Playing Lots of Ukes Regularly

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Fleacia

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Back-story:
I have enough trouble making time for a concert uke and an acoustic guitar. I have a tenor that's going through some stuff and trying to choose a tuning. When that comes together, I'll be finding time for that one as well.

The question is, how do you manage to play all your ukes and/or other instruments regularly? And what do you consider "regular play"?

I guess my ideal is daily, and I feel bad that even with this small number of instruments, I don't pull that off. I've half a mind to make a seating chart: you sit here and this is your time, etc. But I don't work like that. Problem is, I don't know how I *do* work either. :eek:

Ideas, feedback and good-natured ramblings welcome!
Thanks!
 
I've got a different uke in my family room, living room, and little office space in the house. Basically, whenever the spirit moves me, I just grab whatever happens to be by me. In this case, I've got a mya moe, stansell, and mainland that all get decent radio play. Based on strum marks though, you can tell my stansell gets the most play by far.

The more I think about it, I think two is honestly plenty, one hi g and one low g. Three for me is definitely pushing it, I would say my playing ratio is 80-10-10 with the stansell being the winner. Maybe it's like Star Wars Sith Lords, there can only be two, and more than two just leads to infighting.
 
I don't worry about treating them fairly. I play what I feel like depending upon how my hands feel and what music I am playing. If I see that a uke is sitting and not getting played for several months eventually I sell it.
 
Don't forget this is all meant to be fun. Don't make it a chore. Play them when you feel like it and if you don't, then don't worry about it. And that's coming from an ukulele tutor. Enjoy it!
 
I only have one I don't play, I have it set up wrong. I'll probably sell it. I don't feel sorry for it. I used it for work, but since hospice made me quit, it's been my "experimentation" uke...
The other two get played about equally, depending on where I am and what songs I am doing. They each get way more play than my piano.
My didgeridoo is gonna get some play, I'm learning circular breathing....whew, you can get a headache doing those lessons too long!
 
You do not have a duty to your instruments.

If I were a mechanic, I wouldn't feel the need to use each wrench in turn. I would use the right one in the right moment.
 
I've been through sixteen ukes in the last two years, now down to four. I was pretty diligent about rotating them daily at any time, and for the twice a week hour sessions with my uke group. With four, I was able to play each much more regularly, but I've been playing u-bass so much more now, that I've been neglecting the ukes. Made a point of picking up the ukes this week to practice "Sway" and duet with my harmonica friend. The Kala is my go-to for gigs, volume and sustain, the custom gypsy for making an impression visually, the Uku and custom mandolele for fun.
 
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I have 6 ukes in rotation at a time, all hanging at arms length behind me when I sit at my desk, and with them an Ami nylon cedar parlor guitar.

I used to be able to get in 90 mins of play per day, now it's more like 30-45 mins, and typically right after dinner, that I retreat into my own little musical world. That seems to have become my 'music time'.

Aside from that, since they are all so near to me, I pick one up whenever the mood strikes, and play until I feel satisfied (maybe like 20 mins or so, a few times per day).

The reason for the ONLY 6 ukes at a time, and not the other 10 (or 11, or 12, I lose count ha ha) is because I do not have space to keep them all out at once. The other 10 are in cases with home-made humidifiers (foam sponge in pill-bottle full-o-holes), so far it's been an average 2-week rotation, with two that never get put away (the Koa tenor Fluke and Sojing tenor electric 'silent' uke), so I guess these are the 'keepers'.

However, there have been stretches of 2-3 days when I can not play due to time constraints with 'real life' (Oh The Blasphemy!!!) and during those times I get very anxious and suffer withdrawal, and I tend to get arthritis pain in my hands, which does NOT occur at ALL when I am playing every day. So the playing is also a form of physical therapy for my hands - as they say, "Use it or lose it!" :)
 
Freeda said:
You do not have a duty to your instruments.

If I were a mechanic, I wouldn't feel the need to use each wrench in turn. I would use the right one in the right moment.
Click to expand...

Great points about not having a duty/obligation to them and using the right tools for the job. But, this must be my mama talkin', if you have 'em, you'd better use 'em, otherwise get rid of them. May the uke police not come snatch my Mainland because I already know it will be more guitar than uke this week. :eek:

I think one uke, one guitar must be my max. That's not a bad thing, but it comes as a surprise. I love the sound and experience of playing different ukes. But "mine" I guess is just one. Oh here's an idea, a uke library! Check one out and return it when the card says, or renew it!
 
Nickie said:
I only have one I don't play, I have it set up wrong. I'll probably sell it. I don't feel sorry for it. I used it for work, but since hospice made me quit, it's been my "experimentation" uke...
The other two get played about equally, depending on where I am and what songs I am doing. They each get way more play than my piano.
My didgeridoo is gonna get some play, I'm learning circular breathing....whew, you can get a headache doing those lessons too long!
Click to expand...

LOL Nickie, that reminds me I have a keyboard I never play. And I mean never. But for some reason that doesn't bother me. If I bump it on my way past, I think of selling it. But my son does play it sometimes, so it stays. Maybe I see the uke and guitar differently because they're portable = less excuse not to play.
 
Camsuke said:
I think Booli makes a very good point here. The key is access, get setup so you are able to grab a ukulele or guitar without any hassles at all. Once you are organised in this way it will be far more enjoyable and productive.
Click to expand...

