Starter uke for a 2.5 year old

supersour_candy

supersour_candy

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I am thinking about starting to teach my 2.5 year old nephew how to play the ukulele. According to my brother he's started to show some interest into playing the instrument with a broken old toy ukulele his cousin has. Basically strumming it on his lap, while "singing" all the 10 words that he knows (cute, I know).

I was thinking about getting either the cheapest ukulele I can find at a music store, or getting one of those Waterman ukes since they look sturdy enough to take a beating.

What do you think? Should I even start teaching him at this age or should I just get him a toy ukulele and try teaching him next year?

Other recommendations are welcome and I appreciate taking the time to read and reply to me :)
 
I say go ahead and get him a uke. What's the difference in starting early to teach him how to read and teaching him how to play? Can't hurt to try!
 
You're going to want a durable ukulele and not spend too much on it. I would suggest either the Makala Dolphin or Shark, or if you can find them, one of the older Ukadelics that had the wood top and plastic shell (Ukadelics are now all plastic, like the Waterman ukuleles). You might even be able to find a decent used version of these hybrid ukuleles on Craigslist or elsewhere...

Barry Maz rated these somewhat highly (gotaukulele.com) and even bought them for his children.
 
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It's a long time since my own children were that young but to me 2 1/2 seems a bit young for any child to be playing much besides percussion instruments - toy ones or pots and pans. That said, in general I don't think any child can be too young to have musical instruments near them and a Uke given now and (kept) on acessable display might well be picked up and played with as a toy soon and then later as a handy and familiar instrument at Primary School - a present that changes its use and is 'grown into' over time.

With that route in mind I think a Shark for a boy and one in his favourite colours. Children like colours, Dolphin / Shark costs are reasonable, they have a good reputation for robustness and similarly a lot of folk say that they sound fine enough with ugraded strings. I suggest some work on the nut to help intonation and ease of fretting, then it just needs to be left hanging on his wall and tuned occasionally. If Mum or Dad were to play his Uke to him then I'm sure that that would be both an example and an encouragement too. However - a big BUT here - children also have a habit not following some, maybe even nearly all, of their parents interests and I've found it wisest to mostly 'roll' with that too.
 
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He is probably too young, but try drop tuning to gceg, he will then only need to bar for a chord. I have done this with 5&6 year olds.
 
I started all my grandkids on First Act (Walmart) or First Act Discovery (T.J. Maxx & Toys R Us) all plastic ukuleles. The Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, and Hello Kitty graphics were engaging and were fun for the kids. All were under $20.

They love tuning them and making up their own songs. Attention span is about 20 minutes, but they do play along with me when I am on my ukulele.

Oldest is now 6, and only now am I considering getting her into a "real" ukulele.

This is the brand of uke that I started on, btw, for about a month until I ordered one from HMS. I still bring my yellow Aloha one with me as a travel uke when I just want one to stuff in a suitcase.
 

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Graham Greenbag said:
It's a long time since my own children were that young but to me 2 1/2 seems a bit young for any child to be playing much besides percussion instruments
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I would see if he has finger dexterity and independence.
 
With a bit of humor intended, where are all those people who always say to buy the best ukulele you can afford as a beginner? :)

Buy the kid a Kamaka HF-3 or a Moore Bettah. That will show that you truly love them. ;)
 
I wonder if putting a ukulele in the hands of a two year old will encourage a life long love of the instrument? That is what we hope will happen by doing it. We want our kids and grand kids to share our passion. But I wonder how many times that really happens?
 
Rllink said:
I wonder if putting a ukulele in the hands of a two year old will encourage a life long love of the instrument? That is what we hope will happen by doing it. We want our kids and grand kids to share our passion. But I wonder how many times that really happens?
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We put a piano in the hands of our oldest daughter when she was 4, but it was too heavy.. :p

Seriously though, we started our children with music early and saw the benefits not just in musical astuteness, but in school work as well. It really does build up the mind! So I say introduce children as early as comfortable to music.
 
Great advice everyone, I really do appreciate it! I will look in to each of your suggestions and recommendations. So far I do think I'm heading towards the direction of getting him a cheap uke to play around with and see how that goes. In a couple of years I'll try to see if he's interested in learning how to play a simple song like the Alphabet or something and then go from there. Anyway thanks again! :)
 
My 5 year old son will strum a little with his right hand but right now he's not really ready to go any further.

