Sometime 'round the middle of the Katrilma disasters I became obsessed with the ukulele. I'm not joking! Somehow I'd totally overlooked the ukulele, ignorantly considering it a novelty instrument and a "little guitar". This is quite unusual as I'm generally fond of assorted instruments and have been known to use a variety of odd instruments on record.
I had no idea about the history of the uke or its unique tuning. The ukulele, for those who don't know, is tuned very differently than a guitar. It has four strings and boasts a fourth string (the string closest to the player's head when playing) that is pitched higher than the third string. This creates an instrument whose chord voicings usually sound inverted.
I started my obsession and immediately researched and ordered my first uke. I ordered a tenor Lanikai of which I am very fond. The ukulele has an incredibly clear, round and bell like tone. It is "endearing" in a way that I cannot fully describe. As I was plucking on the thing more or less nonstop, Christina found herself enamoured with the instrument and I purchased "her uke" soon thereafter. It is a concert sized Oscar Schmidt. I tweaked hers extensively, including a somewhat drastic bridge modification and it now has a quick action and a sweet tone. Then a friend from work became interested, bought a concert sized Lanikai (it is gorgeous!) and I've been giving him daily lessons at the day-gig.
Earlier this week, having heard about my uke obsession, my pop picked up an old Silvertone uke at an auction. It is solid mahogany and though it only has three strings on it currently, I suspect it will have a great tone. I can't wait to clean her up!
Overall I have no real point to this post, but earlier this week I discovered my new favorite band in the world - The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain!
Their website is http://www.ukuleleorchestra.com where you can listen to clips, purchase songs, CDs, a T-shirt and/or a DVD and watch a few short film clips. I placed an order earlier this morning and figured I'd share the link.