“Ukulele James” wows students at Sharbot Lake PS

May 13, 2010

SLPS students wonder when “Ukulele James” will be coming back

When asked at the end of the hour-long ukulele workshop on May 6 if anyone had any questions, one young Sharbot Lake Public School student's question said it all: "When are you coming back?”

She posed the question to Nova Scotia resident James Hill, master ukuleleist, composer, song writer and performer who is at the tail end of a six-week cross country teaching tour that brought him and his unique "Ukulele in the Classroom" workshop program to the school. This was Hill's second visit to the school and the first time he introduced students to the workshop program through the help of Blue Skies in the Community, the Limestone District School Board and Sharbot Lake PS.

In the one-hour class that he presented to students in grades three through six, he passed out ukuleles to each and introduced them to the ukulele, singing and to all of the basic components of music.

The short class covered a lot of musical ground and the students explored open strings, a basic scale, a few basic chords and were taught how to accompany their singing with picking patterns, improvisation and song writing. Hill explained, “By the end of the hour-long lesson we are singing and playing about five songs -which demonstrates that a lot of the fundamentals of music can be taught in a very short time and are all very accessible through this instrument.”

Hill is a passionate teacher who himself first took up the ukulele in a similar instructional class when he was a student in grade four. He was quick to dispel common myths about the instrument. He said, “No, it is not just some kind of mini-guitar, nor just a poorer one of its cousins, often played by unusual characters like Tiny Tim. Rather it is a highly versatile and popular world-renowned instrument, capable of a wide and intricate range of musical stylings and is multi-generational in its appeal.” Hill pointed out that, “Because the ukulele can carry the melody, the harmony and the rhythm simultaneously, it can be used in a ensemble setting, or an orchestral setting or as a solo instrument and you can access just about every genre of music in the world." He added, “I like to tell kids it’s a lot cheaper than an ipod and there’s a lot more music in it.”

Hill is a firm believer that music makes up an important part of education for youngsters and is living proof that early exposure to music is key. He continued, "The ukulele is a tremendous opportunity to bring music back into the schools. We all know that there is not a lot of money out there but most people also recognize that music is important for kids. The ukulele is the perfect vehicle. It’s affordable and you can learn all the fundamentals of music from classical to pop and everything in between with it. It really is possibly the best chance we have to save the music programs in our schools.”

And it was not only the students at the school who were won over by Hill's program. Principal David Allison is hoping to introduce the ukulele as a regular music program in the school in the near future. Once his teaching tour ends, Hill will be continuing a world tour of recording and performing this year that takes him to Korea, Hawaii, Germany and Australia. Anyone in doubt about the versatility of the ukulele should visit Hill's website www.ukuelejames.com where one listens (for free) to excerpts from his three albums.

For more information about the "Ukulele in the Classroom" program, please visit www.ukuleleintheclassroom.com.