"What the Hell is the deal with the ukulele, anyway?"

I was in Sam Ash music the other day buying a couple sets of Ukulele Strings, and the guy says to me, "So, tell me...what the Hell is the deal with the ukulele, anyway? Why is it getting so popular all of the sudden?"

I didn't have a definitive answer for him....for those of you west of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, you may not know that here in the 'nati, as we like to say, ukuleles have typically been a rare thing. When I first got my ukulele about 8 years ago (it is worth noting that I didn't start really playing it until about a year ago), I couldn't find ukulele anything anywhere (which is part of the reason I stopped playing so much). I couldn't so much as find a chord chart on the internet let alone in a store in Cincinnati, so I gave up.

About 3 years ago, however, I noticed that music shops started carrying base line kala and savannah ukuleles (the 20-50 dollar ones). Then about two years ago, method books started showing up, then strings, then about a year ago, more ukuleles. So I did another google search for ukulele about a year ago, and my web browser EXPLODED with results.

I told the guy I noticed the trend too. I told him that I attributed it to a combination of things. I said first of all, Paul McCartney and George Harrison both gave very high praise to the ukulele...George Harrison late in life called himself more of a ukulele player than anything else, and that it was by far his favorite instrument to play, and that it was pretty much all he ever played at home...Paul McCartney saying that he instantly respects and has a soft spot for any adult who plays the ukulele.

Then I told him about how 10 years ago, Eddie Vedder played "Soon Forget" on the uke at pretty much every show on their world tour. Then I pointed out that we're starting to see it permeate pop and indie music more, between Death Cab using it, Beirut, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, IZ music getting put into movies, and now Train, and then of course that dude playing IZ's version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow on American Idol, we're starting to see it all over the place.

I told him that that was the first part of why it is getting popular...the second part is that when people fiddle around on it, they can't not love it.

I told him that I don't think it was just a pop culture fad, and that I thought it is catching on because it actually is really fun, but if it IS just a fad, I don't care, because I love it.

So what do you guys think?

What the Hell is the deal with the ukulele, anyway?

I don't know for sure what the hell the deal is, but I like it!

I think it could have something with the overall ease of creating and spreading music these days, which I also like.
20 years ago, if you wanted to create music, you had to book studio time, pay a lot of money, jump through lots of hoops to make it right, reproduce it on some kind of physical medium, and distribute it in some way--all at pretty significant expense.
I'm not techie enough to do this like most on this forum are, but I could (conceivably) create a song, record a video or audio file, and put it out there for millions of people before I finish this cup of coffee!
That has brought music, I think, to a "delightfully crude" form where people actually LIKE to experience it raw and native, warts and all. (E.g., only real jackasses criticize people on YouTube for little mistakes in their videos, and lower-tech recording methods and less complicated equipment are becoming popular).

So, what the hell does the ukulele have to do with it? You can arrange pretty much any kind of music for the ukulele--just spend an hour in the UU forums and you'll see that. It is uncomplicated, easy to learn and play, and you can make music and accompany anything with relatively little training or prowess, which is the absolute beauty of our instrument.

At certain times in history, we got things right only to keep messing with them (the Chevrolet was perfected in 1955, Coke classic was just fine, etc.) Even today, "Pong," Atari, and the original Nintendo games are coming back, because they got it right when they created it.

The ukulele? Just the iPod of the 1920s.

Uncle-Taco said:

So, what the hell does the ukulele have to do with it? You can arrange pretty much any kind of music for the ukulele--just spend an hour in the UU forums and you'll see that. It is uncomplicated, easy to learn and play, and you can make music and accompany anything with relatively little training or prowess, which is the absolute beauty of our instrument.

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I believe you just hit the nail on the head. You are a wise man, Uncle Taco!

I'll tell you what the deal is from the perspective of someone who doesn't even have a ukulele yet, and only briefly played one for about 5 minutes at a music store.

The appeal for me, an acoustic guitar fingerstyle player, is the "intimate" tone. That's a hard word to audibly visualize, but hopefully yu all know hat I mean. Whereas a guitar can sound harsh sometimes, even when played intimately, the ukulele has this very personal, delicate sound.

No doubt this is all the result of a small classical guitar. That's what the ukulele is, a small classical guitar. You lose the bass of the guitar, but you gain a very high timbre instrument which makes for excellent lead work. Anyway that's how I see a ukulele. Either as a solo instrument or as a combination with a guitar.

fscott said:

I'll tell you what the deal is from the perspective of someone who doesn't even have a ukulele yet, and only briefly played one for about 5 minutes at a music store.

