I first played ... in the 1970s .... When I came back to it some years ago, I had no idea there even was a "revival" or a "community" - I just knew I wanted to play one of the instruments I played as a kid, ... it kind of came as a shock to me that ukulele was a trend!
I first played as a small child in the 1970s in northern California, taught by my dad. When I came back to it some years ago, I had no idea there even was a "revival" or a "community" - I just knew I wanted to play one of the instruments I played as a kid, it was either that or piano and my house is too small for a piano It kind of came as a shock to me that ukulele was a trend!
My Dad started playing the piano and the ukulele in the 1940's and he passed on his love of music to our family. We were fortunate to grow up with music in the home and we shared many wonderful moments playing together.
Piano, uke, guitar & banjo.
I got my first ukulele in 1961. Bill F. and I played in front of our 4th grade elementary class. I don't remember playing anywhere other than in our houses and at the school. Ed Sullivan never called.
My story almost exactly !! I had a wall-hanger of a banjo-uke with a wooden top "back in the day".
View attachment 83513
It used to come down and get strummed a bit when there was a crowd in the room and not enough guitars to go around. I gave it away to someone who "quite liked it" ... maybe it's still on a wall, somewhere
Got my first uke on my 10th Birthday in 1951. My dad taught me one song, then I was on my own. I pulled it out once or twice a year, played that song (Yes Sir, That's My Baby) a few times and put it back. I didn't get serious until 2005 or so, when I discovered ukes had gotten popular. Joined a local club a few years later.
I was reading some uke history recently and it also set me wondering what the scene might have been like in the 80s. In particular I was wondering how easy or difficult it might have been to find a decent instrument and also what options would have been available - what types of strings were around, were geared tuners in use - that sort of thing.
My Lancashire-born grandmother was a fan of George Formby and being made aware of him and his music was my only real exposure to anything uke-related during my formative years. I'm curious about what sort of response I might have received if I'd walked into a music shop as a teenager in the mid-80s (in England) and announced that I was looking to buy a ukulele.
My wife brought my first Uke home from a Hawaii trip back in '84. I messed around with it some. It wasn't until a few years later that I got more serious about it. But, I was playing in the late 80's, early 90's. Then life issues snuck up on me, and the Uke took a back seat until I retired. I should mention that I learned to play on my own back then. I didn't know anyone who played, and I didn't have any recordings, etc. There were no Uke resources on the early internet. It was a period of time when the Ukulele was in decline, and pretty much discounted by musicians and the public as being trivial. As a consequence, I learned to play in an odd, un-ukulele kind of way. My only guidance was from what I heard guitar players doing. I did play publicly back then, as I took my Tenor with me every weekday morning to my favorite bagel shop, where I would sit and play while sipping coffee and munching bagels. I played mostly Stephen Foster tunes, and Civil War era music.
So, between having 'learned' oddly to begin with, and being away from it so long that I forgot most of what I'd learned, I pretty much had to start over from the beginning when I decided to take it up again a couple of years ago. Today, I'm fully involved with Ukulele and enjoying it immensely!
I was luck enough to be a military brat who's dad moves us to Pearl Harbor in 1967-1970. Music class consisted of a nice local gentleman that would get 30 kids into a room and play "King of the Road" and "The Hukilau Song" over and over and over. In retrospect he was a saint to put up with us.
I took a 40 sabbatical but was surprised how quickly it all came back. Guess the 80's didn't take them brain cells!