Apr/25/09
23comments

Back on 8th May

I’m taking a blog break and I’ll be back on the 8th May.

I’ll be trying to get How to Play Ukulele Strumming written. So far it’s been an absolute nightmare. I have to get it done because if I don’t Armelle will kill me. Hopefully a couple of weeks focusing on it will get me somewhere.

If you are missing me already, you can read an interview I did for Live ‘Ukulele. I hope you like it more than they did. Btw, I would never write, “an ‘ukulele,” (unless it’s preceded by the words, “I would never write…”).

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  • Written by Woodshed
  • Filed in: YouTube
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23 Comments

  1. byjimini April 25th, 2009 6:27 pm

    Very good, enjoy!

  2. Armelle April 25th, 2009 6:40 pm

    you’re dead right :-)
    enjoy your break and may you be inspired !

    I can’t wait to see the How to Play Ukulele Strumming and believe me I need it !

  3. Phredd April 25th, 2009 7:09 pm

    I do miss you already. Strumming is such sweet sorrow.

  4. Acilius April 25th, 2009 8:24 pm

    Good luck, Al!

  5. todd April 25th, 2009 8:45 pm

    have a great blog break!!!!!!

  6. Benjamin April 25th, 2009 9:36 pm

    Yeah, coming from (steel string) guitar, strumming is my biggest hurdle. I’ll be looking forward to that one.

  7. J-Hob April 25th, 2009 10:13 pm

    So you going to be strumming yourself silly for the next fortnight eh? ;-)

  8. Josh Gordon April 25th, 2009 11:28 pm

    But but but who will find ukulele kitsch on eBay for me until then?

  9. cardboardfrog April 26th, 2009 12:08 am

    oh noes, now what will i do when i’m trying to look like i’m listening to my girlfriend?!
    have fun woodshed.

  10. ronhale April 26th, 2009 4:32 am

    Assuming you didn’t use the Hawaiian pronunciation, “an ‘ukulele” is misquoting you. Of course, it brings up the pronunciation issue: ooku or you? It might be an issue to discuss with your readers or a poll to run.

    I lived in Hawaii prior to statehood but I could never say ooku with a straight face. Most of the times that I hear ooku I cringe inside. Unless the speaker is from the Islands or somehow associated with them, it’s hard for ooku to sound natural or convincing. The same applies to the written ” ‘ukulele,” in that it rarely feels natural or right (to me, anyway).

    It’s also annoying to read an article in which the writer makes an issue about or swoons over someone using the Hawaiian pronunciation as if the opinions of the subject thereby carry some sort of extra weight, i.e. if you say you you’re somehow ignorant.

    So, is it ooku or you, or something else?

  11. Woodshed April 26th, 2009 9:18 am

    byjimini: Doubt it!

    Armelle: I hope so.

    Phredd: Thanks.

    Acilius: I’m going to need it.

    Benjamin: I’ll do my best.

    J-Hob: I’ll probably be spending most of the time procrastinating (like I’m doing now).

    Josh: There’s always plenty of tat here.

    cbf: Get a more interesting girlfriend?

    ronhale: There are some interesting points about ukulele vs ‘ukulele in this post: whether you need a ‘ depends on the origin of the word (which is far from clear) and Manuel Nunes didn’t use one.

  12. melissa April 26th, 2009 3:26 pm

    For the Strumming book (which I’m sorely in need of so THANK YOU for putting one together!), at least 14 or 15 mp3 strum-alongs per page would be useful. Is that asking too much?

  13. zym April 26th, 2009 11:38 pm

    i always wondered about the a/an ukulele thing!?

  14. LonnaB April 27th, 2009 1:07 pm

    Enjoy the break. But not too much!

  15. Woodshed April 27th, 2009 9:25 pm

    zym: It’s a ukulele.

    LonnaB: Thanks. But not too much!

  16. HoldinCoffee April 27th, 2009 9:32 pm

    …but, but… Oh ok, see you after the 8th. (grabs uke and plays the blues)

  17. Tamster April 28th, 2009 3:15 am

    Enjoy your blog break.

  18. Woodshed April 28th, 2009 10:05 pm

    melissa: There will be plenty of examples. Not sure it will be that many, though ;)

    HoldinCoffee: I’m sure it’ll fly by.

    Tamster: Thanks.

  19. Tinyfolk May 1st, 2009 4:22 pm

    I second the vote for “a ukulele” over “an ukulele”. It’s starts with the letter “u” but with a “y” sound.

    I’m fairly certain no one ever told me how to properly strum a ukulele, which is why I tend to do it differently all the time.

  20. Woodshed May 7th, 2009 9:38 am

    Tinyfolk: The problems arise because the Hawaiians pronounce it ooo-koo-lay-lee. So for them it’s ‘an’. But I’ve never pronounced it that way.

  21. Anne May 8th, 2009 3:27 am

    Instead of “a” or “an,” everybody should just start saying/typing “the Ukulele.” That way, it kind of sounds/looks like the ultimate weapon of a hero in an epic poem, and people can read it aloud however they want.

  22. Woodshed May 10th, 2009 10:16 am

    Anne: Good idea. But I think the ‘the’ should be capitalized as well. “The Ukulele”.

  23. mictoboy May 11th, 2009 4:36 pm

    ‘Thee’ or ‘Thuh’?

    :-)

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