String Along Ukulele classes are taught by both Elayne and Norm. We have been teaching adults to play since the early 1970s.
Our goal is to teach the ukulele as a fun instrument to be played for the sheer delight of singing and jamming with a group of people. We firmly believe that anyone can learn to play and have fun, with or without talent or a musical background.
However, our structured levels of lessons allow our students to progress at their desired pace. The skills and techniques that we teach have been taught to us by the best ukulele professionals in the world, through our attendance at many ukulele festivals held in Oregon, Nova Scotia, Hawaii and from clinicians that we have brought to Dundas, ON.
LEVEL 1 BEGINNER (PART 2):
This class is for people who took the 2 ½ hour Beginner Introductory Course this summer and are able to move smoothly between the basic chords – C, G7, C7 and F. We will introduce the new chords of E7, A7, Dm, Em, Gm, G and Bb chord position, the double straight eighth's strum with accents, the C scale, simple TAB picking arrangements and basic 3/4 and 4/4 folk picking. These skills will be applied to the songs in our own String Along books One and Two.
LEVEL 2:
We will cover songs in the key of C, songs/sequences in the new keys of D, G, A and F, songs using the Bb chord. "Doo Wop" songs, 12 bar blues, rocking notes, straight eighth's strum with simple variations, the pinch strum, turnarounds, slides, simple TAB picking arrangements and two new folk picking patterns. These skills and techniques will be applied to the songs in own String Along books One, Two and Three.
LEVEL 2/3:
We will cover many new songs in all keys, review the pinch and straight eighth's strums with accents and variations, learn new folk/soft picking patterns, rocking notes, the thumb strum, an introduction to finger-thumb strum, damping, beginnings/endings and riffs and TAB picking arrangements. These skills and techniques will be applied to the songs in our own String Along books One, Two and Three.
LEVEL 3:
We will cover ensemble arrangements and difficult songs not yet taught before that require more advanced strums and/or chords, variations in folk picking, melody and tremolo picking techniques, the harmonized C scale, pinch / finger-thumb strum combinations, an intro to barre chords, damping and “chuck", beginnings/endings, riffs and slides and some part singing. Techniques will be applied to the songs in our own String Along books One, Two and Three, plus additional materials given out in class.