What is it with you ukers?!?!?!?!?!?!?

jacothedog

jacothedog

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I am a bassist who took up guitar who took up ukulele. I subscribe to the top bass forum, top acoustic guitar forum and now here.

Why is it that you ukers are the most "hip" group?

Let me say that I'm not kissing your butts here, I just see a lot more tabs for alternative, indie and obscure music. It seems like the majority of bassists follow the craziest players who can acrobatically attack a bass. The guitarists have a majority that seem to follow Dylan, the Dead, someone I can't mention, and very traditional music. Here - it's all over the place and the most diverse by far.

I'm also not knocking the other groups. I just wonder why it is how it is.
 
Ukulele came from Hawaii and whoever plays it has a little Aloha in them. I like to think Ukulele Underground as Hawaii on the internet. Plus you can play almost any genre on the ukulele :)
 
Arashi said:
Ukulele came from Hawaii and whoever plays it has a little Aloha in them. I like to think Ukulele Underground as Hawaii on the internet. Plus you can play almost any genre on the ukulele :)
Click to expand...

Point taken, but the ukulele has its origins in Portugal. It did get its name in Hawaii, though, so that's good enough for me! I think the reason we're so friggin' "hip" is beacause of the diversity. Ukers come in all shapes, sizes, and especially, genders. Not that there are no women who can wail on a guitar or bass, but it's still fairly uncommon, especially in the Corporate Rock World. Ukes are easier on the hands, fingers, back, ears, etc. Plus, and again I'm generalizing, there are SO many posers with guitars and basses that it's hard to weed them out. It's hard being a guitar player in a world filled to the saturation point with 'em. I still play, but the uke is taking over (mainly because the gigs were drying up, and now I'm in a band with no guitars and I... kinda... dig it.). I went to a few guitar forums and couldn't take it - the attitude, that is. Again - generalizing. There is wisdom to be found for sure, but this place is far more entertaining in the process of finding what you're after!

My 2 cents! :nana:
 
ukecantdothat said:
I think the reason we're so friggin' "hip" is because of the diversity. Ukers come in all shapes, sizes, and especially, genders.
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Nailed it: diversity! and because of that, the uke is not tied to any one specific musical genre.
 
Interesting question... I don't know.

There is just something about a ukulele that strips away all of the pretenses you find elsewhere so people can just be themselves.

John
 
telebob said:

Nailed it: diversity! and because of that, the uke is not tied to any one specific musical genre.
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Yeah, not that the guitar is tied to one style of music, but the forums I saw tend to gravitate to electric rock and blues. But then there are the acoustic / blues / bluegrass sites. Guess you have to find the right subset. Interesting question, though. Are ukers really all that hip (hep), or is it just that we tend to all feel so relaxed and sun-soaked that the pretense just fades away like a sunset on a Maui beach? Oh, man... A sunsett on a Maui beach is sure sounding about right...

:nana:
 
This site seems to have active members. And they seem very helpful. That was my first impression. I didn't come from a guitar background but as I was searching for ukulele information (chord progressions), I found a few sites that were ...... nevermind.

I'm glad I found this site. I learn just about enough everyday. As a new ukulele person, this site seems to be a perfect fit. Still lots of material I need to browse over.
 
ukecantdothat said:
Are ukers really all that hip (hep), or is it just that we tend to all feel so relaxed and sun-soaked that the pretense just fades away like a sunset on a Maui beach?
Click to expand...
My background is as a classical guitarist. Many CGers are kind of snobbish about how you've gotta own a "decent" (read: $1,000+ instrument), how you have to read standard notation, and if you don't take formal lessons (which can be $50/hour or more) you're not a serious player.

With ukers, it's much more of a DIY (do-it-yourself) movement. Have fun, play whatever you like. :) Most are basically self-taught (other than availing themselves of all the great instructional vids and material on the net these days) and there's virtually no snobbery.
 
telebob said:

Nailed it: diversity! and because of that, the uke is not tied to any one specific musical genre.
Click to expand...

