As much as the soothing tunes of ukulele attract adult music lovers, the minuscule size and shape of this cute instrument appeals even more to the kids.
That is why some suitable ukulele lessons for kids can give a kickstart to your sweetheart’s early ukulele journey.
With the right combination of curiosity of the instrument and interest in music, any instrument can be learn-worthy for anyone.
Ukulele is no different. However, thanks to its miniature guitar-esque size and shape, it seems like ukulele is tailor-made for kids to learn at an early age.
In addition, a ukulele is not the hardest instrument to play. Hence, this is the perfect fit of musical instruments for the kids, to begin with.
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Ukulele Lessons for Kids
For convenience in discussion, this section is divided into seven parts.
Get Things Going First
The first and most important aspect of teaching a child to play ukulele is getting them curious about it.
Once the child is interested in playing ukulele for real, get a uke that is suitable for children. If not interested at all, there is absolutely no point of forcing something upon your kids, that too at a very early age.
Then Teach the Basics:
As soon as the first point is settled, teach your kid how to play the ukulele. Begin with the right way of holding a ukulele.
Then move on to strumming patterns, basic chords, keeping in mind some easy songs, such as nursery rhymes to learn. When the basics are covered, then it is time to go for some lessons.
Wait, Let Fun Be the First Priority
While you keep teaching your kid basics about the ukulele, ensuring your kid’s fun part with a uke should be the first priority.
Hand in the ukulele to the child and let him or her do whatever s/he wants to do. Of course, keep an eye so that the ukulele is not banged or thrown like a bouncing ball.
Let the kid tap here and there, let her strum the way she wants. Let him explore this adorable instrument while having fun with it.
You might get your kid introduced to different parts of uke like strings, frets, etc. while playing with them.
Once the kids are well and truly comfortable with something then they are prepared to learn something out of it.
Their Very First Chord
After several times of strumming the open chord, your child is ready to learn the C major chord, a very simple and easy one to play.
Let your child place the middle or ring finger on the third fret of the first string. Just teach the downward strumming for the time being.
If the child discovers the upward pattern, let him continue with that sort of strumming. Just keep the whole process natural and simple.
Very First Song
Now it is time to learn his or her favorite song or a nursery rhyme. There are tons of them where you can choose from. There are high chances that your child is already familiar with quite a few of them.
Despite the fact that most of the nursery rhyme would require two or three chords to play with a uke, there is this song named, “ Are you sleeping?” which sounds pretty good with just the C major.
Learning the Second Chord
G major should be the next one to teach your child. Almost all the genre would include G major in most of their popular songs. Have your child place the right finger at the right string and fret.
By a few gentle strummings with G major, you will soon be hearing one of the most popular chords ever by your dearest little one.
A 2-Chord Ukulele Song
Much like the nursery rhymes, there is plenty to choose from. Some of the most popular picks that we would love to suggest: Row, Row, Row Your Boat; London Bridge is Falling Down; Three Blind Mice, etc.
All these songs can be played with the above-mentioned two chords. These songs are easy to play, go fine with the ear, and most importantly common to your kids which confirms the fun part never goes missing.
Conclusion
And it’s a wrap for today’s ukulele lessons for kids, folks! A few new chords, a few more songs, and our sweet little darlings are well on their way to own the stage with a beautiful uke in hands.
