Ukulele Lessons | The Music Gallery of Highland Park
The Ukulele is a school favorite for entry level children through adults. It is the ideal choice for someone who is curious about exploring music, but isn't quite ready to make the investment in a full sized guitar. The inexpensive, highly portable, and sweet sounding ukulele can be as intricate and impressive as any other fretted instrument, but it's soft strings and ease of use reduces barriers to entering the explorative world of music. Total beginners, experienced musicians, and songwriters alike can benefit through a little fun with the Ukulele!
General Music Through Ukulele
The Ukulele can be an excellent tool for discovering and reinforcing concepts essential to the life long enjoyment of music. The ukulele has the ability to play more than one note at a time and does not require breath to be played unlike other beginner instruments used for general music education such as the recorder or harmonica. This allows for students to be able to sing or speak while they play. This defies the limitations of other introductory instruments and allows new musicians to quickly learn the fundamentals of rhythm, melody, harmony, lyric, and form.
Ukulele For Beginners
Ukulele is probably the most beginner friendly instrument ever. New players are able to memorize the most essential chord shapes pretty quickly. It not unusual for students to be able to play whole songs after only a week or two. The Ukulele uses soft nylon strings that don't hurt new players' fingers and it's comfortable, portable size makes it extremely easy to play just about anywhere. We see children's faces light up over and over again when they realize a new chord shape or discover a new sound. Some students use their Ukulele to demonstrate their first original songs to their teachers at school.
Ukulele Groups
Have you ever seen a group of people sitting around in a big circle all playing Ukuleles together? Looks pretty fun, doesn't it?
It is. It's super fun and its one of the most casual, welcoming, and unpretentious communities you could ever be a part of. Taking Ukulele classes with other closet Ukulele enthusiasts is a terrific way to meet new people, explore a musical instrument, and have a good time! We offer groups that are open to anybody who owns a ukulele and is interested in getting better. Playing music with other people is the most fun and quickest way to get better at playing music. Another great way to become a better musician is to help other musicians grow. When you are able to clearly articulate how to adjust poor technique or phrase a piece of music, you develop deeper understanding of the stuff you're talking about! Opening this platform up to anyone and everyone makes the experience a little more dynamic, interesting, and insightful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Would I Take Private Lessons when I Could Learn Online?
It seems kind of ridiculous to take private Ukulele lessons when there are so many excellent instructional videos on YouTube. We fully encourage the use of all available technologies and resources to get people playing music in whatever way possible and there really are a TON of excellent videos out there. However, learning an instrument solely from videos and tablature online has some serious downsides. YouTube can't hear you, see you, or correct any bad habits you don't even realize you're developing. Seeking a good private teacher is a great way to prepare your Ukulele skills correctly right off the bat and develop a relationship with the instrument.
What Kind of Ukulele Should I Buy?
The four main sizes of ukulele from smallest to largest are Soprano, Concert, Tenor, and Baritone. There is no wrong choice between them, but soprano is most popular because it is the smallest and least expensive. If you can picture the sound of a Ukulele in your head, odds are you are hearing a Soprano. The Concert Ukulele shares the traditional ukulele sound and is the next largest in the family. Concert's tend to sound a little richer and be a little louder than their soprano counterpart due to their bigger size. A Concert might be a good choice for a player with larger hands that wants to produce a traditional Hawaiian Ukulele sound. The Tenor ukulele is is a bit larger than the concert and can be fitted with either a high or low G string. The tenor is becoming more popular among professional musicians due to its fuller, less traditional sound. It more similar to a guitar than the typical sound pictured with a uke. The Baritone ukulele is the largest of the family and produces the deepest, fullest, most guitar like sound. It also shares the tuning of the guitar's highest 4 strings making it incredibly easy to transfer your skills from the baritone ukulele to the guitar!