Ukulele Goes From Stepchild of Guitar to Cool Child

Hawaiian ukuleles are based on the Portuguese guitar.

In case you haven’t heard, the ukulele is back! There is something of a ukulele craze going on, particularly in Great Britain and now in the U.S.

Ukuleles are replacing recorders for group playing in elementary schools and summer camps;  they are the new quirky instruments for indie rockers; and there are numerous ukulele programs springing up in senior centers. A recently released film called “The Mighty Uke” documents this new trend.

Depending on our age, most of us remember watching Tiny Tim play “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” on Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-In,” or listening to Arthur Godfrey strum his uke in his early 1950s radio and TV shows. In both cases, the instrument was mainly a novelty item to support an act (or a shtick in Tiny Tim’s case!).

Today, the uke is being seen as a ”serious” instrument in that it is serious fun to play. Watch this clip of the Ukeule Orchestra of Great Britain playing to a sold-out crowd at Royal Albert Hall in London this past summer (about 1:20 minutes into the clip). The Orchestra has been around for 25 years, but has never been more popular. Audience members were invited to bring their ukes along to strum, and more than 1,000 people took the group up on its invitation to join in with Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” 

Warren Buffet, a well-known uke player who agreed to a playful interview with the hipsters from Boing Boing, tells the audience how he got started with the ukulele (he was trying to woo a girl), and why the uke is a perfect instrument in a recession (it’s fun and cheap).

Some serious musicians have been playing the ukulele for years. Curt Sheller (whose ukulele books we carry in the Music After 50 eBook store) has been playing both jazz guitar and ukulele for years and has lots of education materials on his site.

Although the ukulele is assocated with Hawaii and is certainly most popular there, it was brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants and is based on a 4-string Portuguese guitar.

Because the instrument is so small and light, it is perfect for older people. The trend toward offering uke classes in senior centers – where some people simply can’t lift heavy instruments or are wheelchair bound – is a great one.

Soprano starter ukuleles range in price from about $40 to $80. Better concert tenor ukes generally run from $100 to $300. Higher end, handmade ukuleles can run into the thousands. Playing the ukulele is a fun, funny, and serious musical endeavor all rolled into one. I’ve posted some links to ukulele deals on the Instruments & Gear page.