Children give ukulele a modern twist

GONE are the days when youngsters picked up a recorder as their first instrument.

Pupils at St Edward's Junior School have been learning to play something a little different – the ukulele.

COLOURFUL CLASS: From left, Henry Stephens, Erica Povey and Kale Davidson, all six
TAKING A BREAK: Dakota Jones, five, concentrates on the lesson
TUNING UP: Charlie Makins, five, picks at the strings

And rather than turning their hand to George Formby classics such as When I'm Cleaning Windows, the musicians have been playing top chart hits.

Around 20 children have joined the Little Ukes club, taking lessons with teacher Julie Kitching during lunch breaks at the school in Cirencester Road, Charlton Kings.

Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk

myprint-247

View details

Print voucher

Our heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.

Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk

Contact: 01858 468192

Valid until: Sunday, June 30 2013

She said: "It is a nice little instrument that is easy to play and very sociable.

"I hope they will carry on learning it as it is something they can just pick up and play when they are older.

"Recorders put children off music and certainly make a lot of parents wince when they hear them.

"But the children love the bright colours of the ukuleles and have great fun learning to play."

Among the tunes being learned by the children are Christmas tunes such as Jingle Bells.

And they have even learned a few pop songs, including I'm Yours by top band The Script.