Uncle Rod's Ukulele Boot Camp expanded and revised

Thank you so much I felt I wasn't progressing and this was the trick. I appreciate your help! Colleen
 
Reviving an old thread here. For the past 8 months, I have been making play along videos that I use at my school to teach ukulele to my choir students. This is a blast for me, as most of my students buy into the process, and at this point I have put well over 200 songs into the collection of songs (several other teachers are also making play alongs).

Rod mentioned making a video about two weeks ago to help people with his Boot Camp, and I thought...”This would be well-served through the videos that I make.”

So I made a video for each of Uncle Rod’s Ukulele Boot Camp pages. You can find them all in a playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6m5m3jQoANCDASrIiUZesInt2AlEAqCG

If you want to go slower or faster, desktop versions of YouTube have that little gear icon in the lower right corner that you can click to slow down or speed up a video. Mobile is a little more complicated.

The benefit of this format is that you have an embedded metronome (82bpm, if memory serves) plus harmonic reference. What makes Rod’s Boot Camp so good is that these chord progressions (all the same progressions but in five common ukulele keys) are used frequently in music—so not only are you “building a foundation,” but you are also practicing chord progressions that you will see again.

And of course, the ‘Ukulele Boot Camp remains property of Uncle Rod Highuchi!
 
Choirguy, I love your site. After I do some learning each day on Yousician, I always end my playing by going to your site and just jamming on some tunes. Loving the recent Greatest Showman songs! Thanks!
 
Good job Choirguy.

Eventually we want to play these changes in even more keys. It is quite easy with ukulele. I have my own sequences that resemble a lot of Rod's that I play in 9 keys, but eventually when 9 keys get too boring I will build up to all 12.

Next really useful step is IMO to memorize these sequences as degrees to a key. In that sense Uncle Rod Higuchi's boot camp chords are (if I did not make any mistake):

I vim IV V7

I Idim7 iim7 V7

I I7 IV ivm6

I vim II7 V7

III7 vim II7 V7 I

So you start a key and are able to play the boot camp chords from above degrees. Notice the dominant of a dominant chord in II7 that is very often used in music.
 
Choirguy, I love your site. After I do some learning each day on Yousician, I always end my playing by going to your site and just jamming on some tunes. Loving the recent Greatest Showman songs! Thanks!

Thanks! The goal is to provide resources for teachers who have ukulele programs with students that are reluctant to sing—which is most of them. The secret is that they start signing along. I’m embedding ukulele into choir—as accompaniment and then in the middle of the year when we have no instrument as the primary focus of study for two months, 46 minutes every-other-day.

What we have found out is that some adult ukulele groups are using the videos now, too.

If you ever have a suggestion for a song—we all try very hard to keep them clean so they can be used in school—let me know. Every now and then we come across a song whose rights will not let us use a song—but these are rare (Too Good At Goodbyes was the most recent in my experience), otherwise ad revenue goes back to the copyright holder.
 
Rods materials are great. I taught instrumental/classroom music for 34 years. I was asked to run a professional development for my dept. on the ukulele. I used his materials for the entire 90 minutes. There were some teachers who had never played ukulele, some who had limited experience on uke and a few guitarists. By the end of the 90 minutes we were strumming and singing Blowing In The Wind like a bunch of folk singing hippies and having a blast.
Rod's materials are clear, concise and right to the point.
Rod, if you read this you rock big time. We met last July at Roy Sakuma's Festival. I was walking around trying to find my buddy MMStan and asked you if you had seen him. You were in the tented area. We talked for a few minutes. I think Pueo was also there. Sadly, we won't be at the festival this year. We are planning an October visit. All the best.
 
Aloha, Peanuts56 :)

I'm so glad you have found and been using the Boot Camp materials.
I truly believe that one could do as you have done, take a group (or individual)
through the Boot Camp (any Practice Sheet) and be able to eventually play
a song together using the chords from that Practice Sheet.

and now with Choirguy's helpful videos... Wow! anyone can teach themselves
the chords and practice changing chords using these wonderful resources.

Mahalo again, Choirguy!

keep uke'in',

Peanuts56, I hope you got to participate with Roy's Strummers and
earned a Gold Medallion for your efforts! :)
 
Aloha, Peanuts56 :)

I'm so glad you have found and been using the Boot Camp materials.
I truly believe that one could do as you have done, take a group (or individual)
through the Boot Camp (any Practice Sheet) and be able to eventually play
a song together using the chords from that Practice Sheet.

and now with Choirguy's helpful videos... Wow! anyone can teach themselves
the chords and practice changing chords using these wonderful resources.

Mahalo again, Choirguy!

keep uke'in',

Peanuts56, I hope you got to participate with Roy's Strummers and
earned a Gold Medallion for your efforts! :)

Uncle Rod,

I've transposed Ukulele Boot Camp to all twelve keys.

Is it okay for me to share with others?
 
Yes! Absolutely!

If possible, please share them on the Forum and if necessary,
please give us the link to them.

I suppose, with all the Chromatic Keys presented, no matter what
tuning is being used, one of the Practice Sheets should apply nicely
to each player, even though they will need to rename the actual
chords to match their chosen tuning... I think :)

Anyway, thanks for all your efforts in supporting our wonderful
Community!

keep uke'in',
 
Aloha, Peanuts56 :)

I'm so glad you have found and been using the Boot Camp materials.
I truly believe that one could do as you have done, take a group (or individual)
through the Boot Camp (any Practice Sheet) and be able to eventually play
a song together using the chords from that Practice Sheet.

and now with Choirguy's helpful videos... Wow! anyone can teach themselves
the chords and practice changing chords using these wonderful resources.

Mahalo again, Choirguy!

keep uke'in',

Peanuts56, I hope you got to participate with Roy's Strummers and
earned a Gold Medallion for your efforts! :)

Rod, I did. I played the last two years and got my gold medals. A lot of fun.
My pd was for a group of music educators so it was a bit easier than working with beginners. I retired in 2016 and still am in touch with a few of my dept. friends. A few have been using the uke in the classroom. One guy who was hired the end of my last year uses it quite a bit.
I keep in touch with Stan either through facebook or an occasional phone call. I'm in Connecticut so I have to watch what time I call! He's become a very good friend, a real good guy. Be well and stay well Rod.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom