Ukulele Music

I enjoy the music of many instruments, and one of my favorites is the ukulele.  It has such a bright and happy sound I just can’t help but smile when I hear it.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to visit Hawaii and enjoy ukulele music played live, and it never fails to brighten my mood.  My motivation to actually learn how to play the ukulele came while I was in Guitar Center, browsing while Ivan was looking at equipment.  I saw a songbook entitled “Christmas Carols for the Ukulele”, and since I enjoy Christmas music I thought that would be fun to do.  I bought the book and signed up for ukulele lessons offered by a local music store.

It was a lot harder to learn than I thought, despite my experience with a variety of other musical instruments.  I needed to learn how to strum as well as the fingering on the strings which are tuned differently than the violin, the other stringed instrument I used to hold in my hand and play.  I’m not proficient by any means but I can do a pretty decent version of “You Are My Sunshine”, “O Holy Night”, and “King of the Road”.   Even without lessons, Ivan is a much better player than I.

Locally, there’s an annual Ukulele Festival that provides inspiration to keep with my quest to learn the instrument.  It’s a day dedicated to celebrating the music of the islands, with many performers rotating through their opportunity to strum and sing on stage.  I sit in the audience, singing along softly to the songs I know and listening to the ones I don’t, all with a big smile on my face.