorite Disney character and let’s get down to business…
1. Hakuna Matata – The Lion King
Let’s jump right in.
‘Hakuna Matata’ is an absolutely iconic piece of film scoring. Written by Elton John (who wrote the music) and Tim Rice (who wrote the lyrics), ‘Hakuna Matata’ is a Swahili phrase meaning “no worries” and with a little help from us, and this great tutorial from Cory Teaches Music we will make learning it on your ukulele a worry free experience.
In the video, Cory does a great job of walking you through everything you need to know to add this classic to your repertoire. We have also broken the tutorial down into manageable sections for you.
Hakuna Matata Ukulele Chords
‘Hakuna Matata’ uses 8 chords. I know that sounds like a lot, but don’t let that intimidate you. They are not very difficult chords, and the changes are easy to wrap your fingers around.
The eight chords we will be using are: C – F – D – G – G7 – Am – Bb – Eb
So, let’s have a look at how to play each of those:
Ukulele Strumming Pattern for Hakuna Matata
The song starts with a spoken word part that eventually leads into the singing. This spoken word style section occurs throughout the song, and for those parts, use down strokes at each chord change.
The strumming pattern throughout the song is fairly straightforward. There is some palm muting, which we will get to in a second, but for now, the basic strumming pattern is:
D – DU – UD
D – XU – UX
Tips for Playing Hakuna Matata on Ukulele
To get the muted “chuck” sound, use the inside of your palm to mute the strings on the downstroke. I know it sounds tricky, but it really opens up a world of cool embellishments once you can get muting techniques down, so this is really one worth working on. Take it slowly at first, making sure you can mute the strings effectively before speeding it up.
2. Under the Sea – The Little Mermaid
‘Under The Sea’ is the first thing that pops into my mind when I think about the film ‘The Little Mermaid’. This bouncy calypso tune really sounds great on the ukulele. The track was composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. ‘Under The Sea’ would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media in 1991.
Now that we’ve got a little bit of history out of the way, let’s get down to playing it with the help of the above video by One Music School.
Under the Sea Ukulele Chords
‘Under The Sea’ is written in the key of F and makes use of 6 chords. A little less to wrap our heads around than the last one. Also, bear in mind that these chord changes are fairly straight forward. Just have a look at how little your fingers actually need to move.
As we said, the song is written in the key of F and uses the following chords: F – C – G – C7 – Am – D7
Each of the chords are shown below. Many of them will be familiar to you already.
Ukulele Strumming Pattern for Under the Sea
The strumming pattern used in the above video is a really fun and funky one. It may be a little tricky at first, but as always, just take it slowly. Break down pieces you are having difficulty with into smaller parts, and work on those individual bits until you can bring them all together.
So that strumming pattern is: DUDU – UDU – DDD
To keep things a little simpler, you could also opt for the DU –DU strumming pattern, as you can see below:
3. Let It Go – Frozen
Everybody has heard ‘Let It Go’ from Disney’s 2013 blockbuster Frozen. The song was so popular it became an internet meme. So, let’s learn how to play it.
This video from Ricky Sombrom is a really great introduction to the tune and has loads of options depending on your playing level. We will break it down a little here to help you along.
Let It Go Ukulele Chords
There are only 5 chords you need to know to be able to play ‘Let It Go’, and thankfully they’re all quite simple:
Ukulele Strumming Pattern for Let It Go
There are several ways to approach the strum here. First off, we will start with the easiest version to get to grips with. In this version of the strumming pattern, you are going to use simple downstrokes.
So, the strumming pattern for option 1 is: D – D – D – D
Every downstroke with your hand happens on a chord change. That gives you some time to get your fingers where they need to go without having to think too much about what your strumming hand is doing. Have a look at the strumming illustration below and then have good listen to the song to get an idea of exactly where the chord changes are.
If you have a little more experience, or just like a challenge, we can make things more interesting by adding a different strumming pattern. This pattern makes things a bit trickier for the strumming hand, so you may find that initially you need to slow things down in order to get the rhythm. Just try to keep counting as you play, and you’ll get it down pat.
