Left-Handed Ukulele Beginner Method (w. Tablatures/Chord Charts) Primary School

A resource for class or peripatetic teachers in primary education to assist in teaching total beginners.

Intended as a gentle and gradual introduction to music reading. All graphics are adjusted for a left-hand player.

The method includes two PDF booklets:

- Ukulele tabs & Chord Charts

- Ukulele Guide

THE METHOD

The Beginner level consists of 12 lessons which are 8-bar music exercises. Each exercise introduces a new note/rest length or another musical symbol. Lessons are named after the topic they cover. The notations are formatted in landscape orientation, to be used on electronic devices or printed.

FOR WHOM?

This method is recommended for students in primary school education without any previous music knowledge.

TABLATURES (MELODY)

At this level, notations are not used. Rather, the standard ukulele tablature is utilised, containing 4 lines representing the 4 ukulele strings, with numbers for the frets to be pressed. The fret numbers contain note parts (stems, flags and beams) to indicate the length of notes.

Instead of notes, note names are given below the tablature staff, allowing the students to start grasping the music theory through the eyes of the ukulele, and not the other way around.

To assist young learners, the tabs and note names are colour-coded by pitch.

The 12 lessons cover only 4 note pitches; the rest are introduced at the Intermediate level.

Lesson names / topics covered

1. Music Fractions (1/4 + 1/8 notes, C-D )

2. Half note

3. Quarter Rest

4. Half Rest

5. Three Notes (C-D-E)

6. Repeat

7. Dotted Half Note

8. Dotted Quarter Note

9. Four Notes (C-D-E-F)

10. Waltz

11. Pickup bar

12. Triplet

CHORD CHARTS & STRUMMING

Under the tablature staff, another single-line staff is added for chord strums. The chord strums are represented with the standard strumming symbols for guitar/ukulele, with up/downstrum signs on top of each strumming note.

Chord names are given above the strumming staff.

The method starts with two easy chords and new chords are introduced gradually.

When new chords are introduced, they are marked in the subtitle of the appropriate lesson.

The HOW-TO

This is a single-page resource attached to the main booklet, packed with information that might be useful to beginners. It visually presents the 'mirror perspective' of reading tabs, containing an image of the ukulele with the neck presented as the 4-line tablature staff, with specific info about reading tabs. The image represents the left-handed perspective of the instrument.

THE GUIDE

This is a separate booklet with three sections, aimed at left-handed players.

- The Fingering Diagrams: a tool to help visualise the chord diagrams in their vertical position

- The Chord Charts section explains how to read chord charts, chord names and strumming patterns

- The Chord Diagrams section contains major, minor and 7th chord diagrams, colour-coded by pitch.

OTHER BEGINNER-LEVEL RESOURCES

This resource is in the C-major scale. Other resources in this series that use the same exercises include Ukulele (right-handed), C-instruments, Harmonica (in C), Recorder (D*), Ocarina (D*) and Guitar (G).

/*D - While the melodies of all instruments in C and G are identical, some of the Ocarina and Recorder (D) melodies are modified to address fingerings and ease of accessibility for beginners./*

NEXT-LEVEL RESOURCES

The 'Beginner level precedes the ‘Intermediate' and is followed by the 'Nursery Rhymes 1' level.

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PHILOSOPHY (the purpose of the method)

By simplifying notation and adding colours, note names, tabs and diagrams make reading of music notation easy and accessible, allowing the young performers to focus on what matters: rhythm, tempo, fingering, note lengths and clear tone,

The melodies are made as interesting as possible within their limitations, allowing a wide range of young learners to understand and follow their inner logic.