February 2nd is National Ukulele Day!
Yes, it’s true! A day made special for ukulele!
Thinking about incorporating the ukulele into your curriculum?
Ukuleles can be an excellent tool for teaching melody, rhythm, harmony, form, and style concepts. And simply put, they’re just plain ol’ fun! I don’t exactly know why, but they are fun!
If you’re just introducing ukulele, here are some considerations to remember as you prepare.
Classroom Management & Storage for Ukuleles
- Roll it
- Hang it
- Stand it up in a cardboard filing box
- Put it back in the case it came with
I inherited a classroom in which ukuleles were hung from the sides of shelving using a piece of yarn tied to the ukulele and a 3M plastic adhesive hook. It was durable and lasted the whole time I used the room!
The bottom line is to make them easily accessible to students, empowering them to take responsibility.
Prepping the Ukulele
Maybe I’m old school, but for too many years, I felt students were learning more authentically if I didn’t provide every possible visual aid to help them learn more quickly. I was wrong. By offering visual support, I was not only helping students learn more rapidly, but it cut down on the chaos of questions and the cry for help. I highly suggest using colored stickers or color-coded marker dots for those beginning chords of C, G7 and F. Combine this with a corresponding slide of the uku’s fretboard that’s projected on your board.
Tuning
For efficient tuning, I use SNARK tuners. These compact, vibration-based devices easily clip onto the ukulele’s body and provide accurate results, even in noisy environments. To save time during instruction, I initially tune the ukuleles myself. After the class had been playing for a while, I identified students who showed a strong interest in the instrument and invited them to become “ukulele captains.” I teach these students how to tune the ukuleles, and they take on the responsibility of tuning the entire class set by coming in early on designated mornings.
Curriculum
What and how should I teach? How do I want the ukulele to fit into my broader curriculum? Could it focus on a specific skill that I want to emphasize? Should I start with chords or melody? Strumming or picking? These unanswered questions were daunting, so I was late for the ukulele party! Eventually, I realized that I wanted to emphasize student singing while introducing a new way to create harmony on a different instrument while maintaining steady beat and rhythm skills. There!
This was my formula for a single chord, starting with C, simple folk songs. To keep student interest high while working with such simplicity, I created a project where 2-3 kindergarteners were paired with one of my 5th-grade ukulele students. Fifth graders visited the Kindergarteners’ classrooms, and they had small group sing-alongs…it was really quite sweet!
Eventually, I wanted to incorporate other classroom instruments into the ukulele ensemble, so I turned to Elemental ‘Ukulele Pathways and Possibilities by Lorelei Batislaong and Roger Sams. Similar to the Purposeful Pathways series, this ukulele book integrates Orff Schulwerk, Kodaly, and eurhythmics- something for everyone in the class!