Ukes in the classroom

mctot said:
Hi UU,

I am a teacher and will be using ukes to teach my general music classroom starting next year. I need to get 15 ukes plus cases (soft or hard doesn't matter, they will be stored in lockers in the classroom).
I'm looking for a high level of durability and playability (stays in tune at least decently, action isn't too high/low, etc.) for these instruments. My budget is roughly $1000 USD (a bit over wouldn't hurt).

EDIT: the tuning I’m looking for is high G sopranos.

I've looked into a few options, but want to see what you all would have in mind.

Thanks,

mctot
Click to expand...

Hi, as you are a music teacher who teaches your students to play ukulele, you'd better go to your local ukulele stores to play some of your favorite ukuleles that you want to use to teach your students in your classroom. Remember to play ukuleles before you buy them so that you can clearly know the quality, materials, sound, feel, strings, etc. If you didn't find your favorite ukuleles in your local stores, you can try to buy one of your favorite ukuleles online to play it and then decide if it meets your teaching requirements. According to your budget, I'd like to recommend this ukulele to you: https://www.strong-wind.com/ukulele...fessional-Aquila-Strings-Soprano-Ukulele.html. Hope it helps you ! :)
 
mctot,

My wife teaches Elementary music in Wisconsin, and has taught a ukulele program for the last 6 years. She attended a ukulele workshop in Langley, British Columbia, before she started her program, in order to see what a school program was like. Langley has taught ukulele up thorough High School, for more than 30 years. You can google them (www.langleyukes.com). One of their recommendations was to use Empire Music (empiremusic.net) as an instrument source. Empire will provide you a very nice instrument with the tuning of your choice, Aquila strings, and decent setup, for a fair price. My wife initially purchased 32 ukes from Empire, and after five years of use, she purchased another 24 instruments. She last bought the 'Classic' CL200M (a very nice satin wood grain). Empire also sells a foam hard case for $25.90 (SMC-21), and a good tuner for $6.98 (ET-33). I am called on to repair everything that goes wrong with all of these instruments, and I can tell you that I have only replaced broken and worn out strings (and of course the child-fiddled-with string). They are wonderfully durable and great sounding ukes.

I would encourage you to purchase at least one CL200M and a tuner from Empire, and then use that as a benchmark for the other ukuleles that you plan to look at.

Best Regards,
Mike
 
mctot,

I forgot to mention that James Hill is an alumni of the Langley, British Columbia, school ukulele program,

Best Regards,
Mike
 
Just wanted to jump in and say thanks for this thread and especially Choirguy. I've been teaching ukulele in my classrooms for a few years, and just haven't even thought of a Roadie tuner til now. They're on sale until today so I got one.

We only have about 20 ukuleles, though. All Mahalo and Makala. Hoping to upgrade in the future and some non-sopranos, since that's all we have.
 
Thanks, Abe. I’m following your work, too. The interview with Beloff was really enjoyable. I have to catch up on some of your more recent podcasts. The last one I listened to was the interview with DeVille.

As for the Roadie 2 being on sale...I didn’t know! It isn’t a cheap device, but it is sure useful in the classroom. If you’re looking at a Roadie 2, it is 15% for Father’s Day.

I have an 8 string tenor, and it also makes tuning that a bunch easier. The only thing it doesn’t work with is friction tuners!
 
Choirguy said:
Thanks, Abe. I’m following your work, too. The interview with Beloff was really enjoyable. I have to catch up on some of your more recent podcasts. The last one I listened to was the interview with DeVille.

As for the Roadie 2 being on sale...I didn’t know! It isn’t a cheap device, but it is sure useful in the classroom. If you’re looking at a Roadie 2, it is 15% for Father’s Day.

I have an 8 string tenor, and it also makes tuning that a bunch easier. The only thing it doesn’t work with is friction tuners!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm lucky to have Jim Beloff living pretty close-by. The recent barrage of episodes isn't a regular thing. �� If I had the time/money to this more regularly/consistently I totally would. I've been enjoying it.

Yea I knew about the Roadie but never thought about helping tune tons of ukes. I got it today and it's just fantastic! I probably won't use it for myself, although I do have a octave mandolin (8 strings). I'll have to check if it can take that setting.

