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Which Ukulele Method Should I Use?

There are many options for learning ukulele, such as a great ukulele method, online courses, apps, etc.  But some curriculum options and supplements specialize in comprehensive applications for classroom teaching. Here are some great options for teaching ukulele in your classroom:

Essential Elements for Ukulele Series

by Marty Gross

A Method with Audio Access

Hal Leonard applies the same concepts featured in their proven Essential Elements series for Ukulele.  This method begins with basic chords and strumming patterns for immediate student gratification.  Note reading, theory, and some advanced techniques are introduced later to round out the essentials of playing.  There is a large selection of recognizable folk and popular songs as well. Examples include Home on the Range, Hound Dog, La Bamba, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, The Rainbow Connection, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and much more!  This method also includes an access code for audio files in place of a CD.  Can be used as a resource to brush up your skills, to have as a reference for their classroom, or for each student to use for practice.

Here is a link to the publisher’s site with an in-depth video summary from the author

Book 2 of Essential Elements is available with more advanced strumming options and fingerpicking techniques.

Ukuleles on Board! Play and Sing Songs in the Music Class

by Marty Gross and Sally Haines

Enhanced with Digital Lessons, Step-by-Step Projectable Lesson Slide

Ukuleles on Board! is a collection of sequential lessons that illustrate how teachers can use ukuleles along with other common classroom resources to create engaging, robust musical activities for students. Examples are provided for using ukuleles together with Orff instruments, recorders, a variety of percussion and even jug band instruments. Each unit includes digital access to step-by-step projectable lesson slides so you can project all the visual cues your students will need. In addition to being easy to learn and fun, the folk songs used throughout the book provide students with cultural and historical connections. The activities and concepts are based on the National Standards for Music Education. This is a valuable guide to using ukuleles to support and enhance the music curriculum in your school. Songs include: Are You Sleeping? (Frère Jacques!), Michael Finnegan, Buffalo Gals, Joe Turner Blues, Shalom Chaverim, I Love the Mountains, Little ‘Liza Jane, Hambone, One Bottle of Pop, Pay Me My Money Down, Let Us Chase the Squirrel, Go Tell Aunt Rhody, and Old Joe Clark.  (Gr. 2-5)

Uke Can Do It! Developing Your School Ukulele Program

by Philip Tamberino

Classroom Instruction Guidebook

This ukulele method covers practical classroom applications for learning music theory, ear training, composition, popular and contemporary repertoire, and improvisation. Uke Can Do It provides everything music educators need to develop a ukulele program in their school. This includes a guide for first-time ukulele buyers, beginner instruction on how to play the ukulele, playlists of ukulele music by top performers, strategies for proposing and outfitting a ukulele program, classroom management tips, support for use  with special learners, learning sequences in technique, ideas for classroom use and performance, scales and chord charts with fingering, and more!

Uke Can Do It 2! Classroom Ukulele Method

by Philip Tamberino

Classroom Method

“Uke Can Do It 2!” is a revolutionary beginning method, written with the music classroom in mind. This book combines popular and traditional music to teach the ukulele while developing music literacy. This method begins assuming students have not had any previous lessons on the ukulele. Content provides opportunities to track students’ progress and teachers to reward student’s achievements. Students will learn how to read and write music on the treble staff. This method also provides opportunities to follow chord charts, play by ear, and improvise. Many popular pieces are written and taught in the same keys as their familiar recordings, enabling students to play along. Singing parts use only symbols that have been introduced previously in the method. By encouraging students to develop transferable skills, “Uke Can Do It 2!” can provide an excellent foundation for any lifelong musician!

Easy Ukulele Songs series

by Denise Gagné

Classroom Method/Supplement with Projectable CD, PDFs, and Online Video Links

This collection is part of a series of easy songs for ukulele will have students singing and playing in the first lesson!  The focus is on learning songs to sing and strum.  The first 15 songs are one-chord songs, followed by 15 easy two-chord songs.  Finally, the last two songs use three chords.  The enhanced CD also has projectable PDFs with links to easy pop songs on YouTube that use the same chords, as well as recordings of all songs.  The Easy Ukulele Songs Teacher’s Guide is 48 pages and includes reproducible lyrics pages and enhanced CD.  Student books are also available.  Advance to the next title in the series More Easy Ukulele Songs for even more one, two, and three-chord songs.

