'What do we do with 30 ukuleles?'

MINSTER - A chorus of ukulele strumming can now be heard quite regularly throughout the halls of Minster Local Schools, thanks to a two-day promotional giveaway that elementary school music teacher Abby Brigadoi entered on a whim.

In February 2024, while perusing some online teaching groups, Brigadoi was pointed in the direction of ukulele company Kala Brand Music Co.'s Random Acts of Kindness Day promotion.

From Feb. 17 to Feb. 19, 2024, the company pledged to donate one of its Candy Shoppe ukuleles to schools and education organizations across the country for every ukulele purchased from the brand. During that time, Kala was taking nominations from teachers or community members on where to donate the instruments.

"I was like, 'Well, I'll just, I'll fill out the form,'" Brigadoi said. "I gave them a little information about the school and what I plan to do with ukuleles. And in March, 30 ukuleles showed up at the school. So I was like, 'All right, well, what do we do with 30 ukuleles?'"

As it happens, ukuleles offer an engaging way for students to learn and reinforce musical concepts, Brigadoi said.

"For example, things like beat and rhythm can't truly be learned unless felt, and strumming a ukulele is a very tactile way for students to practice reading rhythms," she said. "Students also get to experience the difference between playing melodies, one note at a time, and harmonies (chords). Other traditional classroom instruments like recorders only offer the melodic aspect. With ukuleles, students can learn, practice, improvise and compose both melodically and harmonically."

Some other skills that are learned through ukulele include: fine motor skills, cognitive development, music reading, improvisation and composition, playing together with others, and playing along with accompaniment - and it works as a great transition to learning guitar later in life if the students so choose, Brigadoi continued.

One challenge she encountered with implementing the new instruments was accommodating the lessons to three of her third grade students with disabilities.

"We have one student with some physical challenges, and we have another student with Down syndrome, which would make it more difficult both physically and cognitively to do some of the more advanced things like placing their fingers on the right strings for chords," she said.

So again, Brigadoi resourced her social media groups and found a woman who adapts ukuleles for people with limb differences.

"I messaged her and she came up with some awesome solutions," she said. "We did need to purchase a smaller ukulele to fit, but she created a splint that has a pick attached to it for the student to be able to play without having to worry about the fingers. And then a chord changer that when you press the buttons, ... it will actually press down the strings for them to be able to play the chords. Then she also created a strap to help the student hold it."

In addition, the woman ended up donating the materials and simply asked Brigadoi to pay shipping.

Brigadoi is now teaching beginner ukulele to Minster third graders, and then fifth and six graders who aren't in band take a more advanced ukulele course, she said.

"They start to learn a little bit more advanced chords and chord progressions," she said. "And actually this morning, I got a bunch of Shel Silverstein poetry books from the library and my sixth graders sat down in groups and used the chords that they learned and they started composing songs to go along with the poetry."

Brigadoi said she regularly takes a very hands-on, movement-based approach to teaching music.

"We have a large variety of percussion instruments in the classroom, and we do a lot of movement-based activities," she said. "Students don't just learn by sitting and singing. They have to physically experience the music in order to really get it inside them."

The students, however, get really excited to play the ukulele, she noted.

"It's something different for them, since many students don't have string instruments in their homes. I think it also feels a little more 'grown up' than some of the instruments they have been using since kindergarten, so that adds a layer of excitement," Brigadoi said.

Her third graders have only been playing for a few weeks, as she said she waits for their spring musical to be finished before starting the lesson, but she maintained that they're always excited to get their instruments out during class.

"They also enjoy working in the centers (of the classroom) on the days I formally assess their playing, since it isn't something we do regularly in class," she said. "I have even had a few parents reach out to me about purchasing a ukulele for their child at home."

Without a doubt, Brigadoi said, she will continue to teach ukuleles next year.

"I am always reflecting on and adapting my teaching, so I'm sure there will be plenty of small changes, but since we just adopted this curriculum I want to give it a fair chance before making any major changes," she said.

Last year, as she wasn't expecting to receive a class set of ukuleles, Brigadoi cobbled together resources from other teachers who were experienced with teaching ukulele in order to get the new instruments into the hands of the students.

"After researching different curricula and resources over the summer and the beginning part of this school year, it's nice to have a more structured framework to work from, and the students seem to be enjoying it," she said.

Her overall goal with any music class is always to build musical skills and a joy for music that will carry through the students' lifetimes.

"I want them to be able to have the skills necessary to succeed in band or choir in the upper grades, sing to their future children or grandchildren, dance to the beat, and just be joyful consumers of music through their adult lives," she said.

Can you pass a quick uke quiz?:

The ukulele, invented in Hawaii in the 1880s, is believed to have descended from an instrument called a machete brought to the islands by Portuguese immigrants.

The instruments come in four different sizes - soprano, concert, tenor and baritone.

They commonly have four strings, but some strings are paired, meaning a uke may have as many as eight strings.

Neil Armstrong loved to play the ukulele. After the moon landing, he played the ukulele while in quarantine.