I have a long list of things to do on my ’Bucket List’ – one being to learn an instrument. I played the piano when I was younger but stopped when we moved house and had to sell the piano.
As part of our non-core subjects this term I have been studying History, Religion and Music.
So, when in our third Music lesson, Bob, our lecturer instructed us to open a little cardboard box each, I was very excited to see that we would be learning to play the ukulele. From school experiences, I have seen children playing this instrument and was really impressed with their ability.
I was sceptical as to how much we would be able to learn about how to play the ukulele in a two hour session, but by the end of it, we had written our own song and played popular songs such as “When the Saints” and “Jingle Bells”.
The great thing about the ukulele is that thousands of songs can be played with just three chords. We began by learning three simple chords and played these together to make a tune. We then found that we were picking up new chords and following the music as if we had been playing the instrument for weeks, rather than just the one hour!
When playing, it is easy to see why schools invest in the ukes – they are cheap (around £12-15) and easy to learn. Once a few chords are learned then full songs can be played.
I have asked for a Uke for Christmas and hopefully will enter the New Year with a few more chords under my belt and the ability to play more songs!
It would be interesting to hear from any other teachers to have experienced the use of ukuleles in schools and how it has benefited the school.
Maybe in a few months I’ll upload a video here of me playing! But for now, have a look at how good this 8 year old is!! ....
