Looking for curriculum to teach my 7 year old the ukulele

andy2353

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 8, 2017
Messages
191
Reaction score
61
Location
New Jersey
I've been playing the ukulele for maybe 3 and a half years. I learned from a mishmash of youtube videos, songbooks and the UU Forum. Due to the pandemic my 7 year old daughter's school is not offering violin lessons which we were hoping to enroll her in. Well, why can't I teach her to play the ukulele at home? But I'm in search of a proper curriculum that would be suitable for her age and allow us to go through at a measured pace, not like how I learned by trying to imitate Corey and Kalei from day one.

So any ideas?

Thanks
Andy
 
Have you looked at Cynthia Lin and some of her tutorials?
Some are advanced, but some more basic. Learn to play a song together?
She has a set of Welcome to the Ukulele Beginner Lessons
www.ukulele101.com
Good luck
 
I like the eMedia Ukulele Method computer-based instruction. You can get a package with a ukulele for $60 at Guitar Center; I did a review

https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?146782-eMedia-Mahogany-Ukulele-Pack-(EU08171)

Feel free to ask me questions about it. Although I reviewed the included ukulele poorly, it was compared to much more expensive instruments.

I've been teaching my son piano for the past 5 years. He has a private teacher, but I supplement it. There was a period of 6 months when I was his sole teacher, when he was between teachers. Based on this experience, I think the following are important:

1. Your daughter must want to play the ukulele (this shouldn't be too hard, she's only 7, you can manipulate her easily).
2. Play music that she likes. (e.g. is she into Disney's Frozen?)
3. Setup a regular teaching time (e.g. 30min on Monday 5PM)
4. Don't force her to practice; use a reward system (each minute of practice is 1 point)
5. Setup rewards for meeting goals (e.g. after passing a song she gets 10 points)
6. Have people listen to her (e.g. hold family music time where she/you perform for the family)
7. Never force her to like the ukulele. (e.g. if after a while she just doesn't like it anymore, you should just quit teaching her.)

IMHO, the ukulele is a hard instrument for kids (compared to, say, the piano or the recorder). My son was super excited about the ukulele but didn't like the pain from strumming or fretting. He's tried using a pick. I think the little fingers are just very tender. So he quit the ukulele after maybe 2 weeks. I only say this so that you don't feel bad if your daughter quits (I hope she stays onboard).
 
I started working on Uketropolis with my daughter, who's 6 and can already play some basic songs with chords, but the beginning Ukulele Way lessons go very quickly into reading music, faster than she's ready to pick it up. The course seems fine for me, but I've been reading music for 30 years.
 
Good info here. Has anyone tried Bernadette Uke lessons?
 
Top Bottom