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Ukulele / Uke

Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on planet earth and her culture has spawned some of the most enduring music and musical styles known in the world today. The Hawaiian people are credited with three significant contributions to string music history; slack-key guitar, steel guitar and the Ukulele. Of the three, the ukulele, because of its unique musical voice and diminutive size, was thought to be more of an oddity than a serious musical instrument with mainland musicians. But with Hawaiian musicians, the ukulele has been anything but an oddity. A Portuguese immigrant was credited with bringing the predecessor of the ukulele to Hawaii in 1879. The 'braguinha' was quickly accepted into Hawaiian music and was dubbed the taro-patch fiddle. The first Hawaiian name for the ukulele was pila li'ili'i which translates as "Little Fiddle." There are numerous accounts as to how this little stringed instrument became known as the ukulele. Ukulele in Hawaiian means "Jumping Flea" but the most plausible explanation is the name evolved from the only indigenous Hawaiian stringed instrument, the ukeke. The ukeke is an ancient mouth-bow instrument with a playing technique similar to the jaw harp. However the ukulele came by its name, the instrument was here to stay and would have an influence on the world music scene.

In 1915, the Hawaiian exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco formally introduced the ukulele to the world. The Royal Hawaiian Quartet, a band that featured guitar, steel guitar, mandolin and the ukulele, played to an estimated 17 million people in a seven-month period. The Hawaiian exhibit was touted as one of the most popular at the exposition and the music was a tremendous success, launching the interest in Hawaiian music in the United States that lasted through World War 11. Hawaiian records were so popular in 1916, that they outsold all other forms of music on the mainland. The Roaring Twenties brought such a demand for the ukulele that manufacturers couldn't keep up. Because it was inexpensive, small and easier to play than its other stringed counter-parts, it became very popular with people who wanted to play the music and songs of the day, but didn't want to spend the time it takes to learn to play other stringed instruments. Teenagers and college students adopted the uke as their own and it became part of their image as much as straw hats, raccoon coats and striped blazers.

The great depression came and the ukuleles popularity began to fade as the pop songs of the 20's had little meaning to people that were out of work and facing hard times. The ukulele languished through the 1930's and 40's on the mainland, but was forever to be part of the Hawaiian musical culture. The 50's brought a revival to the ukulele and a large part of that revival is credited to Arthur Godfrey. The radio star was now a star of the new medium, television. As an emcee that introduced various acts, Mr. Godfrey would play tunes on his ukulele between acts. As he grew into a bigger star, so did the ukulele, achieving its highest profile ever. Then came rock and roll and the ukulele was put back into the closet until 1968 when Tiny Tim brought it back into the limelight. Some of the more famous Hawaiian musicians and entertainers, along with the not so famous, have kept the little stringed instrument as an integral part of the Hawaiian music culture. Today the ukulele is used in many modern styles and blends of Reggae, Rock and Traditional Hawaiian music, used both as a rhythm and as a lead instrument. With this new popularity, the ukulele has had many new innovations to the instrument itself. Along with the standard four-string soprano concert, tenor and baritone ukes, there are now six-, seven-, eight- and nine-string instruments being made. But one thing is for sure, the tiny little stringed instrument, that has endured the musical roller coaster, is finally getting the respect that it deserves and is here to stay, but of course, a 100 years after its introduction to Hawaii, any Hawaiian musician could have told you that.

The ukulele comes in four sizes, (from smallest to largest): soprano (the original size), concert, tenor (created in the 1920s), and baritone (created in the late 1940s). On a tenor instrument, the strings may be doubled : six strings (where first and third strings are doubled) or eight strings (where all fourth strings are doubled with second and fourth course). In traditional Hawaiian tuning, first and third courses are tuned in an octave. Since the ukulele is a stringed instrument, it can be tuned with a piano, guitar tuner or a pitch pipe. The ukulele is tuned from top string to bottom string. G C E A using a piano. Like all stringed instruments, the ukulele becomes detuned if not frequently tuned. When the strings are new, the ukulele cannot hold a tune for more than a few seconds. It can take up to two weeks for new strings to stretch out and hold a tune. If old strings are put on a ukulele, it will still take some time before the strings can hold a tune, but it usually only takes two days or less, depending on how much the string has been stretched in the past.

