Heidi Swedberg & Daniel Ward

Heidi and Daniel have been playing ukulele for audiences for years. They are frequent headline acts at ukulele festivals and in schools across the country. Ukulele playing, singing, laughter, and audience participation will be part of their performance at your location and they hope you take an active role in having fun with them as you sing, clap and move to the music.

Albums Heidi and Daniel have recorded several albums

Types of ukuleles There are four main sizes of ukuleles

Four strings Almost all ukuleles have four strings; guitars usually have six.

NORTH COAST ARTS INTEGRATION PROJECT 2017

Heidi Swedberg & Daniel Ward Study Guide

BEFORE THE SHOW What do students need

to know before the performance?

1DURING THE SHOW

How should I act as an audience member?

2AFTER THE SHOW

How was I inspired?

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HEIDI SWEDBERGWhen she was 5 years old Heidi received her first ukulele from the Hawaiian Easter bunny while living in Hawaii where she was born. She has fond

memories of teaching herself chords and writing songs in her room in Albuquerque NM, the place she thinks of as home. She picked the instrument up again in 1992 in Hollywood, CA while playing a singer-songwriter for a network TV pilot. She has been an actress in over 30 movies and TV shows including Seinfeld, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Wizards of Waverly Place, Kindergarten Cop, and Hot Shots!

DANIEL WARD University of New Mexico is where Daniel earned a degree in Classical Guitar Performance and Composition. He has toured the world playing flamenco style guitar with Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra as well as with many bands and dance ensembles. He has several albums and has written books on playing ukulele. He and Heidi are members of touring bands such as The Sukey Jump Band and The Smoking Jackets.

MULTICULTURAL Heidi and Daniel embrace songs and musical styles from around the world. They both grew up in New Mexico which has hispanic cultural connections. The ukulele has origins in Portugal and Hawaii. Many of their songs are inspired by Latin music. You might hear Daniel using “Flamenco” guitar techniques such as rapid strumming and complex rhythms. Some of their songs are in other languages, especially Spanish.

HEIDI SWEDBERG AND DANIEL WARD OCTOBER 17, 2017

BEFORE THE SHOW

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AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION The audience is an important and integral part of a live performance. Heidi and Daniel’s family band is called the “Sukey Jump Band”. Sukey Jump is a 19th-century term for a song and dance party where people come together to play, sing, and participate in the music creation not simply sit back and watch it passively. Teachers who model joyful active participation notice

their students often follow their lead and enjoy the show more enthusiastically. THINGS TO KNOWFun! Heidi and Daniel want you to have fun, not to sit back and

be entertained. Having FUN is something you actively DO. That

means joining in the songs. You will be a part of the magical

musical community that is created when people participate in a

music making.

Shhh! A live performance is not television, a movie, a video game

or a computer. Real people are on the stage. This means no

talking (unless asked to do so by the performers).

React. Laugh, smile, applaud and cry as appropriate.

Seating. For this show, you will be sitting in bleachers or on the

criss-cross on the floor. It is respectful to keep in your own

space.

Applaud. You should clap at:

• The end of a single song

• When asked to by the performers

• The end of the show

Restroom. Use the restroom

before the show.

If it’s an emergency, quietly

ask your teacher if you may

go.

ONLINE RESOURCES • This is Heidi and Daniel’s website

• Daniel’s website

• Daniel playing “Aloha Oe” on ukulele video. This is a Hawaiian

song played with flamenco tremolo technique. Here is another

flamenco style song that Daniel composed.

DURING THE SHOW

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The following are suggestions for reflection, follow-up and integrated activities. 1. If you play ukulele or guitar, sing and play with your students. It

doesn’t matter if you are a great player or not. Students need to see that

the enjoyment of making music together is far more important than being

technically perfect.

2. In discussing a performance, it is more productive to ask the

question “What did you see/hear?” or “What do you remember

most about the concert?” rather than “Did you like the

performance?” The first questions lead to observation and

interpretation of the performance, encouraging recall of details,

while the last question encourages judgmental responses.

Discussion of which aspects of a performance remain in one’s

memory often reveals the themes at the center of a work.

3. Have students describe a memorable moment from the performance in various ways such as

verbally, in writing, by drawing, or through movement. Ask students if the performance

differed from what they expected. What kind of feeling or mood did your students have

during the performance? Discuss other kinds of music. What emotions has music or singing

evoked any emotions in you? Before the performance, make sure to inform students that you

will be completing this exercise so they can pay close attention to important details.

4. Create a song together. Take a familiar song like “Shortnin’ Bread” or “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and

swap out words to make the songs funny, personal or related to something you’re studying in

class. Look for where rhyming is important and count syllables. See what sounds students

can make to add to play along with the song (percussion, xylophone, etc).

5. Write to Heidi and Daniel. What songs are you singing? Make a video for them or send

them your lyrics. They would love to hear from you via their

website.

6. Have you ever made a visual artwork like a drawing or painting

based on a song? Music can hold such emotion that can be

expressed abstractly with colors and shapes or

representationally with images people can recognize.

Send photos of your artwork to Heidi and Daniel!

AFTER THE SHOW

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