8 Great Ukulele Songs for Intermediate Players

If you’re looking for easy ukulele Songs for Intermediate Players, then you’re in the right spot! One of my favorite and best ukulele teachers always reminds us to play one easy piece every day because it will give us confidence, and to play at least one thing that’s above our level to give us something to strive for!

I fully embrace the awkwardness of learning how to play a new song on the ukulele, especially if it’s a great song for an intermediate player. Part of the reason why I love learning how to play the ukulele is that as I’ve gotten better at things like bar chords and fingerstyle for playing famous riffs, every new song that I master makes me feel like a little kid at Christmas with a shiny new toy.

Ready to up your ukulele game from “advanced beginner” and sit with the cool kids at the “intermediate ukulele player” table? Check out my suggestions for eight great ukulele songs for intermediate players (and those who want to be intermediate players):

In My Life by The Beatles

I have to admit, an old friend of mine requested that I learn this song a couple of years ago, and at the time, I was not the most confident player of bar chords, so I hesitated to learn it. While this song can be considered an intermediate level song, the number of chords and the chord changes put this one almost in the “advanced” territory.

Most of the ukulele arrangements of this song (that I’ve seen and used) include the B minor chord, as well as the E chord and a Gb minor chord. Even if you’re not comfortable playing these chords yet, this song is an excellent way to start learning them and putting them into practice.

Timing is another challenge in this classic song by The Beatles that puts this firmly in the “intermediate” camp. My best tip for learning it is to pull it up on a streaming service and listen, listen, listen. Put it on repeat and practice singing along with it so that you can hear the subtle shifts in the chord progression and the timing of the lyrics in the melody.

Have You Ever Seen the Rain? by Credence Clearwater Revival

This one I chose because it was an important part of my Life Soundtrack during my high school and college years. Beyond that, it is a great ukulele song for intermediate players because it introduces a few slash chords as well as some fun rhythmic elements.

Most of the basic chords are easy, but you can also take this one up a notch in difficulty by learning the riff that goes along with the song.

Read more: Flight Pathfinder OBL Electric Baritone Ukulele Review

Stairway To Heaven by Led Zepplin

Stairway To Heaven is probably the most-recognized song by Led Zepplin, and one that I am currently learning as part of my advanced ukulele lessons. I’ve been challenged by my teacher to take this song, which is already considered an intermediate level song, and take it a step further by transposing it into a different key, adding my own improvised solo, and adding some advanced ukulele techniques like harmonics.

What makes this a great ukulele song for intermediate players? Maybe it’s that classic opening riff. Maybe it’s the unique song structure, or the chord changes, or just the challenge of singing it or playing it fingerstyle. There are so many interesting musical elements to this classic rock song that you’ll find something new in it every time you sit down to play!

Hotel California by The Eagles

I first learned this song on the ukulele when I was an “advanced beginner”, and wow, it certainly brought me right into “intermediate player” territory! Everyone knows that classic intro riff at the beginning of the song, and playing it will challenge you to start moving up the neck of the ukulele into some uncharted territory.

If you like the challenge of playing bar chords, this song definitely has you covered with the B minor chord, as well as some other seldom-seen chords in the ukulele repertoire such as F#7. For another added challenge, you can place a capo on the second fret of your ukulele to play it in the original key.

Something by George Harrison

George Harrison gave us plenty of great original songs that are considered classics now, and Something is one of these. I remember hearing this song when I was a young violin player in elementary school, but I didn’t realize the brilliance of it until much later when I was studying music in college.

When it comes to chord progressions and the sheer number of chords in this song, you’ll notice straight away that this is clearly an intermediate ukulele tune. It’s got a little something for everyone – bar chords, tricky chord changes, and a haunting melody to boot! And then there’s also that lovely riff in between verses that makes the whole song just come together. (See what I did there?) All in all, this is a beautiful love song to learn and play for your sweetheart!

• As a side note, here’s the same song played by the one and only Paul McCartney on his Ukulele! Enjoy 🙂

Wildflowers by Tom Petty

While most of the chords to Wildflowers by Tom Petty aren’t exactly new to intermediate ukulele players, this song definitely merits inclusion in the list of ukulele songs for intermediate players because of the chord progression and the speed at which the chord changes need to happen.

The more songs that I learn how to play by Tom Petty, the more I’m coming to the conclusion that he was a songwriting genius with his chord progressions. Of course, not all of his songs are this challenging, but Wildflowers is one of my favorites to play because of both the lyrics and the chord progression. If you listen to the original song, you can clearly hear the way the chords change between the verses. You need to be quick and light on your toes (fingers?) in order to make this one work, so get your metronome out and start practicing!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What A Wonderful World, the Iz version

I had the great honor of playing this song for my local public radio station back in 2020, and it’s still one of my all-time favorite tunes to bust out. The chords are all fairly straightforward, and if you’re an intermediate ukulele player or striving to become one, you should know all of the chords.

What makes this a fun intermediate ukulele song is the chord progression (the order in which the chords are played), along with the mash-up of What A Wonderful World in the middle of the song. You can feel the shift in the dynamics even before they happen, and if you’re someone who likes to sing along while you play, the vocal range and lyrics for this song will definitely keep you on your toes.

La Vie En Rose

I included La Vie En Rose in my list of great songs for intermediate players because it holds a special place in my heart. About a year after I started playing the ukulele, the Covid pandemic hit the U.S., and everything shut down. At the time, I was also recovering from some other major health problems, and every morning I had a “ukulele therapy” session after breakfast. I would play a fingerstyle arrangement of this classic song over and over, until I finally memorized it. It was my first real introduction to fingerstyle playing, and I include it in my warm-up routine every single day!

If you’re looking for a fun fingerstyle arrangement of this to get you into playing more chord melody, I can highly recommend this song. It’s a great way to learn how to add expression and emotion to your playing as you imagine the notes being “sung” like the lyrics!

If you’re already an intermediate ukulele player, do you have a particular song that tipped you into that category? Do you remember when you realized that you had graduated from beginner to intermediate ukulele player? And if you’re already an intermediate ukulele player, what do you think will make you an advanced player? These are all great things to ask yourself on your ukulele journey!

Whether you consider yourself to be an enthusiastic advanced beginner, a total beginner, or an intermediate player looking to challenge yourself and learn new skills and new songs, make sure you check out all the wonderful resources and courses on the Uke Like the Pros website! In addition to a thriving and welcoming community of like-minded ukulele players, you’ll also find individual courses, course bundles, workshops, books, and more to help you up your game and become the ukulele player you always dreamed you could be!