Embedded Files
After the teacher workshop, participants reflected on their experiences. On 3x5 cards, teachers wrote things they learned, ways in which they envision themselves using the materials from the workshop, and also had the chance to ask questions. Below, I've responded to some of the questions. If you have comments that might add to the conversation, please feel free to add them in the comment box below! I'll do my best to add more questions and responses over the next couple weeks, so be sure to check back.
Another place to ask questions and get a variety of responses is on the Facebook music teacher pages!
Question (Q): What kind of ukuleles would you suggest?
Response (R): I've found Mahalo are lower quality and do not stay in tune very well, but they are commonly found in schools because they're cheap.
Diamond Head brand is also lower quality and I've found they have to be tuned constantly.
Makala (Kala) is a brand I've heard good things about, but haven't tried. I have a couple friends who got that brand (soprano) for their elementary students.
Luna is my favorite, but they're a bit more expensive.
I have a Lanikai (baritone) that I'm pleased with, so they might make good sopranos, etc.
As an adult learner (or for middle school and up), I'd suggest a concert soprano sized ukulele. Sopranos will work for elementary-aged students.
Click here to access a document with advice from Robin Giebelhausen.
Question (Q): What are some ways to get money for ukes?
Response (R): Some teachers make a wish list and have families who will sponsor ukes. Families and community members who sponsor a uke get their name in the concert program, or recognition in the newsletter. I've seen a label on the ukulele or a luggage tag on the instrument bag indicating who sponsored that uke. Might even be cool to allow that family or community member to NAME the uke!!!
Another option is to consider creating a "Donors Choose" website.
Guitar Center also has grants for teachers: See their website to apply for a grant for ukuleles!
Q: How do you convince the administration that ukes are a good investment?
R: I found administrators are often swayed by numbers, the support of professional literature, and by personal experience. Consider the number of ukuleles you might need for a school set, how many students will have the opportunity to play them within a year, and then use simple math. For instance, if you have 3 classes of 20 fifth graders each...that's 60 students. BUT...you're also going to introduce the ukes to your 4th graders in the two months of school (May and June) after the spring concert is over...that's 60 more students. 120 students in all. Let's say you contacted the Luna company directly (which is what I did for a bulk order of 20) and got a GREAT deal (online $169...through the dealer $99 each)...for a total of approximately $2000. Take that total and divide it by the number of students each year who will use the ukes (120). That's about $17 per student. Cheaper than some of the field trips, right? Along with that sort of math, you can bolster your argument with quotes from articles in Music Educators Journal, General Music Today, and other professional journals to support your project. John Kratus (2007) and others believe that music teachers need to make music learning more relevant for the students we are teaching today. Ukulele is one way of increasing the relevancy of our programs and of helping students discover how they can make music independently as they become adults. Many students who learn instruments associated with ensembles such as band and orchestra struggle to continue after graduation from high school because community music ensembles are not as common and are not as convenient as playing in the school band/orchestra, etc. Social music or vernacular music instruments (like ukuleles) are something they can do on their own. And if you use learning techniques similar to what they might find on the internet (video blogs on YouTube or chord charts on websites), they will have the skills to continue learning on their own.
----Kratus, J. (2007). Music education at the tipping point. Music Educators Journal, 94(2), 42-48. doi:10.1177/002743210709400209
Q: What resources are there for ukulele and orff ensemble?
R: Great question. I don't really know! You'll find some interesting things when you Google "ukulele ensemble." I'm the type of teacher that would take existing materials and adapt them for my purposes. I could see ukes being used to play chords to accompany orff arrangements.
Let's take the tune from "Best Day of My Life."
Students could play the solo picking part (originally on uke in the recording) on soprano xylophone.
Students singing the melody of "Best Day of My Life."
Some could play the chords on soprano uke.
Others could play the chord roots on bass xylophone (and/or if you have them a bass line [funky rhythm on the chord root?] on a baritone uke or guitar).
Others could play rhythmic accompaniment on non-pitched percussion instruments.
See how something like that might work? Though I do not know the teacher in the video I've posted below, this is one example of the type of mixing and matching you could do. The teacher seems to have some students playing the melody of "Frere Jacques" on the ukes (cool idea to pick the melody of a familiar song). Other students are using orff instruments to layer ostinati. There's a part where you can barely hear when the ukes come in again to play the melody over the ostinati. I can see ukuleles joining the other classroom instruments you already have! When you look back at the traditional Orff Volumes, in the back you will find olde tyme pictures of the original orffestras! They had stringed instruments to play continuo parts. Let's help music education continue to evolve!!!
Q: Is there such a thing as a ukulele capo?
R: Sure there is! Though you can use a guitar capo on a ukulele, there are also specially designed capos for ukes if you plan on using it often! I prefer the "spring loaded" capos because they're the easiest to use over the clap capos (must be screwed in) or the elastic capos (always managed to snap myself with that one). Something like a Neewer® Brown Single-handed Specially Designed For Ukulele, Banjo, and Mandolin Capo might work well because one part is rounded to fit the neck of the instrument.
Q: Is there one method book in particular you've found works really well?
R: I really like Robin Giebelhausen's book for teachers, "Ukulele for Music Teachers" in iBook format.