One thing that works pretty well is me taking care of fretting the chords and him strumming. He gets a pleasing sound from it and it's something we can do together.
 
I read this as a good reason to get a Ohana Bongolele

I think it's awesome that you are actively trying to get the child engaged in music at such a young age!

I know I had zero musical experience in my childhood. My brother played snare drum in the marching band in high school so he could at least read music to some extent. But I had literally zero. So having started ukulele in my mid-30's, I wish I had learned something (anything really) when I was younger.
 
Rllink said:
I wonder if putting a ukulele in the hands of a two year old will encourage a life long love of the instrument? That is what we hope will happen by doing it. We want our kids and grand kids to share our passion. But I wonder how many times that really happens?
Click to expand...
My daughter has a purple Makala dolphin. She got it for her second birthday and it was the "best" gift because now she could play with me. In the 9 months since, here's what's happened:
She ignores the instrument a lot... until she doesn't....
When she thinks about it, she will bring me a uke, run to get hers, and then we jam on Let It Go, the Hokey Pokey, or whatever. We also scheme to play for her preschool class. Concert details and song lists are discussed at length.
When we are done, she insists that her dolphin be put in my case. (To heck with the KoAloha. The purple Ike needs protecting!)

Rinse and repeat about twice a week for 20 minutes each time. I don't know if it'll turn into a lifelong passion, but it's been an awesome ride so far!
 
ukuleleden said:
We put a piano in the hands of our oldest daughter when she was 4, but it was too heavy.. :p

Seriously though, we started our children with music early and saw the benefits not just in musical astuteness, but in school work as well. It really does build up the mind! So I say introduce children as early as comfortable to music.
Click to expand...

I started both of my kids on piano when they were young. They both hated every minute of it. I fought them do it for a number of years before they wore me down and I let them quit. They are both pretty smart kids, so maybe there is something to that piano playing making smart kids theory. But it sure didn't make them appreciate music. In fact, probably drove them away from it.

derbyhat said:
My daughter has a purple Makala dolphin. She got it for her second birthday and it was the "best" gift because now she could play with me. In the 9 months since, here's what's happened:
She ignores the instrument a lot... until she doesn't....
When she thinks about it, she will bring me a uke, run to get hers, and then we jam on Let It Go, the Hokey Pokey, or whatever. We also scheme to play for her preschool class. Concert details and song lists are discussed at length.
When we are done, she insists that her dolphin be put in my case. (To heck with the KoAloha. The purple Ike needs protecting!)

Rinse and repeat about twice a week for 20 minutes each time. I don't know if it'll turn into a lifelong passion, but it's been an awesome ride so far!
Click to expand...
A year ago I would have scoffed if I heard that someone suggested getting a two and a half year old to play the ukulele. Now I'm a grand dad and I set my nine month old grand daughter on my lap when I play and try to get her to do something. Actually, she does respond to it. She bangs her hand on the top of the uke and grabs the strings with her other hand. She also sings, but I can't tell what she is singing. We started out with my Mainland, but when she got her first teeth she started trying to chew on the edge of it, so we play my wife's Waterman now. But realistically I don't expect much until she becomes a teenager.
 
I too would be saying something durable. In fact I did exactly what the op asks - my daughter was about 2 when I first bought her a ukulele - a Makala Dolphin - tough as old boots and it still plays fine despite being treated rough.

Really don't agree with getting something like a Caramel - contrary to comments, not all reviews of them are glowing.
 
A Makala or a Caramel sopranino. The Sop'ino will be a better fit to his size and will not be a huge loss if he chews it up. I bought a Caramel/Rubin for my gradaughter and she doesn't play with it much at 5 now. But the size was right for her. It is very unlikely that he will notice the difference between a set up Caramel and a K brand at this point.
 
JackLuis said:
A Makala or a Caramel sopranino. The Sop'ino will be a better fit to his size and will not be a huge loss if he chews it up. I bought a Caramel/Rubin for my gradaughter and she doesn't play with it much at 5 now. But the size was right for her. It is very unlikely that he will notice the difference between a set up Caramel and a K brand at this point.
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Agreed. And a setup is really an overrated issue that can be addressed later if necessary.Technique and practice is more important.

I have seen an overwhelming number of positive reviews of Caramels as opposed to "less than glowing". Google is your friend.
 
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