Ukulele Jam!

Now I know that we weren’t asked to do history for this post, but I was curious as to the origins of such a small and, before recently, localized instrument. We often associate the ukulele with Hawaii, but the instrument was actually the result of Portuguese influence on the islands during the late 1800s. It soon became a staple in Hawaiian traditions. The ukulele has also had its history throughout pop culture. There is the famous Tiny Tim, whose single “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” (1968), helped make the ukulele popular. And recently, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole’s performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” that exploded on YouTube and reignited an interest in the small instrument. (If you like the melodic sounds of this simplistic instrument, I would suggest looking into NeverShoutNever’s album “Me and My Uke”, “Ukulele Songs” by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, and also the varied work of ukulele player Nellie McKay. )

So I must preface this story by saying that I am by no means an expert. I am much more like the girl in Professor Burton’s story who was an expert of one day. I began to play the ukulele just last December when my friend gave me her old one as a present. She taught me my first chord (C major) and I was let loose. Quickly I became obsessed with the dainty 4-string instrument. I would find chords online of every song I knew and just started strumming. So I guess you could say I’m a self-proclaimed expert.

I must add that for being a small instrument people sure underestimate how difficult it is to play. Cami, the girl I taught, has played the piano for years and sings, but she still struggled. We created a video and hopefully I’ll be able to load it (fingers crossed!) I started just with simple chords (C, F, G, Am) and with those we could play the entire song “Rhythm of Love”. Even though it was difficult, I knew she felt a sense of accomplishment because she proceeded to show nearly every girl on our hall the song she learned. I think this is one of the most important parts of teaching folk knowledge, that the people we teach have pride in their new skill and can go forth enlightened.

It’s interesting that this assignment came when it did because I was already in the middle of teaching or imparting of the folk knowledge I knew. Some girls on my floor heard me playing the ukulele and asked to learn. I think these are exactly the types of moments where folk knowledge is taught and passed on. It’s not always at pre-arranged meetings but just in everyday life that we find opportunities to teach others.