Strum It Up (21 Soprano Ukulele Pieces in Orff Style)

by Sandy Lantz and Gretchen Wahlberg

Teacher’s Book and Orchestrations with PDF Files and Online Resources

The Strum It Up ukulele method integrates ukuleles with other classroom instruments and has full Orff-style orchestrations for your Orff music classes.  Students will learn chord progressions, vocabulary, and how to accompany songs and melodies.  The unique timbre of the ukulele supports the child’s singing voice and allows students to hear and sing harmony accurately.

A FREE security code for online PDF files is included, along with lyric sheets (reproducible for student books, or for SMART board applications, videos, and other resource materials.  Movement/dance suggestions, Polynesian instrumental suggestions, Hawaiian Language guide, and Ukulele strumming techniques are also included.

Strum, Strike, Sing & Play: Artfully Adding Ukulele to the General Music Classroom

Supplemental Orchestrations with PDFs of Song Lyrics, Enlarged Chord Charts

This ensemble-based publication introduces students to the ukulele as a versatile instrument capable of spanning multiple musical genres.  The ensembles are appropriate for day to day teaching as well as performances.  The lessons represent a “seed” of an idea with the intention that educators will cultivate the repertoire to fit their environment.  Each lesson can be adapted, changed, or molded to fit your students’ needs.  Includes digital access for visuals.

Ukulele in the Classroom Series

by James Hill and J. Chalmers Doane

Classroom Method with Optional Companion CD

This classroom ukulele method series is a more in-depth and sequential study with 30 lessons including ear training, note reading, rhythm, scale, strumming exercises, and over two dozen vocal and instrumental arrangements.  Includes traditional English, French, Chinese, Hawaiian, African, Chilean, and Canadian songs, as well as arrangements of works by Brahms, Benedict, and Holst.

Individual student books and an advanced Book 2 are available.  The series also offers additional supplemental ensemble repertoire books for planning performances:

Ukulele in the Classroom Book 1

Ukulele in the Classroom Book 1 CD

Ukulele in the Classroom Book 2 and Other Materials

The Complete Ukulele Course for Kids DVD

By Ralph Shaw

DVD Method

As an educator through DVD videos, Ralph Shaw has helped many people of all ages improve their skills on this instrument.  Ralph starts with a lesson on tuning the ukulele and then guides the student through carefully prepared lessons that cover: playing four chords in the key of C, strumming/rhythm techniques, changing keys, playing 4/4 & 3/4 time, and understanding simple transposition.  Students from the Wondertree Learning Centre will demonstrate the songs so you can play along!

This ukulele method includes 15 kid-friendly songs such as He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, When the Saints Go Marching In, Frere Jacques, This Little Light of Mine, Grandfather’s Clock, and more!  Ages 7+

Ukulele Chord Flash Cards (C Tuning)

These ukulele chord cards are eye-catching and easy to read! The set includes 17 flashcards you can use in classes for reminders, games, or reinforcement. Thirteen of the cards have the chord fingering on the front, and chord names printed on the reverse side for easy reference when working with Ukes in class. There are four blank laminated cards so you can show students custom fingerings for seldom-used chords. The cards are 11.5″ (h) x 5″ (w) and are bright green in color, making them easy to read from across a classroom.

Elemental Ukulele: Pathways & Possibilities

By Batislaong, Lorelei Sams, Roger

Elemental Ukulele is a supplement to the Purposeful Pathways core materials. It follows the Purposeful Pathways model, integrating Orff-Schulwerk, Kodály, and eurhythmics.

These 15 active music making lessons for elementary and middle school music classrooms are great for classrooms looking to integrate ukulele playing into their general curriculum. This book can be used with the Purposeful Pathways or as a stand-alone curriculum piece. Printable scores, manipulatives, and other visuals are available as a download with the book.

In summary,  with so many options you can find the best method to best suit the needs of your students, classroom teaching style, and objectives.  For more ideas, contact an educational consultant to see how we can help bring the ukulele to YOUR classroom!

 

Click here to download a PDF of Part 4: Which Ukulele Method Should I Use?

Sam Marchuk

Sam Marchuk

Sam Marchuk formerly served as Education Consultant for West Music specializing in folk instruments and curriculum for the elementary classroom. He has been playing ukulele since 2005 and is an avid collector of vintage and contemporary ukulele models. As an Education Consultant, Sam assisted with the selection and acquisition of instruments and curriculum with teachers across the U.S. Sam has demonstrated the potential of the ukulele at numerous state and national music education conferences, helped with the startup of ukulele programs across the U.S., and has taught beginning ukulele at the annual Strathmore Ukulele and Guitar Summit in Rockville, MD.