Understanding Ukulele Chords

Robbert van Renesse does not play ukulele for a living. He is a research faculty member of the

Cornell University Computer Science Department in Ithaca, NY. Born and raised in Amsterdam, he

moved to the United States in 1989 where, among many other activities, he began to play swing

guitar. Soon thereafter, he joined the Ageless Jazz Band, a 20-piece big band.

Because Robbert frequently travels for his academic work, he wanted a smaller instrument to bring

along and amuse himself on trips, and he discovered the joy of the ukulele. Now Robbert can be seen

playing the ukulele almost everywhere, even while riding a unicycle at the Ithaca Festival. (Sorry,

no tips on playing the uke on a unicycle are offered in this book.) For more information on the

author, see http://www.vanrenesse.com/robbert.