Be Happy — Play Ukulele
Whenever I’m blue, I think to myself, “Be happy — play ukulele.” Then I pull one of my ukes out, and after a short while, I feel happy.
Since the first ukulele craze hit the mainland United States in 1915, the ukulele has experienced a waxing and waning popularity, growing over the last hundred years into a worldwide phenomenon. Every twenty-five years or so, a new generation discovers the wonderful little instrument, putting their own creative, new age, spin on it — as they should because it is a wonderful and fun instrument to learn and play. Today, we’re in the midst of yet another global ukulele craze, and there is no shortage of ukuleles of varying degrees of quality and price from myriad manufacturers.
At the age of four, the ukulele was the very first instrument ever placed in my hands as a prop for a photo shoot, though it took me many, many years, during another popularity resurgence, before I bought my own little red Epiphone soprano and learned to play ukulele.
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At that point in my life I’d been playing guitar for a long time. Although I had learned to play on a junk guitar for the first four years of my playing and knew how important it was to play as good a quality instrument as one can afford, at the time, the little Epiphone was the best quality available in my local music store. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a terrible instrument. Of all my ukes, it’s still my favorite, and has afforded me nearly twenty years of passive enjoyment; but I was never inspired to fly with it. I’d never been tempted to “go all uke” with it.
When a new adult student, or the parents of a new student ask me what ukulele they should buy to learn with, I tell them, “Buy the most you can afford, and ideally something you think you might have for many years.” But what if I or my child don’t learn to play the ukulele or decide to learn something else, then what do I do? they’ll ask me.
I believe, when you commit to learning an instrument, that instrument and you, ideally, should be spending a lot of time together. Over the years, your instrument may even become your most constant companion, or at the very least, your most reliable and enjoyable companion. Learning an instrument, particularly if you’ve never played one before, can at times, be very difficult. To even entertain the idea of playing an inexpensive instrument that doesn’t sound very good, is difficult to keep in tune or even tune properly; is hard to play because the strings may be too high off of the fretboard (high action), or too low with constant buzzing; and that may begin to come apart when the cheap glue or woods fail is, will only end in exasperation.
It’s tempting to go with the least expensive ukulele, particularly if you’re buying one for a child, because you may not have faith you or she/he will stick to it. But let’s say you purchase a higher end model and you or your child don’t end up continuing and don’t learn to play ukulele? You will have a better opportunity of recouping some of your investment by listing the instrument on eBay or Craigslist than you would with a cheap throwaway instrument. And who’s to say the very reason you or your child won’t want to continue is that the instrument was not joyful to play in the first place?
Some of us who play an instrument or several, had a burning desire to learn to play no matter the roadblocks we encountered; and some, like myself with my first instrument, didn’t know any better. I thought the low end model guitar I “inherited” from my little brother was normal and part of the deal of being a musician. For four years I struggled with strings so high off the fretboard I can’t believe I was even able to make chords, and tuning? I was lucky if I could make it through an entire song without the strings slipping horribly out of tune. But I loved playing, singing and writing my songs, so since it was all I had, I made do.
The day I decided to purchase my very own guitar and bought a Gibson Hummingbird Japanese knockoff, was the day my playing began to improve exponentially. After four years of struggling, suddenly playing seemed effortless. Chords that were once impossible on my junk guitar were cake on my Japanese knockoff. When I bought my next guitar, an Ovation, again, my playing and my desire to learn even more, soared as did my enjoyment. With each new instrument I purchased, I tried to purchase slightly more than I could afford, knowing that my playing would probably improve, and it did.
Looking back, I wonder what my playing progress, and my bank balance would be had I saved to buy a guitar of a quality I might still have today? How many guitars did I go through until I finally bought a quality guitar that would be with me forever, and one that would help me improve as opposed to holding me back? A lot. Thirty years ago I bit the bullet and bought a quality guitar that I play, and enjoy, every single day.
In regard to the ukulele, being that they are so small relative to a guitar, they need a level of precision when playing. Precision is not easy to attain when the fret action is too high, or even too low. Also, because ukuleles are so small, their sound is greatly impacted by the tone woods used in their construction. Strings, too, can have a measurable affect on the sound. Tuning pegs or keys, if not of quality, can create a nightmare if they won’t stay in tune. Sure, you can buy a twenty dollar (or less) uke on eBay, but if it doesn’t end up on your wall as a decoration, it’ll end up in the donation bag, or even the trash.
One of the many things that’s so nice about the ukulele, is that you can purchase a whole lot of quality for about the same amount you can purchase an entry-level guitar. Not saying you can’t spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on custom made ukes, but you really don’t need to in order to have a beautifully crafted ukulele of your very own that you love.
In the end, that’s what’s important. You want to learn on an instrument you love, one you hate to put down. And when you practice or play ukulele, the only things you want to be wrestling are your lack of coordination, skills or knowledge, and not the instrument itself.
If you’re just starting out and want to purchase a ukulele but don’t have the benefit of knowing how to play in order to test drive for the right one, ask your teacher or someone you know who knows how to play ukulele to go with you to test drive ukes for you. Even a reputable dealer will be able to play ukes that catch your eye and will give you a fair review of the instruments.
If you decide to purchase a ukulele online, make sure it’s from a dealer who will let you exchange or return your purchase within 30 or 45 days if you don’t like what you’ve chosen.
Finally, don’t let the diminutive ukulele fool you into thinking it’s just a toy or something anyone with little musical experience can learn easily.
As you can see, the ukulele is a legitimate instrument, capable, in the right hands, of producing world class music. With a musical background one can most likely learn to play ukulele fairly quickly. Even someone without musical training or natural talent can also learn to play if they possess a burning desire to do so — and/or the right teacher.
Be happy — play the ukulele.