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1 Starter Kit compliments of Box 263,, Crystal Lake Media. All Rights Reserved. v.1.3

2 Top Ten Reasons to Start a Ukulele Program 1. It s inexpensive The need for music and art in our schools has never been greater. A ukulele program is a proven and inexpensive way to explore the world of music with your students. 2. It s portable The ukulele can go everywhere with your students. On camping trips, field trips, vacations and, most importantly, back-and-forth easily between home and school. 3. It has a pleasant, mellow sound The ukulele has a pleasant, mellow sound that fits into any social situation. This means your students have literally every opportunity to practise and explore the instrument. 4. It s a solo instrument Your students will learn to play melody, harmony, and rhythm all at once on a single instrument! In other words, the ukulele is a self-sufficient musical tool. 5. It s an ensemble instrument A class full of ukulele students can be treated as an "orchestra" where many different parts work hand-in-hand toward a common musical goal. 6. It s an ideal tool for ear training A method like Ukulele in the Classroom gives students concrete strategies for figuring out songs even when they don't have printed music. 7. It s a great way to learn music theory The ukulele takes abstract concepts like harmony, voice-leading, and intervals and makes them tangible and hands-on. 8. It s multicultural The Ukulele in the Classroom series includes music from over twenty world cultures from America to Asia to the Middle East. This reflects the cultural diversity in today s classrooms. 9. You can sing and play at the same time Learning to sing and strum simultaneously is a skill that your students will cherish long after they leave your class. 10. It s fun! The ukulele has a well-deserved reputation for making music fun. Students report that, years later, they're still playing ukulele and enjoying music.

3 Free Stuff Starting on a Shoestring Starting a ukulele program on a shoestring budget? Here are five free resources to get you going: 1. Free flashcards, quizzes, lesson plan templates and more: /resources.htm 2. A free lesson from each of the Ukulele in the Classroom books: 3. A free lesson from Play Ukulele Today: The Quickstart Guide for Everyone: /playukuleletoday 4. A free lesson from the supplementary repertoire collection Great Popular Songs: /greatpopularsongs 5. Free arrangements (complete with teaching guides) are published in every issue of Ukulele Yes!, the Ukulele Teacher's ezine: Latest issue: Archived issues: Need to talk? Join the discussion with other ukulele teachers at the Ukulele in the Classroom online forum (/yabb/yabb.pl). Ask questions and post comments; learn from others and share your stories. Forum registration is... you guessed it: completely free. For more information on these and other resources, visit

4 What Now? Five Steps to Success Step 1: Learn to play. Learn to play well enough that you can inspire your students. Bring your ukulele to school and play for your class. Become the ukulele teacher at your school. Continue to develop your own skill through private study, books, online resources, DVDs, and workshops. Step 2: Do your homework. Learn about ukulele teaching strategies. Read Ukulele Yes! and get a copy of a Ukulele in the Classroom Teacher Edition book (the preface is full of information on teaching techniques and approaches). Read the Frequently Asked Questions page at /faq.htm. Step 3: Meet with your school administrator and/or parent advisory group. Use the material in this package to demonstrate the value of a ukulele program. Make it known that the ukulele is a fun, proven vehicle for music and that it has been used successfully in North American schools for over 40 years. Ask for funding to help get your program off the ground. Every little bit helps. What isn t covered by these funds can be supplemented by fundraising activities, parents, and/or students themselves. When a student works to raise money to buy his or her own ukulele, he or she will take better care of the instrument and have a greater sense of pride in it. Step 4: Inform and educate parents. Hold a parent meeting and give a short, to-the-point pitch for the program. It would be a great idea to share some good-quality ukulele recordings. Answer questions about the program (usually these will centre around costs and time commitment). Make sure parents understand their role in the program: to provide a supportive home environment and to help their child to establish a practise routine. Consider ending the meeting with a sing-a-long. Follow up with a letter to parents outlining the ukulele program. A sample letter which can be altered to suit your situation can be found at (scroll down to find links). Step 5: Purchase instruments and teaching materials. Every student must have a ukulele and a method book. A companion CD that includes recordings of all the repertoire is also highly recommended for class use and home study. We recommend the following starter materials: Ukuleles: Empire Music ( or Kala Ukuleles ( Method Books: Play Ukulele Today! - The Quickstart Guide for Everyone (visit /playukuleletoday for more information) Ukulele in the Classroom Book 1 (/books.htm) Note: discounted class sets are available.

