Becoming a ukulele teacher...by accident

Having always sung, played guitar since I received one for my ninth birthday, and bass for more than a decade, in 2008 I had plans to take up ukulele and bought one online but it turned out to be disappointingly crummy and no fun to play!

In 2010 I moved to Newcastle and soon after had a serious bicycle crash resulting in a nasty bump to the head. However, excellent medical attention, the luck of the draw and the discovery of a local ukestra (ukulele orchestra) and its founders Mark Jackson and Jane Jelbart, set me on another path applying my skills and knowledge to this new instrument and sharing them as a ukestra leader, uke and U-bass teacher and music therapy facilitator.

It’s tempting to say (and some ungenerous souls might think it inevitable!) that a brain injury was a clear pathway to ukulele, but I have no doubt that playing music and the support of a musical community was the key to my successful recovery.

Part of that journey was switching from bass guitar to U-bass - it's so much smaller and lighter and the sound is incredible!! I even sold my standard sized Maton acoustic guitar and bought a Mini Maton because once you've experienced the spatial freedom of a ukulele, there is no going back!

I built Ukulele Central because I'm really interested in people, what they’re aiming for in music playing and how they learn. With that in mind, I've listened to what they have to say, researched and implemented methods and developed products which achieve results for ukulele and U-bass players. 

I've also gained a micro-masters in Instructional Design & Technology to inform the design & delivery of Ukulele Central's instructional products.

Danielle Scott