Get Plucky with the Ukulele is the new book by Will Grove-White off of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and his own group Will Grove-White & the Others.

As you would expect of someone who started playing the ukulele when it was ignored and deeply unfashionable in the 80s, Will has an obvious deep love of the ukulele. And that’s reflected in this book’s wealth of uke knowledge, anecdotes and photos collected over decades of playing.

The book does a full sweep of the ukulele. The first half covers the history of the ukulele and notable ukulele players (those famous for ukulele, famous for their music and famous for other reasons). And the second half delves into how to play the ukulele. The writing is witty, informative and opinionated. I heartily recommend picking up a copy.

Will was kind enough to send me one and here are a few of my favourite bits to whet your appetite.

Laura Dukes, Rabbit Muse and Charlie Burse

Great to see these three getting some attention. It’s a crime that all Rabbit Muse‘s music is all still out of print.

Usually I’m the sort of pedant referred to in the book who points out that a tenor guitar isn’t a ukulele. But that Charlie Burse clip is so great I’m willing to overlook it.

The Ukulele Built in a POW Camp

For sheer bloody minded ukulele fanaticism in the face of misery and torture, Second World War veteran Thomas Boardman has to take the first prize.

There are a bunch of profiles of musicians and other famous folks who play the ukulele packed with interesting detail and anecdotes. But my favourites are the less well known like Greenwich Village ukulele painter Bobby Edwards.

The most impressive is the story of Thomas Boardman who managed to build himself a ukulele from whatever bits of wood, metal and wire he could scavenge as a prisoner in a Japanese POW camp in World War II. If you ever find yourself in the Manchester Imperial War Museum search it out.

America Takes Hawaii (And it’s Ukulele)

It came as no surprise that when in 1893 a group of European and US businessmen (with some gentle support from a group of US marines overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy…

Too many histories of the ukulele gloss over the machinations behind the uke’s first big push into popularity. So it’s good to it being pointed out that the ukulele was used by the businessmen who stole Hawaii from the Hawaiians to drive tourism to the island and fill their pockets.

Aside: After this good work it’s a bit of shame that he includes a couple of illustrations of the ‘topless Hawaiian hula girl in a grass skirt and lei’ variety.

Part of the strategy of these businessmen was to use songs and images to present a Hawaii packed with pliant, nubile women. And those songs and images are, unfortunately, still part of ukulele culture. With the huge contribution that Hawaiian women have made to the ukulele world it’s time to cut that bullshit out.

This is a criticism of the ukulele world in general rather than the book in particular. The writing in the book is very strong on the contribution of Hawaiians and women in general to the ukulele. And I think it provides the framework for understanding why these images are part of ukulele culture.

If this sort of thing is your bag I wrote a whole thing about music and cultural appropriation.

Agatha Christie Murder Solved by Uke

You caught her round the throat with it and strangled her… And you put another string on the ukelele – but it was the wrong string, that’s why you were so stupid.

*Spoilers for the 80 year old short story The Bird with the Broken Wing.* It gives me great pleasure that a character would be undone by their lack of uke knowledge.

The book also has the real-life murderous tale of Frederick Galloway ‘The Ukulele Slayer’.

Playing in a Ukulele-Only Group

Even though you’re all playing the same instrument, you don’t all have to play the same thing.

This is the bit I was really looking forward to. The only other people as well qualified to write about this are also in the UOGB. And with the number of people who are part of ukulele groups there’s no shortage of need for help on this.

Unfortunately, there’s just half a page on this. But it’s a good half page. And I’m still holding out hope of a full book on the subject from one or more members of the UOGB.

Links

Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon US
More on WillGroveWhite.com

I’m on a little break at the moment (back on the 14th May) but I had to get a post up celebrating the music of Bob Brozman – who died last week – by listing just a few of the things I learnt from him.

Brozman was a huge inspiration for me. So much so he was one of the few things that could get me to leave my Unabomber-style shack and venture into the real world. His ukulele-only set at the Wukulele Festival in 2010 reinvigorated me.

And I’m certainly not the only one. Bob became a big part of the ukulele scene appearing at festivals – he was due to play this year’s Ukulele Boudoir Festival – giving ukulele workshops around his home state of California and releasing many ukulele instruction DVDs inspiring ukers all over the world.

