Playing Ukulele

Ryan Gosling plays Ukulele with Jimmy Kimmel

2011-01-22T17:40:00.002-05:00

I thought this was funny. Nice voices, too, guys!

Creator of 'Heroes' TV series uses a Ukulele to write newest book

2011-01-09T19:12:00.001-05:00

The writer of 'Knight Rider' and 'Heroes' television series has written a new book entitled, 'Shift'. In an interview he was asked if he had any 'unusual writing habits'. His answer:

'I keep a guitar and ukulele nearby and often pace around playing them while I think. There’s something about turning on a different part of your brain that stimulates ideas. With this book I was learning to play the ukulele so I was playing songs like Yes Sir, That’s My Baby and Ain’t She Sweet.'

NEW GoogleLabs Feature Offers Glimpse into Ukulele's History through Books

2010-12-26T11:06:00.001-05:00

A Google Ngram Viewer search for 'Ukulele' shows the growth of books with the word 'Ukulele' in them started steadily up around 1910 and dipping in the 1960s - 1980s and another upward trend beginning around 1990. A look at the 'Search in Google Books:' links below the graph offer other interesting glimpses into books related to Ukuleles in different periods of time:

1800-1924 Surprise! the Ukulele was a popular topic in 'Popular Mechanics'! I never knew!
1925-1930
1931-1955
1956-2001
2002-2008

Why 1800-2008? Because there was little to no activity when I did 1700-1800 and the Website will not accept 2009 or 2010.

Learning to play the ukulele and other instruments the Mel Bay way

2010-12-25T21:28:00.001-05:00

Although I haven’t used a Mel Bay book to learn the ukulele I’ve used several to learn the guitar and other instruments. Unlike some I am not a natural musician so I’ve leaned heavily on books such as the Mel Bay books to help me develop better musical skills.

AmericanProfile.com provided fascinating background on the ‘man’ Mel Bay who founded a musical instrument method book empire. Read the article, ‘Learning to play the Mel Bay way‘, to learn more about him, his family and the business today.

Here are some of the Mel Bay ukulele titles that I found on Amazon.com*:

Is The Ukulele An Unusual Instrument?

2010-12-25T21:26:00.003-05:00

Yes, if you take the word of the Disney Channel. Which you certainly would, wouldn’t you? : )

Reuters published an article entitled, ‘Disney preps next high school musical‘. The article says:

‘The network has ordered an original movie based on the novel “Lemonade Mouth,” the story of five Rhode Island freshmen who meet in detention and decide to form a garage band using unusual instruments, including a ukulele.’

I Googled ‘define: unusual’ to see if the ukulele qualified as usual. (My comments are in parenthesis.)

not usual or common or ordinary;
- “a scene of unusual beauty” (a Uke or its music can be of unusual beauty) ;
- “a man of unusual ability” (this depends on the player -if it is me, then ‘no’);
- “cruel and unusual punishment” (Tiny Tim WAS guilty of this);
- “an unusual meteorite”(I don’t see any relation to this example)
strange: being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected;
- slightly odd or even a bit weird (the Uke is probably not as weird as the player);
- “a strange exaltation that was indefinable” (huh?);
- “a strange fantastical mind” (does this refer to ‘UAS’ or Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome);
- “what a strange sense of humor she has”(this could apply to many female ukists I’m sure)
not commonly encountered;
- “two-career families are no longer unusual” (neither are two uke-families or even two-ukist families)
Unlike what is expected;
- differing in some way from the norm (that’s a good thing, right? the Uke has a nice bright and cheerful sound)
unusually – to a remarkable degree or extent; “she was unusually tall” – yes, the uke IS ‘unusually short’

SO after examing the evidence I would agree that the Ukulele IS an unusual instrument, an unusually GOOD instrument. It is unusually portable, unusually easy to learn to play at a basic level, unusually beautiful when played by a master ukist, there are many unusually beautifully made ukuleles, etc.

The name of the new musical is ‘Lemonade Mouth’. THAT is an UNUSUAL name!

The Ukulele is the Perfect Instrument for Senior Adults!