I've got Gotoh Stealth tuners on one uke and it seems like it doesn't quite fit since the pegs are so tiny. It's ok, though. I'm happy just tuning it myself, but man 8 strings is a lot.
 
Hey y'all! I found this thread a little late, but better late than never!

I have been volunteering teaching beginner ukulele at a local library and wanted to point out some truths that were already pointed out previously:


--Yes, if you have ukuleles of different colors the kids will definitely fight over who gets which one. And watch out if there is a pink-averse child and there is only 1 pink ukulele left.

--At least in my area, for every 40 students who walk in 2 will be left-handed...almost on the nose every time. Sometimes there will be a secret-lefty who plays right handed.

--When you start one of these programs make sure you have the funds to keep it going. Yes volunteers are "free", but the ukuleles need upkeep. The person who started the program just looked at me with "huh wtf?" eyes after I mentioned we need to upkeep the ukuleles, like they hadn't thought that far in advance. After a year of playing, the ukes need to be restrung. I am surprised they lasted that long without restringing. Where is the best place for non-profit ukulele teaching programs to buy new strings for a large quantity of ukuleles?

--Also don't get too cheap of ukuleles (unless they were donated) because the program might sell them like at a garage sale to raise more money to buy more ukuleles in the future. The program will get more money if they are decent ukuleles.

--Very few people like to sing in a public setting in the beginner group. About half the problem with singing, if you find that is an issue with your group, is you( or whoever is teaching) keep picking songs in a challenging vocal range that cannot be easily lowered. Stop doing that and then wondering why nobody sings.
 
mctot said:
Hi UU,

I am a teacher and will be using ukes to teach my general music classroom starting next year. I need to get 15 ukes plus cases (soft or hard doesn't matter, they will be stored in lockers in the classroom).
I'm looking for a high level of durability and playability (stays in tune at least decently, action isn't too high/low, etc.) for these instruments. My budget is roughly $1000 USD (a bit over wouldn't hurt).

EDIT: the tuning I’m looking for is high G sopranos.

I've looked into a few options, but want to see what you all would have in mind.

Thanks,

mctot
Click to expand...

Hi, according to what you said, I'd highly recommend this one to you: https://www.strong-wind.com/ukulele...-Wind-21-inches-KOA-Body-Soprano-Ukulele.html. The material is great ! The sounds are fabulous ! You can buy one for the trial so that you can completely know if it meets your requirements. I hope it can help you. :)
 
kitsunegarcia said:
Hey y'all! I found this thread a little late, but better late than never!

I have been volunteering teaching beginner ukulele at a local library and wanted to point out some truths that were already pointed out previously:


--Yes, if you have ukuleles of different colors the kids will definitely fight over who gets which one. And watch out if there is a pink-averse child and there is only 1 pink ukulele left.

--At least in my area, for every 40 students who walk in 2 will be left-handed...almost on the nose every time. Sometimes there will be a secret-lefty who plays right handed.

--When you start one of these programs make sure you have the funds to keep it going. Yes volunteers are "free", but the ukuleles need upkeep. The person who started the program just looked at me with "huh wtf?" eyes after I mentioned we need to upkeep the ukuleles, like they hadn't thought that far in advance. After a year of playing, the ukes need to be restrung. I am surprised they lasted that long without restringing. Where is the best place for non-profit ukulele teaching programs to buy new strings for a large quantity of ukuleles?

--Also don't get too cheap of ukuleles (unless they were donated) because the program might sell them like at a garage sale to raise more money to buy more ukuleles in the future. The program will get more money if they are decent ukuleles.

--Very few people like to sing in a public setting in the beginner group. About half the problem with singing, if you find that is an issue with your group, is you( or whoever is teaching) keep picking songs in a challenging vocal range that cannot be easily lowered. Stop doing that and then wondering why nobody sings.
Click to expand...

Great points.

If you reach out to Aquila directly, you can buy a set of 20 string sets (multi-colored ones) for about 60 Euros, including shipping. Normally the sets are 12-20 USD for one.
 
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