The Rainbow Ukulele books are written for GCEA tuning, with a high G (4th) string. Continue reading
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What are the note ranges of the ukulele books?
In Rainbow Ukulele Book 1, the pupil plays open string melodies to start with. Fretted notes are added one by one until the pupil knows an octave of natural notes from C to C. In Book 2, the sharps and flats are added, and the pupil learns to fret higher up the neck (as far as high F note at the 8th fret).
Here is a fingerboard graphic Continue reading
What about ukulele chords?
In general, the approach to chords in the Rainbow Ukulele books is very flexible. The main focus is on melodic skills, but at every stage there is scope for chord work alongside this. The music is printed with chord symbols, and there are chord diagrams at the back of the books.
What is the approach to the right hand?
The Rainbow books aim to be as flexible and universal as possible with regard to the right hand, as the right hand seems to be such an individual thing in the ukulele world! In a nutshell:
- all the music in Book 1 can be plucked using just the thumb
- Book 2 deals with finger plucking, and various combinations of thumb and fingers
What about playing with a plectrum?
Generally the books are just as applicable to a plectrum pupil as to a fingerstyle pupil. All the pieces from Book 1, and almost all the pieces in Book 2, can be played just as well with a flat pick as with thumb and fingers.
Some ukulele players also use a soft, thick plectrum – usually made of felt – for strumming. These can be very useful in the early stages, especially for faster down-and-up strumming.
Ukulele grades
(It’s important to point out that the music for a grade test will be printed in black and white, so pupils will need to have made the transition to reading notes without colours. Check out the Rainbow Ukulele Black and White Tunebook #1 and #2).
The ukulele is still something of a newcomer on the music education scene, but yes, there are grade tests for ukulele! Several of the smaller exam boards have developed their own syllabuses. Here are some more details and links, and some idea of how the Rainbow Ukulele books fit in. Continue reading
Who are the books for?
The Rainbow Guitar and Rainbow Ukulele books are aimed at young beginners and improvers who are learning to read the notes on the stave at the same time as they learn the instrument. Continue reading
How does the colour scheme work?
Each string on the guitar (or ukulele) is given a colour. The notes played on that string are printed in that same colour, throughout the books. Simple as that! Continue reading
How do the colours help the pupil?
The musical stave is a beautiful, neat, elegant way of representing music on the page. Once understood, it tells us everything we need to know about the shapes and rhythms, textures and intentions of a piece of music. But as a beginner quickly realises, the stave tells us nothing about how to coax this music out of THE ACTUAL INSTRUMENT WE ARE HOLDING. Colouring the notes allows us to add some of that concrete, instrument-specific information without spoiling the simple shapes and contours of the stave, or adding any extra labels or clutter.
In the case of string instruments, one way to use colour is to have a colour for each string. This breaks the stave up into small, manageable zones. Once directed to the right string, the beginner pupil only needs to make simple 2- or 3-way choices. The mental load is lightened, the pupil will “get to the the tune” with less effort, and the logic of the stave lines and spaces can be learned at a gradual pace.
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Why is there no yellow in the “rainbow”?
Notes printed yellow are a bit like yellow text. Horrible-looking and very hard to read!