Yep....that's it. Regardless of what you play, it's you and the ukulele. Can't be more honest than that. An ukulele is a guitar on steroids without the steroid rage ;)
 
I wonder if there isn't some sort of natural dialectic going on with the shifting popularity of instruments. Guitars are at the top of the bell curve right now, but all the interesting stuff seems to be going on in ukulele outlier land. I wonder if back in the '20s when ukuleles were at the top of the curve, the most interesting stuff was going on in guitar outlier land. Mmmm. If the ukulele gets too cool, should I pull out my concertina?
 
Diversity!
The keyword :D:D
And uke is just simply awesome making everyone who lpays it awesome :p
 
That darn little instrument has radically changed my life in the last 2+ years. There's just something about it.....

We must blame Aldrine, Ryan and Aaron for some of this. We all know uke sites that are not as inviting as UU. Those wonderful guys set the tone here and keep us open and fair to all. Snobbery and exclusiveness are just not tolerated here. All ages, genders backgrounds and any type of music is welcome. Those three guys are some special peeps.
 
Hey! I have to go in guitar's defense.
I have been a guitar player for 25 years, only 2 or 3 months uker.
You can't say the guitar is not diverse.
Besides electric rock and blues and country and bluegrass there's so much more a guitar can do.
Classical is one way to go. I have been focusing on classical guitar playing for the past few years, and it's awesome. And it's diverse in itself - think guitar concertos, solo spanish romantic, baroque lute dances, modern 20th century - it's all very different within the classical genre, maybe more different than rock/folk/country.
What about jazz? solo chord-melody, or with a group, or fusion with rock? Or comping in a big band?
What about flamenco? Spanish gypsy flamenco, or the south american Indian fused alternatives. Reggae? Ska? experimental psychedelic music?
Its a vast world of music variation available for guitar.

On the other hand, ukulele is fun. Yeah, I love playing guitar. I won't "switch" and be a ukulele only player (at least, I can't see that happening right now). But a uke is simply fun. It's easier to play, making you focus on the fun and musicality, rather than on technique. It's very easy to learn basic chords and be playing in 10 minutes after getting your first uke.
It has fewer options than guitar, so while easy to start, in order to make exceptional stuff, you really need to be inventive. And it inspires fun.
Fun people are cool. I think that's about it.
 
cletus said:
It's "hep", youngster!
Click to expand...
:biglaugh:

You forgot the :cool: icon. "Snap!" (with the fingers, not spoken) You "dig"?

I need some coffee.

Later,
Ray
 
ukecantdothat said:
Point taken, but the ukulele has its origins in Portugal. It did get its name in Hawaii, though, so that's good enough for me! I think the reason we're so friggin' "hip" is beacause of the diversity. Ukes are easier on the hands, fingers, back, ears, etc. There is wisdom to be found for sure, but this place is far more entertaining in the process of finding what you're after!
My 2 cents! :nana:
Click to expand...

True, the Madeirans took their machete with them everywhere, but the ukulele got more than it's name in Hawaii. First, it was subjected to a complete makeover: constructed of native Hawaiian koa wood instead of the traditional til and pine, given a revamped tuning, a different repertoire and a new name. Secondly, troupes of Hawaiian performers with ‘ukuleles fanned out across America, performing at world’s fairs, chautauquas and vaudevilles, making names for themselves and generating a lot of interest in Hawai‘i, Hawaiian music and culture. Thirdly, when the seventeen million visitors who attended the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 went crazy for Hawaiian music and the ‘ukulele, the event sparked a nationwide mania for the instrument that didn’t subside until the Great Depression. (excerpt from John King's article.) http://www.nalu-music.com/category/history/ The my dog has fleas tuning came from another Portugese instrument, the rajao, a five string guitar.

I think diversity of age coupled with the Aloha Spirit has a great deal to do with it. Most ukulele players I've met appreciate a broader range of other players even if they don't play/like/listen to particular genres of music . I know that's a generalization, but generalizations hold some truth.

And it is "hep":cool: youngster!

Regards,
Ray
 
jacothedog said:
I just see a lot more tabs for alternative, indie and obscure music.
Click to expand...
I think ukers are always looking for pieces that both show off the capabilities of their instruments, and take a different path from what other musicians have followed, at least one not so heavily trodden. As a former guitarist, I play a lot of the same music I played on the guitar, but always look for a way to alter it on the uke - changes in pacing, rhythm, even chord changes.