From my desk chair (my desk is opposite the ukes where they are hanging up, with them behind me when I sit at the computer), I just have to slide back, and grab one from it's hook when I want to play.
 
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I only have two ukes, so it is not too hard for me. I play one of them more often at home than the other (75% of the time), but I rotate between the two of them week to week at my ukulele class.
 
Fleacia said:
The question is, how do you manage to play all your ukes and/or other instruments regularly? And what do you consider "regular play"?
Click to expand...

I have three ukuleles. I play two of them every single day (one low G, one reentrant). Both are concert scale, and I like the consistency of playing the same scale length.

The third one, a soprano, sadly, gets neglected these days :( It's a great uke and of a lot of sentimental value, so I keep it for those reasons and in case one of my other two winds up in the shop.

I like your seating chart idea but I don't think it's how I would work either. "Regular play" for me means, at minimum, I run through a specific set of songs on each uke every day (or almost every day - I tend to have one day a week when I forfeit uke time for getting-outdoors time).

But yeah - I hear ya. I've never accumulated many ukes but I did have five at one time, and I knew that two of them would just never get any attention from me. That made me super sad, so I had to re-home them and now all's well :)
 
My 34 stringed instruments are not on an equal-time rotation. I haven't touched the electrics lately. Haven't done much with the mountain dulcimers or Cumbus o'uds lately either, nor the 5-string banjo. But the guitars, mandos, 'ukes, cuatros etc are RIGHT HERE; I grab one or more as a mood strikes.

The soprano 'ukes tuned in fifths and the banjolin and banjo-uke get less airplay than the 4- and 6- and 8-string tenors and the tiple. I'm mostly grabbing a mando or the Harmonia concert 'uke now. I plan to get a (better) baritone and mount Venezuelan cuatro strings (low G and A) so it will probably see a lot of upcoming action. On my next sojourn I may take only the Harmonia 10-string Puerto Rican cuatro (tuned BEADG) and beat the hell out of it. Yeah, it's all a matter of mood.
 
I play what I feel like, when I feel like. While working on a new song I will determine which sounds better then stick with that one for a week or so. I rotate between ukes as the mood strikes me. They are never jealous and always happy to come out and play.
 
Freeda said:
You do not have a duty to your instruments.

If I were a mechanic, I wouldn't feel the need to use each wrench in turn. I would use the right one in the right moment.
Click to expand...

you don't understand how much i love this post.jpg
* * * * * * *
 
I have two uke, for now anyway. One is my first one, and it is in a closet. It seldom gets played. For me, it really doesn't matter which one I play though. I mean, playing a re-entrant tuned concert ukulele is playing a re-entrant tuned concert ukulele. So there is nothing to gain from playing one over the other, except that one sounds better. But one day I found an old harmonica that my dad used to have. So I got on the internet and started learning to play the harmonica. I realized after a couple of days that I was ignoring my uke in order to play the harmonica, and after a week of trying to balance the two, I gave up on the harmonica. My progress on the uke was suffering from it, and I decided that I wanted to use my time to become a better ukulele player, not to learn another instrument.

So it was pretty easy for me to make that decision, but if I were a musician, and if I was into exploring different types of instruments, it would be hard. I can see where that balancing act would be difficult. Lucky for me, I just want to be a guy who plays the ukulele, and that is enough for me.
 
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No one needs more than one uke. Having more than one is a luxury. When I started playing I used to go to the LMS and play every uke in one long line with a big smile on my face. Now, I have a bunch of ukes hanging in my office and when I need a pick me up, I do the same thing. I play one and then the next and think how lucky I am to have an office full of ukes.

But, I'm always surprised how my appreciation of their sound changes. Sometimes I love a banjo uke, sometimes it's grating to my ears. Sometimes I love a new factory uke and sometimes I don't like the sound and play a old vintage soprano for a week or two.

One thing I love about having a lot of ukes hanging around is when I'm tuning one and find the right note, they all chime in!
 
Rllink said:
... I got on the internet and started learning to play the harmonica. I realized after a couple of days that I was ignoring my uke in order to play the harmonica, and after a week of trying to balance the two, I gave up on the harmonica. My progress on the uke was suffering from it, and I decided that I wanted to use my time to become a better ukulele player, not to learn another instrument.
Click to expand...
Mouth organs are great when you don't have space for an 'uke. Harps are always in my day bag. (I'll master RHAPSODY IN BLUE on a C chromatic eventually.) But I'll solve the portability issue -- I'll (probably) order a folding soprano ukulele kit that collapses down to a lump around 9x5x2 inches. Then I can carry an 'uke everywhere! But if I'm riding a noisy ferry across the Golden Gate, I'd probably prefer to practice harmonica.

Xtradust said:
No one needs more than one uke. Having more than one is a luxury.
Click to expand...
Owning only one 'uke is a luxury. Owning more than one is a necessity. Besides the 6- and 8- and 10- and 12-string tenors, we need 'ukes strung for gCEa and gCEg etc, and GCEA, GcEA, GceA -- that's four different string sets for just the common tunings! And I have sopranos strung GDAE (Aquila Fifths) and a#FCg (strung backwards and tweaked to 5ths). And of course one needs banjo- and reso-ukes, and a waterproof 'uke, and the folding 'uke I mentioned above, and... and the end is not in sight. Yow.
 
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