I played guitar long before I picked up a uke and although I didn't look down on it or its players, I saw it as a limited instrument. I figured, why play an instrument that's 2 strings short of a guitar when you can just play a guitar? I saw it as a novel instrument that was perfect in its own environment, but without much breadth of application. I now know that I was wrong, and imagine it's the same mindset many others have that are not educated on the ukulele. I get plenty of quips from my friends and coworkers that know I've dove headfirst into the world of uke, much to the dismay of my guitars, but it doesn't bother me.
The uke has actually expanded my musical horizons much more than I could have ever thought it would this soon. I've been practicing with an established, gigging trio the past few weeks, and they're very open to the uke being in the mix. Currently there is one guitar player, one guitar/banjo player, and one upright bass player. The music is Americana/folk/Caribbean, and the uke fits well into many on the set lists. Once I get the knack for singing harmony, which they're working on with me, we'll be a quartet. They've said that whether I play guitar or uke on any given song is my choice...whatever I think would work best.
So yeah, some may snicker, but others appreciate...just depends on the individual.
