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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Other string instruments → Ukulele players out there?
I've played the guitar for years, my daughter started at the Univ of Hawai'i last fall and I picked one up about 10 months ago on a trip to the islands and sold my guitar! What a blast. Doing things that I could never do on the guitar. This is a great site because its hard to find ukulele books in the 'real world'. Anyone else out there?
so you would reccomend the ukelele or ukulele, (both spellings correct, apart from reccomend, that should be recommend))
I am thinking of getting one of these too, only £12, and the chords look quite easy.
But I have only heard one getting played by george formby and idont know if that is a good example since his songs were dire, apart from " when im cleaning windows" lol
I still plan to get one, I just want to know from a guitarist, or ex guitarist's point of view how good they are, how good they sound, how easy to play.
But, I dont think I will ever give up my guitarrs.
Ken
I just started messing with the Uke. Below is a neat site if you know tablature. I play the mandolin, guitar, and a little banjo. I have found that it is worth getting a good quality Uke if you really want to get a nice sound. If nothing else, get one with some good tuning keys. Koaloha makes a nice mandolin. I have found the folks at Bounty Music (in Hawaii)very helpful. I bought my first Koaloha there (i now have 2 Koalohas, a tenor and a soprano) and the guy played it for me over the phone to give me a sense of what it sounded like. I like the Tenor Uke the best. It tunes like barring the first 4 strings (dgbe) of the guitar on the 5th fret (now its gcea). You can make the g string an octave high or get a wound string and tune it like you would a guitar. It adds an interesting sound in a band setting. I am still experimenting a little and the right hand is very important in getting a variety of sounds from the instrument.
<a href="http://www.alligatorboogaloo.com/uke/tabs.html" target="_blank">http://www.alligatorboogaloo.com/uke/tabs.html</a>
Anyway, hope the above site is useful.
rags
Ken
Its worth it to buy a good one. I have 7 (at least one of each size) and i would agree that i find myself picking up the tenor more often then any other. for about $150 to $200 US you can get a real nice one. by the way, I was corrected by my daugther (they know everything at 19) that the correct spelling is ukulele in hawaiian. Lanikai has good quality at a fair price. if you spend less than $50 you may not be getting anything but a toy (and you won't like the way it sounds or the way it plays.) I do know that of all the ones I have the KALA 6 string tenor sounds great. Good luck with it. Ebay is a good place to pick one up.
Marty
cheers marty
this lanikai and $'s stuff means nothing to me,lol, i am scotish and live in scotland, but there are plenty of music shops about here, and like you said e bay.
I am going to wait a few months and get a decent one instead of my original plan of just jumping out and getting the cheapest one i could get for £12 ( about $20)
After I get it I will have roughly one year to learn to play it good so I can take it to the isle of jura folk festival at the end of september. This year it is guitar going again and my tambourine for when i am too drunk to hold a chord.
cheers anyway
Ken
Hi Ken,
I have been playing the UKE for about 6 months now, having never been able to master a musical instryment in my life, I can know knock out a half decent tune, be it the Sex Pistols, the Monkees, Bob Dylan or what ever you can find there is so much on this site.
I bought a cheap UKE on ebay a Mahalo, it cost me about £14 but was good enough to get me going. The best investment though was a chromatic tuner cos if it aint tuned rihgt it sounds awful !!
When I could play fairly well after about 4 months I invested in a better UKE a ovation applause, it is nice, but I still use my Mahalo as I can throw it in the boot of the car and not worry about it getting knocked
have fun <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">
Simon
LOL SIMON, HANX FOR THAT REPLY.
i WILL GO OUT AND GET ONE, A CHEAP ONE AND A GOOD ONE i TIHNK, A CHEAP ONE FOR SAME REASON AS YOU, CHUCK IT ABOUT ( and dont ye just hate where the caps lock is on a keyboard)
I have the dogs bollox of tuners, an intellitouch tuner, work by vibrations, so there can be a lot of noise while you tune, but you can get tuners that work off vibrations for about a tenner, no need t ospend £38 like I did, lol, my first uke will be cheaper than my tuner.lol
Ken
Hi!
I just started playing the ukulele as well, actually I got started by borrowing one (a cheap Mahalo) from a friends kid. Now I'm thinking about buying one for myself, either the uke-stick from <a href="http://www.risa-music.de" target="_blank">http://www.risa-music.de</a> or a Flea or a Fluke from The Magic Fluke Co. Has anyone tried either of these?
