Organizing Ukuleles in Your Music Classroom

If you’re just starting to teach ukulele, you’ll realize that you need to figure out a way to effectively store your ukuleles safely to prevent damage, while still making them accessible to your music students. Any music classroom, regardless of size, can benefit from a well-thought approach to organizing ukuleles.

Here’s some tips that you can implement in your classroom to manage and store ukuleles:

• Set up your ukuleles in a part of your music classroom where students can easily access them when they enter.
• When assigning students a ukulele, also assign them a number.
• Place the corresponding number on the back of each ukulele in a numbered cardboard magazine holder.
  •  These magazine holders depicted in the image above are the perfect size for ukuleles and can be placed on any shelf, rolling cart, or in crates. They also protect and prevent damage to the ukuleles.
• When having students take or put away their assigned ukulele, call five numbers at a time to avoid any traffic jams in your classroom.
•  If music students are also responsible for setting up chairs, music stands, music books, etc., it’s also important to teach them a setup routine.
  
  • For example, you can instruct students the order in which they are expected to set up playing: first set up the chair and stand, and then get the ukulele and music book. Once seated begin practicing warmup.
  • Writing these steps on the board gives students a visual reminder of the setup order, and ensures ukuleles don’t get damaged.