Some of my favourite variations are better with hand gestures (Roly Poly, Fruit Salad), actions (Walking, Walking), shakers (Popcorn Kernels), scarves (Make a Circle), or felts ( Two Tigers, I Am Hungry), so I’d be inclined to introduce many of these without the ukulele the first time we sing them in a storytime series. There’s a sequence to learning chorded melody: First, choose a song and learn the chords. Learn to play While You Were Sleeping by Casting Crowns, While You Were Sleeping Chords, While You Were Sleeping guitar chords, While You Were Sleeping. This song only has one chord so it’s a great way to get started with chorded melody. It’s actually a French song, called Frre Jacques, and it has been translated in nearly any languages in the world. The first chorded melody style song we’re going to play is Are You Sleeping or Frère Jacques in the key of C.
So this should be also on the first songs to learn on the ukulele. Click the titles to see my sources, and stay tuned for a couple related felt stories next post. Are you sleeping is one of the easiest songs to learn on any instrument. There are dozens of songs based on Frere Jacques, and these are the ones I’d be most likely to use at storytime.