Anyway, I thought I would share some links I came across that might be of interest to ukulele players:
<a href="http://www.ukeland.com" target="_blank">http://www.ukeland.com</a> - some nice pages from other players who have been nice enough to contribute their own recordings. Also checkout the podcast (ukecast) - a weekly 'show' for uke players.
<a href="http://www.ukulele.nl" target="_blank">http://www.ukulele.nl</a> - you must have Flash installed to view this website, but it's worth it. Lots of stuff to explore here, from a handy cord chart (in C and D tunings) to ukulele players worldwide to a nice songbook.
Ciao for now!
I bought my first uke about a 2 months ago. It is a concert size Fluke and I do love it, best prices are from Elderly Music. I like it so much I just ordered a tenor Fluke, this time with a custom paint job and rosewood fingerboard, to help with my fingerpicking. These will be my two major weapons until I deem myself worthy of picking up a high end model. The Flukes rock, they stay in tune, are loud, and have a wonderful sound
I bought a Fluke flea and I love it. nice sound easy to play.
I lived in Hawaii last semester for school, maybe I met your daughter. But I was on the Big Island in Hilo. I got a cheap Johnson Baritone as a gift that it took some getting used to after playing a Mele Tenor last semester. But its growing on me, because with a capo on the 5th fret, the tuning is GCEA, like a normal uke. Otherwise, if I find the chords easier on the baritone, I can play the DGBE, like the bottom four strings on a guitar. I too want a Lanikai Tenor w/ electric pickup when I get enough money. Another good sight for island music and all-uke stuff is <a href="http://www.tropicalstormhawaii.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?pid=music" target="_blank"> http://www.tropicalstormhawaii.com/cgi- … i?pid=musi c</a>
Its not as easy to get around as this site because the songs are listed without the artist, which is stupid. But other than that, its pretty good. Spread the Aloha and stay Pono fellas.
Hey,
Just thought I'd post a follow up. I decided on a Flea from the Magic Fluke Co. I ordered a pineapple model and am completely satisfied with it. The only thing that I might have done differently is to order it with a rosewood fretboard for 59$. I think it would be more aesthetically pleasing than the standard Polycarbonate fretboard.
In any case, I have been having a great time strumming and finger picking my new uke.
Ciao!
Hey, brand new Uke player, just started about 2 weeks ago. What a blast! I got a Lyon by Washburn Concert Uke, and it has been great! I'm amazed how many songs sound great with a Uke! I just wanted an instrument I could accompany my voice with, and that was portable. This is a great forum also, and I look forward to getting better and better!
From the Great White North!
recparkmike
Right, listen up
I am loving playing this Uke, I can see me buying a much better one or a request for my chrimbo ( xmas) or my birthday.
I would recommend every guitar or bass player to try this instrument out if they enjoy sitting in their house playig away without a care and singing along.
I think the singing part while playing the uke is important because of the sound it gives of, takes a while for some to get used to it,lol
you can get one to try out for 14 quid ( about $24 or less)
Ken
Ken,
Great to hear your having so much fun with the little thing <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_rolleyes.gif" border=0 alt="Rolling Eyes"> I've just got, from ebay, a banjo uke from the UK. I should get it in a week or two. I'll let you know how it works out. I looks like lots o fun. And you are 100% on the mark when you say you hae to sing when you play. That way if your not very good you just need to sing louder! <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing">
Marty the uke guy!
FYI new ukers...Elderly music has tons of good uke tab books, as does Flea Market Music.
if you wanna check out some great uke vidz go to <a href="http://www.ukuleledisco.com/clips" target="_blank">http://www.ukuleledisco.com/clips</a>
enjoy.
I bought a Banjo Uke from EBAY too. It is fantastic, pity my playing is not really up to the standard required of a banko uke, I find it a little less forgiving to the novice than my much cheaper Mahalo.
Got given my uke in the Summer - hardly touched my guitar since.
My uke (a cheapo maholo, in lovely bright red) is great because:
A) it's FUN
B) you can take it everywhere (and I always do)
C) It's cheap, so if you annoy someone and they break it, it don't matter (actually it does, cos once it's been throroughly played in, it holds its tune a whole lot more)
D) you put it on the passenger seat of your car, and if you get stuck in traffic, well ukulele away!
