3 Chords and a Uke: Beginning Ukulele
What insect has fewer than six legs and and sings without rubbing its wings? The ukulele! Called a "jumping flea" by the Hawai'ians who developed the instrument in the 18th century for the way players' fingers hopped around the four strings on the tiny fretboard, the ukulele has developed dedicated followings from all kinds of musical backgrounds. It's also one of the most accessible string instruments, kind to small hands, soft fingers and tight budgets.
In this workshop we'll work on the first building blocks of ukulele playing, including some basic chords and strumming patterns presented through learning some basic songs. We'll also look at tuning and some of the useful uke resources available online, and explore the wide range of songs that can be played with the same three chords (C, F, G7). We'll spend the last part of the session hanging out and playing together!
We will have a limited number of ukes (GCEA tuning: soprano, concert, tenor) available for use. Please bring one if you have access to one, so we can make the workshop available to as many people as possible.
details
- when: sunday, april 17th, 2011, from 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
- to attend: Please see the info page for more information on attending any of the workshops at the 2011 Boston Skillshare.
- facilitated by: Grace
lesson plan
-Brief overview of the anatomy, taxonomy and geneology of the ukulele
-First chords that you can play with one finger - how to fret, how to strum, what are chords and how are they different from notes?
-How to read and interpret chord diagrams
-Adding more fingers to the mix
-C, F, G7: Oh, the places you'll go
-Is it in tune? Tuning to yourself vs. to concert pitch
-Internet resources: chord sheets, tuners, tutorials
-We play and sing together!
facilitator experience
Casual uke player for several years, facilitator for school ukulele club (k-8 students, parents and staff) which includes many first-time musicians.
intended audience
Anyone with interest in playing ukulele - all ages encouraged! No ukulele or other musical background required.