OK what's this black stuff.

[Red Cliff]

Umm... Bill was a Hawaiian. Google is your friend:

"Bill Tapia, a virtuoso ukulele player from Hawaii who learned to strum the instrument at age 7."

and

"Tapia was born in Honolulu on New Year’s Day in 1908."

and

"Bill continued to tour until this year (2008), playing his last show in February at a Hawaiian music festival."

Now, back to "What's This Black Stuff." Sorry, Tim, I couldn't resist responding to correct the topic when it interrupted your thread.

Never said he wasn't. My grandmother couldn't pronounce the word 'shake' and would say 'shack' as many others did in our local dialect in the north of England. That doesn't mean that is how most English people pronounce the word however. It just how one person does.

So obviously Google isn't your friend...

 

[Red Cliff]

In America, which includes the beautiful and great state of Hawaii, there is no oooniform way to pronounce words. Ooo don’t need to be a oooniversity graduate to understand we are all ooonique and ooosually able to pronounce words in our own way without someone trying to make us feel inferior with their “correct” pronunciation. Such action is not productive or oooseful; and it tends to divide us, rather than ooniting us as Americans.

To say any of us need to conform to their way of speaking is condescending at best. Still, the divisive talk remains ooobquitious in some areas. And it should not be tolerated in the Ooonited states of America.

That's kind of ridiculous if you think about it. A language is just that, it is a way of communicating by having sounds and meanings otherwise people can't understand each other, or as the dictionary defines it:
"the principal method of human communication, consisting of words used in a structured and conventional way and conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture."

So to say you shouldn't advocate people using the right pronunciation and communicate in a common and structured way doesn't really work. Sure, you can have some variation in terms of dialects and pronunciation and both ways of spelling ukulele seem fine - everyone knows what the other person is communicating. But any language is just that, an agreed and structured way of communicating.

 

[Farp]

You do it your way, RC. I'll continue to accept folks as they are.

 

[James McQueen]

I fully agree that the video (I watched it muted), contains a lot of illuminating methodology, and I was further wondering what then is the white stuff applied subsequent to the removal of the black stuff. My thoughts were varied. I lastly speculate possibly soapstone for witness-line wood-waste removal along the periphery. I have long enjoyed this forum for learning the esoteric, rhetorical, and woodworking applications.
"Please sir(s), may I have more?"

 

[sequoia]

I say ookulele. Always have. Does not sound strange to my ear.

 

[kkimura]

I feel that we should speak in a way that makes the person we're speaking with comfortable. You-ke-lele for some folk, oo-ke-lele for others. For the multilingual, it would be dropping into the language preffered by the person or persons you're speaking with.

(And, I too think it's grain filler.)

 

[Timbuck]

Anyway ..however you say it it's still a uke .... I have been studying the video in detail and having a look at the construction and building methods ... ive seen quite a few differences in the new sopranos compared to the vintage ones they stopped making in the 1960s , apart from the "Applied Dovetail" the braces are taller and shaped and scalloped guitar style and the linings are broader also the end blocks are bigger and drilled with locating holes for the jigs ... the marker dots are larger and the headstock is a slightly new shape with sharp points and non radius edges .. The saddle is now broader and compensated for individual strings... a lot of the construction methods they use are the same as they do in the guitar shop ... it's as if the workers we're trained in guitar building and then set to work on ukuleles.

 

[EDW]

Anyway ..however you say it it's still a uke .... I have been studying the video in detail and having a look at the construction and building methods ... ive seen quite a few differences in the new sopranos compared to the vintage ones they stopped making in the 1960s , apart from the "Applied Dovetail" the braces are taller and shaped and scalloped guitar style and the linings are broader also the end blocks are bigger and drilled with locating holes for the jigs ... the marker dots are larger and the headstock is a slightly new shape with sharp points and non radius edges .. a lot of the construction methods they use are the same as they do in the guitar shop ... it's as if the workers we're trained in guitar building and then set to work on ukuleles.

I wonder if that contributes to the general consensus that the newer instruments don't sound or feel anything like their vintage counterparts

 

[badhabits]

Repeated the video several times, and I don't think his pronunciation is so clear cut... just sayin.

Umm... Bill was a Hawaiian. Google is your friend:

"Bill Tapia, a virtuoso ukulele player from Hawaii who learned to strum the instrument at age 7."

and

"Tapia was born in Honolulu on New Year’s Day in 1908."

just because one is from Hawaii does not make one Hawaiian. according to google/wikipedia he is/was of Portugese descent. just 'sayin...

 

[Farp]

Repeated the video several times, and I don't think his pronunciation is so clear cut... just sayin.

just because one is from Hawaii does not make one Hawaiian. according to google/wikipedia he is/was of Portugese descent. just 'sayin...

