Ukes

[Pugwash]

So have you changed yer mind at all?

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[Pugwash]

Mine is a serious question.

Ukes are going through a revival and Maart has well known views on 'em (and a great sense of humour...)

[Maart]

Hi Gareth, and thanks for the first question of this session. Great photo! As you rightly suggest, I am no fan of the ukelele, even the big ones, despite my grandfather winning talent contests on it when he was a railwayman before I was born. I see them taking over space in the music shops and I find it a sad reflection of the instant gratification times that we live in. Why bother learning to play a real instrument like the guitar or mandolin when you can quickly learn the basics on a toy half-instrument? Because the guitar is so much more rewarding and versatile and sounds good.  Even in the hands of ukelele "experts" the ukelele sounds naff to me. I do like George Formby, but he played the ukelele-banjo and really knew how to play it. Joe Brown is also excused because he uses it very sparingly, as a colour, and he has learned how to play many instruments, all to a very hugh standard. Hopefully the current fashionable dalliance with the ukelele will lead on to more serious instruments, then maybe your photo might be a more common sight, which would indeed please me greatly.

Maart

[Bob Barrows]

Would a rendition of Rhapsody in Blue played on a uke change your mind?  There's a sample of it available here if you're interested.

I've also heard the same artist (Pete Kennedy) take us through all 4 movements of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony on the uke. Plus, he's a heckuva 6-string-bender as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VGJpBWHfQg

[Andy]

George Harrison loved the Uke, that's good enough for me.

[Carrie (Carol)]

Phil Beer playing George Harrison on the Uke - oh yes now that is brilliance!!

[KascadeDan]

George Harrison loved the Uke, that's good enough for me.

You only need to listen to Jake Shimabukuro's version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps to realise the pure brilliance of the Uke.

[YaBB Master (Colin)]

Exhibit A

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[Music Festival Photos (Alan)]

For the defence: Exhibit B

Now this is a more serious instrument Maart, don't you agree   Try getting a Uke player to have a go on that!

How long have you had it and what made you decide you needed it?

[Maart]

Exhibit A is the one which I cruelly decorated to pinpoint the best ignition point.

Exhibit B is a bouzouki and guitar in one instrument that I had built by Rob Armstrong last year to use with Swarb's Lazarus, to fit in a normal sized flightcase, and be able to take just one case with me, thus beating the airlines. There's more about it on the gear section of my website.

[Poor Will (Bill)]

Exhibit A is the one which I cruelly decorated to pinpoint the best ignition point.

Exhibit B is a bouzouki and guitar in one instrument that I had built by Rob Armstrong last year to use with Swarb's Lazarus, to fit in a normal sized flightcase, and be able to take just one case with me, thus beating the airlines. There's more about it on the gear section of my website.

That's mine, that is!
I don't know Maart, you threaten to set fire to my uke and then your team thrash mine 5-0. You can go off people you know!

[Maart]

Hi PoorWillBill

Nothing personal. At all. Like I say, my grandad played the ukelele. It was cool then in the 30s/40s. I'm sure the Flying V will look cool again one day.

As for Pompey, it's just the luck of the draw. Your chaps scored three of those five goals, so maybe they are the ones you need to go off...

Maart

[gower flower (Shirl)]

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain make some wonderful sounds together. Maybe it's all a question of numbers?  

[AdrianW]

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain make some wonderful sounds together. Maybe it's all a question of numbers?  

I fear more a matter of novelty. I loved them the first time, and subsequently was bored rigid.

A well played kazoo may sound good the first time, but it is merely a toy, soon palls, and you don't want to go and hear it again. I think the same is true of the uke. It would seem that at least one professional agrees with me (8-)

[Nick]

A well played kazoo may sound good the first time, but it is merely a toy, soon palls, and you don't want to go and hear it again. I think the same is true of the uke.

I agree with what you say about Kazoos, except for the concept of a "well played" one. I don't think that's actually possible to do.

I also agree in part about the Uke Orchestra. Theres is a performance designed with comedy in mind. I don't feel they're positioning the uke as an instrument in itself, only as a novel way of performing well known songs and that is bound to pall eventually.

However, I will staunchly defent the uke as a valid instrument and I offer Penguin Cafe Orchestra as the reason why. For those unfamiliar with their work I recommend "A Brief History" and/or "Concert Program" available from here. Timeless, thoughtful, intelligent and witty compositions, well orchestrated with the right instruments and the right feel in all the right places. They show how Ukes can and should be played.

Cheers

Nick

[Matt Hicks]

Maart,

thanks for your thought on the ukulele. I'm a bit of a fan of the uke but I completely agree with you with regards the current craze over them. I would like to think that it's a new channel that alot of people are using to get into the joy of playing music. I think if it leads just one person on to playing another instrument well then I can't fault these little instruments being around.

When I first started playing the uke i really took it up as a serious instrument but very quickly that it's more an instrument that has it's place at the right time. I played a couple of gigs with it and found really that it only possessed novelty quality for audience and at best it provided a sweet sound and a bit of a variation to various songs. With some exceptions I can't think of many ukulele outfits that don't rely on the novelty value including the UOOGB but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing so long as we remain realistic about what it is and what place it has. I think we need also to bare in mind the fact that the countries that have used the uke for alot longer than us such as the Phillipines etc use the uke as a start of point for children to learn the guitar as opposed to becoming a main instrument. That said, what a lovely instrument (in my eyes) to experiment with at a young age. Some of us had to make do with Bontempis and stylophones!

[YaBB Master (Colin)]

So Maart we can rule out the ukulele, but is there an instrument that you would like to play more often, but don't get asked?
(I bet it's the banjo   )

[Maart]

Electric guitar or double bass.