The Ukulele is Exciting

I first saw Bob Brozman live in 2000 and it was a complete revelation for me. In terms of making music in general and the ukulele specifically. I already owned a ukulele but only messed around with it. His uke tour d’force, Ukulele Spaghetti (from Blue Hula Stomp) convinced me it was a much more interesting instrument than I’d realised. And my commitment to playing it well increased from that point.

You can find UkuleleDav’s tabs for Ukulele Spaghetti here.

How to Avoid a Rut

Bob played music for 50 years, never got bored and was always stretching his playing. To keep his playing fresh and himself excited, he was always exploring the world, new instruments and new ways of playing.

He started off as a bluesman before falling in love with Hawaiian music – producing an incredible album with Cyril Pahinui and many collaborations with Ledward Kaapana. From there he spread out to jam with and learn from players of the uilleann pipes , accordion, chaturangui and many more.

The video above is a typically international jam with Takashi Hirayasu from Okinawa on sanshin and Djeli Moussa Diawara from Guinea on kora. But was also one of the finest proponants of homegrown American music as one of Robert Crumb’s Cheap Suit Serenaders.

If you ever find yourself bored with playing there’s always new genres, areas of the world and instruments to inspire you.

Where the Interesting Music Is

Being an active ethnomusicologist, he came up with plenty of theories on how music developed and where the best music could be found.

A recurring theme in Bob’s collaborations was islands. Collaborating with musicians from Hawaii, Reunion, Ireland, Okinawa and Papua New Guinea amongst many others. I asked him what was so special about islands, “Musical instruments and ideas, not always 100% perfectly expressed and understood, arrive on islands from distant places and cultures, percolate in isolation on the island, then emerge as new hybrid music. That plus the strength of nature so evident on islands makes for wonderful new music. Hawaii was one of the first “laboratories” for this phenomenon.”

He also, “started to realise that all the interesting music is happening at the frontiers of colonialism. Where the guitars have arrived.” (interview with OC-TV.net). His friend and producer Daniel Thomas (quoted in the Santa Cruz Sentinal): “He was always interested in what happens when a guitar is left behind in some culture or on some island with no instructions on how to use it, and how it adapts to what that culture feels is consonant.”

Learn Your Chord Inversions

The biggest thing I learned from his DVD Ukulele Tunes and Techniques was to make better use of chord inversions. A theme he continued in his Uke Toolbox DVDs.

As ukulele players we tend to just play chords around the first few frets. But by venturing higher up the neck you can instantly make your playing much more interesting. Particularly if you’re playing with other ukers.

It made me see past the restrictions of the ukulele opened me up to chords, inversions and rhythms that I wouldn’t have otherwise come across.

There’s a World of Ukulele-like Instruments

Bob was a big proponant of the charango. Which he referred to as the “Bolivian super-ukulele.” And it’s not the only uke-similar instrument I came to through him. From Debashish Bhattacharya playing a four-string lap-steel anandi to the three-string sanshin played by Takashi Hirayasu.

How to Flip Cliches

From Jim D’Ville’s 3 questions with Bob Brozman: “Build a man a fire and you keep him warm for the night. Set him on fire and you keep him warm for the rest of his life.”

Links

BobBrozman.com
My interview with Bob Brozman.
Bob Brozman Spotify playlist
Bob and other ukulele masters showing off.

Voting Closed

The nominations are in and there’s a big shock already, after the last two years of fluffy winners, all this year’s nominees are human (with the possible exception of Jonsi). Other than that, it’s a good mixture of stuff running from virtuoso performances to strums, big groups to solos, international superstars to bedroom performers, cute ukulele girliness to big-hairy-man territory.

I must admit to a fuck-up on my part: Keston Cobblers’ Club’s You-Go was from 2009. Sorry to anyone who nominated it.

Make your choice on whatever criteria you like (I’m going to vote for the one I enjoyed most). Vote closes February 15th at midnight Hawaii time. Feel free to canvas for votes for your favourite (or yourself) on the net. No prize other than glory and admiration. All I ask is that you watch any videos you’re not familiar with before you vote.

The Nominated Videos

Slightly shorter shortlist than usual this year.

