Not Your Typical Tropical Club

Fair Grove Middle and High School has added an exciting new club to their program this school year in Mrs. Harmon’s room: ukulele club.

The club is hosted by Mrs. Audra Harmon for middle and high school students. For now, the club is only open to middle schoolers who already know how to play the ukulele. High school students may join with any level of experience. 

Harmon has been preparing for a ukulele club months before school started. “…I got a crazy idea that I wanted to teach ukulele, but I didn’t know how to play,” Harmon shared. She began practicing in the spring and then began teaching it to her students once school started in the fall. She originally wanted to start the club last school year, but the idea was pushed when she went on maternity leave for most of the first semester. Harmon said, “I wanted to start it because I wanted to give an opportunity to learn some new chords and songs that we don’t get to do in class.” Ukulele club can be a great way to learn something new.

A typical club meeting consists of watching play along ukulele videos on Youtube that consists of chords that the players have already learned. The players improve their skills and broaden their song range with the help of the ukulele club. “In the middle school group, Elise Jackson and Brylee Mallard are pretty strong players,” Harmon stated, “I am not sure about the high school kids yet.” So far, there are two 7th grade students and two 6th grade students who have joined the club, and with the club now being opened to the high school, Harmon guesses that a handful of students may be joining the club.

Lexy Defreece (7) is one of the members of ukulele club. Defreece started playing the ukulele in sixth grade. “…It just seemed fun and I wanted to keep doing it,” Defreece shared. The ukulele club provides a place for those who wish to learn or improve their skills. Defreece said, “Well, I wanted to know how to play the ukulele better because I do it in one of my hours during the day, and I wanted to do it more since it seemed fun too.”

The ukulele club isn’t just fun for the students. Harmon said, “I love being able to teach something new to the students, but also since I am still learning I feel like we are all learning something together which is a lot of fun.” The ukulele players may even get a chance to perform what they’ve learned. “I am hoping that we can use what we are learning to go caroling around the school during Christmas time,” Harmon explained, “Even if we can’t sing, we will still try to come around and play.” The club also may make an appearance to play during lunch some time in the future. The ukulele club is in Mrs. Harmon’s room after school till 4:30, Tuesday for middle schoolers and Thursdays for high schoolers.