Erica Ylitalo and Sean King, both 16, had never taught ukulele music lessons before. In fact, neither Ylitalo nor King had ever taken formal ukulele lessons before, either.
So, naturally, the teens felt nervous to start their first lesson as ukulele teachers at Marcellus Free Library on August 14, but after an hour, the teens successfully taught five chords and Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" to 12 strangers, ranging in age from early teens to early 70s.
Ylitalo learned to play the ukulele from her sister, and from searching Google for chords and cover songs to absorb. King learned entirely on the Internet.
"YouTube is invaluable," King told the students. "You can find any song you want to play and learn how to play it."
Music teachers Erica Ylitalo and Sean King perform "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers during a ukulele lesson at Marcellus Free Library on Tuesday, August 14.One student (and guitar player), Barbara Corey, had never picked up a ukulele before the lesson.
"The ukulele is a lot smaller so I was trying to figure out how to hold it," said Corey. "It was a lot of fun."
Abbey Vensel, another student and library page, plans to continue learning the instrument.
"It's easy to play," said Vensel, 16. "[Sean] said when you play it, you can't help but smile. I think that's definitely true."
Ylitalo and King also taught the group "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers, although some older members of the group weren't familiar with the hit song.
The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons strongly influence Ylitalo and King's own young roots-rock bluegrass band, Casual Plaid. Besides ukulele, Ylitalo sings, plays mandolin, percussion and piano. King plays banjo, guitar, bass and mandolin.
Marcellus Free Library provided five ukulele kits for the lesson. The kits are available to borrow with an Onondaga County Public Library card.
Want to learn ukulele?
Where: Marcellus Free Library, second floor. 32 Maple St., Marcellus
When: 7 p.m., Aug. 20. The lesson takes about one hour.
How much: Free. No experience or equipment is necessary. Registration is required due to limited number of ukuleles. Call 673-3221 for availability.