Tag: ukelandia

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The Origins of Ukulele

by Abhay Koppar

Blue skies, shimmering sandy beaches, swaying palms, verdant green valleys, whispering waves and as the sun sets on the ocean, one hears the dulcet sound of Ukulele……. the tropical paradise in the middle of Pacific Ocean, the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaii and Ukulele are so synonymous, they are inseparable. But was the Ukulele invented in Hawaii? Let’s trace the origins of the Ukulele together.

The story of Ukulele begins on the rugged island, Madeira, known for Madeira wine. The wine industry and furniture making were the backbone of Madeira’s economy. Unfortunately, by the mid-1800s after the collapse of the wine industry, many unemployed Madeirans left the island for greener pastures elsewhere.

The sugar industry was booming in the late 1800s in the Kingdom of Hawaii and there was an unprecedented labor shortage to run the plantations and factories. The word spread all over the world and reached Madeira. Willing men and women signed short-term contracts to work in the fields. They were provided a sailing passage and freedom after the completion of contract by the plantation owners. The immigrants and their families set sail to the Hawaiian Islands on the British clipper ship, SS Ravenscrag. After a grueling 4 month long journey, the exhausted Madeiran immigrants arrived in Honolulu on a sunny Saturday in August of 1879. As soon as they set their feet on the sand, a passenger, an accomplished musician, broke into a rambunctious song and dance playing a four-string musical instrument called machête The instrument was also known as “braguinha” or the “Machéte de Braga” named after the city in northern Portugal from where it originated, but widely strummed on streets in Funchal, the capital of Madeira. The Hawaiians were so enamored by the sound of the musical instrument, that on September 3, 1879, the Hawaiian Gazette wrote: “…Madeira Islanders recently arrived here have been delighting the people with nightly street concerts. The musicians are fine performers on their strange instruments, which are a kind of cross between a guitar and a banjo, but which produce very sweet music in the hands of the Portuguese minstrels.”

On that ship was a cabinet maker Miguel Nunes from Funchal, who worked as an indentured worker on the sugarcane fields. He gained freedom after fulfilling his contractual obligations in 1883 and in 1884 he opened a small furniture shop in Honolulu. The shop manufactured furniture, as well as musical instruments. How Nunes turned into a talented luthier remains a mystery to this day! Did he invent the Ukulele no one knows! But a decade after their arrival, Nunes or the musicians from Madeira, first introduced an instrument that was a hybrid of the machête and small Portuguese instrument, the five-string rajão. The petite size and body outline of the machête, and its 17-fret fingerboard provided the basis for the ukuleles’ overall shape and configuration. Instead of the machete’s D-G-B-D tuning, the ukulele employed the tuning of the rajão’s top four strings: G-C-E-A, minus its fifth string (a low D)! Viola! Ukulele was born.

But how did the instrument get its name Ukulele? ‘Uku with the ‘okina (the punctuation mark that looks like a backwards apostrophe) means flea. Lele means to jump. Jumping fleas! Perhaps it comes from the fact that Ukulele players jump fast across the fretboard and it resembles jumping fleas!The other comes from Queen Lili’uokalani who interpreted ‘Uku poetically as “gift” and Ukulele as a “gift from far away”. The new musical instrument received patronage from the Hawaiian Royal family: King David Kalakaua, Hawaii’s last king, his Queen Emma, and the future Queen Lili’uokalani. They were all accomplished musicians and learned to play Ukulele themselves. In fact, Ukulele was the national instrument of the Kingdom of Hawaii and always featured in the royal events and traditional luas.

Miguel Nunes continued to thrive and taught the art of ukulele making to numerous craftsmen, including his son Leonardo. One of his well-known apprentices, Samuel Kamaka, started his own shop in 1916 in Honolulu. Nearly 100 years later, the Kamaka Ukulele and Guitar Works proudly carries on the legacy of Ukulele making, an instrument that changed the music in Hawaii. After a decline in interest to play Ukulele in mainstream music, it has once again regained popularity in the last decade, and it continues to grow.

Ukulele is truly a gift that keeps giving.

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Newbie perspective of GNUF (great Northern Ukulele Festival)

by Justilele

Like many, I set out on my ukulele journey during lockdown back in April 2020, which feels like a lifetime ago. Venturing out with my uke has been one of the best reasons to leave the enforced comfort of home and get back out there with the rest of the world. Where better to start than the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival (or GNUF to its friends), based in beautiful Yorkshire, UK?

Fellow Ukelandian Bethany (@guardianioftheuke) first brought GNUF to my attention. I instantly thought this must be quite a festival if it is known by this wonderful Ukulele lady in America. GNUF did not disappoint!

We arrived on Thursday, ready for Friday morning’s workshops. When I say we, I’m part of the Ukulele Project (running the South East division), so I was at GNUF meeting the other project founders face to face for the first time since Tara (London Ukulele Project) brought us all together. But that’s a whole other story!

I hadn’t booked any workshops as I didn’t want to be restricted with being anywhere for a certain time for my first experience. So, while my Ukulele Project friends attended some awesome workshops, I wandered the streets of Huddersfield seeking fellow ukulele folk. All seemed quiet, so I went to the pub (a safe bet). The Head of Steam by the railway station was where I found them! There were pockets of people around the pub, jamming and chatting. I met a lady called Jennifer who had come alone from America just for GNUF, so come on, Bethany! Whether you were by yourself or part of a group, if you had a ukulele with you, you were not alone and everyone was very welcoming.

Things seemed to really kick off later in the day as people poured into the pub and the jams got louder. (It might have had something to do with the pub offering a discount if you showed them your uke!) Later I was stunned to realise I had been casually jamming with some of the main stage acts. How friendly and down to earth are these awesome ukulele people? I noticed how well they engaged the room, shouting out the chords etc. and then the penny dropped when I saw them performing on the main stage at the theatre the next day! At GNUF you can be chatting and jamming with people one moment, and the next watching them shred it on stage supporting Jake or Taimane.

GNUF is spread out across around five intimate venues, so as a first-timer it took a while to get my bearings, but simply finding a person with a ukulele never failed me! One of the things I love about GNUF is the fact you can only buy a weekend ticket, meaning you could completely indulge in everything ukulele to your heart’s content. GNUF is volunteer led, with many performers giving their time at the merch stand or running jams and open mics, which contributes to the lovely ethos of the weekend.

GNUF has big names, but also offers opportunities to join impromptu jams or open mics. There was a more formal Open Mic stage outside in a courtyard by the theatre (which you had to sign up to in advance) which was fantastic to see new acts perform and also paved the way for newbies like me. So, on the Sunday I did some songs there with the Ukulele Project team, which was a terrifying delight!

I particularly enjoyed meeting players outside of the Instagram and Facebook communities (which is where I’ve spent nearly all my time). It was great to make those connections beyond the social media world, and to hear songs more than sixty seconds long!

On Sunday, the Ukulele Projects (London, Scotland, Wales, East Midlands, South East) were lucky to have a stand right by the main stage promoting our not-for-profit, where we use music to tackle loneliness and promote well-being. Through this, I got the chance to chat to Jake Shimabukuro and also Taimane (yes, I said chat, not just selfies!). All the acts at GNUF welcome fans to come and meet them throughout the weekend, but without even meeting both ukulele virtuosos, my first time at GNUF would have been incredible with the amazing array of talented performers and friendly ukulele lovers from around the world. This combined with fabulously intimate venues and plenty of audience participation throughout, ticked all the ukulele festival boxes that I didn’t know I had!

Obviously, I am biased with limited ukulele festival experience and I haven’t (yet!) visited any ukulele festivals abroad, but in the meantime I can’t wait to get back to GNUF for a second time. I wonder what next year’s GNUF will have in store for us, and whether I’ll get to jam with any of you?

Despite many of us learning in lockdown or only ever playing alone at home, the ukulele is a sociable instrument. Connecting via online forums such as our awesome Ukelandia, seeing performances and having real life ukulele strum-alongs such as those at GNUF, I’ve always felt part of something bigger. Attending my first uke festival has shown me what I already knew, which is that the ukulele community really is the friendliest and best in the world!

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Community Artist – Karl Jackson

by Dave Thorpe

Any regular Ukelandia Facebook followers cannot fail to have been intrigued, impressed and inspired by the playing of our own Karl Jackson. Karl has been a member of Ukelandia since December 2021 and is a regular, and valued poster of videos. Karl has a unique personally developed playing style necessitated by the fact that he has one arm. In this interview I discuss with him his ukuleles, the development of his playing and his ambitions. 

Hi Karl – an obvious starter – what got you into playing ukulele and how did you come across the Ukelandia community?

I first took an interest in the ukulele after my youngest daughter said she wanted to learn to play in 2019. Helping her get started watching tutorials online made me realize that I wanted to learn as well, though I had been told by music instructors in the past that playing more than hammer-ons on a stringed instrument would be impossible. 

What scale lengths do you use (soprano/concert/tenor/baritone) – are some more suited to your style than others?

My preferred scale length is concert, though I can play any of the differing sizes of ukulele. I found that the concert size fits best for my playing style as it best matched the length of my forearm. The longer scales require me to reach for the first few frets, that’s why I play the longer scales with the ukulele resting on my lap still.

Obviously, you have to do the job of two hands – strumming and fretting the notes – with one. For anyone who has not seen you play can you describe the mechanics of what you do?

To learn to play I had to train my fingers to do specific jobs on the fret board. I started with my ukulele lying on my lap face up like a dulcimer or lap steel guitar, fretting one string at a time with my index finger and picking the string with my pinky. As I built up the muscles needed to do this, I was able to start using my middle and ring fingers for fretting as well. So, my pinky is in essence doing the work of my strumming hand, and the other three fingers are doing all the fretwork. My thumb is usually supporting the back of the neck to keep the ukulele from moving around too much, that or I use it to pluck the open G string.

Those of us that follow you on FB have watched you develop as a player. We’ve seen you move from playing melody only to playing chords as well, and from playing the uke horizontally while sitting down to playing standing up. What do you consider to be the major developments in your style and what has driven those developments?

Every day I learn something new about the ukulele, my playing style, and the impact sharing my playing style has on others. The most recent developments in my play style have been learning to play with the ukulele strapped up off my lap, singing along to my own strumming, and playing my harmonica and the uke simultaneously. 

One of the biggest drivers in these developments has been my increasing confidence in my abilities.

Sharing my videos on Facebook (Ukelandia especially), lead to an outpouring of support from the ukulele community. The support and encouragement that I saw, made me honestly appraise my playing style, not for the one-handed aspect, but for the actual music I was making.

Away from the uke and playing, what is the music you listen to – are there particular musicians (uke or otherwise) that you admire?

I am a big fan of the blues, jazz, and especially ragtime music, which reflects itself in the music I play on ukulele. Some of my favourite past artists include Tom Lehrer, Robert Johnson, Frank Sinatra, and Larry Addler.

I am often enjoying the styling of Keb Mo, Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq, and Hugh Laurie, just to name a few.

You have come a long way since you joined us in 2021, what’s next?

Moving forward, the ukulele is becoming a predominant part of my life goals. I am working with music therapy groups out of New York and Hawaii to get established doing workshops at events and to help inspire others.
Additionally, I am working on a one-handed ukulele primer, so that others with limitations can break out of the “That’s Impossible” mindset.
Beyond that, I am excited to see where my ukulele takes me next!

Karl, many thanks for your time here and telling us about your musical journey. It’s been fascinating to hear your story. Thanks also for all your inspiring videos. I look forward to many more!! 

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Learner to Luthier

by Peter Bos

The Ukelandia Facebook and Telegram groups have conversations about new and special ukuleles which is always a fruitful topic. Next to the well known Ukulele brands there is a market for custom ukuleles. These ukuleles are created by luthiers.

Whilst creating the Ukelandia Magazine, I came in contact with luthier, Kawai Carvalho from Coast Ukuleles. He is a very kind human being and he shared his emotional and heartwarming story of how he became a luthier with me.

Kawai was born in Hawaii, but left the Islands when he was 18 years old. He grew up around ukulele music, but he didn’t really catch the uke virus growing up. This didn’t happen until he and his partner EB had their first child and went to Hawaii for a vacation. During the holiday, he bought a Makala and fell in love with this instrument. It connected him to his Portuguese heritage and his roots back to the Island.

He brought the Makala back to California and UAS quickly struck Kawai, as his uke family expanded while he was still learning how to play it. He went to meet-ups and met a lot of native Hawaiian people who used the ukulele as a gateway back to their heritage. After acquiring about six ukuleles, Kawai became interested in a custom ukulele.

The 2020 pandemic gave him more time to get acquainted with building a custom ukulele for his collection. Custom ukuleles are priced high and as a true uke DIY’er, he decided on a simple ‘build your own’ uke kit, which has a lot of pre-made materials. Constructing this ukulele inspired him to make more. He started building his custom ukulele in his large garage only this time from scratch. I couldn’t imagine where to begin building a uke, but Kawai told me there is a lot of information online. Especially the “Ukulele Underground” which is a very supportive and helpful community with a lot of guides and approachable luthiers.


A lot of passion went to his ukulele and after he was done with his first uke, he already had new ideas for his next project. This inspired him, gave him joy and connected him to his heritage. This felt like the missing link in his life and Kawai wanted to keep building ukuleles. His partner EB supported him and gave him all the room to follow his new passion. Kawai and EB had two children, Kaipo and Nahele. EB watched the children during the pandemic, so Kawai could follow his newly found passion.

In early 2020, disaster struck as his life partner, EB suddenly passed away while pregnant with their third child. Now Kawai was on his own with his two kids and shortly after, his employer terminated his employment.. A lot of grief and stress followed, however the local and worldwide ukulele community lent him a lot of support. For instance, he had just ordered a supply of very expensive Hawaiian wood but in order to pay the rent and the bills, he reached out to return the wood to the supplier. Once they understood the reason for the return, they reimbursed him and told him to keep the wood to create a ukulele and share it with the people around him. The first ukuleles Kawai built were from his passion project and eventually gifts for friends and family.


Without his partner and a job, he wanted to keep building ukuleles and as he learned a lot from the first dozen ukuleles he built, he could now start doing it professionally.

During the interview he showed me his garage with the basic tools he used to construct his first ukuleles. These were still there next to the new heavy machinery he bought over time to work efficiently and professionally. Currently he has created about 50 ukuleles and is working on ten of them simultaneously.

All his ukes are custom made in negotiation with his clients. Some have specific wishes, others leave the design to Kawai. At the time of this interview, he was working on multiple ukuleles with the same neck, inspired by the Hawaiian islands. After a ukulele is finished and it gets played by Kawai; he tells me it truly is a magical moment as his eyes shine describing the moment. When constructing a ukulele he never knows how it will sound finished.

His favorite combination of woods is mango and spruce, but the Hawaiian Koa is a very popular wood. To all the UAS’ers reading this, Kawai has some advice: if you’re interested in custom ukuleles, you should buy one! Creating your own is costly and time consuming. The asking price of a Kawai custom build is currently around $1800 and his wait list is about a year long.Through Instagram, Kawai has shared his creations and has developed a strong following of about 2000 followers with a wonderful clientele, notwithstanding, the well known Southern Ukulele Store ordered a couple of ukuleles for their store.

In the future Kawai wants to keep making custom ukuleles for his brand Coast Ukulele. It’s his new home profession while watching the kids and homeschooling them. He isn’t looking to expand any further or hiring a lot of people to create a company. He wants to continue doing what he loves, building custom ukuleles with his heart, love and passion born during his life partnership with EB.

Follow Kawai’s journey and his creations on @coastukulele or coastukulele.com

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Play the Ukulele

by The Cow and the Frog

My story started with a bad, lingering tummy ache in the summer of 2021. I went to my doctor who told me it was constipation. It wasn’t.

Two days later, I collapsed at work and I was rushed to the hospital where I had a severe internal haemorrhage. After a week in the hospital, receiving blood transfusions and being examined, I was sent back home. I feel like an idiot as I was so wobbly and weak, nevertheless I tried to go back to work. I collapsed again, was taken to the hospital and my boss told me to stay home until they found the source of the problem. My brain was mush, and my body was not functioning correctly. Noone seemed to know what was wrong with me.

I was praying during this time, and was told “play the ukulele”. It seemed like an odd thing to do, but I followed through.
I ordered an Enya Nova. This purchase was based purely on the Amazon reviews, and the fact that it was turquoise! It arrived, and we looked at each other in bemusement!
I started searching the Internet for instruction, and came across a lovely young lady named Bernadette. I devoured her courses, challenges and joined her Facebook group, Ukelandia.

I lurked for a while, gawping at all the accomplished people there. I finally plucked up the courage to post something of my own. That was it… I was hooked! I’ve played several instruments in the past, but never one as satisfying and addictive as this.

Then came the news that changed my life. The examinations that I’d been going through showed an aggressive rare cancer that had also invaded the lymph nodes.
I opened my heart on Ukelandia, and received an incredible outpouring of love. I wept as messages of support came in from around the world. The Ukelandia family has stayed with me every step of this journey, and I can’t ever thank them enough for their prayers, positivity and uplifting messages.

You are incredible Ukelandia, I love you.

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How ‘’My Battle’’ saved my life

by Pauline van de Haar

Once upon a time… I was depressed. It took me several years (I think more than 15 years) to recover from my chronic depression. Yes, I understand the confusion: ‘’chronic means not curable’’, right? You could say that, but luckily, I was able to recover with a lot of help from the mental health care services, my parents, my friends, and… myself.

What does this intro have to do with ukuleles, or music in general?
First of all, music is kind of a therapy on its own. We all know that, don’t we? Second of all, it’s amazing that there are people on this planet trained to use music in a therapeutic way for clients or patients who are having a hard time and dealing with all kinds of problems.

Let’s talk about musical therapy and how it was a life-saver for me.

The first time I got into musical therapy was in 2008. I was admitted to a psychiatric clinic for adolescents and every week we made music. We talked about the music we played, whether it sounded okay or less okay. At that time, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing: ‘’I play the recorder, guitar and I sing, why make music with people who don’t know anything about music?’’, is what I thought. Well, the whole point of musical therapy is that you don’t have to be ‘’good’’ with music. Music, or making sounds is a way to deal with your emotions etc. In 2008, my experience with musical therapy wasn’t so great. All I wanted, was to be happy again and be able to take my lessons at the music school.

It took me quite some time to make a giant climb in recovery. I will not ‘’bore you’’ with details in my recover-story. Some people talk a lot about stuff, for some people this helps and is enough to recover. Some people need a different kind of treatment, besides talking therapy. They need to do something with their hands or body. Making sounds and using your voice to make something that speaks for you is so beautiful.

In 2019, I was treated with musical therapy again. But this time not in a group; Just myself, my therapist and all these instruments. It was like a candy shop! I was allowed to try out every instrument in the room, feel what the vibrations and sounds did to me. The first session, I cried. I knew music meant everything to me, but the thing that changed is that I finally got the hope I could live again.

With my therapist, whom I saw once a week, I tried out several things and instruments. After a few sessions she thought that it could be nice for me to write music myself. At that time, I was already playing ukulele for about 6 years, but only songs written by other people. She helped me write my thoughts on paper, where I would want to go with my recovery journey. She gave me homework: play some chords and feel what’s good for your song. Two weeks later, I went to the session with a song. Not just chords, but also lyrics. ‘’My Battle’’ was born.

We worked on the song, recorded it with ukulele (me), voice (me) and piano (therapist). I kept listening to my own words over and over again. Later that year, I said farewell to my therapist, finally I lived again! I learned to use music to cope with the demons in my head.

A whole bunch of songs were written in the last two years. Most of them about self-compassion. Recently I started writing about other stuff as well. Grief, love, and being good enough.

This is my story, this is my battle. But now I can say: ‘’This was my battle’’.

Play It Forward

by Madeleine Roy

My ukulele journey seems very similar to many of yours in that the 2020 lockdowns pushed me to a dark lonely place and I was searching for a focus. I had just retired from my career in February and I was lost!

One day in May 2020, I noticed a small inexpensive soprano ukulele (Diamond Head) that my sons had purchased for me a number of years earlier when I was living in Ottawa, Canada. It was completely neglected as I just kept moving it with me wherever I relocated and I never even tried to play it.

There it sat, just staring back at me, like it was saying…”If not now, when?”

I have never played a stringed instrument so this was going to be a challenge. Just what I needed!

Like so many of you, I combed YouTube looking for tutorials to learn this tiny little “guitar.” I learned bits and pieces from many artists, but it wasn’t until I discovered Bernadette, did my journey really begin and my love for this 4-string wonder evolved.

It was a matter of weeks and I started my UAS journey. I moved from a soprano to a tenor with a low g. Clearly I really didn’t know what I was doing.

