Ukulele Musician · Year One
A year-long online course with Kevin Carroll, beginning in 2027
Maybe there’s a song you’ve always strummed and you’d love to play the melody. Maybe you can play the melody and want to put chords underneath it, or find a way to phrase it that feels like you.
I built Ukulele Musician around that kind of curiosity. We’ll work on the skills that open up those possibilities, from getting a clean, ringing sound to hearing how chords and melodies fit together. Then we’ll put those skills to work in pieces of music, where you can hear what a change in touch, timing, or harmony does to a song.
Over the course of the year, you’ll develop a clearer sense of what to practice and more ways to make the music your own.
What You’ll Be Able to Do
Think of a tune you already know. Over the course of Year One, you’ll learn to do more with it.
Bring out the melody. Play it cleanly and shape a phrase with changes in touch, timing, and dynamics.
Give your strumming more variety. Keep a steady pulse while changing accents and leaving space where the music calls for it.
Hear how the chords fit. Explore why a chord change feels like a departure or a return, and try putting a simple harmony under a melody.
Make up a phrase of your own. Start with a few notes and see how far you can take them by changing the rhythm or answering one phrase with another.