The appeal for me, an acoustic guitar fingerstyle player, is the "intimate" tone. That's a hard word to audibly visualize, but hopefully yu all know hat I mean. Whereas a guitar can sound harsh sometimes, even when played intimately, the ukulele has this very personal, delicate sound.

No doubt this is all the result of a small classical guitar. That's what the ukulele is, a small classical guitar. You lose the bass of the guitar, but you gain a very high timbre instrument which makes for excellent lead work. Anyway that's how I see a ukulele. Either as a solo instrument or as a combination with a guitar.

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i think it's because the very first time you pick one up, you could have learnt a song and be playing it within the hour. you don't get that with too many other instruments.

plus, instruments like the clarinet or sax take technique just to get a good hoot. pluck a couple of uke strings and you have a song on your hands

I don't know why, but I'm glad it happend!

great topic, enjoyed and agreed with all oppions.

If it's a fad it's been running for over 130 years where I live.

Ahnko Honu said:

If it's a fad it's been running for over 130 years where I live.

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I want a T Shirt: "Ukulele--130 Year Old Fad."

ukes always want to be happy! in contrast with guitars, that don't mind being sad. and that, in my general opinion, is what the hell the deal is with ukes

It's kind of like coffee to me.... didn't understand what the fuss was until I tried it, and now I spend all my money on it and can't get through a day without it! (yeah, I'm from NW Washington State, where we walk around with a travel mug of coffee everywhere) Mornings are a struggle, you know.... play uke or drink coffee... uke or coffee, uke or coffee....

Also, the low starting cost and its small size make it ideal as a gift, and many of us started because someone we know bought us one. Then there's factories in China now making those cheaper ukes by the millions, and they are everywhere, and as we all know, once hooked, most of us end up with several ukes and more.....

paraclete said:

... Mornings are a struggle, you know.... play uke or drink coffee... uke or coffee, uke or coffee....

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Coffee first, then uke, then more coffee. Its a balance.

Best thread ever. From my experience in general people hate listening to amateurs playing instruments except when it comes to the ukulele. Sometimes they even join in. That never happens when somebody breaks out a trombone.

Fitzy said:

I believe you just hit the nail on the head. You are a wise man, Uncle Taco!

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Don't forget portability, overhead bins and that sort of thing. Try fitting a guitar in one, even if they let you carry it on.

Nobody can be told what the deal is, they have to experience it for themselves.

If any of you are interested in copyright law, online rights, patents etc then you've no doubt come across Larry Lessig. He gave a speech where he referenced John Philip Sousa, I recommend you all watch it, because I think it's related. I think that everything works in cycles (i.e. history repeats), and we're trending away from McPop music towards something more fraternal, and the ukulele is a very accessible way to achieve that. There are a couple of other cycles that Lessig's presentation hints towards too.

I played ukulele as a child more than 50 years ago. It spoke to me then and I seemingly outgrew it. On a trip to Hawaii a few years ago I got re-united with the instrument and it sang to me again. From that perspective, I think the kind voice and aloha contained in this little instrument touches people and makes them smile. It is unpretentious (Jake says he has an advantage in that when people hear he is playing an ukulele they have such low initial expectations....) and as noted previously, has a voice to match any music and any style. it can be as complex or as simple as you want. When you consider the wonderful folks who participate in UU - there must be an element of magic involved with the ukulele's siren song.

I'll second the portability advantage. I've always been dragging my guitar around - on scouting camps, mountain hikes, sailing and cycling trips, once stuffed it in a canoe where it almost drowned, and once we spent a week on horseback together... But it's always been difficult, and I'm so happy to have found an instrument with similar capabilities, but so much easier to carry around

Though for all the other people who fell in love with uke recently, I doubt that portability is the killer feature...

aviezero said:

Best thread ever. From my experience in general people hate listening to amateurs playing instruments except when it comes to the ukulele. Sometimes they even join in. That never happens when somebody breaks out a trombone.

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:rofl:

Speaking as a parent who lived a child who took trombone in high-school I can attest that you speak the truth.

There's also the punk rock mindset.
The thing about punk was that part of it was the sensibility of "we could do that ourselves".
The recent craft movement has been that same sort of mindset. Instead of accepting the mass produced, people are wanting to create and share their own items.
I see the 'ukulele fitting this sort of application. A reactionary, "don't tell me what to enjoy, I'll create my own sounds."