2010-12-25T21:26:00.001-05:00

Although I am not very skilled, I have played the guitar for years. Being in my early 50’s I was attracted to the ukulele because it is much easier to learn than the guitar. How? It has only 4 strings and a shorter fretboard so there are much fewer notes to master. Many people use the ‘High G’ tuning and only play a solo line on the bottom 3 strings SO this makes it half as many strings as the guitar. One reason that I am interested in learning and even mastering the ukulele is that I hope to stimulate the brain and to fend off ‘brain decay’.

Creating Your Own Ukulele Song Sheets with Chord Symbols

2010-12-25T21:25:00.001-05:00

For a while I have been looking for an easy solution to my desire to create song sheets that include chord symbols. I finally found something that will work well! The Hobart Ukulele Group (H.U.G.) in Australia has posted chord symbol in ‘.jpg format on their Website at http://www.nutthouse.com.au/ukulele/chordshapes.html. To use a symbol with Word or another word processor:

find the symbol you want
right click on the symbol
either ‘copy’ (to ‘paste’) or ’save image as’ (to ‘insert’)
‘paste’ or ‘insert’ the symbol in your document
you can resize the image by dragging the little corners (not the top or sides) OR if you want to be sure all symbols are the same size you can change the size to a specific size by right clicking and changing ‘format picture’ > ’size’ – type in the size.

You can also use Pixlr.com’s ‘grabber’ (in Windows software or Foxfire add-on to change the image. Again, right click on the image at NutHouse.com (H.U.G.) and then ‘right click’ and choose ‘pixlr’.

If you have trouble getting the image to go where you want it in relation to the text or other images change the ‘word wrap’ to ’square’. To do that in Word, right click on the image and select ‘format picture’ > ‘wrapping’ > ’square’.

If you know of other great solutions please let me know.

Ukulele Chord Charts & Online Chord Resources

2010-12-25T21:23:00.001-05:00

Learning to Play Ukulele by Tabs

2010-12-25T21:21:00.001-05:00

Tri-Tabs has a tutorial, beginners tabs, kids tabs, classical tabs, standards tabs, traditional tabs and more.

Learning More About the History of the Ukulele

2010-12-25T08:38:00.001-05:00

Wikipedia’s article on Ukuleles
Nalu Music is to the Ukulele what the Library of Congress is to books and U.S. History, etc. Even the Website’s store offers information and items of historical value.

MusicAfter50.com says, 'Ukulele Goes From Stepchild of Guitar to Cool Child'

2010-12-25T08:35:00.001-05:00

Some quotes:

'Ukuleles are replacing recorders for group playing in elementary schools and summer camps; they are the new quirky instruments for indie rockers; and there are numerous ukulele programs springing up in senior centers. A recently released film called “The Mighty Uke” documents this new trend.'

‘Depending on our age, most of us remember watching Tiny Tim play “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” on Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-In,” or listening to Arthur Godfrey strum his uke in his early 1950s radio and TV shows. In both cases, the instrument was mainly a novelty item to support an act (or a shtick in Tiny Tim’s case!)…Today, the uke is being seen as a ”serious” instrument in that it is serious fun to play.’

LenMus: A free program to learn music

2010-12-25T08:21:00.001-05:00

LenMus is a free software program that you can download to increase your musical abilities. LenMus offers:

Books and lessons on music theory.
Interactive exercises for theory and aural training.
You can customize the exercises to meet your needs.
Includes an score editor.

iPhones and Ukuleles - the BEST Portable Instruments

2010-12-25T08:15:00.001-05:00

I read an interesting article in the Charlotte Observer entitled, ‘Musicians push edge of computer music with iPhones‘. The article talks about how a Stanford University group of students and staff are making music via iPhone apps. Here are a couple of Websites about the endeavor:

Being an iPhone user myself I am impressed with what can done musically with the apps. I have about 30 musical apps and most of them were free. Value often increases greatly when you select apps with fees.

One of the positive attributes mentioned is ‘portability’. It’s true – the iPhone is an incredibly portable musical tool. The Ukulele and other instruments such as the recorders are also portable. However, comparing an iPhone and its musical app to an actual musical instrument is kind of like comparing a fine leather ‘holy book’ (ex. a Bible or Koran) with an eBook or software version of it. The digital version is very handy but will seldom give the same level of satisfaction as an actual instrument. There is nothing like the feel and look of beautiful wood (or even fine plastic) to a computer application screen or monitor.

