Keaukaha Elementary School - Hilo, Big Island
May 18, 2009Keaukaha called an assembly of about 310 students to hear Jake play and give a message about music. Thank you to Chad Okinaka, Keaukaha’s principal, for arranging this school visit. The children opened the assembly by chanting a welcoming chant in Hawaiian for Jake. Jake’s presence at their school was a big treat for them since they don’t often see famous musicians in their area. Jake opened by telling the students that music makes people feel good and keeps us healthy. He demonstrated how all types of music can be played on the ukulele such as piano pieces, blues, drums and how you can transform the ukulele into these different instruments. Jake played a whole drum piece for the students on his ukulele and the whole gym was amazed. The students were so well behaved and watched intently as Jake played soft pieces like “Piano-Forte” and energetic pieces such as “Let’s Dance”.
Keaukaha’s ukulele club, Na Lehia O Keaukaha, was an ensemble of about fourteen students and joined Jake up front and played their own version of “Crazy G” collectively. Afterwards, Jake explained to the students why music is good medicine. When one watches a movie, the music is a very important aspect of the film because it allows the audience to feel different emotions. Jake even demonstrated on his ukulele how different emotions sound. He then showed the students how to arrange a song with the three basic important elements of music. These three essentials feature rhythm, harmony and melody. The rhythm gives us beat, the harmony are the chords of the song, and the melody helps us to recognize and identify the piece. Jake played each individual part of “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz and later combined all the components as the students sang along.
Jake encouraged the students to follow their passions, which makes them feel good, and when they feel good, it becomes a domino effect. When you feel good, the people around you will feel good, and then the world will in turn become a better place. He told the children to love and appreciate everyone and music is a very powerful tool to express that without words. When all the students sang together, Jake pointed out that it brought the whole room together as one family and everyone was in high spirits. Jake finished the assembly with a request of his version of “Crazy G” and the students were laughing, applauding, and sincerely enjoyed the song to it’s fullest. Again, mahalo Chad for organizing this event and your dedication to your students.
