Hi Barry,
That's an excellent article, your 'rant' is spot on. I think maybe the 'happy' part is something that might come as a result from playing or listening to ukulele, as a form of therapy, a catharsis, if you will, and somehow that is incorrectly getting assigned to the instrument's nature, instead of something (happiness) being manifest in the individual who is experiencing the ukulele, as a result of the feelings that this person might have.
While most people that I've encountered that are involved with the ukulele are kind folks, I have in fact encountered some (both online and offline) that are focused upon generating unnecessary friction who seem more interested in the unrest that is a result of a conflict, than having any kind of meaningful conversation.
I tend to avoid those individuals. Like you said, there are some folks that are more than expert trolls, that basically derive their pleasure in a sadistic way by raining on the parades of others, in order to try and compensate for whatever unresolved misery that they have in their own lives. I feel sorry for those folks, but will waste no energy in engagement with them, once I have recognized this intent.
Like you said, the ukulele is a 'just a box with 4 strings' and it in itself has no 'feelings', but maybe when WE play it, WE like it, and WE feel happy, and that's how the 'happy' or sad part comes about. This also holds true even if you play a sad song, that has meaning for you. Maye it helps you to purge the sadness from your soul, and once the immediate sadness is gone, what remains can allow for other feelings, like melancholy, bittersweetness, more sadness, or nay dare I say, happiness. Or just maybe you feel content and neutral.
I have written a few songs now in a minor key, and I love the sound from the ukulele like this. I also like major keys, but the standard I,iV, V or ii Vii, V, chord progressions can get boring to my ear after a while.
(this is sort of a tangent) What kills me is the fact that so many folks outside the ukulele community think that it is either a 'toy instrument' or only know of it from Tiny Tim or Hawaiian Hula music, and they laugh and smirk when I tell them that I play and they want to hear 'Aloha-'e' or 'Tiptoe Through The Tulips' with me singing in falsetto. GET REAL!
I am starting to tire of defending the ukulele as a 'serious instrument' to the collective of (mostly willfully) ignorant naysayers.
-Booli
