Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Ukeing It

I went to a conference session earlier this year put on by our State Library about instruments in library programs. There was a mini grant available for over a dozen libraries throughout the state, to receive a ukulele kit. It had all the equipment you would need for care and upkeep of an instrument to use in Storytimes.

I fell in love with the idea. I applied for the grant. I didn't get it. Sadness.

But it became a worm in my brain that just wouldn't go away. My parents let me pick out a guitar when I was 15, but I found it hard to learn on the classical model I selected. To all accounts, though, ukulele is a bit easier to wrap minds and hands around. They are much smaller and have only 4 strings.

So I started looking on Amazon and other sites for a ukulele of my very own. I had a few criteria:

1) It had to be cheap. I was using my own money. So, cost was a factor.

2) It had to be a basic model to learn on. Tenor and Baritones are lovely, but a bit too close to guitar for me.

3) It absolutely, without a doubt, had to be purple.

I ended up purchasing a Mahalo U-30PP Soprano Ukulele in, you guessed it, purple. It had good reviews for being a beginning instrument, though seasoned players didn't seem to be too kind. Still, it fit all my requirements.

The first thing I noticed was that the strings kept going out of tune. With a little Googling, I found out that this is a common problem with nylon strings. So, rather than take the time to tune and re-tune, in order to stretch them, I opted for upgrading the strings.

I got a chord book, found some awesome sites for storytime ukulele songs, and got to playing. Youtube helped out a lot. Especially in the re-stringing department.

I decorated my uke with Sharpies, and my husband absolutely insisted I clear coat it. Luckily neither of these things changed the sound much. I have since invested in a digital tuner, a stand, and a strap with a button.

Soprano ukes rarely come equipped with a strap button because they are so small and portable. But I work with preschoolers and most of the songs I sing require the use of my hands. So I got the strap to give me versatility, and the stand to keep it out of the way when we are reading.

All in all, I've been very pleased with my new instrument. I'm learning more and more chords. It doesn't require tons of daily practice. And it has got me in to playing again. So far, I have learned 5 children's songs (two of which have made it into Storytime), as well as Creep by Radiohead and Lola by The Kinks (neither of which will ever be played in Storytime).

I've even gotten so into it, that I bought my uke a buddy.


But more on that later.