Grand daughters, Dolphins, and Austin Bazaar.

My grand daughter will be three years old in a week. She spends every Monday with us and she loves music and she likes me to sing songs and play the ukulele. My wife has a Waterman that she always wants to play with. Lately my daughter has been sending me videos and pictures of her playing a tennis racquet while she watches music videos. I thought that I would get her a ukulele for her birthday.

I just don't like Watermans. I've had three that I've won at festivals and I gave all three of them away to people who I want to discourage from playing the ukulele, so I didn't want to get her a Waterman. I ordered a Dolphin from Austin Bazaar. I got the Dolphin the other day and I've been playing the heck out of it so that I can get the strings settled in before her birthday. He mother also told me to get some kind of bag so that she can learn to put it in the bag and put it away. Austin Bazaar has a nice little package, ukulele, bag, and tuner. I also had a 10% off coupon, so that was good. It showed up I three days. I really like that little Dolphin. It plays well and sounds good. It is a way lot better than the Waterman. Okay, I just want to end this by saying that Austin Bazaar is a pretty good place to buy ukuleles, especially your cheaper ones. They aren't going to do a setup, but I'm not that obsessed with setups, especially for cheapies. This one showed up and it is very playable just the way it is. They also stand behind their products. The zipper tab on the bag was broken off and there was a sharp edge to it. I called them up about it and they sent me a new one the next day. Didn't want the broken one back, so no hassle packing it up and sending it back. So good on them.

So next week Rosa will have her own ukulele at home. I'm not going to try to teach a three year old how to play the ukulele. She's been picking it up a little just by watching. Kids are like sponges, all they need is the exposure. She has the idea how it is supposed to be held and how she is supposed to strum it and she seems satisfied with that for now. Maybe someday she will ask, then we will go from there.

You're wise not to "push" her into learning it, RL. I agree that she'll eventually ask, and you can go from there. My granddaughters are ages 5 and 3, and they love to just pick up their ukes and strum them, without actually forming chords, and I try not to "bug" them with formal instruction just yet, although I do hope the time will come soon when I can help them open that door!

I get all my grandkids ukes when they turn 3. I get dolphins from Mim so they are set up and sound great. I do not try to push them either. They all love to come play with Papa.

I also got my grand niece and nephew Dolphin ukes when they each turned three, seems to be a thing here on UU. They haven't focussed themselves on playing yet, but whenever I'm over there, I play the ukes for them. Agreed, nice little uke.

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This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 11 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 35)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
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We got a soprano Shark for our 3 years old (he’s obsessed with that Baby Shark song!) - it’s great fun for him...but he still wants “Mamas Guitar” when I pull my fancy Ukes out ��

I wasn't too impressed with the uke I bought at Austin Bazaar: they just ship stuff out. ymmv, of course, but I found it disappointing.

Anyway, the Dolphins and Sharks are fun to play and sometimes they sound surprisingly nice, esp. with new strings. Or do they now come with Aquila?

My grandaughter is coming up to fourteen,and like her father, has never shown any interest in playing any musical instrument. My elder son played keyboards,and was never interested in stringed instruments,though he grew up whilst I played guitar.(There could be a link there!) I get my interest in stringed things from my maternal grandfather, who could pick up a stringed thing he had never seen in his life,and knock out a tune within minutes!
I don't claim to have that ability, but I can usually 'make it work'. And as an aside, I love my cherry red Dolphin, and use it as my travel/go anywhere uke!

Yes, start 'em young! The next time around, I'm going to start playing the uke when I five years old.

Jerryc41 said:

Yes, start 'em young! The next time around, I'm going to start playing the uke when I five years old.

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My kids are neither into playing instruments. My mom pushed my brother at a very young age to play piano and he got very good at it. He won state titles in high school. But after he got out of school he stopped playing. I asked him one time and he told me it wasn't the playing piano that he liked, it was the competitions. After high school there was no motivation for him.

I say that to my wife all the time about a lot of things, that I wish I had started when I was a kid. Her answer is always, "What would you be doing now then?"

As much as I appreciate a well set up ukulele, I think that the proof is in the playing and this little cheap bundle of joy plays quite well. But for those who measure playability with a string guage, I played a flat edge across the frets and see no light showing at any of the frets and it measures 2.5mm at the 12th. Just perfect for a 3 year old.