Secret Home Party – Reciprocation
Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra – Short People
Manitoba Hal – Poulet Shack
James Hill – Billie Jean
Jónsi and Nico Muhly – Go Do
Bella Hemming – (She might love you if you learn to) Play Guitar

The Result

1. Manitoba Hal – Poulet Shack: 411 (33%)

2. Bella Hemming – Play Guitar: 400 (32%)

3. Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra – Short People: 236 (19%)

4. James Hill – Billie Jean: 137 (11%)

5. Secret Home Party – Reciprocation: 40 (3%)

6. Jonsi and Nico Muhly – Go Do: 31 (2%)

Ukulelezo has been a favourite on here since I first featured one of her videos two years ago. What I didn’t know then was that she’d turn out to be such a witty and unique songwriter.

I dragged her away from her constant toil recording her debut album to talk about songwriting, puns and winning the Bushman contest.

How did you come to play the uke and why have you stuck with it?

I, like many people, picked it up on a lark at my local music store. My first uke was a J. Chalmers Doane designed Northern. It looked cool and it sounded fun. I’ve stuck with it, first and foremost, because I love it. It has been the most fantastic creative vehicle for me. But a big part has also been the support and friendship I’ve found in the amazing ukulele community. If you had told me two years ago, that I would play the ukulele and have all these great friends all over the world, I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet here I am, reduced to a cliché but, having the time of my life.

You’re a very distinctive songwriter. Who are your songwriting influences?

I grew up going to summer music festivals so I have a great fondness for the whole singer songwriter experience. Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell were the first artists I heard as a child and I have always loved old bawdy blues songs and folk tunes from all over the world. I would say songwriters such as Ani Difranco, Jonatha Brooke, Dar Williams, Jonathan Coulton and author Tom Robbins have been my greatest influences in the last 15 years. But I cannot discount the effect of all the wonderful musicians in and around the city I live. I’ve been blessed to know some pretty amazing songwriters within a 100 mile radius of my home. Lately I’ve found a lot of inspiration in the conversations I’ve had with people. I am truly influenced by everything I’ve ever heard, read or seen.

Your songs seem to have moved away from the tongue-in-cheek to more heart-felt. How do you see your songwriting developing in the future?

I think I needed to give myself permission to write the more personal and heart-felt songs. It took me a little while to get past the happy, quirky feel of the ukulele and realize that I could write songs with a more serious bent. I’m not really sure where my songwriting is headed. That’s the beauty of it. I’m open to any and all directions. I’m just going to keep writing.

How did you feel when Optional Accessory won the Bushman contest?

I felt fantastic. It totally deserved to win.

When will you be releasing your album from you and what can we expect from it?

Arg. The album is hopefully coming out in the next few months. I’m in the process of trying to finish a bunch of songs so it doesn’t feel like a fractured offering. It will most likely include a lot of old favorites with a smattering of new tunes sprinkled in for good measure. How’s that for a non-committal answer? Basically, I’m working on it.

You’re the only person I know that comes up with more obscene puns than I do. What’s your favourite?

I do have a fondness for puns. That is very true.

“Happiness is a worn pun.”

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The RISA solid ukulele isn’t like any other ukulele out there: it’s shaped like a hollowed out cricket bat, the tuning pegs are at the wrong end, it doesn’t have a head, its bridge is aluminium. Obviously, I had to have one.

Stats

Construction: Solid walnut.
Fretboard: Walnut 17 frets.
Neck: Solid walnut.
Bridge: Aluminium.
Tuners: Friction
Pickups: Passive Piezo.

Sound

The sound of an electric ukulele is going to have more to do with what you run it through than the uke itself. But here are a few clips of it through a Boss GT-10 to give you an idea.

Clean Tone

MP3

First time: as it comes out of the ukulele. Second time: through pre-amp. Third time: pre-amp, EQ and a bit of reverb. Fourth time: cheesed up (pre-amp, EQ, a bit of reverb, quite a lot of chorus).

Country Slapback

MP3

Rocked Out Widdle-Fest

MP3

Maximum Effects

Link

All sorts in there: looper, slicer, wah, delay.

The Good Stuff

– It’s very easy to play: The neck feels very slick. The action is low. It’s very light. Unlike a lot of ukuleles that pack on useless frets, all the frets are playable with any finger. Because the body and neck are all one piece you can also do a bit of fretless playing above the top fret.

– Design: It’s not just a ukulele with pickups on. RISA have obviously given a lot of thought to what is required of an electric ukulele and designed towards that. It’s also pleasing as an object – to look at and hold (it’s very light).

My only grumble is the big RISA logo slapped on it. There’s a reason you don’t see chairs with ‘THOMAS CHIPPENDALE’ scrawled across the front of them. The design of it says it’s a RISA more clearly than the logo.

