Courses - How to Play & Teach the Ukulele Courses for Educators

Virtual Online Teacher Training Courses for Educators of Ages 6 - 12+ Years

Presented by Susie Davies-Splitter (M.Ed)

These courses are suitable for all educators, studio teachers, music therapists, community workers and those working with children ages 6 to 12+ years.

We use a multi-modal, multi-sensory and Orff based approach to help make the learning stick. Come and be inspired to make a real and lasting difference to your students!

Three Unique Short Courses Offered Virtually

Welcome to Music is presenting these brand NEW online training courses for educators
LIVE and ONLINE on Zoom

How to Play & Teach the Ukulele: Course Options

A brand NEW special series of our tried-and-true Uke N Sing system!

Take any course that is suitable for you.

Includes all class notes, recordings & certificate.

If you can’t attend at these times, you can watch the recordings at a time that suits you.

How to Play & Teach Ukulele: Beginners

For:
All Educators working with
6 to 12 + years

Level:
Beginners - (no experience required)

Instructor:
Susie Davies-Splitter (M.Ed)

View Current Dates & Sign Up

How to Play & Teach Ukulele: Intermediate

For:
For all Educators working with 8 to 12 + years

Prerequisite:
Need to be able to play C, F & G7 and change chords competently.

Instructor:
Susie Davies-Splitter (M.Ed)

View Current Dates & Sign Up

How to Play & Teach Ukulele: Advanced

For:
For all Educators working with 10+ years

Prerequisite:
Ability to play C, F, G7, G & D7 and change chords competently.

Instructor:
Susie Davies-Splitter (M.Ed)

View Current Dates & Sign Up

Detailed Course Information

How to Play & Teach Ukulele: Beginners

For all Educators working with 6 to 12 + years

Beginners - (no experience required)

Instructor – Susie Davies-Splitter (M.Ed)

*Includes all Class Notes, Recordings & Certificate

Don't worry if you miss a session or can't attend live!

*You will need:

A good quality Soprano or Concert (or Tenor) Ukulele
Blackbelt Ukulele Student Book 1
- Purchasing Information in the FAQ's Below
Clip on Tuner
Computer and Internet

This 5-week ONLINE, multi modal & ‘Orff’ based short course is designed to show you how to play and teach:

Parts of the uke and how to tune
Simple one & two finger chords–C, Am, C7, F & (G7)
Finger picking over open strings
Simple strumming patterns
Improvisation over open strings
Playing & singing with body percussion & movement Incorporating Orff arrangements with percussion instruments, recorders and BoomWhackers
Songs in a range of styles (covering material from Blackbelt Ukulele 1 and more)
Intro. to music theory as it relates to the songs
Introduction to solfa and hand signs
Good playing technique
Links to the curriculum and assessment

View Our Current Registration Page for Pricing and Early-Bird Specials!

How to Play & Teach Ukulele: Intermediate

For all Educators working with 8 to 12 + years

Pre-requisite:
Ability to play C, F & G7 and change chords competently.

Instructor – Susie Davies-Splitter (M.Ed)

*Includes all Class Notes, Recordings & Certificate

Don't worry if you miss a session or can't attend live

*You will need:

A good quality Soprano or Concert (or Tenor) Ukulele
Blackbelt Ukulele Student Book 2
- Purchasing Information in the FAQ's Below
Clip on Tuner - or App on Device
Computer and Internet

This 5-week ONLINE, multi modal & ‘Orff’ based short course is designed to teach:

Chords and changes – starting with C, F & G7 and moving to G, D7 & more
A variety of strumming patterns
Finger picking accompaniments and melodies
Introduction to TAB – tablature
Improvisation at all levels
Scales, 12 Bar Blues &‘Play Along’ Pop Songs
Music theory, solfa and hand signs as it relates to the songs
Playing and singing songs in a range of styles including pop, blues, jazz, folk, gospel & world music, (covering material from Blackbelt Ukulele 2 & more)
Incorporating Orff arrangements with body percussion, movement, percussion instruments, recorders and BoomWhackers leading to ensemble work, composition & performance
Good playing technique
Links to the curriculum and assessment

View Our Current Registration Page for Pricing and Early-Bird Specials!

How to Play & Teach Ukulele: Advanced

For all Educators working with 10 + years

Pre-requisite: Ability to play C, F, G7, G & D7 and change chords competently.)

