10 Dolphins a leapin'

Lori

Uke Crazy
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I feel like I'm a retailer, but I am really the Uke Santa 2010 to my 2 brothers and their families (hope they like them). I can see that there are some popular colors here (I did a general favorite color survey before buying). The green one is from the old stock wood dolphins, and is 1/4" thicker in the soundbox. I am busy breaking in the strings on all of them, so they might stay in tune when they are opened. Maybe by next year, I will have a few new people to jam with! Hoping to spread the uke crazy bug far and wide.

–Lori
 
Holy Smokes Lori,
You took on a big project.....Wow!!! Must be having so much fun and I guess by now you found the best one...which one is it...breaking in 10 ukes...HMMM
Let us know how it goes...are you sure you gonna get them done by christmas....are you keeping the best one...he he....then you should have bought eleven..lol
Thanks for sharing,,,,Happy Holidays to you and your family!!!! MM Stan....
BTW..out of eleven, there's bound to be a gem in the bunch.....:):)
 
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I will actually be gifting 9 of them to family members, with perhaps the light blue one left over... not sure yet. My brother said his favorite color was light blue, but he might prefer metallic blue for a ukulele with a dolphin on it. Who knows. I will give them out and offer the extra if someone wants to trade.
Some of them have better intonation than others. There was only one that I felt was really off, and needed more set-up. I have never sanded a saddle or filed the nut before, so it was an adventure. I still don't know what I am doing, and most of them are pretty good until maybe the 10 fret. I will be glad when it's all over, and I don't have all those boxes sitting on my work cart. I already have 2 dolphins, an orange burst and a metallic blue. So, I am less tempted to bond with any of the new ones.
–Lori
 
Maybe by next year, I will have a few new people to jam with! Hoping to spread the uke crazy bug far and wide.

This is my plan too Lori! I've given away two ukes already (to my Mom and my nephew) and bought three other ukes to give at Christmas (cousin, niece, sister-in-law). Anyone who mentions the POSSIBILITY that they might like to play is getting a uke. I hope to have a ukulele orchestra set up by next christmas.

Hey, a girl can dream, right?
 
This is my plan too Lori! I've given away two ukes already (to my Mom and my nephew) and bought three other ukes to give at Christmas (cousin, niece, sister-in-law). Anyone who mentions the POSSIBILITY that they might like to play is getting a uke. I hope to have a ukulele orchestra set up by next christmas.

Hey, a girl can dream, right?
That's the way to encourage them. Sometimes all it takes is a nudge. I would love to have a Ukulele Orchestra. If you lived a little closer, we could start one! I don't expect them to all love it, but even if only a few really go for it, it is worth it. Nearly half of them have played guitar, so they will have an easier start.
–Lori
 
What a neat gift, Lori! Good luck breaking in all those strings. Now that you've already broken the bank, maybe one electronic tuner per family might not be too much to add?

My husband's best friend was over recently while I was practicing and he took quite an interest in checking out my ukes. He has a 5-year-old daughter and said she played a toy guitar he gave her til she broke it. I think I convinced him to get her a Dolphin for Christmas. :)
 
I don't expect them to all love it, but even if only a few really go for it, it is worth it.

This is exactly my plan - if I spread them around willy-nilly then some will take root. I hope.
 
What a neat gift, Lori! Good luck breaking in all those strings. Now that you've already broken the bank, maybe one electronic tuner per family might not be too much to add?

I thought about that too. But since I usually don't spend that much, and I'm stretching it because we started combining birthday and Christmas presents... and I will be suppling Uke Leashes to all who want one, it might be going too far. Since both families have pianos at home, and at least one household has 2 active guitar players, and the other brother has perfect pitch... I might pass on that.

Now the question... what is a good first song to teach to brand new uke players ranging in age from 13 to 56? The two families are very different, and so I don't know how much overlap in musical tastes there might be. One side is all pop culture and rock and roll, and the other is all Disney, Muppets, and home schooling.

Any suggestions?

–Lori
 
Now the question... what is a good first song to teach to brand new uke players ranging in age from 13 to 56? The two families are very different, and so I don't know how much overlap in musical tastes there might be. One side is all pop culture and rock and roll, and the other is all Disney, Muppets, and home schooling.

Any suggestions?

–Lori

For the pop & rock side, how about "Hey, Soul Sister"
For the Disney side, "When You Wish Upon a Star" (Ukulele Ike-Jiminy Cricket)

Bill
 
I will be lucky to have time to show one song to the whole group at once, before getting kicked out of the restaurant. Our celebrations have become short and rather public these days... not like the good old days when you could spend 5 hours around a relative's freshly cleaned living room. Frere Jacques might do, or maybe something with 2 or 3 really easy chords. I want to encourage the ones that never considered playing an instrument before.

–Lori
 
That is so Deach!

I think it's a truly heartfelt gift. What's that Chinese proverb? Give a friend an iTunes giftcard and they have music for today. Give a friend an ukulele and they will have music for a lifetime.
 
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Ukes fever must be spreading like a virus. I am doing the same this Christmas. I have set up seven ukes (Rogue Baris in C tuning) for six of the granddkids and one daughter. I have used Southcoastukes linear strings on them and have been settling them for two months. They all hold pretty well now. Had to adjust two nuts for buzzing on A string. I am using the Hal leonard Book I and Book II teaching books for all of them, as the books keep them on track in an organized way and they live far enough away I can't give individual lessons except when they come home, maybe two - three times a year. I made up a uke manual book for all of them, including the Hal Leonard books, Rod's Boot camp books, A number of Ken's tab's (for when they get really good :)) and a disk of Aldrine's Utube lessons. Several of the kids and daughter are pretty much self starters and should be able to progress pretty well with the materials. They range in age from 12 to 18 to a 40 year old. Trying to put together a family uke jamming group. Good luck Lori. Sounds like a great Christmas. Lozark
 
Hi Lori. We liked the "grow your own uke group", too. Our 14 year old nephew first wanted to learn "Wipe Out". It's pretty easy and he was able to pick it up quickly. The younger ones liked the Sponge Bob riff and "The ABC Song/Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". The easiest chorded song we know is "Put the Lime in the Coconut". It's only one chord (C7) all the way through. There's a Sesame Street clip of it on You Tube. Hope it goes well for you. Sounds like a lot of fun!:);)
 
5 dolphins delivered successfully... 4 more to go

Well, we were not able to meet up with everyone at once this year. So, it will be done in stages. Tonight, my big brother and his family got their dolphins, and I think they really liked them!uke_xmas1.jpg I have great hopes for this group!

–Lori
 
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