I truly learned to play on the tenor as it took almost a year before I got Bernadette’s Signature Enya concert, which is my go-to most of the time. Shortly thereafter, I purchased 2 more concert ukuleles. I now have 7 ukuleles, a guitar and a guitarelele. (Small collection compared to some of you—Peg!)

I’m always looking for something new to add to my collection. Trouble is, the ones I want are so very expensive!

I joined Bernadette’s Patreon classes in late August 2020. This is when my sister came to visit me. She picked up the soprano and just started playing “Cucaracha” by ear! What? She’s never played a stringed instrument either but here she was shaming me in an instant.

Obviously, I encouraged her and “played it forward” by giving her the Diamond Head soprano on her birthday in October. Last count, she now owns 3 ukuleles and

jams, with her husband when he plays the guitar. For Christmas, she and her husband played and sang me a Christmas carol as a recognition gift of starting their music journey together!

She has since bought her 6-year granddaughter a pink ukulele for her birthday. She’s “playing it forward” too!

I recently bought my 4-year old grandson (who lives with me) a soprano ukulele. He has shown an interest especially when I’m playing. He tells me I need to practice and so he can show me how to play. He then plucks at the strings to demonstrate. It’s adorable!

As I consider what I’ve shared so far, I realize I’ve been playing for 2 years now and still consider myself a beginner! It’s funny as both my son, Chad (a musician) and Bernadette always say, “Don’t compare yourself to others” and that is what I usually do and then want to quit or hide in the shadows.

Chad said to me, “Mom why are you doing this? Aren’t you having fun?”

I realized I love it, and yes I’m having fun! Most of all, I’m doing it for me and that’s what really matters. The very best part of all of this is my Ukelandia family!

I am blessed as I have friends from all over the world and I love you all!

You are my family!

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Community Artist – Marisa Levy

by Yuta Hsu

If you’ve been a Ukelandia member for any amount of time, you’ve probably seen this person’s posts. A little “ or “ a little wave, followed by a cover that would bring a smile to your face. Or maybe a small collaboration ( of a handful of members. Or maybe even a large collab put together with lots of love. Either way, I had the distinct honor to sit with the lovely Marisa Levy.

Born in Korea, she was adopted as a baby by her very loving selfless parents. Her father, her biggest hero, was a decorated Vietnam veteran. Her mother is also pretty amazing. Her parents had two sons, and then decided to adopt wanting to help children after remembering how life was in Vietnam. They ended up adopting four children: one child from Vietnam (older sis), two children from Korea (Marisa a boy), and one from Hong Kong (younger sis). Growing up where there weren’t a lot of A sians, she would sometimes feel out of place, but her parents always made everyone feel equal and as much a part of the family as her brothers. She has done 23 and Me and found a close cousin, but she hasn’t reached out to her… yet. She now has her own family consisting of her husband of 20 years and two teenage boys. The boys have taken to their Asian side and are bringing her along on a journey learning more about her heritage.

A retired hair stylist and make up artist, she’s currently a stay at home mom When not playing an instrument of some kind, she enjoys fishing, nature photography, paddle boarding, kayaking, painting, and cooking. She admits she can get bored easily, so she’s seemingly always looking for a new challenge. Like many of us, a main mo tivator of her uke journey was the COVID lockdowns of 2020. Just before the lockdowns, she was actually picking up an electric piano to learn to play, and saw a little pineapple uke that was too cute to pass up. “I taught myself basic piano via YouTube vid eos. I then decided to pick up the uke I bought and give it a go watching YouTube. That s how I found Bernie and Ukelandia. It kept my mind busy and gave me a community to share my hobby! Things are getting back to normalish, but it still calms me to play and Ukelandia lets me see everyone s journey and progress.” She has since expanded to baritone uke, U bass, guitar, guitalele, and violin. And if you look hard enough, you may see her play a saxophone or percussion, too!