Instructor – Susie Davies-Splitter (M.Ed)

*Includes all Class Notes, Recordings & Certificate

Don't worry if you miss a session or can't attend live

*You will need:

A good quality Soprano or Concert (or Tenor) Ukulele
Blackbelt Ukulele Student Book 3
- Purchasing Information in the FAQ's Below
Clip on Tuner - or App on Device
Computer and Internet

This 5-week ONLINE, multi modal & ‘Orff’ based short course is designed to teach:

New chords and changes – Dm, D, Em, Edim, E7, Gm, A, A7, Bb, B7
More strumming patterns and TAB (Tablature)
Finger picking accompaniments and melodies
Improvisation at all levels Scales, Modes & ‘Play Along’ Pop Songs
Music theory, solfa and hand signs as it relates to the songs
Playing and singing songs in a range of styles including pop, blues, jazz, folk, gospel & world music (covering material from Blackbelt Ukulele 3 & more)
Incorporating Orff arrangements with body percussion, movement, percussion instruments, recorders and BoomWhackers leading to ensemble work, composition & performance
Good playing technique
Links to the curriculum and assessment

View Our Current Registration Page for Pricing and Early-Bird Specials!

About the Presenter

Susie Davies-Splitter (M. Ed.)

A few years ago, Susie decided to give the ukulele a go and is absolutely loving the ‘little’ instrument. In that time, she has led many classes for kids and adults as well as used it as part of her performing. She believes that the uke is an inclusive instrument for everyone to enjoy. She always manages to weave in some dancing and lots of laughing and singing into every class too!

Susie is also a music and movement educator, musician, accredited Orff practitioner, award-winning composer, mother to 3 grown up children and one daughter in law and one gorgeous Burmese cat, Molly. Over the last 30 years she has been teaching music and movement in schools, pre-schools and Universities as well as providing teacher training around the world.

Together with her husband Phil, they have developed the highly popular and award-winning ‘Welcome to Music’ series of audio tracks, books, choral arrangements, musicals and story books, written and recorded over 300 songs as well as the ‘Blackbelt Ukulele’ series which are enjoyed extensively by teachers, parents and children of all ages.

Our Goal

Our business is called ’Welcome to Music’ –building confidence and creativity through music.

Our goal is to enrich lives through the joy of music - whether it's working with little kids, big kids,

adults or those in aged care. To do this we use a multi modal and ‘Orff’ based approach to make the learning stick and believe that everyone can be a successful musical participant regardless of their background.

Our Mission

To enrich lives and connect ourselves and others to our hearts and inner beauty and potential to be creative and compassionate human beings.

To help people feel good about themselves, develop their self-expression and enhance health and well-being through the joy of music.

To build happy and healthy communities through inclusive music for all ages, abilities and cultures

To help raise the awareness of the importance of active music making in centres, schools and communities around the world.

Testimonials

Amy Young

Thanks, the course was fantastic and very accessible. Each week I learnt something new that I could immediately implement to improve my own playing but also for use in my music classes.

Angela Gionis

Very interactive, huge variety of songs and styles which will cater for many different abilities and age groups- excellent overall approach and very enjoyable as well! Fun, engaging and so appealing to students and teachers alike!

Christine Harwood

I thought the songs were great. I can definitely use them in my teaching. They were really easy and catchy. I thought the techniques of picking and the strumming were really excellent and easy to learn.

Very clear, great pace of learning, clear and precise demonstrations. I thought the course was outstanding!

Keep writing songs and doing what you do! You are fantastic!!

Janice Evans

A wonderfully interactive approach, including much-appreciated improvisation ideas, which are very useful for teaching. It all worked very well. I think it's fantastic that we - in South Africa, and also others in other parts of the world - have been able to participate in an Australian-based course! I personally think it went very smoothly. I was unable to attend some of the sessions, however, I have enjoyed catching up via the links, and the notes are excellent (as always).

Benefits for All Students to Learn the Ukulele

It is very easy to play, lightweight and no musical experience is necessary
It is a REAL instrument that is inexpensive compared to most other instruments
It can aide in social and emotional skills, listening skills, inhibitory control, understanding values (respect, taking care of), creativity and self-expression
It is tuned in a C chord (C6 to be exact) which makes it easy to play lots of songs using open strings (no fingers needed initially to make chords)
It is a good key to sing songs in
Simple melodies can be played on the open strings
It provides opportunities for music reading, composition and building musicianship skills.
It works beautifully in combination with speech, body percussion, singing, movement, dance, percussion instruments and recorder.
As songs and activities progress into different keys - the ukulele learning can be extended to embrace strumming, playing melodies, harmonies and improvising
As a modern and popular instrument, the ukulele can easily move into all musical styles including blues, jazz and popular repertoire.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I purchase the Blackbelt Ukulele (BBU) student book and other BBU resources for my online course?

