New Lansing Sixth Grade Ukulele and Garage Band Class at Lansing Middle School A Huge Success! (VIDEO)
This fall, our Lansing Middle School music program saw the addition of a 6th grade music class that incorporated the iPad app “Garage Band” and introductory ukulele. These two classes were formed in response to COVID-19 concerns about starting a beginning band. In about two weeks, Mrs. Jones and Mr. Vignery came up with the idea of using these two mediums to encourage musical participation and to ensure the music needs of students were met.
The semester-long class is split into two quarters and students get the chance to participate in both sections of the course. Students in Garage Band learn the basics of music composition, phrases, style, beat pattern, and song form. They use the app to create original compositions in various styles. The Ukulele class teaches students the basics of playing a ukulele that include strumming, chord progressions, steady beat, style, creating lyric lead sheets, and charting chords.
As a culminating project, the 1st quarter Ukulele and Garage Band classes combined to create a new take on the classic late 80’s song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” which we agreed was appropriate for the times we’re living in. The Garage Band class spent several days creating a new backing track for the Ukulele’s to play along with and during the final performance they helped with singing the lyrics.
"We have really enjoyed watching the students learn new things and it has been great to see their excitement for music," said Mrs. Jones. "We look forward to hearing what 2nd quarter has to offer!"