Known by some as “The Collab Queen,” I asked her about the collabs and what inspired her to organize them. “The collab idea came from me wanting to cover a song I really like (I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons), but I knew it would sound better with more members adding their talents. I made a post and received way more volunteers than I ever thought I would! It turned out so great and we just kept on going every few months with a new song!” That first post asking for volunteers resulted in a video of 12+ Ukelandia members (some recording t hemselves for the first time!) doing a wonderful cover of Mumford Sons complete with kick drum. That first collab was so well received, another one happened a few months later where 25+ members (including Bernadette!) joined in for “I Need Never Get Old” by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. Then came “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. After that, “With a Little Help from My Friends” by The Beatles. And while she was organizing these large collabs, she was still posting her own videos, doing smaller coll abs, and encouraging other members on their uke journey.

As life slowly returns to some sort of normalcy, the ukulele is still a part of her life. When her father passed away last year, she found solace in the ukulele, finding chord melodies more comforti ng and therapeutic. The positive influence of the ukulele cannot be denied. I asked her what she’s learned on her uke journey so far, and she said “I learned that collabs bring us closer together and encourage some that feel more comfortable in a group pro duction. ThatThat’s my favorite part of it! Some have only recorded themselves to share for the collabs. Safety in numbers, as they say. I met so many great people doing them! ItIt’s time for another one, by the way.”

I’m inclined to agree with her!
And as is my tradition, I ended our interview with a questionnaire based on one Bernard Pivot used on his talk show. Here are Marisa’s answers…

  1. What is your favorite word?
    Journey or Progress. I like the idea of going somewhere better or more positive, or attaining a goal/skill… the process of bettering oneself.
  2. What is your least favorite word?
    Perfect.
  3. What turns you on?
    Someone that cooks for me and plays me some music.
  4. What turns you off?
    When someone is cocky, justified or otherwise. Confidence is good, cockiness is bad.
  5. What sound or noise do you love?
    A major chord followed by a minor chord.
  6. What sound or noise do you hate?
    Loud chewing or drinking.
  7. What’s your favorite curse word?
    Well, it depends on the situation, but the one that starts with the letter “F”
  8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
    Animal rescue/rehab.
  9. What profession would you not like to do?
    An office job.
  10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
    Would you like to organize a collab with all of the musicians up here? And my answer would be “Hell yes! I mean, Heck yes!

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Cats-Pink-and-Sparkles-Obsessed-Ukulele-Girl!

by Pauline van de Haar

The first time I held a ukulele was in 2011. My classical guitar teacher suggested the ukulele was an instrument that may work better for me. I wasn’t bad at playing classical guitar.
Actually, I played well enough to go to the conservatory. However, playing 5 to 6 hours a day was difficult as my hands and shoulders just couldn’t handle it. In 2012, I tried to take
part in the music exams, so I would graduate at the highest amateur level in classical guitar. Unfortunately, I was physically unable to participate in this exam. I quit playing guitar in
a split second. I hated my body for not being able to play and make music. In 2017, the doctor’s diagnosis of fibromyalgia was identified as the main reason for all my pain.

Luckily, I restarted playing the recorder in 2010, started in 1999, quit in middle school ’because it wasn’t cool. In 2014, I graduated at the highest amateur level in classical recorder!
After saying goodbye to my guitar in 2012 (which is still hanging on my wall), I bought my very own first Aloha concert ukulele. I fell in love in a NANO second!
Playing the ukulele doesn’t cause me too much muscle pain and has brought the joy of string instruments back in my life!

It took me 6½ years to buy my second uke. Late 2018 is when my UAS (Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome) really started. The second uke, also a concert but with no brand has a cats’s paw as a sound hole. I restrung it a year or two later with a low G string.After buying my second ukulele, UAS set in and many more were purchased. I have a Flight Travel Series TUS-EE Sunset Elise Ecklund Signature soprano ukulele, which is amazing to travel with.

In 2021, I came across a new ukulele with kittens all over it. As a cat behaviorist, I couldn’t resist buying it. It’s the Flight Travel Series TUC Kitty concert ukulele. Then, I really wanted a baritone as it’s a little bit closer to a guitar, but still playable for me! I fell for the Flight Natural Series NUB310 baritone. Most recently, I bought an Enya Nova U pink concert ukulele. It’s just magnificent! Never have I ever seen a ukulele like this one close up! The Enya feels different, sounds lovely and is wonderful to look at. Funny fact: my niece’s name is Enya too! Maybe I’ll buy her an Enya uke one day, if she wants one! Before the Enya Nova, I saw a Kala ukulele. All those Sparkles! I mean, how could I resist ordering one for myself?! So, I did. It’s the Kala KA-SPRK-PINK Sparkle Series Pink Champagne concert ukulele.

