The ukulele is an extremely popular instrument for good reason. It is inexpensive, portable, and approachable by everyone. This course covers everything you need to know about the ukulele. This includes uke anatomy, tuning, types, reading chord diagrams, and strumming patterns. Students will learn a wide variety of popular and classic songs they can play anywhere. This course is suitable for absolute beginners through intermediate players.
Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge or skills:
- Demonstrate the ability to hear melodic, harmonic, and rhythmical structure of music through performance.
- Distinguish between the various historical musical styles and forms through class discussion.
- Demonstrate principles of ukulele technique methodology to expand ukulele performance skills through performance.
- Analyze basic and syncopated rhythms in compound and simple meters through sectionals, rehearsals, and performance.
Course Content Outline
- Notes of the Ukulele
- Musical Keys and Chord Progressions
- The Uke Fretboard
- Common Chords and Substitutions
- Lead and Song Sheets
- Chord Vexation and Movable Chords
- Chord Tricks
- Strumming and Rhythm Patterns
- Playing Melodies
- Music Structures
- Anatomy of the Ukulele
- Ukulele Types
- Perform selected musical repertoire in the venue of one or more public concerts
Department Guidelines
- This class is offered as a lab class.
- Community members, alumni, and employees of the college are welcome to join through Community Ed for no credit.
- This course may be repeated for credit up to six times.
- Since students can take the course more than once, a varied repertoire of music is needed for each quarter.
- To satisfy the General Education Outcomes, classroom discussion on the origin of examples and playing styles must be addressed.
- All students must take part in the performance element.
PO4 should be assessed: Students will be able to recognize or articulate personal/interpersonal aspects of, or connections between, diverse cultural, social, or political contexts.
PO5 should be assessed: Students will be able to solve problems by gathering, interpreting, combining and/or applying information from multiple sources.