Attention, please. The famed Hawaiian stringed instrument is the 'UKULELE. Not UKELELE!

[KamaAina]

Believed to have been introduced to the islands by the Portuguese or Spanish, the 'UKULELE ("jumping flea") retains its popularity to the present day. It is not uncommon, for instance, to hear someone playing his 'UKULELE at the back of a Honolulu city bus.

That is all.

[grace0418]

1. And produces one of my favorite sounds that transports me to my favorite

place on earth.

[cleanhippie]

2. And the U is pronounced "ew" not "you", correct?

ew -ke-lay-lee

Is that right?

[KamaAina]

3. In 'olelo Hawai'i, it is pronounced "oo"

the 'okina (') is a letter in Hawaiian; it makes the sound heard in "uh-oh". So it's (glottal stop)-oo-koo-lay-lay.

[cleanhippie]

4. Ok. I was just sure that it was NOT a "you" sound.

[trof]

13. Yeah, according to Arthur Godfrey. Ukulele Hall of Fame inductee.

Arthur Godfrey

(1903 - 1983)
2001 Ukulele Hall of Fame Inductee


It is likely that no other single person has been directly responsible for the sale of as many ukuleles as Arthur Godfrey. As an enormously popular television star at the beginning of the 1950s, Godfrey single-handedly initiated the second great wave of ukulele popularity in the United States. He played his ukulele regularly on his radio and television shows, and even had a show where he gave ukulele lessons to his television audience. Sales of all types of ukuleles soared, and Godfrey's endorsement helped sell millions of the newly introduced plastic ukulele models.

[Rabrrrrrr]

11. More "oo". If you put a "y" in front of it, you clearly aren't of the 'aina.

oo-kay-lay-lay

[old mark]

5. How are they tuned?...nt

[KamaAina]

6. No clue. I don't play one myself.

:shrug:

On a related note, Hawai'i musicians detune their guitars on purpose to create the uniquely Hawaiian sound of ki ho'alu, or slack key. Originally the various tunings were meant to suit the styles of individual vocalists. Now there are many local variations; for instance, Wai'anae on O'ahu's west side has its own tunings.

[Call Me Wesley]

8. Like this:

[old mark]

9. except for the drop to C, similar to the first 4 strings of a guitar....Hmmmm.

Might just have to get one - can you play blues on it?

mark

[Call Me Wesley]

22. Sure you can play Blues on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwV96QkZn40

And if you can play a guitar, you can easily play the Uke, too. :hi:

[trof]

16. Remember 'My Dog Has Fleas'?

[old mark]

20. My dad used to sing that - different melody each time he did....nt

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. With the tuning pegs.

Ba-boom crash.

Thank you, I'll be here all week.

[Bennyboy]

7. The Hendrix of the Uke!

Notice how I avoid the whole spelling thing there? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k

[KamaAina]

14. I once saw Jake, for free, a block from my place.

He was doing a free show in front of the local grocery store (actually more like a grocery plus a CVS plus an import shop). :bounce:

[Bennyboy]

18. I've seen him at some festivals...

And he blew my mind every time. In fact, he inspired a ton of people I know to take up the uke....

[trof]

17. Looks like a baritone uke. Used to have one.

[old mark]

10. FWIW, I understand that "Ukelele" is the British spelling...sort of like

colour or aluminium...


Fucking Brits...


mark

[KamaAina]

15. The Intertubes have spoken.

1,850,000 hits for 'ukulele' and 279,000 for 'ukelele', many of which contain both versions. :P

[old mark]

19. My information came from the Wiki entry on Ukulele - I am thinking of buying one,

was looking them up on ebay - there are hundreds, some of them are very nice instruments....but then I got sidetracked to mandolins, and that's another story altogether.

mark

[hobbit709]

21. What if it's a U-Bass?