With the arrival of Portuguese sailing vessels to Hawaii, the local population were fascinated by the various small instruments the sailors were allowed to bring on board their ships. The Hawaians soon developed their own unique instrument.
The Ukulele or 'Jumping Flea' was born.
Having no history of stringed instrument playing but with a desire to maintain traditional social group gatherings, the Ukulele needed to have a very shallow learning curve and the ability to accompany the human voice. With patience, practice and maybe a little talent, stratospheric virtuoso levels of musicianship are achievable.
The Ukulele truly is a unique instrument.
Strung similar to a guitar and with just four strings, chord shapes are very simple and easy to remember and most songs can be easily adapted for the Ukulele.
In this 10 week course you will learn the basic foundations of Ukulele playing and music making, using simple practice methods with simple pattern recognition techniques.
Beginners and improvers alike will become much more confident as musicians.
Simple singing advice will be offered and singing will be encouraged, though not required.
For this course you will need to supply your own Ukulele.
Recommended
A clip on tuner, or failing that, a phone app tuner (not ideal for a group setting).
A folder to hold worksheets.
There are four common types of ukulele, soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. The baritone will be demonstated but not covered in this class as it is tuned to a different pitch.
The soprano is the most traditional sounding ukulele and a decent starter example can be bought for as little as €40.
Some adults may find the soprano a bit on the small side, and may opt for the larger concert or tenor.
A clip on tuner should be available from around €12.
Any type of folder will do, it's just for storing handouts from the classes.
| Starts | 21st January 2025 |
| Days | Tuesdays |
| Time | 6:30 - 8:30pm |
| Duration | 10 Weeks |
| Cost | €120 |
| Registration opens | December 1st at 9am |