Chapter 1

Exploring the Ukulele

IN THIS CHAPTER

Appreciating the advantages of the ukulele

Looking at different sizes

Getting to know the ukulele

Discovering what you can play on the uke

Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro says something that makes a lot of sense to many ukulele players: "One of the things I love about being a ukulele player is that no matter where I go in the world to play, the audience has such low expectations." And it's very true. Many people think of the ukulele as a toy and are unaware of the great music that can be made with it. People are often stunned that you can make real music on a ukulele at all. But the uke is very much a real instrument with a rich musical history, and it's quite capable of producing everything from light melodies to riotous strumming.

This chapter fills you in on why the uke's such a fantastic instrument, describes some of the global musical styles you can expect to play on it, and, I hope, inspires you to make some great music with your new best friend!

Understanding the Uke's Advantages

Why would you want to play ukulele when you could play another exotic instrument such as a saz, shenai, or sackbut? Well, as this section reveals, you can get certain things from a uke that other instruments simply can't supply.

Loving the sound

The best reason for picking up the ukulele is its captivating, unique sound. Whether it's a lilting Hawaiian song or some riotous jazzy strumming, no other instrument sounds quite like the uke.

The unusual arrangement of the strings gives you close harmony chords and harp-like tones that simply aren't available on most fretted instruments.

Joining a vibrant community

A special community surrounds ukulele players, one that you rarely get with other instruments. You'd struggle to find a group of bass guitar players getting together to form a bass guitar orchestra, but all over the globe groups of uke players regularly get together to uke-out on a few tunes.

Don't worry about being too old or too young for joining the ukulele community. Most ukulele groups have members ranging in age from teenagers up to pensioners as well as a good gender balance. Most groups welcome beginners and some larger ones have a specific group for people just starting on the uke. No matter who you are, you'll get a warm welcome.

If you're looking to get involved in the ukulele social scene, check out Chapter 22.

Appreciating the uke's practicality

I live in a small flat. There's not enough room to swing a cat (I tested, but Tiddles is just about fine now). So the fact that I play the ukulele rather than the church organ is fortunate. The uke's diminutiveness makes it a favorite instrument among travelers.

And don't forget the price. Ukuleles are relatively cheap and you can get a decent beginner ukulele for around $45. Read Chapter 18 for a full guide to buying a uke, Chapter 19 for stocking up on accessories, and Chapter 20 for maintaining your prized possession.

Getting started quickly

Have you ever heard someone just starting out on the violin? It's not very pleasant (sounds a bit like the noise Tiddles made as he helped me test the size of my flat!). You have to put in a great deal of practice before you can make a musical sound on the violin.

ORIGINS OF THE WORD UKULELE

'Ukulele is a Hawaiian word, and as such it presents some spelling and pronunciation issues for English speakers.

Exactly how the ukulele got its name is lost in the mists of time, but that doesn't mean that people haven't made some interesting guesses. In Hawaiian, 'uku means flea and lele means jumping, and so the most common explanation is that it was called the "jumping flea" because of the movement of the player's fingers.

Another convincing explanation is that the name developed from a traditional Hawaiian instrument called the 'ukeke. But my favorite is the suggestion offered by Queen Lili'oukalani, who translated ukulele as "gift that comes from afar."

I'd be willing to wager that ukulele is probably the most misspelled musical instrument in existence. Even the English poet Rupert Brooke - in his poem "Waikiki" - couldn't manage it and came up with "eukaleli."

The widely accepted spelling, and the one used in this book, is ukulele, which is also the spelling in most dictionaries. But the true Hawaiian spelling is 'ukulele with an 'okina (the apostrophe) at the beginning. Using the anglicized version without the 'okina is perfectly acceptable, but many people like to use it to pay respect to the ukulele's Hawaiian roots.

Similar problems exist with the pronunciation. Most people go with the anglicized you-ka-LAY-lee, although the Hawaiian pronunciation is oo-koo-lay-lay. Outside of ukulele-playing circles, you're probably best to stick with you-ka-LAY-lee so that people know what you're talking about!

Not so with the ukulele. With a bit of knowledge and a smidge of practice, you can start making a reasonable sound on the uke within a few minutes. Before long - in fact after learning just two chords (C and F, as described in Chapter 4) - you can be playing your first song. This fast-start aspect is very encouraging and a big motivator to keep you practicing.

Enjoying a long-term challenge

If you spend more than five minutes on the internet, you're sure to see a gaudy ad saying, "You can GET RICH/LOSE WEIGHT in only five days with no effort. Just send us $99." Similarly, you may meet people who tell you that mastering the uke is easy so they can sell you something. Don't believe them.

Although getting started is easy and satisfying, I love the ukulele because it's such a challenge to play really well. The uke simply has so much less to it than most instruments - fewer strings, fewer frets, less volume - that these restrictions force you to be creative with rhythms and harmonies. As a result, you can come up with ideas you'd never have on another instrument.

Blending in with other instruments

If playing with other people is what you enjoy, you'll be pleased to hear that the ukulele works excellently as part of an ensemble. Playing with other fretted instruments like guitars increases the range of notes and adds a different tone to the proceedings, but the range of instruments the ukulele works with is much wider than that. In the 1930s, for example, it was common for people like Johnny Marvin and Ukulele Ike to play a ukulele with orchestral backing. More recently, bands have combined and contrasted the tinkling ukulele with the gutsy parping of brass to great effect (take a listen to the indie band Beirut or the jazzy Snake Suspenderz for how effective this combination is).

Getting kids interested

Youngsters really relate to the ukulele, and with the frets being close together and the strings easy on the fingers, it's a great instrument for them. They can get a strong musical base that transfers well to whatever instrument they want to pick up next.

Rock guitar gods who played the ukulele as children include Jimi Hendrix, Brian May (Queen), Pete Townshend (The Who), and surf-rocker Dick Dale.

Sizing Up the Ukulele

Unlike most instruments in the guitar family, ukuleles come in a number of different sizes. The three regular sizes of ukulele are soprano, concert, and tenor. All three sizes are tuned exactly the same way, however, and so when you've learned to play one, you can play them all!

In addition to these three types, you can also buy a baritone ukulele, which is a very different beast: It's larger and tuned differently, lower than the other types (the same as the top four strings of a guitar). Therefore, you have to use a whole different set of chords and notes, and your skills are not transferable to the other three types.

For these reasons, a baritone is not the best ukulele to start on. If you want to learn baritone ukulele, you need a dedicated baritone book because I don't cover it in this one.

Meeting the family: Daddy uke, mummy uke, and baby uke

A ukulele's size is determined by the scale length, which is the length of the part of the string you play (between the nut and the bridge - check out the following section for descriptions of these parts). Here's a rundown:

• Soprano: The soprano is the smallest ukulele, sometimes referred to as standard size. Originally all ukuleles were sopranos and this size is what most people envision when they think about ukuleles. Soprano is a great size to choose for people who want to do a lot of chord strumming and are looking for the traditional ukulele sound.
• Concert: The concert is the Goldilocks ukulele; not too big, not too small. You get the ukulele sound but with a little extra room on the fretboard.
• Tenor: The tenor is the largest of the standard ukuleles, with a longer neck that allows for more intricate playing (or...