Kai Smith

MUED 273

JMUke Experience Design

Summary

During this JMUke experience, I will be teaching my students the 4 basic chords on Ukulele

which may or may not be used in the succeeding the jam session. I will also be teaching my students the

different ways to strum a Ukulele and different grooves that the students could play.

Rationale

Not only is this experience going to help my students with the succeeding jam session which my

colleagues will coordinate, but this will build the foundation on top of which my students can begin to

explore the world of Ukulele and basic improvisations.

Objectives

The students will learn the basics of how to hold the Ukulele and the different ways in which one can

strum.

The students will learn how to strum simple rhythms with all open strings.

The students will learn to play the C, F, G, and Am chords.

Standards

MU:Pr4.2.1 With limited guidance, demonstrate knowledge of music concepts (such as beat and melodic

contour ) in music from a variety of cultures selected for performance. When analyzing selected music, read

and perform rhythmic patterns using iconic or standard notation.

MU:Pr4.3.1 Demonstrate and describe musics expressive qualities (such as dynamics and tempo).

Materials

On top of having a Ukulele, I plan on making visual aids with the chord tablature written on them

so that I can hold up in front of the students.

Detailed Process

1. To start off the experience, I plan on getting the students attention by slowly strumming the Ukulele and

then placing the Ukulele on my head. After my students have quieted down and have placed their Ukuleles

on their heads, I will introduce myself and welcome all of them to the JMUke experience. I will then tell the

students about we will be doing and hoping to accomplish by the end of the night.
 2. To ensure that all the Ukuleles are in tune, I will pluck each of the strings on my Ukulele then have all the

students go down the line playing hot potato as they pluck their strings. I will be listening to each students

pluck to hear whether or not their instruments are in tune or not. If a students instrument is found to be out

of tune, I will take the time to make sure the instrument is as close to in tune as it can be.

3. After the class finished playing hot potato, I will then begin to do a simple tati-tati call-and-response with

the students without the Ukulele. After a couple reiterations of the call-and-response, I will begin another

call-and-response exercise but with the open strings of the Ukulele.

4. After the call-and-response exercise on the open strings of the Ukulele, I will begin to the teach the students

the 4 chords. Initially, I will teach the chords very slowly so that every student can grasp the general

concepts and get faster the more chords we learn. For every chord, I will be holding up the tablature for the

chord for the entire class to see. Then, I will be instructing them where to put each of the fingers to play the

chord. Shortly after that, I will do another call-and-response while holding out that chord. These steps will

repeat until the 4 chords are learned.

5. If more time allows, I will practice transitioning between two chords at a time with the students by doing

another simple 4 beat call-and-response exercise.

Assessment

Throughout this experience, I will be able to informally assess my students by watching and

listening to their responses to my instruction. If need be, I can play hot potato with the different chords as

well.

Adaptions

For this experience, I plan on making my tablature color coded, and bolded so that students who

are further away can see it.