Back in 2005 I brought a Roy Smeck ukulele to school. Kids were intrigued and wanted to try to play it themselves. The sound was pretty cool with just a few simple chords. Within a few weeks kids had bought their own Mahalo ukes and started to really enjoy playing.
Since that first ukulele group the Cal-Mum Uke club has had about forty students join-up every year. It has been a joy to teach in a school that is filled with the plinkety-plunk of the uke music.
One of the coolest little songs written for ukulele came from the effort of Leo Daquioag of the Music for Life Foundation and Jake Shimabukuro. Back in 2011 Leo and Jake headlined the effort to break the Guinness Book of Records for largest ensemble of ukulele players playing a specific piece of music. Jake wrote the music for the song that only requires three fingers to play. Instruction of how to play the song and videos are on the Go For Da Record site. Students from Iliahi Elementary School in Wahiawa wrote the song that goes with the music.
Here are students at Cal-Mum Elementary School performing the song at 2012 Christmas Concert.
Okay, "Crazy G" has a 20s or 30s sound, but I can't seem to find out where it came from. I can't say I really did any exhaustive research - I tend to peter-out at about 5 minutes on most of my Google searches, so there may be some information.
Anyway, this is a quick tutorial I took on my iPhone of our own Mr. T. playing a snippet of Crazy G. I think kids would love to play it as it picks up the speed of a runaway train.
I worked on restoring my 1920s Supertone soprano during the winter. I rebuilt one of the braces and replaced the bridge back plate and french polished it with a dark shellac. It is really pretty, but I've wanted a tenor uke for a while and asked my sister-in-law Lisa if she would like to trade for her Bushman tenor.
Video of finished Supertone:
Well, Tom Toyama found us a great little tune with "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars. It was such a catchy sweet tune that we all latched onto it and loved playing it. Tom's wife was in the audience and caught the concert on video. We will have to search again next year for another viral tune that will make kids want to practice, practice, practice...
Here is the ukulele club playing and singing along with our 4th and 5th grade chorus.
Never hurts to have a good drummer...
Here's a fun song that our elementary school will be playing in our annual Spring Concert. This video has been a huge help for our ukulele kids while trying to practice the song.
The video can be found on YouTube at:
331 Guitar Club - a cool YouTube channel that can be used by ukulele players. 331 Guitar Club is a middle school guitar club in the Bronx. This site features moving chord charts that they use to learn and master new songs.
Here is a great little video showing how to play "I'm Yours" on the uke. Kids (and I) love to play this sweet little tune.
The band director at our school has created a piece that has really been a hit with the ukulele club kids. It is a beautiful number that is very fun to play, and introduces many kids to a style of music with which they have had little exposure.
Here is the tutorial video by Tom:
The plucking pattern is 1st and 3rd once followed by the 2nd and 4th twice
Well, the old Supertone has been hanging on the wall for a couple years now, and I though I'd better do something with it - so it would stop looking at me. It does have a few problems to overcome before it will be playable.
I've been trying to think of a way to get a song with the old "bouncing ball" video so kids could play along and not loose their place. I think I came close by capturing multiple images of a Word document with chords and words. I used the free software of Chordette to create the chords, and some screen capture software to take pictures of the document. Then I dumped them in the correct order into Movie Maker. An hour later... or was it two hours...? Well, here is the song, I Wanna Go To Hawai'i:
Easy to play along :)
Starting back with the Cal-Mum Ukulele Club this last week and decided I needed a practice book with companion videos. I'm not getting as much contact time with the club members, so I'm putting up the videos and searching for those self-starters to help get the uke tunes rolling.
Life is busy, and I have to capture these videos in one take - as you can see.
Oh, also, I switched the blog format back to the original - much easier to edit.
Well, for my taste she has done it again. Carol Anne has created a dreamy uke song that is in the same realm as her earlier song "I'll be Seeing You". This one is called "The Humming Song". I know it wouldn't be a song for everyone, but I watch the video transfixed on the visual imagery as the song lulls me into the past - a nostalgia for a time I never knew and people I've never met.
More of her music is available at: http://carolannemcgowan.bandcamp.com/
Buzzo (Al Bruno) at Buzzo Music, 106 Main St. Geneseo, NY, is the main supplier for ukuleles for the Cal-Mum Uke Club. He attended SUNY Geneseo from 1967-70 and has operated his music store for over forty years. local people know that Al had a near-death experience on a motorcycle that left him in a coma for nearly two weeks, and that probably changed the course of his life. Prior to this accident he was the greatest wrestler that SUNY Geneseo had ever had and to this day he still holds this honor. (see video of Al below receiving wrestling honor)
Fun final song for the end of elementary school for these wonderful 5th grade uke club kids. These song that have an infectious appeal for students really make practice an easy and enjoyable experience.
I had to go one step further and make the video of the Decemberists' song. This band has very vivid, poetic, and intellectual lyrics in their songs that take the listener on a journey. Whenever a song is copied by someone (me in this instance) it is almost always degraded from its original by any number of degrees. I know that I have, in no possible way added to the beauty of this song, but it is like reciting poetry - it begs to be done. And, so...
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