5 The Ukulele in the Classroom Story Fifty Years in the Making... Is there an instrument that can be used to foster music literacy in classroom settings that is fun to play, inexpensive, portable, and sounds good in any style of music? This was the question that faced a young J. Chalmers Doane in Doane, then newlyappointed Director of Music Education in Halifax, Nova Scotia, found his answer in that chronically underestimated instrument of Hawaiian fame and European ancestry, the ukulele. The Canadian school ukulele program was born and the rest, as they say, is history. Fast-forward forty years. Canadian virtuoso James Hill a student of the Doane ukulele program has emerged as one of the world s foremost masters of the instrument, his new and dynamic approach to the ukulele inspiring ukulele enthusiasts, professional musicians, music educators, ukulele teachers, and a host of others to take a serious look at a fun instrument! Passionate about sharing the gift of music with a new generation of students, James envisioned a method that would build on the foundation laid by the Doane ukulele program, that would be fun from day one and that would open doors for students wishing to pursue music further. Naturally, he sought the benefit of Chalmers experience and together they began to develop Ukulele in the Classroom, a new and exciting resource for music teachers everywhere. The result is a sequential, performance-based ukulele method through which students explore elements of music including melody, harmony, rhythm, form, tempo, dynamics, and tone. Areas of skill include singing, picking, strumming, ear training, sight-reading, improvising, music theory, harmonizing, arranging, and more. In many ways the Ukulele in the Classroom series melds the lessons of the past with a vision for the future, infusing the wisdom of elders with the creative energy of youth. James and Chalmers share not only a love of the ukulele and of teaching, but also a passion for developing and supporting music literacy in schools and other learning environments; they warmly invite you to join them in their new approach to Ukulele in the Classroom. It s fun. It works. It s music literacy... the ukulele way! It makes no difference what instrument you choose recorder, trumpet, piano, bass, guitar, mandolin; none can compare with the ukulele as a means of music education in our schools. J. Chalmers Doane Teacher s Guide to Classroom Ukulele, 1977

6 Price List Play Ukulele Today! The Quickstart Guide For Everyone By James Hill & J. Chalmers Doane 10 essential lessons for beginners For self-study and classroom use 100% high-4 th -string friendly Includes singing, picking, strumming and more! Learn to play ear and by note All songs transcribed with chord symbols, notation, and lyrics Cost: $6.98 ea. Ukulele in the Classroom Student Edition Books By James Hill & J. Chalmers Doane Dozens of fun lessons Tons of creative exercises Over 25 engaging arrangements including duets and trios 100% high-4 th -string friendly Learn to play ear and by note Includes singing, strumming, picking, note reading and more Cost: $12.98 $14.98 ea. (Order a class set and save!) Ukulele in the Classroom Teacher Edition Books By James Hill & J. Chalmers Doane In-depth preface key teaching points & strategies for every lesson suggested arrangements expected learning outcomes follow-up questions and enrichment-level activities answer keys and much more Cost: $16.98 $18.98 ea. Companion CDs are also available and are highly recommended. All books and CDs are available in your choice of C6 (g, c, e, a) or D6 (a, d, f#, b) tuning. Online ordering is fast, easy, and secure at /catalog.

7 Testimonials What People Are Saying About the Ukulele in the Classroom Method Book Series You have succeeded in providing a a road map to comprehensive musicianship for a new generation of students. Bravo! Warren Dobson, M. Ed, Author of U for Ukulele The series as a whole is impressive. It s innovative, it s imaginative and it shows the results of careful editing. Dr. Cam Trowsdale, Professor Emeritus of Visual and Performing Arts in Education University of British Columbia If you are a teacher who wants to introduce music to your class, there is no better resource than this! Marianne, Music Teacher Your teaching methods are spot-on for pupil interest, motivation and involvement. Well done! Sven, Music Teacher Your method provides me with a structured approach that is challenging and sound pedagogically. Joseph, Adult Learner Thank you for the resources; they arrived and they are super! The kids are enjoying the songs immensely and the recordings are great. Jessica, Music Teacher Ukulele was a blast! I would love to do it again any day. So much fun! Brit, Grade 5 Student

