Teaching young kids how to tune the ukulele

My wife teaches a K-1 class (kindergarten-first grade combo, five and six year olds), and lets the kids play with a Makala Dolphin during choice time. She hasn't given them any instruction, just lets them play around, and of course, the first thing they do is mess with the tuners. No matter how much she tells them to leave the pegs alone, the poor uke ends up horribly out of tune.

So I thought maybe she should just teach them to tune it themselves, maybe using an electronic tuner. That way they will be responsible for keeping it in tune, and it will also satisfy their need to fiddle with the pegs.

So a couple of questions. Do you think five and six year olds are capable of learning to tune the ukulele, and if so, what's better, an electronic tuner, or a "by-ear" method, maybe with a pitch pipe or tuning fork? Thanks,

Doug

Dougf said:

Do you think five and six year olds are capable of learning to tune the ukulele, and if so, what's better, an electronic tuner, or a "by-ear" method, maybe with a pitch pipe or tuning fork? Thanks,

Doug

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As with water, kids will rise rise to their level. There will probably be a few of the 5 year-olds who just intuitively "get" tuning, while I'm sure you can find some 13 year-olds who have no clue no matter how many ways you explain it to them.

That said, I would think that the hardest method would be to do so by ear, or by tuning the uke against itself. That likely requires a bit more of a sophisticated understanding of notes and the like, and probably would be overly complex.

Using an electronic tuner is the best, because it is the most like a video game. Pluck a string and turn the knob until the right note gets lit up. Simple, fun, and will be a good way to introduce the concept of notes, scales, etc.

Just a thought.

Depends if she wants to make it a "teachable" moment or not. My four year old can tune with a Kala clip-on tuner although it takes him a little while. If she wants to give them a simple lesson in music theory, go for the pitch pipes or tuning fork. Some will get it, some won't.

Still haven't decided on a finish for my uke. I liked the video you did with yours and I can't wait to see your first solo build.

-Gary

*Edit - he doesn't actually play the uke, but he likes to play with the tuner and then slam on the strings. Tried to teach him a couple of chords but he doesn't seem interested yet, so I'm just trying to keep it visible and fun.

I know 5 year olds can tune a ukulele with an electronic tuner. The 5 year olds in my ukulele group do just that. Show them how to do it and help when necessary. Take a look at my website ukulele4kids.

I would advise against the pitch pipe unless everyone will have their own simply because it would be considered unsanitary for the kids to pass one around (exposure to others' saliva and germs). The powers that be at the school would probably frown on that.

I can't see any of my kindergartners using a pitch pipe or doing it by ear. (Unless there's some kidwith perfect pitch.) But I would think it would be interesting to have them try it with a tuner. It's good to hear that some can do it. I would think it would be a bit confusing that the pegs have to be turned in different directions on the two sides of the head stock.....

Thanks, everyone, great suggestions. The electronic tuner sounds like the way to go. And maybe after a while, for the kids that "get" it, we'll try a tuning by ear lesson (but definitely without the pitch pipe, thanks Itsme!).

Just one more question about tuners. Of the various brands out there, would any stand out as more kid friendly?


And Gary, I can't believe you haven't decided on a finish yet! I'm thinking of Tru-Oil for my next build.

electronic tuner. I use kala's version for my uke club...of course the kids aren't K-1 either, they are 3-5 and some of the 3rd graders have a hard time.

My 2c's. If you can get a 1st grader to tune a Uke with a e- tuner and stay in tune your doing good. If you could teach them that 2nd fret top string = bottom string, great.

Dougf said:

Just one more question about tuners. Of the various brands out there, would any stand out as more kid friendly?

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I don't know. The Snarks are kinda cute (have a red one), I have a couple of the ENOs like they sell in the UU shop. As long as the result is a straight up arrow to show they're in tune, I think they'll be golden.

Dougf said:

And Gary, I can't believe you haven't decided on a finish yet! I'm thinking of Tru-Oil for my next build.

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I have two "sample" packs of Waterlox Tru-Oil but I'm still debating whether to pore fill first; still researching to see if Z-Poxy or another type of epoxy is easiest/best. Besides, I'm kinda having fun playing it and I'm not looking forward to the downtime while I'm finishing it.

I would say electronic tuners yes, pitch pipe no! Tuning forks are interesting, but they are hard to use (bang the fork on your knee, hold it against the sound board or bridge, remember that tone because you can't hold the fork on the uke and pluck a string at the same time). I had trouble using pitch pipe as a teenager, so I wouldn't expect 5 year olds to do better. I say what is easy to use for adults is easy to use for kids.

–Lori

When I started on guitar at age 12 or 13 I had problems hearing if a string was below or above pitch compared to another string (this was way before they were close enough in tune to create a beat note). A few years ago I also tried to teach my niece how to tune - she had the same problem.

Of course this problem disappears after a while, these days I don't even need a tuning fork most of the time. But it anyway tells me that an electronic tuner must be the way to go for the kids.

As for tuning forks vs. tuning pipes - I can't see how a pipe can be very useful. You get a nicer beat note with a tuning fork. But of course there's the one-handed problem of listening and tuning at the same time. By the way, I found out early on that you don't need to press the tuning fork against the soundboard or something similar, just hold the end of the fork (the opposite end of the actual fork) to your ear and you'll hear the beat note nicely (even if you only hear the instrument with the other ear.. sounds strange, but it works). And you can move the fork closer to the ear or farther away to get a good balance between the sound from the instrument and the sound from the fork. Much more practical than using the soundboard.

For the kids though.. as I said above and as suggested by the other posts, an electronic tuner is the way to go here.

-Tor

I love my Korg tuner, although it won't attach to a uke. I love the My Dog Has Fleas idea, but some kids are tone deaf. If you drop a pitch pipe on a hard floor, it's usually junk.

I was a bit older than these kids when I started playing, but I learned to tune the ukulele to itself.
I did not understand what I was doing, but I memorized the method. I almost always played by myself
(and out of tune) so I did not have to worry about others. An electronic tuner was not possible as
there was no way we could have afforded one. (even if they had been invented)
Learning relative pitch is an important part of music education. My suggestion is if they can do without electronics they will be better off.
However tuning the group to an accurate A-440 is a sure way to improve the experience for all those listening.
I like the Kala tuners as they are simple, but I don't like that the power switch changes the mode (chromatic, C & G tuning)
I believe it would be difficult for kids to make sure they are on the right setting.