You can go to our website for all of the information about the BBU Series – with samples of pages from the teacher’s multi-media pack, worksheets, audio tracks, and a video tutorial.

If you are in the Australasian region, you can purchase the physical copy from Welcome to Music https://welcometomusic.net/about-the-black-belt-ukulele-product-range/

For those who are in the northern hemisphere – you can purchase the products from Music in Motion in the USA:

What do you recommend I purchase to get the most out of these courses?

If you’ve not used the Blackbelt Ukulele resources, we recommend that you purchase a starter kit 1, 2 or 3 depending on which course you have chosen. These include the student book, worksheet book, chord sticker sheet and teacher’s multi-media pack.

How are these courses different to other Uke N Sing online courses?

These online courses are designed specifically to show educators a step by step process of how to teach the ukulele to their students up to 12 years. Other courses have not included this focus.

I’m an experienced uke player but not taught the uke to students. Which course should I attend?

If you haven’t taught the uke at all and you are needing to teach beginners, we recommend that you join the beginner’s course so you can learn a step by step process of how to teach.

What are the best ukulele brands and sizes to buy for myself as the teacher and as a class set for my students?

We recommend good quality ukes for you and your students. Anything under $30 is a toy and cannot hold it’s tuning.
As the teacher, we suggest a concert or tenor uke and soprano ukes for your students. The Blackbelt ukes are excellent value in wood grain with bag. Kala and Makala are great brands and Mahalo is a good brand for a class set in a variety of colours.

If you are in the Australasian region, you can purchase the Blackbelt ukes from Welcome to Music

https://welcometomusic.net/product-category/black-belt-ukulele/black-belt-ukulele-instruments-and-accessories/.

If you are outside of the Australasian region, you can find excellent resources & products at your local music store.

Where can I get ukulele accessories such as clip on tuner, strap, stand and sticker packs?

At Welcome to Music we sell straps, stands and coloured Blackbelt chord sticker packs for those in the Australasian region:

https://welcometomusic.net/product-category/black-belt-ukulele/black-belt-ukulele-instruments-and-accessories/

Otherwise, you can purchase most of these items from your local music store.

Snark tuners are an excellent brand and when you are more experienced, you can use free tuning apps on your device.

Do you recommend a plectrum/pick?

For beginners, we don’t recommend the picks. We believe that it’s best to teach strumming and finger picking technique first whereas the use of picks can be a lazy way to play the uke. When more experienced, felt picks are great and not nearly as noisy as the plastic picks.

Are these live courses included in the 'Welcome to Music Membership'?

No, our live courses and our membership are two completely different learning experiences.

Where our membership offers you on-demand learning, our live courses offer you the ability to learn from Susie and other guest instructors in real-time via Zoom!

Each live course is full of completely different content than what exists inside of the 'Welcome to Music Membership' and they both can be purchased separately.

Additional Testimonials

Elizabeth Zappia

Well-paced, interesting and motivating. Loved the variety of styles of music and loved every minute and every lesson.

Grace Marcucci

I enjoyed the multi-modal/sensory approach and clear instruction. Thanks so much for your hard work and bringing some joy into my current life of lockdown.

Mary Johnston

A great evening out online, singing, dancing and playing ukulele. Thanks - I really appreciated the course. It was a very professional standard and must have taken hours of work to put together.

Katarina Vrisk

This course more than met my expectations. I now own an instrument and practise regularly. It has brought joy into a rather anxious time. I really appreciate you offering this method of delivering the course which made it so easy. I looked forward to every lesson. Thank you to both of you!

Maryanne Sandstrom

Love your approach, enthusiasm and positivity. Thank you for this opportunity. It was great fun and made me appreciate the value of fun in learning. Sometimes I get so intense with the children about their learning that I forget about the fun!

Jenni Heinrich

Thanks so much for your thoroughness and professionalism. I've no doubt this took an enormous amount of time and care. A stunning model of the perfect educator always!

Leanne Dellavedova

All of it was very valuable, thank you. The variety of songs and activities for each one that you could implement straight away with your classes.