– It’s well made: No flaws in mine. And the intonation is spot on.

– It’s solid: Not just in the sense that it’s not hollow. It’s also very sturdy. As the shape suggests, you could play cricket with it.

The Not So Good Stuff

– It takes a lot of getting used to: It’s very different from any ukulele you’re used to. I found myself falling off the end of the neck a few times. The tuning pegs are on the body and it took me a while to get used to which tuning peg goes with which string and which way to turn them. You need to buy a strap to play it comfortably.

– The tuning pegs: This is the main drawback of the ukulele as far as I’m concerned. Even after getting used to the system there are problems. Like a lot of friction tuners, it’s hard to tune them accurately and they’re placed too close together for comfortable tuning.

– Aaaargh, the string is jammed: During some over-enthusiastic widdling I broke the A string. I went to take it off to find that the string was jammed in the hole at the nut end. There’s no way of getting direct access to it either. I had to bash a pin through the hole to free it. Even after setting it free, the rest of the string changing experience was also a pain in the arse.

I haven’t heard about this happening to anyone else, but the fact it can happen seems like a pretty big design floor to me.

– Passive pickups: That means you don’t get the on-board kajiggers like tone and volume controls. Not necessarily a big disadvantage. But you don’t get a headphone socket like you do with the EleUke which comes in handy for quiet practice.

Overall

I enjoy playing the RISA. The string jamming incident has soured me against it a little, but it’s a way better ukulele than the EleUke.

RISA Uke-Solid on eBay UK and on UkeSurfer.

Two new records out: The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain’s Live in London #2 and a solo EP from Howlin’ Hobbit available on CD and by download. And he could use the support.

Tab-U-Learn is back up and running. It has the best selection of baritone ukulele tabs anywhere on the net, so get over that if that’s your axe of choice.

I discuss playing ukulele by ear with Jim D’Ville.

Bosco and Honey officially launch their OZ contest. And it’s great to see they’re getting a lot of support from sponsors.

Judy Robinson is doing a survey of ukulele players. Fill it in and you could win an iPod.

New(ish) uke blog: Ukulele Perspective.

Ian Chadwick has a bunch of vintage ukulele songbooks available for download.

The Indie Rock Coloring Book – cool idea and it has a ukulele on the cover.

“George Formby is one of my heroes,” says Zooey Deschanel.

Celebs on the uke: Tony Danza and Nicky Campbell.

Photos: Day of the Dead painted ukulele, Paper Moon (Thanks to Ukulelia and Zoe), Gibson SG style ukulele, one of those rare cases of a kid-with-uke photo that is so adorable even I don’t hate it.

Armelle interviews classical uker Herman Vandecauters and Ken Middleton for some ukulele fingerpicking tips.

The Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice on Uker Tabs.

MP3s: Franny Deschanel has some of his songs available for download, Songs:Illionis has Andrew Phillip Tipton. Said the Gramaphone has a track from one of the many bands called The Ukeladies.

Why the ukulele is the smart boy’s choice.

Netbook essential #4 Foxit Reader with one of my ebooks loaded (Thanks to the eagle-eyed J-Hob for spotting that).

The art ukulele by Amy Crehore that I mentioned on Friday caused a bit of a stir on the intertubes after it was picked up by Boing Boing, so I thought I’d take a look at some of the other b-uke-iful creations out there.

My personal favourite is this uke by Christoph Mueller. Hank Williams III calls Mueller’s art, “bad ass work,” and I can’t help but agree. Be sure to check out his Flickr and Saatchi Online.

Flea Market Music’s art gallery features a selection of ukes including one of Peter and Donna Thomas’ ukulele books.

Duane Hielman’s Picasso style uke is a thing of wonder. He also makes many high quality conventional ukuleles as Black Bear.

Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center display a gallery of painted instruments including this uke.

Fluke ukuleles seem to have inspired many artists and the Fluke Museum has a number of examples including this carved koa fluke.

Ron Phillips makes Deco inspired resonator instruments such as these drool-worthy ukuleles.

Ukuleles and smiles are so often seen together such as on this uke.

Update: Robert Armstrong has created a number of painted ukes and has some creative uses for soundholes – such as the yowl-a-lele.

I’m sure there are plenty I’ve missed. Let me know your favourite.

A huge thanks to the awesome Jenny Flame of Ukulele Nation for her help putting this post together.