Wheels on the bus – Ukulele Chords, Tabs and Sheet Music

The Wheels on the Bus is one of the most popular nursery rhymes in the western world. Even in non-English speaking countries, this song is quite well known and either a translated version is sung or children sing it to learn English in kindergarten. Children love this rhyme because it has a very catchy melody and you can combine the content of the verses with some nice hand motions. It’s also a great nursery rhyme to learn on the ukulele! Did you know that you can even play the melody on just one string of the ukulele? Well, let’s discover this easy version and much more about the song in this free ukulele lesson. We also offer some free PDF downloads like the sheet music for your practice at the end of the article!

History of The Wheels on the Bus

The Wheels on the Bus is a classic American children’s song from the early 20th century, believed to have been written by Verna Hills in the 1930s to entertain children during bus rides. Its catchy, repetitive lyrics, set to the familiar tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush made it a favorite in preschools and kindergartens. The song’s verses describe different actions and sounds associated with a bus ride, encouraging children to sing along and combine it with hand movements, which promotes engagement and learning through music.

Ukulele Tabs for Wheels on the Bus

Every song can be played in various ways. It can be played in very easy way with simple chords and strums or in a pretty advanced fingerstyle arrangements. You can play a song in a low or high pitch. We will focus on easy arrangements first in a pitch that is also easy to sing for most of us. At first we learn how to fingerpick the melody on one string and several strings. Then, we also discover how to play the tune with some easy ukulele chords.

1. Level: Playing only on One Ukulele String

Let’s start with a simple fingerpicking version. You can actually play the Wheels on the Bus with only one string on the ukulele. All the necessary notes are on one string, making this an excellent exercise for young beginners. This method allows them to concentrate on plucking one string and moving only one finger up and down the fretboard. Start by pressing down on the first string with either the index or middle finger of your left hand, then pluck the string with your right thumb.

Here are the ukulele tabs for the Wheels on the Bus on one string:

Listen to how it should sound like when played on the ukulele on just one string! You can also reduce the speed of the recording to play along while practicing.

And don’t forget, you can play the same pattern on any other string of your ukulele as well. Try for example the 3rd string to have a pretty low version of the Wheels on the Bus.

2. Level: Playing on several Ukulele Strings

While it’s fun and easier to start with one string, the same melody can be found on multiple strings on the ukulele as well. It’s actually more common and efficient to use the other strings of the ukulele too. The main advantage of this approach is that it minimizes the movement of your left hand along the neck. Although this method requires you to use more fingers and pluck different strings, it serves as an excellent exercise to improve your playing skills.

Here are the ukulele tabs for playing the nursery rhyme on the first three strings:

It sounds pretty similar to the first version but you can listen to the recording to check your playing.

Ukulele Chords for Wheels on the Bus

Fingerpicking is a nice way to learn the melody of a song. But if you want to sing and play at the same time, you will see that most ukulele players prefer to strum a song with chords. You can play the song in different keys. We will play the song in the key of F.

The chords that you need for the Wheels on the Bus are the basic chords F and C.

Here are the chord diagrams for the required chords:

If you already know how to play these ukulele chords and can switch between them easily, then you won’t have any problems learning this song quickly! Otherwise, practice the chords F and C first and try to play the sequence F-C over and over with simple down strokes until you can play it without thinking about it. Then you will have a feel for the sequence.

It’s important for beginners to start new songs at a slow pace. This means, focus on performing a simple down strum with each chord change. This approach allows enough time to change between chords without the added pressure of difficult strumming patterns. Additionally, singing along is simpler when you strum down once per chord change. Once you’re comfortable, you can try out more advanced strumming patterns.

Ukulele Sheet Music for Wheels on the Bus

If you’re an advanced player or a ukulele teacher, sheet music can be very useful. It provides comprehensive details about a song, including pitches, rhythms, and chords. For beginners, however, sheet music can be daunting because it requires a basic understanding of music theory and some practice reading it. For this reason, ukulele tabs or lyrics with chords are usually preferred for children and beginners.

Here is the sheet music for the Wheels on the Bus:

Free Ukulele Printables for Wheels on the Bus

Feel free to download the chords, tabs, and sheet music as a free PDF for your practice sessions or ukulele lessons!

Interested in instruments other than the ukulele? You can also find a free lesson on how to play the Wheels on the Bus on the guitar, piano.