As for obscure: it might be grist for the mill here. What's obscure for one group may be commonplace for another. How many pop songs for the saz or oud or sitar are you familiar with?
 
ukecantdothat said:
...but the ukulele has its origins in Portugal.
Click to expand...
Depends on how far back you want to go. The instrument descends from the guitar family (with the lute in the family tree). Although Spain is usually cited as the guitar's place of origin, you can trace the guitar back through to the oud and similar Arabic stringed instruments. From Wikipedia:
The modern word "guitar", and its antecedents, have been applied to a wide variety of cordophones since ancient times and as such is the cause of confusion. The English word "guitar", the German "gitarre", and the French "guitare", were adopted from the Spanish guitarra,[4] which comes from the Andalusian Arabic qitara قيثارةر [5] itself derived from the Latin word cithara, which in turn came from the earlier Greek word kithara (κιθάρα),[6] a descendant of Old Persian sihtar ( سی تار) (Tar means string in Persian).[7]

Although the word guitar is descended from the Roman word cithara, the modern guitar itself is not generally believed to have descended from the roman instrument. Many influences are cited as antecedents to the modern guitar. One commonly cited influence is of the arrival of the four-string oud, which was introduced by the invading Moors in the 8th century.[8] Another suggested influence is the six-string Scandinavian lut (lute), which gained in popularity in areas of Viking incursions across medieval Europe. Often depicted in carvings c. 800 AD, the Norse hero Gunther (also known as Gunnar), played a lute with his toes as he lay dying in a snake-pit, in the legend of Siegfried.[9] It is likely that a combination of influences led to the creation of the guitar; plucked instruments from across the Mediterranean and Europe were well known in Iberia since antiquity.

Two four string medieval instruments that were called "guitars" (but weren't in the modern sense) were in use by 1200: the guitarra moresca (Moorish guitar) and the guitarra latina (Latin guitar). The guitarra moresca, though not Moorish, shows Moorish influences; it had a rounded back, wide fingerboard, and several soundholes. The guitarra latina had a single soundhole and a narrower neck.[10] By the 14th century the qualifiers "moresca" and "latina" had largely been dropped and these two four course cordophones were usually simply referred to as guitars.[11]

The Spanish vihuela or (in Italian) "viola da mano", a guitar-like instrument of the 15th and 16th centuries, is widely considered to have been a seminal influence in the development of the guitar. It had six courses (usually), lute-like tuning in fourths and a guitar-like body, although early representations reveal an instrument with a sharply cut waist. It was also larger than the contemporary four course guitars. By the late 15th century some vihuelas were played with a bow, leading to the development of the viol. By the sixteenth century the vihuela's construction had more in common with the modern guitar, with its curved one-piece ribs, than with the viols, and more like a larger version of the contemporary four-course guitars. The vihuela enjoyed only a short period of popularity in Spain and Italy during an era dominated elsewhere in Europe by the lute; the last surviving published music for the instrument appeared in 1576. Meanwhile the five-course baroque guitar, which was documented in Spain from the middle of the 16th century, enjoyed popularity, especially in Spain, Italy and France from the late 16th century to the mid 18th century.[12][13] Confusingly, in Portugal, the word vihuela referred to the guitar, whereas guitarra meant the "Portuguese guitar", a variety of cittern.

We're very quick to distinguish our beloved ukes from the guitar, but they're still family.
 
And maybe some of it might be the motivation behind the typical person learning/playing the uke and the typical guitarist learning/playing guitar.

I'm generalizing, of course, but you don't hear of too many people picking up a uke in order to "get chicks." :) There's this whole macho/ego/jukebox-hero thing that I see in guitarists sometime that I rarely see in ukeists. People tend to play the uke to have fun and enjoy music--not so much to impress people. It's a humble instrument, and perhaps requires a bit more humility out of the player.

In other words, it's just plain harder to be an @#$%!*! when you're playing the ukulele. :)

JJ
 
I think the uke gives people a more Jimmy Buffet outlook on life. For me ukes are fun. Its a form of musical escapism from the often dark and dreary world we live it. I keep a uke under my desk in case of emergency.
 
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