‘Uke’ can do it too!
I began to learn the ukulele properly about a year ago. I acquired a cheap instrument for Christmas one year, learned a few chords from You Tube, strummed a few songs, lost interest and carried on with my life consigning my ‘toy’ to a shelf.
Then one day while surfi ng the web I came across a video of a guy named Jake Shimabukuro. Google him playing Bohemian Rhapsody and prepare to be amazed. I was completely taken aback by his musicianship. My ‘toy’ was not a toy after all…it was a proper musical instrument, capable of making an awesome sound. I took it off the shelf and looked at it with new respect. Suddenly I wanted to learn to play like Jake!
I began a search for a ukulele teacher and found a classical guitar teacher who also taught ukulele. I was hooked from my fi rst lesson. At fi rst people would laugh when they visited us and saw my ukulele. They made references to George Formby and Tiny Tim. So I would play them a little bit of Spanish Flamenco (known as Flamencolele when played on a uke) or an Etude, and their mockery turned to surprise and delight.
My children learn violin and piano and were studying for their grade fi ve exams. I wondered if I could do something similar on the ukulele. I took my Grade three exam at the beginning of this year and passed with a distinction. I’ve moved on from my fi rst cheap ukulele and bought a beautiful Tanglewood concert uke on the advice of my teacher. I’m still a long way off playing like Jake Shimabukoro but I’m improving every week and having so much fun on the journey.
Here are some things I’ve learned along the way: It’s easy to play the ukulele…badly! The ukulele is certainly a simple instrument to pick up and get going on but like the recorder it suff ers from being bought as a cheap toy for children. Also, all instruments will sound a bit ropey at the start of your musical journey, though the ukulele much less so than a recorder I have to say! To play any instrument well takes time and practice, but the pay-off is worth the eff ort.
Many schools are teaching ukulele now, which is both wonderful, and alarming. In my experience schools tend to be very bad at imparting a life long love of anything. I’m sure if I’d been forced to play ukulele at school that I might not have picked it up as an adult. After all, if schools inculcated a life long love of a musical instrument, surely everyone in the UK would play the recorder!
People assume I am learning the ukulele as a stepping stone to learning the guitar. This is not the case. No- one thinks a violin is not a training instrument for the cello! It might look like a small guitar but it is a separate instrument with its own characteristics, sound, and musical repertoire. What sounds great on a violin may not work on a cello, and the same goes for ukulele and guitar. A ukulele is not a guitar with training wheels! Though if playing one inspires you to learn the other I say go for it!
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