As we begin the second half of the semester, I am really focusing on sharpening my ukulele skills and expanding my musical knowledge. This week, I am beginning to learn the chords to my final song “Mamma Mia”. I chose this song because Mamma Mia is my favourite movie and I believe it is important to be passionate about what you are playing. When I played piano in elementary school, I was often more enthusiastic about songs that I already knew. 

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

The chords used in this song are the following: “D, A, G, Bm, Em”. When I originally chose this song, I had looked at a slightly different version of this song, but after playing both versions, I preferred this one. This song is appearing to be the hardest song I have attempted to learn as the chord transitions are quick and put a strain on my wrist. I am currently working on transitioning from an A to a Bm chord which is a challenge as the Bm chord itself is awkward to hold. I am practicing using my index finger as an anchor for the chord as it slides down one fret but remains on the second string. Over the next few weeks, I am going to increase the speed of the song once I feel more comfortable with the chords.

Along with learning the chords, Alexa and I have been working together to help each other learn the song. Our goal is to be able to perform it together by the end of the semester. I have found that peer teaching has been a huge asset through my musical growth journey. Between the two of us, we can provide feedback for each other as well as work on timing and rhythm. I believe this is a strong component of musical education as students learn a lot from their peers around them. In the future, I hope to utilize peer teaching while playing the ukulele as a way to expand the knowledge towards more students. As a teacher, it is difficult to give every student the one-on-one attention they need. It is important to allow the stronger students to act as mentors and guides for other students to follow. Alexa has experience playing guitar, and while the ukulele is different, this has helped me to learn a lot about chord positioning and posture.

– Ms. G 🙂