The Ukelele O.W.L.S.

By Jasmine Wright

In Meeting Room B of the Brown County Public Library, conversation and the whiz of unzipping bags spill into the hallway. It’s 10:25 A.M. on a Friday and Kirstin Thompson greets all of her students who happen to be at least a couple of decades older than her. 

A grant from the Indiana Arts Commission had Tess Kean, the Marketing and Program Coordinator at the Library searching for something to bring the community together. While the grant allowed for a wide range of ideas, it did have one restriction: it could only be used for those 65+. 

It’s now four weeks into the program and 10:28 A.M.. Ten students sit together, pulling out their ukeleles and strumming them absent-mindedly while chatting away with each other and finding the right page in their lesson plan booklets. The program is called the Ukelele O.W.L.S, Ukulele for Older Wiser Learners. 

The nonsensical music grows louder as they tune their ukeleles. They quickly practice strumming patterns and cords they have learned over the last three Fridays they have met in Room B. 

The instructor of the class is Kristin Thompson. Thompson is from Columbus, Indiana, but currently resides in Bloomington. She fondly remembers coming to Nashville over plenty of weekends growing up. 

“I took piano lessons for a while when I was a kid, but I didn’t quite like it so I quit,” Thompson says.

She remembers a couple of years after that, she was begging her mother for guitar lessons and fell in love.

“I decided I wanted to learn how to play banjo in my early twenties,” Thompson says. “That’s how I met Kara Barnard, she taught me how to play.”

Barnard owned the Weed Patch Music Company located on Main Street in Nashville, Indiana. The shop was a special place for Thompson, who eventually started working there and continued to even after Barnard sold the business. 

In 2016, Barnard reached out to Thompson when the new owners were ready to sell the shop again. The two of them took over the Weed Patch and while Barnard moved on from the business in 2020, Thompson is still a proud owner.

“Kara moved on and teaches now,” says Thompson, “she’s still one of the best”.

When looking for a senior citizens-friendly program, Kean reached out to Thompson about ukeleles. Thompson had already worked a couple of the children’s workshops at the library and now Kean was hoping she would be able to put together a lesson plan for older folks. “Ukeleles, they, well,” explains Kean, “it felt not intimidating”. 

Thompson was able to expedite a plan in two months. She wanted to focus on songs familiar to older adults. 

On this particular Friday, “King of the Road” by Roger Miller is used as a warm-up song. Many students play shyly as they sing confidently along with Thompson. 

Trailers for sale or rent 

Rooms to let, fifty cent

No phone, no pool, no pets

I ain’t got no cigarettes

Students are starting to remember their cords. The room fills with light rhythms, some playing loudly and swaying, others hunching over their booklets, their eyes darting from each line to their fingers settling hesitantly on the strings. 

Thompson leads the song and counts. “Alright, let’s go into the island strum, also known as the calypso strum,” she instructs everyone. “Down, down, up, up, down, up, ready?” 

Students stare at Thompson’s strumming hand, following along as well as they can. Some have it down, others have it backward, but it sure does sound beautiful. 

When the song ends a student laughs out, “We tried!”. Compliments fill the room from one person to the next. “You did really good!”, “You’re a natural!”. 

A student concentrates on her fingers figuring out the cords. “Oh shoot,” she says trying to get from F to G7. Thompson goes over the transfer with her a couple of times.

“That feels a little better,” the student says, “throw in that calypso stum, maybe not”.

Everyone laughs in agreement. 

“Ukelele players tend to be some of the nicest musicians out there,” says Thompson, “they’re collaborative and helpful.”

One student interrupts the lesson to tell everyone that she has found YouTube helpful in learning the calypso outside of class. “What do you type in?” asks another student. “Just ‘Calypso on the ukulele’,” she answers. 

Over the next 45 minutes, Thompson teaches the cords D minor and E minor. While the students struggle to get the cords right and then transfer their fingers between each one, Thompson reminds them that D7 and E7 are just as good to use as well. “There are no rules in music,” she says. “If you don’t like the way it’s played change it.”

Ready to go?

C! 2, 3, 4. 

E7! 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4.

D7! 1, 2, 3, 4…

A student starts bobbing her head to the counts, a small smile interrupts her concentration. She’s gettin

g it.

Thompson leads the song Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. Everyone sings with their chest, forgetting about their ukeleles before picking up after Thompson. 

Hands, touchin’ hands

Reachin’ out, touchin’ me, touchin’ you

Everyone erupts, the strumming of ukeleles dancing to no particular rhythm but being played no less. 

Sweet Caroline

Good times never seemed so good

Feet are tapping. Everyone is giggling and singing together. 

“Seniors are younger than people think,” says Kean. 

The 10-week program ends with a performance. It will be held in the same room at the same time on October 25th. Thompson says she has had a lot of fun teaching the course and the students are having a great time learning.

One student, Paulette, already plays five instruments but wanted to learn the ukelele. 

Caroline, another student, talks about how she plays guitar. “I played the guitar at campfires,” she says. “It was all about drinking, dope, and music”. Caroline moved into town for her mother and missed playing with other people, so she signed up for the Ukelele O.W.L.S. 

Dave, who heard about the Ukelele O.W.L.S from the paper, says he heard “Something” by Paul McCartney on the ukelele and wanted to try it out. “I’m probably not going to be a great ukelele player,” he says. Nonetheless, he says he is having fun learning. He appreciates Thompson and in exchange for ukelele lessons, gives her a quick 5-minute lesson on dance after class ends.

One more song to play, “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & His Comets. 

Everyone is picking up the cords, and the rhythm, and some even brave the calypso one last time. 

When the chimes ring five, six, and seven

We’ll be right in seventh heaven

We’re gonna rock around the clock tonight

Thompson goes into calypso, adding flair and dancing around her music stand. Students smile and adlib for laughs. 

We’re gonna rock, rock, rock, ‘till broad daylight

We’re gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight 

The song ends and Dave yells, “That’s old people rockin’!’”.