What made you start playing Ukulele?

rayan

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Everyone has a story for why they picked up the ukulele. What was your moment that made you want to learn the instrument?
 
my sis went to hawaii and when she came back she had bought herself an ovation uke and for me she had gotten a Lankai uke. Ever since i strummed my first chord with it i fell in love with the sound and it is soo portable that you can take it with you anywhere unlike my guitar.
 

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Ka'au crater boys and Pure Heart were my inspiration to play the ukulele.

Plus... I have to be honest... I wanted to get good at the uke to gain attention back in high school hahaha. Now, it's a lot more personal and an outlet for any ideas and emotions I have at the moment. The uke has been my best friend since the first strum :D
 
My older cousin really liked giving me hand-me-down stuff when I was young - I got his old Atari when he upgraded to Nintendo, and he gave me his old no-name-brand soprano when he got a solid koa uke. So I'm pretty sure I started because of that. The first song I figured out and learned to pick was Iz's intro to Take Me Home Country Road. Not very impressive, but I remember feeling really empowered for figuring out a real song. Still chasing that feeling ...
 
During my 10th grade year i took a class at my high school. i took it because its a cruise class and i had these ukuleles that i had no clue how to play so i figured id give it a try. i learned the basics in that class and by the time the school year was over could play songs like "Put a little loving" and "You dont miss your water". i continued to play during my 11th grade year and alot of my friends are pretty good. they started teaching me songs like "Guava Jam", White sandy beach", etc. they also taught me how to read tabs and through the internet i started to learn on my own. sites like youtube and iamhawaii with videos also helped as i learned alot of those songs by ear or through lessons. now almost midway through my 12th grade year im the one teaching them the songs lol.
 

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i started playing the Ukulele when i looked up on Youtube and found Jake.
I thought it was a guitar!! Never knew what a ukulele was.
Now im in love with them.
Haven't had any lessons with guitar nor ukuleles, Self taught and hoping to learn more through this site!!

Cheers!
 
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My younger brother always played ukulele as far back as i can remember and oddly enough I was the only one in my family who didn't play some type of music. That all changed when i picked up the uke in 10th grade. It started off as a way to entertain my friends, i'd write funny songs to make them laugh but eventually i grew a genuine love for playing.

My first uke was a concert size Kamaka that belonged to my family. Everyone was surprised that i was playing and my brother saw it as a way to compete with his older brother. I learned the same way most of you did: constant watching, listening and imitating. Though many ukulele players found inspiration in ukulele-powered songs I found myself constantly incorporating my passion for R&B and Hip-Hop, something that i attribute my playing style to.

A year later, a teacher at my school who happened to be a musician gave me a Sonny D tenor as a gift and encouraged me to keep playing. It definitely kept me motivated and that ukulele would go on to help write dozens of songs. Sadly, it was stolen a few years ago but i'll never forget how much it changed it my life.
 
Well, my choir director was like a second father to me. he and i were really close from my 7th grade year until my Junior year in High School. he passed away this summer and I was really upset about it. I was roaming around the internet when I stumbled upon Aldrine's Zelda stuff and then over to his "Simple Serenade" and then to iamhawaii.com and then MySpace. Sure enough, my mom bought me a uke and been novicing it up since July. Cant wait to get better.:)
 
a lot of my friends thought that it would be funny for me to go around with a ukulele at school and sing somewhere over the rainbow. of course i got more into it than just tipping my toes through the tulips. lol now im so far in that i dont want to stop learning.

plus i think, IMO, guitars are kinda over-rated. there needs to be more ukulele players out there.
 
first time i've ever wanted to play the uke was after listening to the first album of pure heart. but it wasnt until my junior year in high school that i decided to buy my own (cheap $25) uke and start playing.
 
three plus. my little brother got his hands on their honey baby cd. and i listened to them for about three years. i had no idea about any other bands. so i didnt have much other influence. then i ran across jake's "while my ukulele weeps" rendition. and it blew me away that a four stringed instrument could sound like that. got an opportunity to visit a good friend of mine in oahu in aug2007. so while there we went to the flea market at aloha. and i made a promise to myself that if i was going to buy a uke that was of decent quality, i would put in the work to learn it as quick as possible. bought my uke based solely on how it sounded strummed with all the strings open, that it had a pickup, that it looked cool, and came with a hard case. three months later, i still cant put her down. played it so much that my strings are already starting to fray.
 

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I think it's awesome that so many people who live outside of Hawaii are picking up the ukulele. It really is an amazing instrument. Hopefully this site will help change the general publics perception.
 
i was approaching my 18th birthday and that summer iz's somewhere over the rainbow was HUGE in the uk. my favourite song, the soundtrack to my whole summer.

and at 18...i had bought my own car. i had everything i wanted. so i asked for a ukulele! that was a year and a half ago and ive been playing everyday ever since, learning off the internet and just crazy mild-OCD persistance.

im hopefully going to hawaii next year too! cant wait. :D
 
It started my sophomore year of high school My Nana got me a tenor fluke ukulele for my B-day. I started on my own learning from web sites. I kept going becaus it seemd to come more easy to me than other things. I fell in love with it and have been playing ever since. :)

Ikiaika Ma MELE !!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Jack Johnson and John Butler made me want to play the instrument. Love both of them and when i had some extra cash around i finally went out and got one. I am so glad i did.
 
My earliest recollection of playing the uke was in the 6th grade. Since then, I had always been involed with music somehow from intemediate band (trombone), high school band, nightclub & mobile disc jockey, & "pretending" to sing falsetto (got into Frank B. Shaners contest 3 times, but never placed). What made me pickup the uke again was all due to co-worker friend of mine. He plays music with local groups and at various local clubs around town. All we would do is sit around and talk about music and his instruments. Since then I had aquired at least 7 ukes, but currently have 3.
 

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I just got into high school and everyone was carrying ukes around. I didn't want to feel left out so I bought myself a ukulele. After getting used to my new instrument I quickly fell in love with it :)
 

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