CULVER CITY, Calif. — Not everybody is born with a musical talent, but music teacher Jonathan Swann believes everyone can learn to play an instrument Hawaiians traditionally call the ukulele.

First introduced to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants, most people associate the instrument with island life.

“So what I love about the ukulele is, you know, it’s cute, it’s small, relative to the guitar anyway,” said Swann. “That cuteness and that smallness comes through in the sound as well.”

Easy to pick up, Swann insisted that most students can learn to play at least one song by the end of their first lesson.

“For example, 'Happy Birthday' is just three chords,” he said.

But don’t let the size of the instrument fool you. The ukulele is not a toy and will take many years to master. Yet the cuteness of the sound is a huge reason why music teachers like Swann are seeing a surge of interest.

"Right off the bat, we learn at least three chords, so they can start to learn music," he said.

Originally from Houston, Swann moved to the west coast and settled in L.A. at the start of the year. The last thing he ever expected was a pandemic but was already prepared. Many of his lessons were already happening online.

Thanks to platforms like TakeLessons.com, students interested in any topic can find teachers and start learning right away.

“I pivoted hard to teaching lessons online, and it’s really opened up a lot of possibilities,” said Swann. “I have students now in Houston and in Dallas, up in the Bay. Of course, students here in L.A. as well. I keep getting requests from all over the country, which is great actually.”

Gabriela Montilla works as a speech pathologist and was introduced to the ukulele by one of her students. Wanting to learn herself, she found Jonathan online.

“I needed an outlet, and this is something that I always wanted to do so, and it kind of was the perfect time,” said Montilla. “I ran out of excuses to not do it, and it’s been cool. It’s challenging. It’s very difficult, and honestly, sometimes those lessons are more therapeutic.”

Music is a form of therapy, and since the stay-at-home orders have taken effect, adults are looking for ways to express themselves. Swann teaches the saxophone, flute, clarinet, and guitar, but one-third of his new requests are all to learn the ukulele.

“Working with new adults is one of my favorite things,” said Swann. “I get to learn about their musical interests and, of course, I incorporate those musical interests into our learning, and it’s fun to just banter back-and-forth, share a little music on the way, and just have a good time.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by TakeLessons Tutoring (@takelessons)