janeray1940
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- Nov 19, 2009
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Aloha all... something I've been pondering a bit as of lately that I thought I'd put out there: Do you think of yourself as a ukulele player, or as a musician who just happens to play ukulele? Or perhaps both?
I've always felt kinda like a... fraud whenever anyone would refer to me as a musician - mainly because I've been surrounded by super-talented musicians all of my life (who have been playing all of *their* lives). As I've only been playing seriously for a few years, and didn't start until I was in my mid-40s, the label "musician" has always felt far too... big for me. But I think I've finally started to grow into it, and it feels like it fits.
I think many of us are uncomfortable with the idea of being only one thing, all the time, but there seems to be something about the ukulele that does pigeon-hole us into that "all ukulele, all the time" box. For instance - I'm sure we all have those friends who relentlessly email us ANYTHING ukulele that they come across. Good intentions, but the issue I have is this: just because there's a ukulele in it doesn't mean I like it. Or for that matter, doesn't mean it's even good!
There's a LOT of ukulele stuff I don't care for. A LOT, just like there's a lot of music in general I don't care for. But I love music, and I love playing music, and I just happen to do so by playing ukulele.
Anyway, yeah, rambling here but thought I'd put this out there and see if an interesting discussion can come of it... Do you love all things ukulele, always? Or are you more selective? If you see yourself as a musician, how do you define that?
I've always felt kinda like a... fraud whenever anyone would refer to me as a musician - mainly because I've been surrounded by super-talented musicians all of my life (who have been playing all of *their* lives). As I've only been playing seriously for a few years, and didn't start until I was in my mid-40s, the label "musician" has always felt far too... big for me. But I think I've finally started to grow into it, and it feels like it fits.
I think many of us are uncomfortable with the idea of being only one thing, all the time, but there seems to be something about the ukulele that does pigeon-hole us into that "all ukulele, all the time" box. For instance - I'm sure we all have those friends who relentlessly email us ANYTHING ukulele that they come across. Good intentions, but the issue I have is this: just because there's a ukulele in it doesn't mean I like it. Or for that matter, doesn't mean it's even good!
There's a LOT of ukulele stuff I don't care for. A LOT, just like there's a lot of music in general I don't care for. But I love music, and I love playing music, and I just happen to do so by playing ukulele.
Anyway, yeah, rambling here but thought I'd put this out there and see if an interesting discussion can come of it... Do you love all things ukulele, always? Or are you more selective? If you see yourself as a musician, how do you define that?
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