In the United States, soprano and concert ukes are usually tuned in the chord of C6: G-C-E-A from low to high, with the G-string traditionally tuned an octave up (re-entrant), so it is pitched between the E- and A-strings. In the past, it was not uncommon for the soprano to be tuned a whole step higher in the chord of D6: A-D-F#-B, with the lowest note being D (the A is a whole step below the B). This tuning was very popular in vaudeville in the days before amplification. The tension and tone are a little brighter and louder. This tuning is still used today by some known personalities in ukulele circles. The baritone ukulele, which was not invented (or developed) until the 1940s at the request of Arthur Godfrey, is usually tuned in G (like the top four strings of a guitar, D-G-B-E) which makes it as much a tenor guitar as a ukulele.

The tenor ukulele can be tuned either way, and in C tuning is sometimes tuned with the G-string an octave lower, so it's pitched below the C-string, where you might expect it. Some historians say such a tuning makes it a small guitar, since the re-entrant tuning is the characteristic that most identified the original ukulele. An alternative tuning is B♭-E♭-G-C (raised a semitone to the key of E flat). Either of these tunings, and the C tuning above, may be referred to jocularly as "My dog has fleas", because the strings sounded in order are the same as the phrase in the song My Dog Has Fleas. Other tunings are in use today. Some more creative-minded ukulele players tune their ukuleles to the key of B♭, F, or any tuning they see the need to utilize. Some even tune their ukuleles to E-A-D-G—the bottom four strings of a guitar. These never became popular, but because the ukulele is a stringed instrument, it can be tuned to the player's specifications.

External Links

Jake Shimabukuro - Top Ukulele Player
Though many still have trouble pronouncing his last name and the instrument he plays, Jake Shimabukuro (she-ma-BOO- koo-row) is unquestionably regarded as one of the world's top ukulele (oo-koo-LAY-lay) musicians. Renowned for lightning-fast fingers and revolutionary playing techniques, Jake views the ukulele as an “untapped source of music with unlimited potential.” His virtuosity defies label or category. Playing jazz, blues, funk, classical, bluegrass, folk, flamenco, and rock, Jake's mission is to show everyone that the ukulele is capable of so much more than only the traditional Hawaiian music many associate it.

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
The Ukulele Orchestra is a group of all-singing, all-strumming Ukulele players, who use instruments bought with loose change, and who believe that all genres of music are available for reinterpretation, as long as they are played on the Ukulele. A concert by the Ukulele Orchestra is a Funny, Virtuosic, Twanging, Singing, Awesome, Foot-Stomping Obituary of Rock-n-Roll and Melodious Light Entertainment featuring only the "bonsai guitar" and a menagerie of voices; no drums, no pianos, no backing tracks, and no banjos. A collision of post-punk performance and toe-tapping oldies. See the universe in the grain of a Ukulele. You may never think about music in the same way once you've been exposed to the Ukes' depraved musicology. The Orchestra use the limitations of the instrument to create a musical freedom with Ukuleles (little ones, big ones, high ones, low ones) revealing unsuspected insights into popular music. From Tchaikovsky to Nirvana via Otis Reading the Orchestra takes you on a world tour with only hand luggage and gives the listener "One Plucking Thing after Another".

Basic Ukulele Lesson
The most famous Hawaiian ukulele manufacturer is Kamaka. Since1916, Mr Harb Ohta has been playing the Kamaka. Kamaka is ukulele, ukulele is Kamaka. Once you arrive at Honolulu airport, you must check which day of a week of it is. Kamaka's ukulele shop is open Monday through Friday. If you arrive on Saturday or Sunday, you are free to do as you please. You can go to Ala moana shopping center or Wikiki beach, if you'd like. You should also try to go the instrumental shop of Honolulu. But a Kamaka is a very rare item, so it's difficult to find one.