JMUke @ UREC

Overview 

JMU music education students will engage the community in a ukulele learn and play session. Learners will
experience the basics of ukulele playing. After acquiring basic skills, beginner learners and music education
students will play and sing through popular songs together.

Rationale 

This event engages members of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities to participate in a music-making
experience open to all. Not only will these participants get to learn the basics of ukulele playing, but these
individuals will have the opportunity to make music in a positive and supportive environment, regardless of
ability. The event also allows students to make music in a live setting.

I Can Statements (learning goals) 

VA 1.13 I can analyze music.

- I can identify and classify the timbres of pitched and nonpitched instruments by sounds.
- I can differentiate vocal and instrumental music.
- I can distinguish between accompanied and unaccompanied vocal music.
- I can recognize differences in melodic and rhythmic patterns and dynamics.

VA 1.15 I can demonstrate manners and teamwork that contribute to success in the music classroom.

VA 2.13 I can explain how music expresses ideas, experiences, and feelings.

VA 6.2 I can perform a varied repertoire of music.

- I can demonstrate acceptable performance behaviors.
- I can follow dynamic and tempo markings.
- I can sing and play music in unison and simple harmony.

VA 5.3 I can play a variety of pitched and nonpitched instruments alone and with others.
- I can play music of increasing difficulty.
- I can play melodies and accompaniments of increasing difficulty.
- I can play with expression.
- I can demonstrate proper playing techniques.

Materials 

● Ukuleles
● Projector with screen
● Laptop with Google slides/powerpoint
● Handouts
● Mics
● Amps
● Speakers
Detailed Process 

*(Repeat anything when necessary)

2 min *(Anytime a new learner shows up, put them in an existing small group after going over
basics with them)
Introductions:
- Have a song already playing with uke tabs on the screens
- “Welcome everyone, think of this as a break for your body and your mind, so
please relax and unwind with us”
- “We will be learning how to play and sing popular songs, and how to read uke tabs
so you can learn any song, anywhere”
- “Can we have everyone go around and tell us your name, why you are at UREC
today, and if you have ever played an instrument/sang before”
3 min Parts of the Ukulele/how to hold:
- “Does anyone know the names of the parts of the instruments”?
- “Tuners, neck, frets, strings, body, sound hole, bridge”
- “Can anyone demonstrate how you hold the ukulele?”
- “Just like when you workout, we want to make sure your body is nice and relaxed to
prevent injuries”
- “Let’s hear everyone strum over their sound holes/track lanes!”
- Do a few times so learners can audiate what it sounds like
- Go over fingerings
- “1 is for index, 2 is for middle, 3 is for ring, and 4 is for pinkey”
3 min Reading chord charts:
- “Has anyone seen these images before? What do they mean”
- Go over the names of the strings and fingerings (1, 2, 3, 4)
- Play open strings (G, C, E, G)
- Go over strum patterns ( up vs. down)
18 min - Strum patterns on a C chord (d d d d) (u u u u) (d u d u) (d d u d)
Songs:
- Set up learners in small groups of 3-4, they will help eachother out
- Try to pair 1 experienced player/singer with each group
- Explain that these groups will help each learner on a more intimate level
- Go through the songs on slides while playing the corresponding music
3 min - Teacher goes around and answers questions and plays with them
Outros:
- Visit each small group and discuss with them
- Teach says: A few things they thought they did well/could improve
- Learners say: a few things they thought they did well/could improve
- Ask for specifics (fingering, chord changing, quality of sound,
balance, etc.)

Assessments 

Develop specific assessment mechanisms to help you chart the growth of individual students related to each
specific learning goal (I can statement). Actually make some assessments in these forms:
● Checklists
 ○ __: The student can hold the ukulele in a functional way that allows them to play all the chords
uninhibited
○ __: The student can play the chords in the songs used for the event
○ __: The student can maintain a steady strumming pattern
○ __: The student can sing while playing the ukulele
● Rubrics
○ 1/5: Student cannot hold the ukulele correctly and cannot strum or play chords. They have
difficulty singing a melody while playing.
○ 2/5: Student can hold the ukulele somewhat correctly (with noticeable issues) and can strum
and play some chords some of the time. They can sometimes sing a melody while playing.
○ 3/5: Student can hold the ukulele mostly correctly and can strum and play chords some of the
time. They can usually sing a melody while playing, but sometimes have issues with
steadiness.
○ 4/5: Student can hold the ukulele correctly and can strum and play chords most of the time.
They can almost always sing a melody while playing.
○ 5/5: Student holds the ukulele correctly and can strum and play chords almost all of the time.
They can always sing a melody while playing.
● Self-assessments
○ Ask students if they think they learned something new, if they had fun, and their overall
experience, answering on a scale of one to five. Students will also be given a link to a survey
they can fill out to provide feedback on the activity.
● Performance assessments with clear criteria for how you are assessing.
● Teachers will be watching students play the instruments, and teachers will track the progress of their
students as they learn new chords and become familiar with fingerings and strumming patterns.
Teachers will mentally assess students on their improvements throughout the 30 minute teaching
session. .

Extensions: 

● Adding new chords

● “Sightreading” new songs that the participants may choose
● Learning new strumming patterns to fit different styles of different songs

Adaptations 

Size Since this event is at UREC there most likely won’t be a problem with small finger size
(because adults are usually fully developed physically), but people with larger fingers and
hands might have a problem and the best way to help them is to guide their hands and
show them the best way to hold the ukulele and where to place the fingers on the strings.
But this adaptation is not limited to that, everyone has different sized hands and fingers.

Color Some learners react to colors better than numbers. If this is the case, you can place
different color stickers on places of the ukulele so that they know where to place their
hands and fingers.

Pacing If there is a group of learners or an individual learner that isn’t catching up to speed as the
rest of the students, then you can simply solidify each chord of the song until everyone is
on the same page. This is better than one person working with them so the student doesn't
 feel left alone and out of place.

Modality There is always a different way to learn something. With that being said so that the
different learners understand us, we could tell them what to play by showing them on our
own instrument, we could show them on a screen with chord charts, and or we could
simply just tell them what fingers to put where. That way, you could teach them visually,
auditorily, and kinesthetically.