E) Every time you hear a song, you start thinking "That'd be great fun on the Ukulele" (most of the time you're right)
F) Mine is lovingly decorated with a Weston-Super-Mare sticker.
As my brother put it (who gave me my uke) going back to a guitar afterwards feels like sitting behind a sideboard.
U-L-L
lmao <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing"> <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing"> <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing"> <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing">
i like the option with it in the car in traffic jams. I might start taking mine with me now , especially that I am moving further awayfrom my work
Ken
Ah, yeah- ukulele-la-la, you're so right. Every time I hear a song, I keep thinking that'd be fun on the uke.
<img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing">
i haven't found a song yet, that didn't sound good on uke.
tho, some sound better than others.
a few good ones to try:
Something-The Beatles
City of New Orleans-Arlo Guthrie
Paranoid-Black Sabbath
Riders On The Storm-The Doors
anything by...Dylan, Neil Young, The Band
Hello!! I just got a uke for my 21st (heck Yeah!) and stumbled on this site
Word of warning: don't get the really cheap vibration clip on tuners. They are rubbish. I know I boought one. The Music Room at Cleckheaton do really nice ones for £19.99. They have a website which you'll be able to find if you're interested.
<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>fredmertz wrote on Mon, 18 December 2006 16:51</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
i haven't found a song yet, that didn't sound good on uke.
tho, some sound better than others.
a few good ones to try:
Something-The Beatles
City of New Orleans-Arlo Guthrie
Paranoid-Black Sabbath
Riders On The Storm-The Doors
anything by...Dylan, Neil Young, The Band
</td></tr></table>
Right then, here's my 2pennorth.
I started playing Uke about 1 year ago. I'm a truck driver who works permanent nights. Like many of you guys I take my uke everywhere, including to work. For the 1st 6 months i was practicing all the time at home and also getting in over 20 hours practice at work.
After a few weeks of this I bought a guitar. Unlike many of you guys I now play more guitar than uke, mainly because I don't get as much time to play uke at work, but I love my uke. In fact I just treated mine to a set of D'Addrio strings. Highly reccommended, folks.
Here are a selections of my favourite ukelele songs - and let me start by saying, I am Geeorge formby's biggest ever fan, so kindly don't profane his name again Ken <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_wink.gif" border=0 alt="Wink">
Wonderwall
Stairway to Heaven in Am - I have to do it instrument only as it's too hard to sing for me, but they love it in the pub. They say i should video it and put it on Youtube but I don't know how and don't have a camera.
Brown Eyed Girl in F works really well. Tab for intro is on aligatorboogaloo.com.
Streets of London is OK but better on Guitar - But I don't have my guitar with me in the pub do I? I guess that's the point.
Velvet Underground by Jonathan Richman.
I'm a Little Airplane by the same - including rock'n'Roll double stop solo.
Ice Cream Man.
Pinball Wizard.
Cleaning Windows.
leaning on a Lamp Post.
Panic by The Smiths
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by the Smiths.
Seriously I think that playing both uke and Guitar has helped me learn faster as I've had to learn to play the same chords using different shapes depending what instrument I'm playing. I think this has forced me to learn more properly than i otherwise would have done having been totally un-musical beforehand. I was a drummer. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif" border=0 alt="Smile">
dw <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_redface.gif" border=0 alt="Embarassed"> <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_redface.gif" border=0 alt="Embarassed">
very sorry <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing"> <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing">
i shall not tarnish the good name of george formby again ( or I will try not to <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing"> )
Pinball wizard on the uke? I am going to go try this as I am crap on the guitar at it.
I think playing the guitar and the uke does help a lot but i see it as learning the uke is good if you played the guitar beforehand???? hmmm, maybe it does work both ways though, I will never know for sure as I played the guitar before the uke.
BUT, playing the guitar first does make it easier to play the bass guitar I think ( i started playing bass first)
Also do you not find sometimes when going to play the chord D on the uke you go and play G. Same shape of chord, that is the only thing I get mixed up with for a second or so on the uke.
ok, pinball wizard and other who songs I was not happy with on the guitar, here i come
Ken
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Other string instruments → Ukulele players out there?