8 Frequently Asked Questions At what age should students start using the Ukulele in the Classroom books? Ages 8 and up. The Ukulele in the Classroom series contains a wealth of repertoire and exercises for ukulele students at any stage of their musical development. The material can be used in a wide variety of learning environments including in-school music classes, after-school interest groups, summer camps, adult ensembles, seniors homes, hospitals, private lessons, and music academies / conservatories. How many students should I be teaching at once? An experienced teacher can handle a class of 30 students and stay on-task while making learning fun and exciting. Remember, part of the psychology of the classroom approach depends on student politics and the way they wish to be perceived by their peers. In other words, a large class can be a good thing! I have a mix of beginner, intermediate, and advanced students in a single class. What should I do to keep everyone interested? Be prepared and know your material. That s the best way to keep all students involved at a level consistent with their abilities. Ukulele in the Classroom exercises and arrangements are carefully tailored to accommodate many levels of skill simultaneously. Many opportunities for differentiated instruction are embedded throughout the Student Editions and are discussed in detail in the Teacher Editions. How fast should my class be progressing? It depends. There are many factors including the amount of class time per week, the age of your students, your students musical background, your own familiarity with the lesson material, and so on. That said, a consistent effort in the classroom and at home will see most classes complete Ukulele in the Classroom Book 1 in 6 8 months. That s around one song or arrangement per week. I m a teacher who s just starting a ukulele program. Can you recommend a good starter model ukulele? For everyday classroom use by beginners, we recommend the Empire Music Classic Concert ukulele (model CL500), a well-made uke with a good sound for under $ There s also a soprano model (model E755T) which has a smaller sound but which may be a better fit for very small hands. Both ukes are available with machine heads (geared tuning pegs); these are more precise but also more difficult to replace if they break. Cases are a must. Visit for ordering information. For answers to many more frequently asked questions please visit /faq.htm

9 Teacher Resources & Support Join a Caring Community of Like-minded Educators Ukulele Yes! - The Ukulele Teacher s ezine Established in 1976 as an an Association to promote the teaching and enjoyment of music, Ukulele Yes! became an international network of ukulele teachers with the common goal of fostering musicianship through ukulele instruction. Today, Ukulele Yes! is a quarterly on-line magazine that carries on the tradition of it s namesake: to promote the teaching and enjoyment of music. The quarterly publication offers ukulele teachers and enthusiasts a steady diet of useful articles, new arrangements, interviews, and much more. Subscription is free! Ukulele in the Classroom Online Forum /yabb/yabb.pl Support for ukulele teachers is offered seven-days-a-week through the Ukulele in the Classroom online discussion forum. Just go to our website and click on Forum. Join the discussion, ask questions, and share your success stories with others! Registration is free! Ukulele in the Classroom Resource Page /resources.htm Supplementary resources including flashcards, quizzes, lesson plan templates and more are available for download from our Resources page. All downloads are in print-friendly PDF format. Resource downloads are free! For more information on these and other resources, visit

10 Teacher Certification Program Taking Your Teaching to the Next Level The James Hill Ukulele Initiative Teacher Certification Program is the first of its kind: a comprehensive, ground-breaking training program for ukulele teachers. The JHUI Teacher Certification program offers interested teachers and individuals an opportunity to expand and hone their music teaching skills through the James Hill Ukulele Method (at the core of which is Ukulele in the Classroom method book series). Becoming a certified ukulele teacher is a way for classroom educators, music specialists, volunteers and private instructors to take their ukulele teaching skills to the next level. It's also a way to provide tangible evidence (to employers and students, for example) of an ability to use the ukulele as a platform for a comprehensive music literacy program. Visit /certification to learn more about the certification process. Here's what certification candidates are saying about the JHUI Teacher Certification program: "I really see the potential of the ukulele as a teaching instrument. [Certification is] a great way to get more techniques for teaching." - Eve "The best part was realizing more fully the huge body of work, experience, and expertise that has gone into the creation of this program, and knowing that this body of work is there to support me in my ukulele teaching." - Jonathan "Everything was great... James is a master teacher and kept me engaged the whole time. " - Caroline "My favourite part is seeing James in action. You get a little bit of James through the book but seeing that come to life - the way he actually teaches and the little tips he gives - it's really inspirational." - Lauren