Another amusing fact- in the last 1 ½ years, I bought the last 4 ukuleles for myself. As my friends say, “That’s just, a little crazy”! How can I help myself when I have UAS? For now, I may stop buying more ukes. I just can’t tell you for how long though!

That’s the crazy thing about a Cats-Pink-and-Sparkles-Obsessed-Ukulele-girl!

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Take me with Uke

by PeeWee

On our way to the beach, I spotted a friend looking at my ukulele gig bag suspiciously. “What’s in there, Peewee?” she asked. “Uhmm . . . just stuff,” I shrugged in the most nonchalant manner I could manage. You see, my ukulele gig bag does not look like a conventional ukulele bag. Grandma custom-made it for me, ‘different’ from all the typical ones you get in music stores. I wanted one which would blend in easily with
other travel bags and not attract too much attention. ‘Why go to such lengths?’ you might ask. Well, the answer was simple. I had never really told anyone that I had a ukulele and had spent the last year secretly learning to play it by watching tutorials on YouTube. Strumming away in the solitude of my bedroom gave me great joy. Though my skills had improved over the months, I considered myself more of a closet ukulele player and I intended to keep it that way. I would not want my uke bag to turn unnecessary heads and give away my secret. Why then had I risked being exposed? Taking my ukulele to the beach with four other friends had been a bold, reckless move, I know, but the beach seemed to beckon me. I imagined finding a lonely, secluded spot to play my uke, the sea breeze in my hair, the sand between my toes. The feeling had been so intense that I had had no qualms about picking up the uke and packing it in with my luggage.

The day at the beach passed by in a fervour of games and fun. Post-dinner, we sat talking around a campfire. My friend, Raoul got out a guitar and played a few songs. The dancing firelight… the waves breaking upon the shore… the sea spray… the music… It was blissful! My fingers itched to get hold of my ukulele, but I controlled myself. Slowly, one by one, people drifted indoors to go to bed. I went in too, but sleep eluded me. I felt restless. I finally got up, grabbed my uke which had been carefully tucked away out of sight and sneaked back outside.

The campfire was still burning, although feebly. A light wind gently caressed my face… playing in my hair… It felt wonderful! I hugged my uke and began to play a little ditty I’d learned on YouTube. I played it over and over, lost in the moment, oblivious to the passage of time. It might have
been a minute or it might have been ten; I stopped and sighed contentedly. Suddenly out of the blue, I heard a tiny cough and I stirred out of my reverie, scared. “That was beautiful,” said a voice and a face swam into view.

It was Raoul, the guitar guy. I blushed, at a loss for words and clumsily attempted to get up. “I didn’t know you play so well…” He smiled and sat down next to me. “Er… do I?” I asked. “Yeah, you do. Do you sing too?” “Er…” I said cautiously, “I don’t intend to..” “Why not?” “I can’t.” I said flatly. “Of course you can!” “Not in front of you.” “I’ll look away then.” “No… I can’t…” I repeated. “What are you scared of?” He asked. “I’m not!” I said defiantly. “Sing then. Show me how fearless you are. ” “But…” “Try,” he said simply and smiled. “Okay fine!” I said agitated. He had touched a nerve. I hate above all being called a coward. I took a deep breath and tried. My fingers involuntarily began playing my favourite chord melody. He began humming softly. “I love this song,” he mouthed. Within a few minutes, we were both singing our hearts out. One by one, I played all the songs I knew and he joined in with equal enthusiasm. Never before had I experienced such joy! Playing alone was great, no doubt, but it was nothing, nothing compared to this. This was magical, soul- stirring.

“Thank you,” I whispered to him, moments later, as we stopped to catch our breaths. “Anytime,” he whispered back. “This is the first time that I have played before someone,” I blurted out. “I know,” he smiled a knowing smile. “You know?” I asked. He grinned mischievously. “How?” I persisted.
“Well, we’re neighbours, aren’t we?” he laughed. “I live right next door to you, Peewee!” I will never forget that night… the night that changed me… the night that I finally let go of all inhibitions… the night a closet ukulele player CAME OUT !