Ukulele

I've been taken by the marvelous ukulele, one of the most portable and playable instruments around.  The ukulele always seems to generate smiles.  It is NOT a toy, although it's a great instrument for little hands to begin to learn how to play a string instrument. 

It's pretty clear there are some fanatics in the ukulele world, and some of them are found at these sites.  Great fun!!

I'm going to gradually start annotating uke-related web sites, since it's difficult to know what's there without visiting yourself, and that can be frustrating.  I'll try to make the descriptions brief, but you still may need to look around the sites to see if they meet your own interests.

James Hill, Ukulele Player Extraordinaire
James is an amazing player, and at a young age, is also a very effective teacher of ukulele.  I've spent a couple of weeks in workshops with him, and I highly recommend him.  But most of all, get his CDs and listen to his music.

NPR Interview About George Harrison
George Harrison (yes, that George Harrison) was a great fan of the uke, and played it himself.  His son Dhani says that George often traveled with two ukes, so that if someone else wanted to play along, he could give them a uke to use.  On his final album, "Brainwashed," there is a great version of an old standard "The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea," with the uke as primary accompaniment.

This interview on NPR is with longtime collaborator Jeff Lynne and George's son, Dhani Harrison, and the uke is talked about in the context of George's music.  About 18 minutes long and worth a listen.

Festivals and Workshops

Listed events may not occur each year, so the web site may only be current for the last one presented.  Some of these are just festivals, but many include a workshop component.

If you know of other such events, send an e-mail to webkeeper@folkblues.com

UkeFest West  
Portland Ukulele Festival  
Southern California Ukulele Festival  
Midwest UkeFest  
Annual Hawaiian Ukulele Festival
  Windy City Uke Fest
  Puget Sound Guitar Workshop
I know, sounds like it's only for guitar players.  NOT!!  PSGW is a very old event, starting in 1974.  It's a community experience for acoustic musicians of all kinds.  Uke has become an important part of the workshops, and the principal person who teachers there is the remarkable James Hill (http://www.ukulelejames.com).

Miscellaneous Uke Sites

StrumMN, Minnesota Ukulele Players  
Based in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, this blog site includes a variety of stuff, including a description by the site owner of his uke building project.  Lots of good links, too.

TUSC
TUSC stands for Taunton Ukulele Strummers Club.  Based in the United Kingdom, this is a really fine website, with lots of info about ukes.  But most impressive is several songbooks, in PDF format, downloadable for anyone's use, with a wide array of tunes, with chord notation.  Related is the blog site of the TUSC writer, known as Nipper, found at http://www.ukulelerevolution.blogspot.com/.  Check it out!!!

Salem Ukulele Strummer's Association (SUSA)  
Salem, Oregon group of uke enthusiasts.  Site offers a nice set of songs and some articles about uke, among other things.

Ukulele Tonya
Here's what Tonya says:  "I like ukuleles. They’re fun, approachable and, without question, one of the “happiest” instruments I know.  I like ukulele people even more. They’re fun, approachable and, without question, pretty darn happy,,,"  Her web site is full of useful info, including some PDF files on things like how to buy a uke, or some beginning lessons.

Pineapple Pete's Uke School

Portland Ukulele Association (PUA)

Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum 

Brudda Bu's Ukulele Heaven 

Ukulele World 

Jumpin' Jim Beloff's Flea Market Music 

Ukulelia:  Your Passport to Four Stringed Paradise 

Banjo Ukulele 

Bounty Music Hawaii Ukulele Guide 

Ukulele Occasional Magazine 

Roy Sakuma 

Ukuleles by Kawika 

Ukulele Lesson 

There's no such thing as too much uke! 

Ukulele Strummers  

ezFolk.com  

The Ukukele...Voice of Hawaii  

Ukecat Ukulele Museum  

Brief History of the Martin Ukulele by Richard Johnston  

Ukulele Guild of Hawaii  

Ukulele Resources  

Article about ukes  

Ralph Shaw, King of the Ukulele  

Tiki King's Ukulele Stuff  

Ukulele Beatles Fun!  My very favorite ukulele site, and one of my favorite sites of any kind.  This site does one thing, very well.  It shows you how to play about 50 Beatles tunes on the ukulele, both using graphics and sound.  You have to see it to appreciate it!

Homespun Tapes, one of the great instructional materials producers, has several ukulele items.