en:didaktik:anfaenger

It’s your job to motivate.

Chalmers Doane1)

Preparation

People learn more in class from each other than they ever learn from the teacher. And what you have to remember is that it’s your job to motivate, keep order, try to get a place where they can practise that doesn’t leak so that that they’re in out of the cold, be consistent, make it regular, make it fun, and give them opportunities to play. Those things are all just as important as the musical things, especially at the beginning.
You gotta set up all those things for their creature comforts: music stands, the proper chairs, the proper instruments, the proper accompanying instruments, the proper ukuleles, the proper strings, the proper music. All that stuff has got to be dealt with and if you’re not willing to do that then you’re not going to have much of a program.

Chalmers Doane2)

Left-hand coordination and singing

An initial emphasis on melodic techniques allows the co-ordination of the left-hand to develop methodically in order to ensure a relaxed technique and to avoid potential injury … Note that singing is crucial at this stage.

James Hill, Chalmers Doane3)

Accomodations and Modifications

When teaching ukulele to beginning students who do not have the opportunity to practice often—whether from not having an instrument at home or from infrequent music instruction in school—student retention can be a significant issue. With little or no reinforcement happening outside class, providing accommodations or modifications to support successful performance can be an attractive option for teachers. …
Accommodations … would include:
– Pre-teaching vocabulary, including the instrument part names and terms related to the basic technique (provides for clearer communication in giving and following directions)
– Any aural supports, such as play-along tracks or beats (makes it easier to follow the beat whether performing by ear or reading)
– Visual supports that can resize, animate, highlight, or otherwise illustrate content in a way that helps communicate the desired learning more clearly (limits the distraction of extraneous content when focusing on small chunks)
Certain types of accommodations may be temporarily appropriate in the learning process, but if allowed to persist can alter the learning outcome and therefore represent a modification. These would include:
– Using dots to mark finger positions on the fretboard (if not removed, student does not learn how to play an unmarked ukulele)
– Labeling note names in sheet music (if not removed, student does not learn how to decode music notation)
– Using colored strings and corresponding color-coded sheet music (if not removed, student does not learn how to play a standard ukulele reading standard notation)
– Idiosyncratic, non-standard forms of notation (if not removed, student does not learn how to read music)

Philip Tamberino4)


1)
Ukulele Yes!, 1.12.2008
2)
UkuleleYes!, 1.12.2008
3)
Ukukele in the Classroom. Teacher Edition, t. 1. Chrystal Lake Media 2009, viii