2 Chord Ukulele Song Freebie: Buffalo Gals

Just finished up a set for my 6th grade ukulele players and thought I'd share it with you all for free. 

My kids needed a bit more work on C and G, before we add the F chord into the mix.  I decided to introduce Buffalo Gals for it's ease of learning, simple chord changes, and it's timelessness.

I introduced the short melody today and next class the kids will sing and play with the chord changes. 

This free download includes a picture chart of the C and G chords and then has slides that include the lyrics to the song, with a pictoral version of the chord above each word when a change is required.

Hope this helps your kids improve their chord changing chops.

Fun With Two Chords for Ukulele

We've entered the realm of two chords in our ukulele playing in my classroom, after a brief hiatus due to this that and the other thing. 

One fun song we just finished up using C and G is "There Ain't No Bugs on Me."

Here are some verse examples, but due to the nature of funny folk songs, there are eight million versions out there.  The chord pattern for all of the verses is the same, so I'll just share the chords for the first verse.


C
Oh, there ain't no bugs on me, on me.
                                      G
There ain't no bugs on me

There may be bugs on some of you mugs
                                           C
But there ain't no bugs on me.

Oh there ain't no flies on me, on me.
There ain't no flies on me.
There may be flies on some of you guys
But there ain't no flies on me.

Well, the Juney bug comes in the month of June
The lightning bug comes in May
Bed bug comes just any old time
But, they're not going to stay

Well, a bull frog sittin' on a lily pad
Looking up at the sky
The lily pad broke and the frog fell in
He got water all in his eye.

There ain't no frogs on us.
There ain't no frogs on us.
There might be frogs on some of you dogs,
But there ain't no frogs on us.

Mosquito he fly high
Mosquito he fly low
If old mosquito lands on me
He ain't a gonna fly no mo'

A peanut sittin' on a railroad track
His heart was all a flutter
Along come a choo-choo on the track
Toot! Toot! Peanut butter!

A cow walked on the railroad track,
the train was coming fast.
The train got off the railroad track
to let the cow go past!


After we worked with the different famous version (the peanut version is alllllwwwaaays my kids favorite), we then broke into small groups to write our own verses.  I remind the kids of the required rhyming pattern and that the text must fit into the same space as the verses that we already know.  Then, we perform and share out. 

Every year, I end up with some really fun things from the kids.  They love the opportunity to create while practicing known skills. 

Composing, Singing, and Performing on Instruments All in One Lesson = Standards Whammy!

Ukulele Lesson 1

My 6th graders got their hands on the ukes for the first time this cycle and I think they may be in love!

We started out by learning how to hold the uke.  I emphasize hugging the uke against the body, asking students daily if they have "hugged their uke today?"   We then learn how to support with the left hand.

I teach the C chord first, because I love that the one finger needed to play the chord helps kids be successful with a ton of one chord songs right away.  Then, we we are ready to add the 5 chord, (G), the ring finger just pops one string over.  Once we have the fingering down for C, we add a simple down stroke strum with the right thumb.  Once that is mastered, I challenge them to try strumming with a down, down up pattern.

I started with a new "first song," for the uke this year.  I have loved it and the kids are eating it up.  I used "Coconut" by Harry Nilsson.  First, I sang while they played the uke and then after some rote echoing, they were able to join me on the chorus.  We will add more of the verses next time. 

Here is a youtube link to Kalani teaching the song on the uke.  We did the same conceptual idea but used the C chord instead because of where we are headed with our ukes.  Kalani visited our school as artist in residence a few years ago, and first inspired my interest in teaching kids to play the ukuleles.  We didn't even have ukuleles when he came to visit. Boy, how times have changed!

Stay tuned for more ideas on starting off with the uke with your kids.  We'll be hanging out on the c chord for a few classes to get fingering solidified along with the down, down, up strumming pattern we are working on.

Ukulele Quarter Sheets

Tonight, I spent some time focusing on starting ukuleles with my sixth graders in the upcoming weeks.  I decided to make a set of quarter sheet reflection and assessment cards to help keep tabs on them over the first several lessons as we learn together.

The cards are available for download at my teachers pay teachers store. 

When printing these, I print them as full sheets and cut them into quarter sheets for quick student reflection, assessment, and self-evaluation or critique when instructing beginning ukulele players.

Included In the Set Are:
Goal Setting Sheet (So students can let me know what they'd like to learn to do/play at the beginning of the unit)
Hardest/Easiest Part Sheet (So I can see what strengths and weaknesses as determined by each student are)
On a Scale of 1-4 Sheet (So students can reflect on how their playing is going)
Draw me a C Chord Sheet (So I can assess quickly their knowledge of fingerings)
Draw me a G Chord Sheet
Draw me an F Chord Sheet
Draw me an a minor Chord Sheet

These printables should help you teach your students to critique themselves while giving you a better knowledge of their individual strengths and weaknesses. 

I have my uke dots fixed up and ready to go.  My 6th graders can't wait to get their hands on the uke.  I'm sure there will be more uke tips and tricks to come!

Ukulele by Dot

Have you hugged your UKE today??!?

My sixth graders have caught the ukulele bug!  Over Christmas vacation, a ton of them got a wide range of ukuleles from Santa or from Christmas money.  It is fun to see them so excited and practicing on their own at home, with their own initiative leading the way.

We have been learning to play a few chords since the beginning of the school year.  The last two years, my students have been picking up the chords as I teach them, much more rapidly, due to my "chords by dot" instruction.  I have placed small colored dots that can be found easily at office supply stores, on the frets for each chord.  Then, when I teach C, for instance, I say, ring finger on the yellow dot.  This really helps all students find the correct fret, especially helping visual learners. 

Yellow = C    Green = G    Red = F   Blue =am

 I start my students with the C chord first and we practice simple one chord songs.  I add G next, even though it is more difficult that F, because I want them to understand chord relationships.  Plus, once they've learned to play G, they can play ANYTHING!  Our favorite two C and G chord songs are "Fish and Chips and Vinegar" in canon and "There Ain't No Bugs on Me."  They even wrote their own verses for "Ain't No Bugs."  This cycle, we learned F and a in the same class period.  They are becoming chord switching maniacs.  Some students still struggle to place fingers quickly and we are working on putting all fingers down on a chord together, instead of one at a time. 

Great wall mounts keep our ukuleles safe!

Ukuleles line the walls of our music room.