I have just begun working on my Genius Project. I have actually done a lot already. For example, I participated in Mr. Hartman's music class last week and I learned a better way to play an E-flat minor chord. I brought my ukulele into school and went to Mr. Hartman's third-period music class. I laughed when one of my students, Geo, said, "You're just a big kid Mr. DeGrandis." He's right! It was awesome! I had a total blast playing with a lot of my students. This shows I have made some progress because I attended a class for help. Another bit of progress I have made is in playing a song. Learning to play, You're Welcome from the film, Moana, has been challenging. Here is a link to the tutorial on YouTube I am using. Little did I know I picked a very challenging piece to play! I was really struggling trying to figure out how to play an E-flat minor chord. There are a lot of chords to memorize. Here are just a few of them! I could not get my fingers to cooperate and press three strings simultaneously. I gave up. But, during Mr. Hartman's class, Genevieve Prinsen showed me the easiest way to play that chord using my thumb. Who knew? Then I practiced with the class. This proves I made some progress because now I can play a chord I couldn't before. Finally, last weekend, I had a friend come over who decided to buy a ukulele too - a blue one - after he heard about my Genius Project. Together, we learned the song, You Are My Sunshine. This was simple, but it is the first complete song I have played and sang on the ukulele! It only had two chords, but I was very proud of myself anyway! This proves I am doing well with my project because now I can actually play a real song. I look forward to learning more about this fun instrument and playing more complicated songs on my ukulele.
