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UKELELE!!


operative451
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Congratulations!
Not a player myself, I'm a banjo man (or Banjoid) for a bit of fun. But we all need a bit of fun in our music.

If you've never heard of them, check out The Reentrants for what you can do with a uke'
They're friends of mine and their gigs are a real blast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9qttFMGbfE

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I used to have a beautiful 1920s Kumalae Uke, which I'd found at a furniture auction. Unfortunately, I ended up selling it to a fanatical uke collector on eBay a couple of years ago (for something like £300!) when I needed to pay some bills. It was flamed Koa, and sounded really sweet. Fortunately, I've just found a funky little banjo uke in a charity shop that just needs a bridge and some strings, so I'll have a uke again shortly...

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[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1375358756' post='2160191']
Just had one arrive off ebay... Weird, the low string is high! Odd. Might stick a fatter nylon string on and tune it down. Or just get used to it.

Feels a bit odd after the bass though! But i think its going to be fun.
[/quote]

I actually started on ukulele because the 15 year old me thought 'only four strings, so it's basically a small bass then? Smart, moved on since luckily! They're great instruments and you get used to the high G pretty quickly- it's done like that to make strumming sound more even. However it's worth noting some string manufacturers do a 'low G' set- Aquila are great for this, it makes playing lead lines a bit easier :ph34r:



...I feel I should bung in a cheeky plug for my band here, Ukebox ...not many videos up at the moment but it's really going places, four ukuleles and meself on bass [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uugtJrbufk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uugtJrbufk[/url] :yarr:

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For strumming chords I just pretend that the bottom string is an octave lower than it is, then it all makes sense. The penny dropped when I realised that the intervals are the same as those of the top four strings of a guitar, so all the guitar-chord shapes "work" - all that remains then is to treat is as transposing instrument that's a 4th/5th out!

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[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1375358756' post='2160191']
Just had one arrive off ebay... Weird, the low string is high! Odd. Might stick a fatter nylon string on and tune it down. Or just get used to it.

Feels a bit odd after the bass though! But i think its going to be fun.
[/quote]

It is odd, ain't it? I wouldn't think sticking a thicker string on would be a good idea. I reckon the reason the G strings isn't an octave lower is because the scale length isn't long enough and you would need a fairly hefty string for it, but that's just my guess.

If you can play guitar, imagine putting a capo on the 5th fret, and ignoring the 2 bass strings (E and A). That's a ukulele.

I've currently got a £130 Lag concert ukulele in to glue the neck back on. Lovely little uke. You should check them out if you are ever playing a bit more seriously. Any of you uke players should check them out.

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  • 1 month later...

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1375642990' post='2163840']
I have a Brunswick baritone uke, its tuned the same as the top four strings of a guitar, so chords are quite easy!
[/quote]
I got a baritone for this reason, then decided to tune it to DGAD instead!

[quote name='iamtheelvy' timestamp='1375362012' post='2160264']
The different tunings is a bit of a mind bend, but good exercise if nothing else! I play around on a mandolin at home, which is tuned EADG... but that's high to low! :-s
[/quote]
I have also got a Mandola which is marginally bigger than a Mondolin (so better for fat fingers) and tuned ADGC high to low, which means most chord shapes for songs in C are really easy.

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[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4][pedant] Ukulele. [/pedant][/size][/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]Factoid: In Hawaii, the name roughly translates as 'jumping flea'.[/size][/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]Another factoid, contradicting the first one: According to Queen Liliʻuokalani - the last Hawaiian monarch - the name means 'the gift that came here', from the Hawaiian words [i]uku[/i] (gift or reward) and [i]lele[/i] (to come).[/size][/font]

Edited by discreet
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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1379377953' post='2212038']
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4][pedant] Ukulele. [/pedant][/size][/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]Factoid: In Hawaii, the name roughly translates as 'jumping flea'.[/size][/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=4]Another factoid, contradicting the first one: According to Queen Liliʻuokalani - the last Hawaiian monarch - the name means 'the gift that came here', from the Hawaiian words [i]uku[/i] (gift or reward) and [i]lele[/i] (to come).[/size][/font]
[/quote]

Ouch, contradicting factoids.... can I get cream for that?

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  • 3 weeks later...

[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1375615217' post='2163412']
A 'mahalo' off eBay... 20 quid including postage... :D it's fun actually! worked out some chords and have been playing judas priest on it. :D
[/quote]

My daughter has one of them! Great fun.

Have you seen the Uke version of Shaft?

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlMT-oEIQuo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlMT-oEIQuo[/url]


Awesome!

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  • 3 weeks later...

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