Okay, this discussion has just gotten silly; but, hey, if you want to truly respect the Native Hawaiians as you oookoolele professors seem to indicate, you can’t stop at the pronunciation of a single word and think you have given your all to their culture. Quite to the contrary. No, if you want to actually honor them as you claim, then you must acquiesce to their cultural heritage and goals to restore the Motherland to the true native people.

If that is your goal, I agree with you wholeheartedly. But if your position in this silly little discussion goes no further than goading we “youkalele” folks to say “ooo-koo-lele,” then your shallow attempt at being culturally sensitive is not only pointless, it is inconsequential.

The United States illegally overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 and suppressed the inherent sovereignty of the Native Hawaiian people. This was officially recognized in 1993 when President Bill Clinton signed an official apology to Native Hawaiians for the illegal overthrow of their nation (Public law 103-150).

So then, let’s agree to truly honor the Native Hawaiians, not by just pronouncing a single word to their satisfaction, but by returning the land the United States stole from them in the first place. The pronunciation of a single word is nothing but tokenism in its purest form. And anyone’s silly little pronunciation “correction” is superfluous.

Let’s go to the greatest Native Hawaiian uke player to get some finality to my position. Listen to the words Israel Kamakawioʻole sings in Hawai'i 78' (video attached) and tell me saying OOOOOOOOOOOOOOkaoolele is sufficient! No, your drivel rings hollow and falls short.​

Cry for the land that was taken away…

Ua mau, ke ea o ka aina, i ka pono, o Hawai'i

 

[badhabits]

Okay, this discussion has just gotten silly; but, hey, if you want to truly respect the Native Hawaiians as you oookalele professors seem to indicate, you can’t stop at the pronunciation of a single word and think you have given your all to their culture. Quite to the contrary. No, if you want to actually honor them as you claim, then you must acquiesce to their cultural heritage and goals to restore the Motherland to the true native people.

If that is your goal, I agree with you wholeheartedly. But if your position in this silly little discussion goes no further than goading we “youkalele” folks to say “ooo-koo-lele,” then your shallow attempt at being culturally sensitive is not only pointless, it is inconsequential.

The United States illegally overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 and suppressed the inherent sovereignty of the Native Hawaiian people. This was officially recognized in 1993 when President Bill Clinton signed an official apology to Native Hawaiians for the illegal overthrow of their nation (Public law 103-150).

So then, let’s agree to truly honor the Native Hawaiians, not by just pronouncing a single word to their satisfaction, but by returning the land the United States stole from them in the first place. The pronunciation of a single word is nothing but tokenism in its purest form. And anyone’s silly little pronunciation “correction” is superfluous.

Let’s go to one of the greatest Native Hawaiian uke player to get some finality to my position. Listen to the words Israel Kamakawioʻole sings in Hawai'i 78' (video attached) and tell me saying OOOOOOOOOOOOOOkalele is sufficient! No, your inane drivel is contemptuous.​

Cry for the land that was taken away…

Ua mau, ke ea o ka aina, i ka pono, o Hawai'

the discussion went silly, off the rails, a good ways back....

 

[Farp]

the discussion went silly, off the rails, a good ways back....

Yep, just about the time you said, "Just because one is (born in) Hawaii does not make one Hawaiian."

 

[badhabits]

Yep, just about the time you said, "Just because one is (born in) Hawaii does not make one Hawaiian."

💤

 

[anthonyg]

This pronunciation debate was fired up after an off the cuff (silly) remark from Mike $. Don't mind him. He just does that for giggles.

 

[pondweed]

Great video. Dark in the pores increases visual depth of any surface. The OXK didn't sound great to me, but I suppose that was good for the fact that the multi-thousand instrument was a lot better...

 

[lauburu]

Us Americans slaughter most foreign languages anyway

Should have been: "We Americans slaughter .........". Just trying to prove your point?
Miguel

 

[kkimura]

If you want to be historically correct from a player's perspective, it's YOU-ka-lay-lee. Don't take my word for it, listen to the early legend Bill Tapia who died at 103 in 2011. Check out his video attached here, specifically at :40 and 1:10. He clearly says "youkalele." Good enough for Bill, good enough for me.

I find it unnecessary for people who say "ookoolele" to somehow feel the need to "correct" those who say it "youkalele.". Frankly it shouldn't matter, as we all enjoy playing the instrument. Use whatever pronunciation suits you and enjoy the day.

Link here:

I like to think that Bill was trying to be polite to his audience. And, to be polite to the op, I'll stop going off topic.

 

[Farp]

I like to think that Bill was trying to be polite to his audience. And, to be polite to the op, I'll stop going off topic.

Wow...ooo have to be joking.

 

[Diogenes Blue]

I've been pore filling my black walnut using ebony Timber Mate water based wood filler thinned a bit. I love the look. I'll probably do it on the next mahogany uke I build, with a dark red stain and maybe a darker burst.