Uke + question
Firstly, let me say, this website is incredible and has helped me in many ways. Its giving me so much enjoyment and learning.
Being a retired, 70-year old I have set myself a challenge to learn of learning new things every 3 months to maintain my mental health.
My next endeavor is to continue with my harp development but also to learn the Ukulele. So now to my question:
Is there a website or instructor/teacher of similar stature and quality to this website for me to learn the Uke? Living in Canada, I have not found many local Uke players but having this level of online interaction has proven to me that it's virtually one-on-one.
Thanks
Inky
Many thanks, this is really helpful. I live in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. The songs I would like to play is pop and maybe bordering on blues with my limited harp , but growing, skills.
I have done limited research on Ukuleles and have converged towards a tremelo and probably a Kala brand or something close.
Thanks again for your help.
Inky
Thanks Rob,
Great websites. The first link didn't work but I got through on www.uketropolis.com . This info is FYI only and for others that use the info. Spoilt for choice
I live close by you in Ontario and have chosen to work through Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel's ukulele lessons laid out on the Artist Works website here: https://artistworks.com/ukulele-lessons-craig-sarah. I would like to see more forum interaction there, but the lessons are well laid out and progressive.Happy adventures in learning!Tom
TomC: Thanks for the mention of Sarah & Craig. She comes from a jazz guitar and vocal background, and he grew up in Hawaii and is steeped in traditional Island music. They fortuitously met some years ago at a ukulele festival, and are very happily married, with a young son. The only sad part of the story is that while Craig moved to San Diego when they got married, and I got to hear them locally when down there visiting, a year or so ago they moved to Hawaii, a much longer plane ride for me. They are geat teachers. About the only downside to watching them on line, whether prerecorded or live, is that you ocassionally get a glimpse of their tropical weather, which, if it's winter in Ontario, must be torture for you!
Strange as it may seem, the ukulele is a great instrumental addition for blues harmonica players.
1. While the harmonica is small and very portable, the ukulele may be the second-smallest traveling instrument. And it plays in all keys. You don't need to shuffle around with 12 of 'em.
2. Learning the ukulele is actually pretty easy. Sure, after decades of practice you still won't sound like Lyle Ritz or Jake Shimabukuro, but basic three-chord blues strumming in multiple keys can be learned with little effort (especially if you know a little bit of the music theory that David teaches here). And with only four strings, it's a perfect instrument for us humans who only have four fingers.
3. As a ukulele player, you will stand out at your next jam. For starters, the audience will warm to you when someone in the bar yells, "Hey! Did you accidentally wash your guitar on the 'hot' cycle?" They'll expect you to start singing "Ukulele Lady" or "On the Beach at Waikiki," so that when you call for "Messin' with the Kid," there will be stunned silence. On the part of both the audience and the other musicians on stage. (I showed up at a local open mic one night wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts, and then plugged my uke into a pedalboard with multiple effects, including an octave pedal and a looper, and proceeded to perform U2's "With or Without You." I still don't know if the dropped jaws were the result of the altered and layered sound of the ukulele, or my high-wire act trying to hit the upper register vocal notes the way Bono sings them.)
4. Provided your uke has a strap, it won't get in the way when you stop strumming and pull your harp out of your shirt pocket for your 24 bars of solo. (And if it's a cheap uke without a strap, simply dropping it on the floor to take your harmonica solo will really stun your audience. Tho' the guitar player won't appreciate it if, instead, you try to swing it into the speaker grill of his or her vintage Fender Vibro King amp.)
5. And if you're wondering whether or not ukulele actually has a place in the blues, find recordings by the Memphis Jug Band's "Uke Kid," Charlie Burse, or New Orleans' "Papa Lemon" Nash. And for more contemporary inspiration, check out Canadian Manitoba Hal at https://www.manitobahal.com/
Lots of great instruments for blues. Tho' I'm still trying to find a blues harpsichord artist.
Inky:
For instruction from Canada's foremost ukulele artist, check out https://www.uketropolis.com/theukuleleway
Dani Joy and Perry Stauffer are good friends who live in Portland OR, and I just saw them at this past weekend's 12th Annual Reno Ukulele Festival. Check out their site at https://danijoymusic.com/academy/
And another marvelous teacher is Jim D'Ville, at http://www.playukulelebyear.com/
And finally, Hawaiian Aldrine Gurrero at https://ukuleleunderground.com/ I've met Aldrine a number of times when he's been here on the mainland. His friendly enthusiam is contagious.
Whatever on-line lesson system to decide to follow, bear in mind that much like blues harmonica, jazz and classical chromatic, folk tunes, Celtic harmonica, etc., there are a lot of different styles and approaches to the ukulele. If you're interested in playing instrumental melodies, James Hill may be your best bet. Or Dani and Perry for jazz and pop. While Aldrine plays lots of styles, traditional Hawaiian melodic playing and strumming are his wheelhouse. Jim D'Ville loves songs, and teaches uke "by ear," with very little reliance on written materials. So if you are thinking about singing songs while accompanying yourself on uke (or strumming while playing harp in a rack), you'll go one way. On the other hand, if your goal is to wow folks by playing Flamenco compositions on uke, let me know, and I have one other teacher to whom to refer you.
And be sure to buy a relatively good quality instrument. Just as an $11 harmonica can discourage a new harp student, one gets what one pays for. I've taught kids whose parents thought, "Let's not spend too much until we're sure she really wants to play ukulele," and have given their child a $29 uke bought on Amazon. Such ukes are virtually unplayable, and the manufacturers save on worrying about string clearance by selling instruments with nuts and bridges that are so high they would challenge Stevie Ray Vaughn. Luckily, there are major sellers producing great instruments in the Far East for $80-100. (E.g., Kala, Ohana, Flight, etc.) that a beginning student can really love. And while that's more than the price of a Special 20, don't forget that one ukulele can play in all 12 keys!
Where are you in Canada? I may be able to track down players and groups.
And let us all know how your studies come along.