Ukeleles getting more popular? - Page 3

Wooden Music · #31 01-21-2014, 12:54 PM

In the UK, there are lots of ukulele clubs around. They publish songbooks, free of charge, on the internet, and people can download and print them, and just turn up at the club and join in.

The emphasis is on group participation, not individual excellence, and it's no wonder that they are popular.

My wife and I go to what I would regard as a typical local uke club. Up to about 40 players, of all ages from about 11 or 12 to about 80. It's really sociable, and cheap: we just a put few coins in a jug that is passed around, to pay the venue for hosting us for the evening.

What's not to like?

erivel · #32 01-21-2014, 01:03 PM

Check out the Ukulele Underground to see what all the fuss is about: http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/forum.php

Mooh · #33 01-21-2014, 01:41 PM

For years I didn't have a single ukulele student (out of an average of 60 fretted instrument students per year), but now I have a couple who do only uke and a few who do it as well as some other instrument.

Everyone should own and play at least one uke.

kmcmichael · #34 01-21-2014, 04:24 PM

I have been a guitarist for 40 years. Last month I purchased one on a vacation to Kauai. I have not put it down.

I agree about Izzy making them popular. So has Jake Shimubukuru's version of While my guitar gently weeps made in Central Park.

joeguam · #35 01-22-2014, 04:44 AM

I've been playing uke for 18 years, performing professionally for the last 14 years. I gave up the guitar entirely in 2000 and did uke-only gigs for years when it wasn't popular at all. People laughed at me a lot...until they heard me play. To them, the uke was a joke, but these were the easiest audiences to impress. I grew up on an island so the popularity of the instrument has been around a long time, but I only noticed the respect for it grow on the mainland in the past 5 years or so. It definitely started with IZ, but I really think the mainstream song "Hey Soul Sister" by Train had a lot to do with it's boost in popularity as well.

Now I play solo gigs looping rhythm & bass lines on my guitar, then hang up the 6-strings quickly to grab my uke to loop percussions & play lead. I also play uke in a duo with my wife on piano. There's never a song that I've come across that I haven't been able to hang with on the uke. That also includes playing Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69" through a distortion rig at an alternative rock club in Scottsdale, AZ just to freak everyone out.

It's my primary instrument and I love the fact that everyone's playing it now!

cigarfan · #36 01-22-2014, 08:12 AM

Been a guitar player since the late sixties and picked up my first ukulele Spring of 2013. They make a "happy" sound. It's infectious. And although some of them can be relatively expensive, for what you pay to own a luthier built guitar you could get four to six (maybe more used) ukes of good quality.

I have now had John S. Kinnard build me one and I can tell you same is true for ukes as guitars ... a custom luthier built (from John) shines above the rest.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=316686

icuker · #37 01-22-2014, 12:37 PM

Part of the popularity was the economy, they are cheaper to buy. (a guess on my part). Also, they are small and portable and fairly easy to play as a beginner and very friendly to play if coming from a guitar background. And most folks who buy a uke don't stop at one (because they can be had on the cheap) so that also drives sales. In time it's popularity may wane a bit but I wonder (doubt) if they will ever totally go out of style again. It will be just another voice in the music world.

We've had a very successful uke club in our town for over 8 years and there is no drop in attendance from month to month. It is a real fun way to get together with other folks to sing and play like the olden days around the piano.