Extremely useful and user-friendly book for music teachers and beginning uke players! The iBook format includes gifs and links for video and audio examples and PDFs of just about everything you could need. These learning supports enable musical independence for students, and could be useful for teachers who would like to use a flipped-classroom format. Robin also provides pedagogical suggestions and teaching strategies teachers might consider when introducing ukulele and supporting struggling students. As if that’s not enough, the book has includes assessments to monitor students’ content knowledge and rating scales to measure students’ progress with performing and improvising. I use this book with the students in my methods classes and with the adults who participate in my community ukulele jam sessions. It’s inspiring and enjoyable.I also like to find tunes that seem relevant to my students and build from there. I also enjoy when students bring in suggestions because they will often work really hard to play tunes they chose, even if there are some challenging chords, strumming patterns, etc.
Q: Can you tell me more about open tuning?
R: Open tuning is an alternative to standard tuning in which you might tune all of the strings so they create a major chord when strummed without any strings pressed down. For example, you could tune to a major chord such as a C by dropping the A string down (from the standard re-entrant tuning) a step. Then you would bar across the third fret to get an F chord (subdominant function - IV) and across the fourth fret to get a G chord (dominant function - V). See this sight for more information (http://ukethingy.wordpress.com/tag/open-tuning/). Open tuning could work with students who have certain special needs, etc. It might be less complicated for certain things, but it's also a bit limited, right? Choices, choices...
Q: What is a typical timetable for learning ukulele?
R: I wish I had a simple answer for this. It all depends on many factors (e.g., the learners previous experience, musical aptitude, how much time you are devoting to the instrument in your class, how much time they are devoting outside of class). I start the classes together and begin with basic stuff (chords and strumming) and then I let them go at their own pace. This is similar to how I do recorder: teach basic notes, set up a recorder karate list of tunes, and then let them work in small groups and individually as I circulate around the room offering scaffolding for those who need extra support and challenges for those who need a push.
Q: Do you use your uke during class when your students aren't using them?
R: Sure! I use my uke to accompany their singing once they have learned a tune. I use it to accompany their improvisations (in the same way I used to use bass Orff bars or piano accompaniment). I figure it's good to model for the students.
Q: Is it better to use fingers to strum or a pick?
R: I like to model both, and I want the students learn to use both. We talk about how the sound is different and when a composer or performer might choose one over the other and for what reasons they might make those choices. Depending on the needs of the student, a pick might be very helpful, or it might add to the challenge. I try to consider the individual students when making those decisions. As far as your instrument goes, the pick is going to be a bit more rough on the nylon strings, so you if you use a pick often, you might find you replace your strings more often.
Q: What grade do you start the ukulele?
R: I typically do begin recorders at the end of third and throughout fourth grade, and I begin ukulele at the end of fourth grade and throughout fifth grade (and beyond). At the end of fourth grade, I introduce it very basically and teach two chords and we play a bunch of 1 and 2 chord tunes. That's it. Then we bring it back in fifth grade. I like to sprinkle it for the group throughout the year, and provide challenges for students who are really interested. I also think it's interesting to have mixed age concerts where the older students accompany the singing of the younger students. Or the fifth graders use the ukes to accompany the fourth graders who are playing recorder. It's a great way to get the younger students interested in what they will be doing in future grades.
Q: What are some suggestions for students with visual impairments?
R: Here are some ideas.
Does the uke the students use have raised frets? That's one thing that might help them feel the movement down the neck. Some of them do not. The ukes like the Lunas we use for Uke Jam have metal frets...that makes it easier to feel the movement from one fret to the next.
3-d dots (that crafters use when making cards and scrapbooking) might be helpful. You could put them on the neck for certain chords at a time...just C and then F until they've learned those chords and the feel of where they are...then add dots for G7...That might help the student figure out what fret, he/she is feeling.
You could create 3x5 cards (same size dimensions as the uke) with the 3D dots as well for each chord. Braille for the name of the chord on top...use hot glue to create "strings" and pipe cleaners for the frets (or vise versa) and then put a dot (like a button or something) for where they are supposed to place their fingers.
Kim Mancino (Music Therapy Professor at Fredonia) also suggests the following:
Open tune so all are barred chords
Raised felt dots or bunion pads or stickers placed at the edge of each fret so they can be located by sliding thumb/ fingers along the edge
If open tune, still use the dots.
Play in songs with chords that are close so that once the student finds the first chord, the others fall easily with minimal finger changes until they are comfortable and confident and then intro chords requiring more movement. Even perhaps alternative chords/ fingerings.
Also, ask the student for ideas! Students often know their needs the best. And of course, there are things like peer buddies.
If the frustration levels are really high, what about an Autoharp? Could still learn strum patterns. Keys would be important as to the placement of the chord bars. This would be my last resort. If it was chosen, I would encourage other students to also play the Autoharp so it isn't negative for the student.
Q: Do you do melodies with your students?
R: I typically focus on the ukulele as a chord instrument for accompaniment, but I think it's a great job to have the students learn to play simple melodies on the instruments as well. Why not use the tunes they learned on recorder and transfer them over to the uke. They don't have to be in the same keys (especially if you used solfege when teaching them on recorder...they transfer rather easily). Short 3 note exercises are also helpful to build up skill. Picking chord root melodies (bass lines) is also a great way of introducing picking.
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