Week 10 of 24
Goal: You learn the classic ukulele strum “down, down, up, up, down, up”.
Review
Play “Alle meine Entchen” with C, F and G7 – this time with down-up.
Step by step
- The pattern is: down, down, up, up, down, up. It sounds like beach and sunshine.
- The secret: your hand keeps swinging like in down-up. Between the two “ups” it goes down without touching the strings.
- Count: “one, two and – and four and”. On “three” your hand strums the air.
- Practise it in Rhythm with C, on “Slow” first. The tool plays the pattern for you. More: Practising with a metronome.
- Only when it works evenly with one chord, add a song.
Time to make music: your piece
Island strum with C, then “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” with C, F and G7 – sounds much more like ukulele!
Practise rhythm Pattern: Down, down, up, up, down, up
Homework for next time
Five days, about ten minutes each:
- Pattern in the air without the ukulele, saying it out loud.
- Island strum with C, metronome “Slow”, two minutes.
- With changes: pattern twice on C, twice on F.
- Fun: “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore” with the island strum.
Done when …
- you play the pattern four times in a row evenly
- you accompany a song with the island strum (slow is fine)
If you get stuck
- Your hand stops on “three”? Then the air strum got lost. Make it extra big at first.
- Everything falls apart with chord changes? Strum just once down at the change, then restart the pattern.
For teachers: lesson plan
- ≈ 10 min Warm-up: body percussion – thighs for down, hands up for up. Everyone says it along.
- ≈ 15 min Practice: one chord, pattern on repeat; then change after every two patterns.
- ≈ 20 min Song together: “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore” – the whole class sings the hallelujahs loudly.
Differentiation: those who are confident play the piece with down-up or help a partner; those who need more time strum only on beat one of each bar.
For the board: openstring.de/ukulele/en/lesson/10/