CloudyKitty
Member
I had been exposed to the Uke off and on through out my childhood. There was an Uke on the shelf in my brother's bedroom (I have 3 brothers and they shared the room over the years) that I'd strum haphazardly from time to time when I was really young.
The main inspiration I got was from my brother 'Stench'. He was the most talented musician I know and he could pick up any stringed instrument and play and sing the song after listening to just a few bars. He was most talented on the electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, lute, and Uke. He played electric guitar in a couple bands over the years and self-recorded his own Uke CD of original songs.
My brother also built instruments. He made a 3/4 scale Gibson Flying V electric guitar and his own Uke looked a lot like the "Fluke" Uke made by Magic Fluke Co. Sadly, Stench passed away from Acute Myeloid Leukemia in July of 2008. I believe his instruments were passed down to his son, who is now also a talented musician in his own right at 14 years old.
My family lived near Honolulu for a few years (2005 – 2009) and for part of that time my brother Stench and his family also lived on the island. Stench and I would often get together to hang out. His son and my daughter are one month apart from another in age so we'd cruise the Waikiki boardwalk with our babies in their strollers to window shop the cheap tourist 'ukes or hang out at each other's houses and have sing-alongs.
A few years ago we bought our daughter a Kohala Kine'O Soprano Uke for Christmas becuase she had expressed interest in learning how to play. But after she read the instruction booklet that came with the Uke she seemed to lose interest. I don't recall ever hearing her try to play it. One day I found the Uke on the floor and almost stepped on it! So the Uke got put in it's box in my bedroom for safe keeping.
Fast forward some years to last week and I was picking up on the happy sound of the Uke sneaking it's way into my Spotify playlists. The sound of the Uke made my heart happy. So I took the Kohala out of her box, dusted her off, and started practicing finger positions for chords. She has barely left my side since then. I take her to work to noodle around on breaks. When I'm at home she's next to me on the sofa and I noodle while watching TV.
I really hope playing this instrument will 'stick' with me. I have really bad self discipline when it comes to practing though and have been trying off and on to teach myself electric bass for 25 years and only know the TAB for part of a handful of songs.
This coming Saturday I'm going to check out a local Uke group and really hope a permanent beginner will fit in!
And that's my story (so far) and I'm sticking to it!
The main inspiration I got was from my brother 'Stench'. He was the most talented musician I know and he could pick up any stringed instrument and play and sing the song after listening to just a few bars. He was most talented on the electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, lute, and Uke. He played electric guitar in a couple bands over the years and self-recorded his own Uke CD of original songs.
My brother also built instruments. He made a 3/4 scale Gibson Flying V electric guitar and his own Uke looked a lot like the "Fluke" Uke made by Magic Fluke Co. Sadly, Stench passed away from Acute Myeloid Leukemia in July of 2008. I believe his instruments were passed down to his son, who is now also a talented musician in his own right at 14 years old.
My family lived near Honolulu for a few years (2005 – 2009) and for part of that time my brother Stench and his family also lived on the island. Stench and I would often get together to hang out. His son and my daughter are one month apart from another in age so we'd cruise the Waikiki boardwalk with our babies in their strollers to window shop the cheap tourist 'ukes or hang out at each other's houses and have sing-alongs.
A few years ago we bought our daughter a Kohala Kine'O Soprano Uke for Christmas becuase she had expressed interest in learning how to play. But after she read the instruction booklet that came with the Uke she seemed to lose interest. I don't recall ever hearing her try to play it. One day I found the Uke on the floor and almost stepped on it! So the Uke got put in it's box in my bedroom for safe keeping.
Fast forward some years to last week and I was picking up on the happy sound of the Uke sneaking it's way into my Spotify playlists. The sound of the Uke made my heart happy. So I took the Kohala out of her box, dusted her off, and started practicing finger positions for chords. She has barely left my side since then. I take her to work to noodle around on breaks. When I'm at home she's next to me on the sofa and I noodle while watching TV.
I really hope playing this instrument will 'stick' with me. I have really bad self discipline when it comes to practing though and have been trying off and on to teach myself electric bass for 25 years and only know the TAB for part of a handful of songs.
This coming Saturday I'm going to check out a local Uke group and really hope a permanent beginner will fit in!
And that's my story (so far) and I'm sticking to it!