What does the ukulele mean to you?

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Hippie Dribble

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THE question that needs to be answered!!! What does the ukulele mean to you?

Please post your responses below (and a youtube clip of your answer if you feel so inclined). Spread the love. We are making a short film about what the uke means to folks around the globe incorporating live interviews and the written word. Blessings, friends. Here is the first one, unedited. I was the willing guinea pig. x

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RzeHRyBTBs&feature=youtu.be
 
Quite simply the uke means making music to me. Do you sing because you are happy or are you happy because you sing. Just substitute the words "play uke" for sing and that is what the ukulele does for me. It is the ultimate mood changer and healthy healer

Thanks John
 
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The Ukulele has always had meaning for me as a symbol of my wife's love. Not only love, but her desire to be thoughtful and caring toward me. She is not musical at all. But I am, and I was totally surprised and delighted when she brought me my first Ukulele as a gift on her return from an Hawaii trip. Not only was it something special just for me, but she made an effort to get me the best, and brought home a Kamaka. I think it will always remain the best gift I ever received.
 
ukulele: a small acoustic instrument with 4 strings, tuned GCEA reentrant tuning.
 
UkerDanno said:
ukulele: a small acoustic instrument with 4 strings, tuned GCEA reentrant tuning.
Click to expand...

Thanks Danno. You just wrote the opening credits brother!!! But we shall attempt to dig deeper nonetheless... :p And thankyou George and Dave. Beautiful responses. :)
 
VegasGeorge said:
The Ukulele has always had meaning for me as a symbol of my wife's love. Not only love, but her desire to be thoughtful and caring toward me. She is not musical at all. But I am, and I was totally surprised and delighted when she brought me my first Ukulele as a gift on her return from an Hawaii trip. Not only was it something special just for me, but she made an effort to get me the best, and brought home a Kamaka. I think it will always remain the best gift I ever received.
Click to expand...

Such a touching answer. Wish it was mine! But i was playing uke before i had my family.

This is a thoughtful question. For me it means a lot. It speaks in a way the acoustic guitar, my first instrument, doesnt. Somehow its voice seems to carry my brain away from wherever it is and whatever it is doing. Playing the uke brings some unique mix of tuned down joy with amped up contentment.
 
DownUpDave said:
Quite simply the uke means making music to me. Do you sing because you are happy or are you happy because you sing. Just substitute the words "play uke" for sing and that is what the ukulele does for me. It is the ultimate mood changer and healthy healer

Thanks John
Click to expand...

I agree. Add to that, it's the handiest and most versatile of all stringed instruments.
 
From Wikipedia:
"According to Queen Liliʻuokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch, the name means “the gift that came here,” from the Hawaiian words uku (gift or reward) and lele (to come)."
 
This is such a beautiful question. All of the responses so far are great. To me, ukulele gives me the chance to be myself. I have a full range of expression on these four little strings. I can laugh, I can cry, and I can love through the music. The ukulele really is soothing to the soul. I can say without exaggeration that the ability to make music with my happy little uke has gotten me through bouts of depression, separation anxiety, stress, you name it.

In addition, the ukulele carries with it some wonderful memories. I'll never forget the time I spent with friends that was highlighted by jam sessions, or the times I performed on stage, or the times I played songs for my girlfriend to express things I couldn't really say, or the time my wonderful late grandmother helped me purchase my beautiful Kamaka. My life for the past four years has constantly involved the ukulele in some way, and I truly think I'm better for it.
 
Havent even got my first ukulele yet, an fer me it already means a golden, unpretentious key ta the world of music (almost illiterate here), and hopefully a companion and help and focus fer my PTSD'd crippled decline into old age. :eek:ld:

kudos fer the thred!
 
One of the things the ukulele means to me is connections with people. I played guitar alone in my room for 25 years. I play ukulele with friends, for my family, for charity events, and for myself as well. It's been an emotionally healthier instrument for me.
 
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UkerDanno said:
ukulele: a small acoustic instrument with 4 strings, tuned GCEA reentrant tuning.
Click to expand...

and also ADF#B ...BbEbGC....just two other once very popular tunings. They plinky ...
 
My ukulele is a pathway from sadness to joy. It never accuses, never judges. My ukulele encourages me to grow, both in skill and in wholeness and has set my voice free.
 
When I first fell for the uke, it was a door. A door into the all the music I have loved so much for so many years.

Now it's more of a road - a road that keeps opening up to more and more immersion with that music. I don't see any end in sight, and that is pretty dang exciting.
 
Wonderful thread Jon.
I am an artist, for me music and art have always been a way to communicate, to try and express myself. My life has had many changes over the years, but music and art have always been constant, like breathing. Music and art are an expression of life and love for me. A few years ago, I developed a rather serious back problem, and eventually, it was no longer possible to play the guitar, (which had been my musical instrument since I was a child)…Thankfully, I discovered the ukulele and fell completely in love with it! Even with my bad back I can still play the ukulele, and it has been an incredible gift for me. So, the ukulele gave me back my music! Plato said: “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”
 
Good thread.

I never considered ukulele until my 7 year old daughter came home from school and informed us she joined a uke club at school. My husband has an old resonator uke that got out and showed her. Next thing you know, it's become a family thing. We love it. My neice has also started playing. Ukulele love is very contagious.

Also, I'm an uptight person and it helps me relax.

So what does it mean to me? It means family time and relaxation.
 
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It makes me smile and I forget about everything else except the things that make me smile.. I pick it up and I am instantly happy.
 
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