In the media I’d heard about the revival of the playing the ukulele and I was intrigued to find out what it was going on. I was a complete novice and although I’d seen ukuleles in music shops I’d never even handled one, that all changed on my visit to a local ukulele group. I was warmly welcomed into the group and the organiser had some spare ukuleles for newcomers to try. After a few minutes of instruction I’d learnt a few easy chords (probably C, F and G7) and I was away strumming and singing along with the rest of the group. The phrase “taking to it like a duck to water comes” to mind. Those first three chords are enough for plenty of songs and I couldn’t possibly comment about Status Quo surviving with just their three chords.
With my new enthusiasm I eagerly went to a music shop the very next day and bought my first ukulele. I would thoroughly recommend going to a shop and trying out the various instruments that they’ve got on offer rather than going onto the internet and ordering an instrument without even handling it. The shop had a range of ukuleles and I was able to pick them up, have a strum and get a feel for them. After handling each one in turn I knew which one felt right for me. My first ukulele was an Eastcoast concert size and I’ve included a photo of the instrument above. On later blogs I’ll talk about issues such as the different sizes of ukuleles and how to tune them.
When buying a ukulele, like most things, it’s often said that “you usually get what you pay for”. Whilst there are plenty of budget entry-level instruments available, it may be better to avoid the super-cheap models as they can easily go out of tune.
An issue that can cause difficulties for ukulele players is how to support the ukulele whilst it’s being played. Most people play their ukulele whilst they are sitting down with the body of the instrument held against their chest. A useful accessory can be a strap which takes the weight of the instrument and also frees up the strumming and fretting hands. However in order to fit a strap the ukulele will need to have a strap button fitted onto its body. My Eastcoast concert ukulele doesn’t have a strap button and the organiser of the group suggested a half strap. As seen in the photo it’s a strap with one end secured around the machine head and a loop at the other end through which goes your other arm and the strap then rests on the shoulder.
By the way, the title of this post is “My first ukulele” so I have to warn you about Ukulele Acquisition Disease (UAD) or Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome (UAS). After a while you’ll find that one ukulele is not enough and you’ll have the urge to buy another ……….. and then another ………… etc.