Of course, there are a lot of instruments that are not very portable. For example, a pipe organ, a baby grand, and even larger keyboard instruments such as the F.A.O. Schwartz’s ‘The Big Piano’.

The Ukulele is THE perfect portable instrument especially if you buy a nice case that has ‘backpack type’ straps. In fact, I recently read a letter written by John Lennon praising the Uke for its portability. If anyone should know about the portability of an instrument it would be one of the Beatles who traveled the world making music!

Use a Metronome to Improve Your Musicianship

2010-12-25T08:12:00.001-05:00

Many of us struggle with keeping an even rhythm. A metronome can help considerably. A metronome helps you keep the rhythm steady and also allows you to begin learning a song at a slow pace and then gradually increase the tempo. Metronomes can be purchased at any music store. There is a wide variety of models with different features and different price ranges. MetronomeOnline.com provides a FREE online metronome.

The Ukulele: the ‘unlikely instrument’ that many are discovering

2010-12-25T08:08:00.002-05:00

Earlier 'The Chicago Tribune' published an article about Julia Nunes, a ‘college junior majoring in music’. The article, ‘Julia Nunes’ unlikely fame, unlikely instrument: ukulele-strumming singer makes the downcast sound upbeat‘, appears to have changed locations but said that:
‘Her YouTube channel, jaaaaaaa, has more than 142,000 subscribers, and many of her videos have more than 1 million views. She’s opened for Ben Folds and gotten a shout-out from Molly Ringwald(?!). Nunes can rock the house with a ukulele and a beat box.
And other questions besides “What the heck?” come to mind about the college junior majoring in music who has surfed YouTube to unlikely fame with the unlikeliest of instruments.’
The article quotes Sarah Dandelles of Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago:
‘In the last year at the Old Town School, we have more than doubled the amount of ukulele classes that we offer,” says Sarah Dandelles, a program manager at the North Side institution. “And that’s just for adults, not kids. We had ukulele as one of the key instruments in our summer camp last year, and it went gangbusters.’
Indeed! Looking at the Old Town School Website I found the following classes being offered related to Ukuleles:

6 String Social Workshop
Fandango Jarocho
Fiddle Waltzes
Golden Age of American Song Workshop
Jumpin’ Jim Beloff Ukulele Workshop Workshop
Power Strum/Power Pick
The 7:00 Special
The 8:30 Special
The Performing Art Workshop
Ukulele 1
Ukulele 2
Ukulele 2 Rep
Ukulele 2: Songs of Good Cheer
Ukulele Ensemble

‘How to’ Ukulele Videos

2010-12-25T08:01:00.002-05:00

Testing Blogpress for iPhone

2010-12-22T14:21:00.001-05:00

Testing the Blogpress iPhone app

I like it. Easy and efficient.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Putting a Strap on your Ukulele, specifically an EleUke

2010-12-22T10:53:00.001-05:00

I received an EleUke for Christmas and have been trying to figure out how to best put a strap on it. If you have suggestions let me know. Here are my thoughts so far...

It has the amplifier jack on the end which serves as a strap pin. I bought strap pins to put on the fretboard end as I've done for other ukuleles but can't figure out a good place to put it. It is a cut out so I don't want to interfere with reaching the highest frets. The body is much flatter than an acoustic thus there is not a 'perpendicular surface' or flat area away from the body as there is on an acoustic. I could put the pin behind the head below the gears but this is pretty thin. Don't want to do any damage to the uke. I tried tying the strap on at the fret nut but the strap interferes with playing. I'm considering tying it between the gears but I don't like the idea or look.

Looking at other options via Googling I ran across recommendations for the Uke Leash. I'm considering purchasing one of these. The new "uke button strap adapter' is useful. Here is a demonstration video on using the adapter:

If you have suggestions or comments let me know.

Train Tributes Success of 'Hey, Soul Sister' to the Ukulele

2010-09-06T07:41:00.000-04:00

Train's 'Hey, Soul Sister' keeps a-rollin' | cleveland.com:

When asked, "Any idea why 'Hey, Soul Sister' connected in such a big way?" frontman Pat Monahan responded
"Man, I don't know. I always give credit to the ukulele, because I think the ukulele just makes people happy."

