Ukulele
Year 2 and above
Whole-class ensemble
Starter Pack & Full Access
Download PDF Guide Everyone Can Play – Ukulele is a whole-class instrumental resource designed to support large-group performing, composing, and improvising through practical music-making. Originally developed by Musical Futures Australia to help younger students begin playing instruments together, ukulele was chosen as the starting instrument for its physical accessibility and suitability for whole-class ensemble work.
The resource is used successfully with students from Year 2 upwards and is adaptable for a wide range of ages, contexts, and curriculum frameworks across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Singapore, and beyond.
What this resource is for
Everyone Can Play – Ukulele supports teachers to:
- Lead whole-class music-making confidently through playing
- Develop foundational instrumental and ensemble skills
- Establish pulse, groove, listening, and coordination
- Support group-based composition and improvisation
- Build inclusive and democratic music classrooms
It is particularly effective for:
- Early instrumental learning
- Whole-class ensemble development
- Introducing chords, strumming, and groove
- Supporting student confidence and musical independence
How Everyone Can Play – Ukulele works
Students learn through playing first, supported by play-along videos, backing tracks, visual cues, graphic scores, and tablature, and carefully scaffolded musical material. Skills are reinforced through regular opportunities to recap, practise, improvise, and reflect — not taught as isolated exercises.
Your role as the teacher
In Everyone Can Play – Ukulele, the teacher acts as a musical leader and facilitator — modelling playing and musical behaviours, using strategies such as "I play, you play", encouraging students to listen and respond, and keeping all students active wherever possible.
"Teacher explanation supports the music-making rather than replacing it."
What students will learn
Instrumental Skills- Make musical and meaningful sounds on the ukulele
- Play rhythmic patterns from graphic scores
- Learn and use a range of chords using tablature
- Apply strumming patterns and chord changes
- Think and work like musicians
Ensemble Skills- Play in time as part of a large ensemble
- Copy rhythms by ear
- Play along with backing tracks
- Create, practise, and rehearse musical ideas
- Arrange music in different styles using voice and instruments
Groove & Feel- Hear and play the groove at the right time
- Stay silent when required
- Recognise and shape accents
- Feel the groove while working with others
Musical Understanding- Harmonic movement through chords and strumming
- Melodic playing through riffs
- Stylistic recognition across genres
- Expressive performance and ensemble awareness
Resource structure and content
The resource is organised into three interconnected strands — chords and strumming, songs and playalongs, and riff-based playing. Together they support instrumental technique, ensemble skills, groove, and musical independence. Revisit and combine them rather than working through them in a fixed order.
Scaffolded chord and strumming content prioritising sound, feel, and ensemble playing over technical perfection.
- Am · F · C · Em · G · D · E · A
- F#m · Dm · Bm · Bb
- Chord combinations and progressions
- Tablature reading throughout
Original classroom pieces and popular songs where students apply their chord and strumming skills in musical contexts.
- The Bullfrog Blues · The Funky Fish
- Riptide (Vance Joy)
- Little Talks (Of Monsters and Men)
- Playalong Medleys 1 & 2 (new)
- Extended playalongs: Golden, Birds of a Feather, and more
Extends students into melodic playing, supporting progression into improvisation and composition.
- Happier – Marshmello ft. Bastille
- Sunflower – Post Malone
- Old Town Road – Lil Nas X
- Girls Like You – Maroon 5
How the strands fit together
Across the unit, students move fluidly between skill-building (chords, strumming, riffs), ensemble application (playalongs and songs), and musical understanding (groove, timing, style). Adapt the pacing based on student experience rather than age, and revisit material regularly rather than simply moving on.
Instruments and resources needed
Required- A class set of ukuleles (one per student)
- Guitar picks
- Internet access
- AV system with audio loud enough to be heard above the ensemble
Optional but Beneficial- One or two ukuleles with pickups connected to the AV system or amplifier
- A small number of tenor ukuleles
How to use this resource in lessons
- Keep all students playing — no one should sit out
- Teach all parts to all students — swap roles and parts regularly
- Ask part of the class to keep pulse while others fit rhythms — then swap
- Encourage verbalisation of sounds — e.g. "high–low", "dom–dah"
- Encourage improvisation from the outset — clapping, body percussion, vocal sounds, then ukulele
- Prepare students before pressing play — highlight cues, counting, and chord changes first
Planning a typical lesson
- Aural warm-ups and pulse work
- Recap known skills and material
- Introduce new musical material
- Time for improvisation and exploration
- Whole-class music-making
Differentiation and flexibility
Progression is guided by musical experience rather than age. The same material can be used across a wide range of year groups — adjust your expectations, not the content.
Younger or less confident students- Play a single shared part as a whole class
- Use backing tracks as a safety net
- Focus on pulse, rhythm, and simple strumming
Older or more confident students- Move more quickly through chord and riff material
- Add melodic ideas and extended chord voicings
- Use grooves as a starting point for whole-class compositions
- Transition into Playalongs or Just Play
Curriculum considerations
Musical Futures is not a curriculum — it is an approach to teaching and learning music. Everyone Can Play – Ukulele supports performing, composing, improvising, and listening across all curriculum frameworks, and is used successfully in schools delivering the Australian Curriculum, Cambridge, and International Baccalaureate programmes. Use the Curriculum Mapping Tool to align it to your local requirements.
Everyone Can Play – Ukulele is about building confidence, participation, and musical understanding through shared music-making. Use it flexibly. Adapt it to your students. Let the music lead.