The Uke and I
I had never given the ukulele much serious consideration. I was after all a Classical Guitarist and couldn’t be bothered with such a lowly instrument. Gawd! What a pompous dork!
About twenty years ago I was approached by two college students who asked if I could teach them how to play ukulele. They were going to be in a sorority sketch at the end of the school year and they wanted to play and sing a song. Of course being who I was at the time I insisted that they learn to read music for the instrument. So they did (sort of) and in spite of my efforts they learned the chords they needed and ultimately performed in the sketch. Honestly I didn’t know much more than they did and was learning at the same time as they, except I managed to stay about two lessons ahead of them.
Then about ten years ago I was asked if I would be willing to teach a beginning class at Marshall Music (where I taught) and agreed. The class never materialized but the opportunity wasn’t wasted on me. I began to realize that the uke offered the general public the chance to play and enjoy music on a very different level than what I was offering. I no longer felt the need to create virtuosos (virtuosi?), but instead just to create a fun atmosphere.
During that time I happened to bump into several of my former adult students. Although they enjoyed playing the guitar they were no longer able. Usually it was because of some physical ailment, but also because they had many other interests and just didn’t want to devote that much daily time to playing. So they switched to the ukulele. They learned a few easy chords that didn’t hurt their hands and didn’t need a lot of practice time to maintain. Several joined some adult groups where they strummed and sang songs with other, like-minded folks and had fun. The stories of their escapades weren’t lost on me.
When the pandemic hit I thought it might be a nice time to offer ukulele lessons online. I also decided that I would offer the lessons to young children. They are more likely to enjoy and accept online lessons than their parents or grandparents. Also, because it’s online, I changed the frequency to two 15 minute lessons each week instead of a single half hour lesson. I also wrote the method which did not involve note reading and was designed to be used for approximately six weeks.
In spite of the fact that I don’t market these things very well at all, it was a success. All of the students wanted to continue beyond the initial six weeks and I ended up writing a follow-up book of songs and later I wrote a method that taught note reading.
As is the way of young children and their families, most of these kids quit lessons soon after the Covid restrictions began to lift. But a few remain, and as I was teaching them this week I was struck by how much laughter there was in the lesson. The joy of playing music mingled with the joy of learning new stuff is a delight to be a part of.
So I continue. Last year I created a beginning uke course for adults that can be downloaded and learned at the individuals leisure. I also gave equal inclusion on my Patreon page so that those who play can have additional tunes to learn. I will also use this as a platform to reintroduce old folk songs and children’s tunes because much of this is being lost due to neglect. Perhaps I’m tilting at windmills, but I’m having a lot of fun doing it. In addition, it gives me purpose…..a reason to get up in the morning and keep going. Besides, I’ve always been a little tilted.