I have to agree! It is a great sounding song made greater by the use of the ukulele. Apparently the advertising community agrees, too, as many commercials use a ukulele. Personally, I find so much satisfaction and peace in strumming and picking the ukulele. Maybe soon they'll say, 'ukulele every day keeps the doctor away'.

Read the rest of the article...http://www.cleveland.com/popmusic/index.ssf/2010/09/trains_hey_soul_sister_keeps_a.html

Blank Sheets (Chord Charts and Tab) | Live 'Ukulele

2010-08-01T07:56:00.000-04:00

There are so many valuable resources available on Websites! One Website that I've really begun to appreciate is LiveUkulele.com. The Webmaster is doing a great job arranging the valuable information found there in a way that is user friendly. Be sure to both read the Blog entries to see what is new and hover over the tabs to see the other content.

One thing I discovered (via the Blog) was the 'Blank Sheets'.
Blank Sheets (Chord Charts and Tab) | Live 'Ukulele: "Blank Chord Chart (8 wide). It currently provides:

-Blank Chord Chart (12 wide – landscape)

-Blank Tab Sheet (for tabbing out your own songs)

-Fretboard Chart (circle all the notes of a chord and look for new shapes)

-Blank Fretboard Chart (write out scales of chords across the fretboard)

'8-Year-Old Ukulele Prodigy Performs This Morning'

2010-07-27T07:38:00.000-04:00

Here is an interview with eight-year-old ukulele prodigy Aidan La Prete Powell -

Here is his complete performance of 'Soul Sister'. Play along with him -

Sharing the Love of Ukes with Others

2010-07-25T08:50:00.000-04:00

The last two weeks I've been going to Senior Centers and playing and singing for the senior adults that attended their meeting. This was the first that I had performed for others outside of my own family so it was somewhat of a new challenge for me. It was a breeze and I had a great time. The seniors seemed to really enjoy it, too.
It was amazing how quickly my skills increased during that time. Of course, I was practicing more but I guess the adrenaline of playing in front of strangers helped. : )

This morning I read of another great idea for sharing our love of Ukes. LearnToUke.co.uk posted 'Ukulele INSET for Primary School Teachers'. The idea is to provide workshops for primary or elementary school teachers so that they can use the ukulele in the classroom to supplement their curriculum. What a great idea!
Read more about it - http://www.learntouke.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=12:fun-ukulele-inset-for-primary-school-teachers&layout=blog&Itemid=10&layout=default

"Ukuleles ease stay in children's hospital | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com"

2010-07-09T08:33:00.000-04:00

A Cincinnati-based company has given five ukuleles to children in the hospital through the hospital's music therapist. This is a great idea and one that many of us might want to consider having a part in at our local hospitals or for another child related 'social' program. Read all about it - Ukuleles ease stay in children's hospital | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com

Ukulele Wednesdays in London features a 328 page songbook

2010-07-07T12:14:00.000-04:00

To obtain the songbook. Follow the instructions on this MySpace.com page - http://www.myspace.com/ukegottobekidding

Look for the section 'About Ukulele Wednesdays - free London jam...' and then these words:
'It's an open house, we'd love you to join us, before you come, you'll need the songbook. You'll find it by emailing...' The songbook is a very large file (almost 25 mg). When you get the link, 'Right Click' on it, then choose 'Save Link As' THEN click 'Open'.

A Great Collection of Songs from Ralph Shaw

2010-07-07T10:55:00.000-04:00

Ralph Shaw, the 'King of Ukulele', has a good Website (and Newsletter). I just looked at the .pdf songs and there is some great stuff there! One song that I like is 'Busy Line'. I'd heard it several times on 'UkeFarm Radio' and have really enjoyed it. YOU can listen to it too on Mr. Shaw's 'Music Listen' page. 'Cheek to Cheek' is another great song on the 'Song PDF' page that you can also listen to. The songs are from two of his albums, 'King of the Ukulele' ('finest songs from the golden songwriting era of the 1920's, 30's and 40's') and 'Table for Two' ('classic favorites and sparkling original songs'). Check out this great stuff - Ralph Shaw, Vancouver - Songs Galore! pdfs for download