In our second strumming pattern option, we are going to add some upstrokes to make the rhythm more interesting, and more closely match that of the original track.
If we add in those upstrokes, the pattern we get is: D – DU – UDU
That looks like this:
Now, the last option includes a chuck. We mentioned the chuck back when we were discussing ‘Hakuna Matata’ (I told you these little embellishments would come up again). If you need a few more bits of info on how to actually get your uke to make that sound, there are some tips down below.
We are going to repeat the pattern above, but this time insert a chuck on two of the down strokes.
So, the strumming pattern is now: D – XU – UXU
Tips for Playing Let It Go on Ukulele
Now, the last strumming option includes a chuck. I know I mentioned that earlier, but if you would like a really thorough breakdown of the best way to get that sound out of your own ukulele, then you can have a look at this video from One Music School. It gives a great step-by-step breakdown of exactly what you need to master this technique.
4. A Whole New World – Aladdin
The signature song from Disney’s 1992 smash hit film Aladdin. I don’t know about you, but the moment I hear the opening bars of ‘A Whole New World’, I’m immediately transported on a magic carpet ride through the city.
Cory does a great job of getting through this track with her play through tutorial, but we will help break it down for you a little bit more.
A Whole New World Ukulele Chords
A Whole New World uses a total of 12 ukulele chords. That can sound overwhelming, but they are not overly complicated chords, and you will be familiar with several of them already. Keep reading for diagrams on how to play them.
The chords we will be using are:
A – A7 – Bm – C – Dm – Bb – D – E7 – Em – Eb – F – G.
Ukulele Strumming Pattern for A Whole New World
Okay, so that was a lot of chords, I know. As always, just take your time to learn them slowly and pay attention to where your fingers need to go.
Fortunately, the strumming pattern for the song is an easy one. No chucks or anything complicated, and it is repeated throughout the song.
The strumming pattern we will be using is: D – DU – DU
5. The Bare Necessities
Since its release in 1967, Disney’s The Jungle Book has provided a memorable soundtrack for a number of generations of children. The film achieved immense success, with the song “The Bare Necessities” playing a significant role in its popularity.
An upbeat and spirited jazz tune performed by Baloo, a charismatic black bear. What more could you want? Once you get into the groove, this melody is a lot of fun to play on your ukulele.
This video from The Ukulele Teacher gives you much more than the bare necessities you will need to play the tune, but as always, we will break it down for you.
The Bare Necessities Ukulele Chords
The Bare Necessities uses 9 different chords. Getting some Disney tunes into your repertoire is really going to hone your chord changing speed and dexterity. If you find you’re having trouble with some particular chords, be sure to check out our ukulele chords lesson page for more in depth guides on how to play them.
The chords we will be using are: C – C7 – F – F7 – A7 – D7 – G7 – Fm – Am
Ukulele Strumming Pattern for The Bare Necessities
The strumming pattern you are going to use here will feel familiar if you have been working your way through our Disney selection. Thing is though, this track is very lively, and does tend to move quite quickly.
This can get tricky around the last line of the verse as there are a lot of really quick chord changes occurring. So, keep calm, and just practice it slowly until you get it.
First thing you want to focus on is getting your fingers around the individual chord shapes. Then, practice the chord changes slowly, ignoring the strumming pattern for now. Once you have built your muscle memory, start to add the strumming pattern in.
The pattern we will be using is: D – DU – UD – U
Conclusion
Well, that’s all we have on our top 5 list of Disney songs, but there is plenty more material out there for you to learn. Why not try learning to play the Lava Song on ukulele with the help of our guide? Disney has an almost endless wealth of songs that are not only ukulele friendly, but just super fun to play. We’ll be adding plenty of other Disney songs to play on ukulele to the site, so be sure to keep checking back for more!
Jay Searle
Website Founder & WriterJay is a self-professed music nerd and ukulele lover. When not working on the website you’ll find him strumming along to his favorite tunes, spending time with his family, or learning to play the piano.
