For my final evidence song, I chose to do the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” I chose this song because it’s a very happy song that most people know and I figured I could make great use of this song in the classroom. Starting out with this song I was very overwhelmed because I realized how many more chords were in this song compared to the last songs I did, which were three chords. This song has 8 chords! That’s a lot to remember for a beginner ukulele musician. Anyways, so I started off by just practicing the strumming pattern. I did this for about a week or so for 10-15 minutes per day. This audio recording I have attached below is from the second day that I was practicing the strumming pattern (Down, down, up, up, down, up).

I was so frustrated with this song already I wanted to give up and try a different song, but I kept going with it. I have heard people play it at beach fires, so how hard could it be? Ok, so I came to the conclusion that this song is not for beginner ukulele players. The amount of time I spent trying to learn this song was insane! I looked back at my goal template for the class and realized I had to sing and play the song, so I told myself I would practice almost every day so I could master this song. Looking at my goal template I also notice that I listed the flute as an asset because I could remember sheet music more easily. Well, this is pretty funny because I did not even look at any sheet music for this song. I watched a YouTube video on how to play and I wrote all the notes down on a piece of paper and then put a “1” or a “2′ beside it depending on how many times I needed to strum the chord. I can also look at my disadvantages and one of them in a sore back. I could certainly feel this especially when I am bending over to look at my paper, but I felt it more in my fingers for sure. I never imagined playing the ukulele would hurt so much!

Here is the video where I learned to play the song:

Here is my piece of paper: