Meet your instructor:

Jill Shatford
Founder of 4 Strings, Ukulele Teacher, Folk & Jazz Singer/ Songwriter

Jill is a retired pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist, children’s entertainer, and performance artist/clown. She has over 25 years of experience working with all kinds of learners, young and old. Jill is a skillful facilitator and has led a variety of groups during her career, including community song circles, dramatic arts, vocal improvisation, voice care and of course ukulele. She started playing guitar at age 15 and discovered the ukulele 10 years ago.

Jill lives in a beautiful rural community in British Columbia, Canada. She has been teaching ukulele to folks of all ages for the past 6 years. In the performance arena, under the stellar leadership of her good friend and musical mentor, Nikki W, Jill has also played for many years with a community ensemble called Ukulele Madness.

Testimonials:

“As a newbie, I immediately felt comfortable in Jill’s ukulele class. Her warmth and beautiful voice are infectious and encouraging. Empathy and laughter abound. Influenced by her knowledge in speech-language therapy, Jill has designed flexible and creative skill sets of ukulele fundamentals. Each lesson introduces a set of chords with corresponding songs in context with finger positioning, rhythm, adaptations, relaxation, and a strumming style. This comprehensive foundational approach really worked for me, in combination with her individual instruction and her ability to follow the flow of the group.”

Jan O

“As Jill’s pupil in her Absolute Beginner Ukulele Class, I felt encouraged and supported at every step. Jill is a uniquely gifted teacher, able to guide each pupil along at their own pace and interest level. I left each class feeling both impressed and delighted.”

Karen S