Would you say that...???

The ukulele chooses the player and not the player chooses the ukulele? What is your opinion? And when you try out before you buy an ukulele and that specific ukulele is the ONE you feels really special.

I have played most of my ukuleles in shops,and
chosen them on the basis of which one 'feels'
right for me,and the sound of it.When I got My
Rob Collins soprano,as soon as I held it,I KNEW
it was special,and so it has proved to be! A sort
of gut instinct,mixed with logical selection as to
tone,volume and overall sound....

I'd say there is some truth to that, people talk about finding the "one" rather than having a collection. NatalieS is a great example, she went through Ukes before settling on what she thought was the "one" before realising it wasn't and she now has "the one" and her UAS (if she even had it) has gone, she's very happy with her Uke, which I think is a DaSilva custom..

I would say that in my own personal experience the Ukes I have gotten, I've chosen them, but some of them do gel with me more than others, meaning maybe there was a little of the Ukes choosing me!

hungry4adobo said:

The ukulele chooses the player and not the player chooses the ukulele?

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Inanimate objects cannot choose anything, unless of course you're in the imaginery world of Harry Potter. Choice is the result of consciousness.

g'day hungry

I don't really understand the question mate, but I know I chose the ukes I own. All of mine were sight unseen as, living where I do, there are simply no good ukes available except through the internet. As I have gone along for the journey, I have kept the ones that have meant something to me and sound great, and sold on the others. With my collection, I would definitely say I have consciously chosen each one through an exhaustive process of refining and refining my tastes. I also agree with luthien on the 'love at first sight / touch' view. This has happened to me several times and I hold onto those ukes to this day.

My first ukulele found me---it was a Christmas present. Sadly, it's no longer playable. (Look out for unstable cracks, friends.)

As for my other ukuleles, I feel like we found each other. They needed new homes, I needed (when I bought the first one) and wanted (when I bought the other three) them.

Also, unlike eugene ukulele, I'm lucky to live in a town with plenty of ukuleles around (both new and used) to play or buy. I play all the ukes I see, so I'm finding ukes all the time. I end up buying the ukes that "find"---really appeal to AND are affordable to---me.

Well it was the ukulele hanging on the shop wall and not me, so I most definitely chose it.

hungry4adobo said:

The ukulele chooses the player and not the player chooses the ukulele? What is your opinion? And when you try out before you buy an ukulele and that specific ukulele is the ONE you feels really special.

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I've owned... 8 ukuleles total, I think. All of them purchased sight unseen except for my Kamaka Pineapple, which (because I have a vivid imagination) I sincerely believe chose me, and not the other way around, thanks to the set of circumstances and coincidences behind its purchase. And I can honestly say that if I could keep only one of my ukes, that would be the keeper.

ichadwick said:

Inanimate objects cannot choose anything, unless of course you're in the imaginery world of Harry Potter. Choice is the result of consciousness.

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This doesn't rule out mojo does it?

I like to think my uke's were meant to be with me, they are happier at my house....but the logical part of me agrees with Ian. I guess I am half in fantasy land.....I can live with that!

hungry4adobo said:

The ukulele chooses the player and not the player chooses the ukulele? What is your opinion? And when you try out before you buy an ukulele and that specific ukulele is the ONE you feels really special.

Click to expand...

I have chosen all of my ukes and I have been very happy with all of them. Only one did I get to try in a store before I bought. The others I did my research and ordered what I was looking for. Good luck with whatever you decide.

RyanMFT said:

This doesn't rule out mojo does it?

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Yep. mojo, fate, kismet, predestination, karma, magic, Harry Potter... balderdash. I'm like some posters above: bought almost all of my ukes online, sight unseen. I can't see how a selection of skillfully assembled bits of wood and metal, built in a factory in China, and stuffed in a wooden box on some warehouse shelf chose me, ten thousand miles away, at the precise moment I was surfing eBay. If it broke, would those bits and pieces still choose to be with me, even when I was scraping them into the dustbin? Would I awake one morning to find old, discarded strings back on my front porch because they chose to come back to me? Very Stephen King! Haunted by old fret wires...

By the dint of such faith, there must be an opposite force. If a particular ukulele was "meant" to be with you, then literally thousands were simultaneously not meant to be with you. Why was that Kala meant for you and not that Kamaka?

But it means everything else in your life must have been "meant" for you too - your belt, your wallet, your socks, your underwear, your toothbrush... all those happy little anthropomorphic entities that just leapt off the Wal-Mart shelf to be in your cart, to be in your home, on your body. The demons of Wal-Mart...

If that bottle of 100% agave Los Abuelos blanco tequila chose me, how will it feel when I've finished drinking it? Loss? Sorrow? Fulfilled? Pleased for being injested? Sad for being empty?

ichadwick said:

Inanimate objects cannot choose anything, unless of course you're in the imaginery world of Harry Potter. Choice is the result of consciousness.

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(Emphasis mine.)

Actually, I believe you probably meant imaginary...

While I do agree that an inanimate object is incapable of choosing anything, I also think that for the most part, there is a uke out there for anyone that will stop them from buying one after another. This statement does not hold true for ukulele collectors. Collectors are more about the different, the rare, and the currently cool. I am also aware that there is a certain type of player that will reach for a different instrument when they are looking for a different sound. But.......find the right instrument for you and spend the time with it. That is when true magic can happen.

My 2 cents.

OldePhart said:

(Emphasis mine.)

Actually, I believe you probably meant imaginary...

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I totally snorted. Good one

Not everyone has such a "personal" relationship with their uke.

I would have to say that the assembly line 'ukuleles probably have less soul than their handmade counterparts. There are good handmade 'ukuleles and then there are GOOD handmade 'ukuleles (these good ones have the extra good vibes/universal alignment that make them priceless to the right person). It's obviously these that stick out the most. But I'd have to say that if you throw it out to the universe and try many instruments without committing, then the right one will show up.

But yeah, it's all about the universal awareness and energy of everything man... All joking aside, as far as I know (besides drugs and unnatural things) music is probably the most powerful mind/emotion influence-r. Don't know about you guys but music can take me from happiness to tears and vice-versa.

So... Is an instrument really still just wood, bone, tuners, and strings? Of course, but it's also something more.

Unfortunately, it's a ukulele, not a dragon, and I picked it rather than the other way around. I got lucky though, I picked it sight unseen and I love it to bits, I consider my UAS cured. I wonder if this question could be rephrased as: do you view your ukulele as a friend, or a tool?