A Teaching Platform Built From a Personal Love of the Ukulele
Trusted by beginner ukulele players around the world — from newly retired to well into their 80s.
My First Ukulele is a teaching platform for adult beginners, founded in 2022. Real instructors John and Kai teach every course and free lesson, structured step by step for people who have never played an instrument before.
How My First Ukulele Started
Hi, I’m Jay. Music has always been part of my life — guitar since I was 8, sax through high school, piano more recently. But the ukulele is different: I was introduced to it by my grandfather, a passionate player, and when he passed away I was gifted one of his ukuleles to keep learning and making music.
That gift became the start of My First Ukulele in 2022 — a small project that grew into a place for other adult beginners to find the same joy, without the intimidation. It’s never too late to learn, and today that mission is carried out by real instructors, John and Kai, teaching step by step, just like a patient teacher would.
Meet Your Instructors
Every course and lesson on My First Ukulele is taught by a real person — not a stitched-together playlist. Meet the two instructors behind it all.
John Allnutt
Hello there! I am John and have been playing music most of my life but began teaching percussion and stringed instruments in 2008. I am an active educator and performer in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky in the United States.Â
My wife and I love to perform on the ukulele and ukulele bass and encourage our students to have many opportunities to perform locally; from farmer’s markets and local businesses to places in need of musical cheer such as senior citizen centers.
I am currently very active with my Facebook group and YouTube channel – John’s Ukulele Cafe where I cover instructional and audio reference videos from the Daily Ukulele series of books by Jim and Liz Beloff.Â
Kai Capumpue
Hi, I’m Kai, a music instructor from the Philippines. I studied music education and have been teaching music for more than a decade and have grown deeply passionate about the ukulele. I picked it up in 2011 and was hooked by its unique and signature sound.
The ukulele is my favorite instrument to teach because it’s fun, easy to learn, and brings so much joy to players at every level. Over time, my love for it has only grown—I now have seven ukuleles of different sizes, each with its own distinctive tone and style. It’s such a versatile instrument, and I really enjoy showing my students how much fun and rewarding it can be to play.
Whether it’s strumming, fingerpicking, or diving into different styles, I find happiness in teaching the ukulele. I also work as a video editor and graphic designer, creating content for various projects.