Ukulele
The
ukulele (
ukulele in
Hawaiian and standard
Hawaiian English; pronounced , or the
Anglicised ), or
uke, is a
fretted
string instrument which is, in its construction, essentially a smaller, four-stringed version of the
guitar. In the early
20th century, the instrument's name was often rendered as
ukelele, a spelling still used in
Great Britain.
There is also the
banjolele or
banjo uke, which has a
banjo body.
Hawaii
It is commonly associated with
music from
Hawaii where the name roughly translates as "jumping flea" and was developed there in the
1880s as a combination of the Madeiran
Portuguese braguinha and
rajão. A braguinha is a
cavaquinho-like instrument built in the city of
Braga and named after it; the
Brazilian
cavaquinho is usually tuned in D-G-B-D, a G-major chord. The Madeiran rajão is tuned D-G-C-E-A, in other words. the D and G strings are both re-entrant, i.e., tuned an octave higher than expected in the normal low-to high course of strings. The GCEA strings of the rajão are the source of the re-entrant tuning of the modern ukulele.
In
1879 the three men generally credited as the first ukulele makers arrived from Portugal in Hawaii, sailing into
Honolulu on the ship
Ravenscrag. These were Manuel Nunes, José do EspÃrito Santo, and Augusto Dias. One of these, Manuel Nunes, was the neighbor of famous ukulele player Bill Tapia. He sold Bill his first instrument for
$0
.75 many years later in
1915.
U.S. Mainland
The ukulele was popularized for a stateside audience during the
Panama Pacific International Exposition held for most of 1915 in San Francisco, at which the Hawaiian Pavilion featured a guitar and ukulele ensemble, George E. K. Awai and his Royal Hawaiian Quartette, along with ukulele maker and player Jonah Kumalae. The popularity of the ensemble with visitors launched a fad for Hawaiian-themed songs among
Tin Pan Alley songwriters. The ensemble also introduced both the
lap steel guitar and the ukulele into U.S. mainland popular music, where it was taken up by
vaudeville performers such as
Roy Smeck and
Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards. The ukulele became an icon of the
Jazz Age as this highly portable and relatively inexpensive instrument also proved popular with amateur players throughout the 1920s, as is evidenced by the introduction of uke chord
tablature into the published
sheet music for popular songs of the time (a role that would eventually be supplanted by the guitar). A number of mainland-based instrument manufacturers, among them
Regal,
Harmony, and
Martin, added ukulele,
banjolele, and
tiple lines to their production to take advantage of the demand.
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 Bâ™-Eâ™-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 Bâ™, F, or any tuning they see the need to utilize. Some even tune their ukuleles to E-A-D-Gâ€"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.
Musicians and entertainers, both past and present, particularly known for playing the ukulele include:
*
Luke Bailey and his Ukulele*
Bob Brozman*
L S Coker *
Chalmers Doane*
Cliff Edwards ("Ukulele Ike")
*
Ed's Redeeming Qualities*
Sean Egan*
Wayne Federman*
Neil Finn*
George Formby (who played both the
banjolele and the Hawaiian ukelele)
*
Bruce Forsyth*
Gabby La La*
Imua Garza*
Arthur Godfrey*
George Harrison*
Darren Hayman*
James Hill*
Jack Johnson (musician)*
Ernest Kaai*
Jesse Kalima*
Eddie Kamae*
Israel Kamakawiwoole*
Buster Keaton*
Janet Klein*
Langley Ukulele Ensemble*
Stephen Merritt*
"King" Benny Nawahi*
Herb Ohta ("Ohta-San")
*
Brittni Paiva*
the minoans: www.myspace.com/theminoans*
Jeff Pope*
Stefan Raab*
Peggy Reza ("Aunty Uke") of the Blue Shoes Band*
Dan Scanlan ("Cool Hand Uke")
*
The Secondhandpants*
Jake Shimabukuro*
Roy Smeck*
Bill Tapia*
Te Ava Piti*
Tracey Terada ("Dr. Trey")
*
Tiki King*
Tiny Tim*
uke til u puke*
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain*
Ukes of Hazard*
Eddie Vedder*
Zac Walker*
Waste of Aces*
Patrick WolfFormer
Beatle George Harrison became very excited about the ukulele in the last few years of his life in particular. He was reported to have always travelled with two ukuleles so that he could play with someone, including producer and musician
Jeff Lynne and fellow former Beatle
Paul McCartney.
Eric Clapton plays the ukulele on the
Bonzo Dog Band's "The Intro and the Outro".
Other famous people known to have dabbled with the ukulele are
Brian May,
Joni Mitchell,
Jimi Hendrix,
David Byrne,
Chrissie Hynde,
Neil Armstrong,
Warren Buffet,
Loudon Wainwright III,
Nellie McKay,
Tony Blair and
Elvis Presley.
The Tahitian ukulele is significantly different from other ukuleles because it does not have a sound box. The bodyâ€"including the head and neckâ€"is carved from a single piece of wood, with a wide conical hole bored through the middle. At the back, the bore is about 4
cm in diameter; at the front it is about 10 cm in diameter. The hole at the front is covered with a thin piece of wood, on which the bridge sits, so the instrument works rather like a wooden-skinned banjo. Indeed some of these instruments are referred to as Tahitian banjos. The strings are usually made from light-gauge fishing lineâ€"usually green in colour (usually around 40-50
lb test).
The instrument seems to be a relatively recent invention, popular in eastern
Polynesia, particularly
French Polynesia. It is reported to have been introduced to the
Cook Islands in
1990 by the band Te Ava Piti as a newly invented instrument.
Tuning a Tahitian ukulele
These instruments may have just four stringsâ€"or some strings may be paired, so that the instrument has six or eight strings.
The strings or pairs ("courses") are tuned to A
6 D
6 F#
6 B
5 or G
6 C
6 E
6 A
5 (See [
1] for International Pitch Notation codes).
After the Hawaiian ukulele was invented, the Hawaiians referred to a similar, eight-string instrument tuned GCEA as a
taro-patch fiddle. Before the invention of the ukulele, taro-patch fiddle referred to the rajão.
Those who are familiar with ukulele chords will find that the same chord shapes will fit these tunings, but that the chords will be transposed and inverted.
ukulele - 327 kB}}
*
Hawaiian Concert Guide Podcast Free podcast featuring Hawaiian music that includes the Ukulele.
*
Interactive ukulele lessons for beginners*
Several tutorials and videos about strumming, fingerpicking patterns, and a ukulele online radio*
Ukulele blog*
Ukulele Chord Finder*
Ukulele tabs page, goofy stuff, uke info*
UkeWiki*
Videos of past and present ukulele players*
Learn how to build/make your own Ukulele*
Build your own Ukulele Instructions and photos at ukulelehut.com
*
"Uke Yak" at fleamarketmusic Questions answered by Chuck Fayne, featured collector of Jim Beloff's
The Ukulele: A Visual History*
Video of Jake Shimabukuro playing
While My Guitar Gently Weeps by
George Harrison*
Langley Ukulele Ensemble*
Interactive ukulele chord finder*
UkeCast - Ukulele Podcast*
www.tikiking.com neat Ukulele stuff, and the Ukulele name database
*
Tiple *
Timple *
Charango *
Bordonúa *
Cuatro*
Cavaquinho*
Vihuela
