en:didaktik:methoden:saiten_singen

Singing the Strings

A method developed by J. Chalmers Doane to teach harmony in ukulele lessons and to create simple polyphonic arrangements. He divides it into four steps:1)

  1. One half of the class sings the melody of a piece, while the other half sings the corresponding tone of harmony on the first string. If e.g. the harmony is formed by a C major chord, half of the class sings at this point the high C.
  2. The entire class plays all the chords of the song, but only the note on the first string. Thus, the entire piece can play with very few notes.
  3. Half of the class now plays the full chords, the other sings the melody and only plays the harmony note on the first string.
  4. The harmony note on the second string is added. This already results in a nice little arrangement for the piece. If the class is big enough, you can now form three groups and designate one player each in charge to make his group sing the right harmony.

In this way, singing the strings becomes

an effective and accessible entry into vocal harmonization based on the close similarity of the instrument's first position position and the vocal range of elementary school children. This not only provides the interest of song harmonization but also assists aural development.2)

1)
J. Chalmers Doane]]: „Singing the Strings“. In: Ukulele Yes! 5 (1980), 12
2)
Madhosingh, Donna-Faye: An Approach to Developing Comprehensive Musicianship in the Intermediate Grades Using the Voice and the Ukulele. Dissertation, University of British Columbia 1984, 38