Teaching kids: best book? best uke?

Tsani

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We are considering doing free musical instruction clinics or camps in rural areas of Central America.

I would like advice on what instructional books would be the best to use - and we may have kids all the way down to 1st grade/pre-school level. At present we can look at English language books because the target country is probably Belize, where the official language is English and English is taught in school. Later we may need Spanish language books if the project is successful and expands.

I would also like recommendations on which is the best value for money on student ukes. Please keep in mind that the more the uke costs, the fewer we will be able to buy. We intend to donate these ukes to schools and churches so these are charity dollars that are being spent. I am thinking that we might buy 15-20 instruments.

I have been looking at the Diamond Head ukes. Does anyone know anything about the quality of these instruments? One of my greatest concerns is always intonation.

Thoughts? :confused:
 
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Thanks, Phil! Yeah we just tested the ODU down there and it performed well - although getting kids to be able to use those polycarbonate pegs would be impossible. You would have to use the Grover tuners. I think I am still inclined toward wood ukes - despite the durability advantages of the ODU. Makala Dolphins would be a natural, but I would be willing to look at others if I knew that the sound and intonation was decent. Much appreciated. I have quite a bit of time to research this since the target date is probably next summer.
 
The schoenhut ukuleles are back in stock and available, and frankly I'm impressed after putting on martin m600s. Can be found under 40usd shipped. The one I got is very good, although I wonder about the durability of the fretboard. Anyone else gotten a lemon out of the box?
 
I third the Makala Dolphins. They ca take a bit of a beating, and are a surprisingly good ukulele. I imagine the paint will help the wood versus bare, but that's just a guess. My 5-year-old son has a Dolphin, and I use natural agathis Makalas for my students at school. I think the Dolphin wears better.

Some students bring in their own ukuleles, and I haven't found any of the lower brands to be anywhere near the consistency of Makala.
 
Thanks, everybody! I know the Makala Dolphins are good.

I was a little surprised about Schoenhut "Flea" copies. I saw a post from someone at Fluke/Flea that said that they were in negotiations with the manufacturer and that they were OK with it as long as they were marketed as "toy ukuleles". I just don't understand what that means. If the intonation is off, or if they buzz, or if they cannot take the tension of good strings, then they are not worth fooling with. I just wish I knew what the differences were that cause them to be classified as "toys".

I am going to check out those Eddie Finn minnows.

I appreciate all the suggestions. Thank you!
 
I was a little surprised about Schoenhut "Flea" copies. I saw a post from someone at Fluke/Flea that said that they were in negotiations with the manufacturer and that they were OK with it as long as they were marketed as "toy ukuleles". I just don't understand what that means. If the intonation is off, or if they buzz, or if they cannot take the tension of good strings, then they are not worth fooling with. I just wish I knew what the differences were that cause them to be classified as "toys".

The "toy" classification isn't uncommon. I've only seen one report of a fretboard coming unglued. I haven't seen anyone complain at all about bad intonation. More than a few people seem offended by the blatant soprano flea copy though.

I suggest in the name of research that you buy a few of each and switch them between kids. You could test them yourself as well, of course.

Btw that eddie finn video sounds just horrific. It means a lot of setup work. Same for the dolphins. And you wouldn't be able to do any setup on the schoenhuts although I don't know if you'd need to (suggest string change but not really necessary either). I'm not sure how long the fretboard on the schoenhut will last, I already see some wear on the low frets.
 
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