Uke players only

A few good things learned this year.

First, I prefer Ko'olau Gold strings over every other string. I truly have tried them all. I change strings about every 2 months.
Sweet tone and they hold it for a while so if you want to play something other than "chunk clunk chunk" you can do it with a nice ring.

Second, Jabberin' Josh of Haole Kats! had the coolest pickup I've ever seen that he let me use at Hukilau. I don't even know the name of it but it simply pushes onto the front of the uke with some sort of gum. Then it runs into a pre-amp and out to your amp. Incredibly transparent sound. I have an expensive Baggs pickup in my tenor Fluke (by TIki King) and it's horrible compared to this little gem. Jake Shimabukuro needs one of these too, the sound of his pickup in the baritone he plays is as thumpy as the Baggs is in my tenor.

Lanikai ukes aren't too bad and they don't cost much. One of the guys who works with me on occasion bought one while we were in Hawai'i last year and it held up pretty well to my pawing it.

If you want to get better, have a uke around your work area. I probably did most of my practicing this year during 10 minute stints on break this year. Going over Haole Kats charts, writing complete new songs, goofing around, making up Sandler-esque songs about whatever I was looking at... all this for short moments of relaxation and laughs.

I actually practiced scales this year a little although I have no idea why. I don't think there will ever come a time when I will solo a musical lead on a uke. I spend more time on chord voicings than any other aspect of uke theory. It's amazing how lifting it can be to switch to a higher chord voicing at the climax of a song.

It impossible to express how great it is to hang out with serious prefessional musicians such as Haole Kats! I learn something uketacular everytime I'm around them. Just make sure you have plenty of drinks and pupus available... the miserable sots.

Where the heck is Uke Jackson?
I miss him around here.

Steven Strauss is still my all time favorite uke player and he registered here not long ago.
One a these days - my friend - one of these days... I will return!

I can't believe I missed this thread until now...a few random thoughts...

The pickup Pablus is referring to is made by Schertler. This particular model (Basik Set) was voiced for Selmer style, or Gypsy Jazz guitar (think Django), but works well with Uke as well. I love mine!

If you have a hard time supporting the uke while playing, consider trying out a guitar strap. You may have to add strap buttons, but it's worth the minimal effort IMO. Properly adjusted, the strap will fully support the instrument, leaving your hands free to play.

Compare chords with the same root, but of a different quality (for instance - compare A Major, A minor, A diminished & A7). What makes A Major different from A minor ? How about D Major from D7 or D Maj7? Compare the shapes as well as the notes contained in each chord.

I'll add more thoughts as they occur to me...

J

I miss you Josh.
All that practice made me realize again just how fortunate I am to be considered your friend.

Now on to the uke stuff:

Ko'olau has given The Crazed Mugs a string sponsorship.
It made us feel very important and I love those strings anyway, so... it's cool to have a big package of strings show up at your place from people who like what you're doing.

When you buy the Schertler, as I did, the pickup that comes with it is fine.
The additional pickup with only the volume knob isn't really worth it other than you can turn down to tune.
That may be worth a couple bills to you. Probably not though.

The feeling is mutual, brah! We gots to do some more jamming soon.

I was wonderin' about the intersection of Tiki and ukes. I spotted a couple of ukuleles in some of the photos of tiki collections.

Exotica music is tres cool, but not what us mere mortals are likely to perform in public. Tropical music, ukuleles, bongo, congas, slide guitar-- great sounds to be had with these!

My uke collection exceeds my tiki mug collection-- I really don't need more of either, but that's not likely to stop me. Kamakas, Meles, Martins, a couple of Polk-A-Lay-Lees, Harmonies, I love to play them all.

On 2007-08-30 05:03, Bongo Bungalow wrote:
I was wonderin' about the intersection of Tiki and ukes. I spotted a couple of ukuleles in some of the photos of tiki collections.

Exotica music is tres cool, but not what us mere mortals are likely to perform in public. Tropical music, ukuleles, bongo, congas, slide guitar-- great sounds to be had with these!

It wasn't uncommon for the uke to be used in Hawaii's swing bands of the WWII era. You can spot the uke in Nisei orchestras and other ensembles of the time, which is where (arguably) much of the influence for exotica came from. Gabby Pahinui's early recordings had congas, vibraphone, alto flute, clarinet, upright bass on them — in addition to the standard slack-key guitar, ukulele, and falsetto vocals of that genre.

In terms of modern usage, I think it depends on your definition of 'tiki music.' If that definition includes hapa-haole and/or surf rock tunes, then the answer is obvious ... and many of the TC'ers on this board are fine purveyors of that craft. Look to Pablus, the Haole Kats, and others for inspiration! (Hi guys!!!)

But if you are talking about modern 'classic exotica' (styled after Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman) that has uke in it, then you might be interested in Abe Lagrimas Jr. Abe was founding drummer of Waitiki and has established himself as a uke player also. We recorded a tune called "Cold Rain" for his "Dimensions" album, and that tune is very much influenced by classic exotica: A backdrop of piano, vibraphone, bass, drum kit & congas, with ukulele in the foreground.

You might also be interested to know that, coming out in early November is an album produced by Jim Beloff. It features the work of WAITIKI and AKAMAI BRAIN COLLECTIVE (my work with Abe as a uke/bass/drums trio) - some songs on the album are vintage exotica/Hawaiian tunes that show the intersection of uke/exotica.

Anyways, that's just my two cents. Okonkuluku!

"I was wonderin' about the intersection of Tiki and ukes. I spotted a couple of ukuleles in some of the photos of tiki collections. "

Well, I have been puttting both in the shaker since 1999. Trying to mix it up. The two sub cultures are (or were) fairly seperate, but doing the same kind of stuff. Conected by many threads, including, but not limited to, Music, Aloha Shirts, cocktails , luau's, and Hawaiiana in general. Also, many Ukulele people tend to collect. I have been using tiki's in my ukulele art, and Ukuleles in my Tiki art for a while now. Here are some examples.
Tiki in a Ukulele headstock...

Tiki necklace with Ukulele...

Painting with both a Tiki and a Ukulele..

Ukulele with a Tiki Painting...

(lots more on my website, check it out...)
and of course you will find a plethora of Aloha Shirts with both Ukuleles and Tiki's on them.
I think the biggest common denomenator is Hawaiiana.

Tiki King, good to hear from you! I've admired your work for along time. You once helped me out with a question on another BB, and you inspired me to attempt to fashion my own Tiki Uke which is a looker, if not much of a player.

Every tikinut should check out Tiki King's website!

I just posted some new tiki/ukulele theme art in the "creating tiki" section...
cheers!
T.K.

A Uke that looks like a Rock'em Sock'em Robot!

PeeWee Herman's Blog: Rock'em Sock'em Ukulele

Tahitian Ukulele anyone? I just got back from a cruise in French Polynesia and brought one of the Tahitian 8-string banjo-like ukuleles home with me. I'd love to learn more about the strumming rhythms used in Tahiti. If you're not familiar with Tahitian Ukulele, they are 8 string version of the ukulele with the sound hole on the back side and the bridge sits on a thin round wooden sound board. The rest of the ukulele is solid, and often made from just one piece of wood. The playing style is fast - VERY FAST. Tuning is the traditional GCEA, but the E is the highest pitch string (pair) on the instrument with the A dropping back down an octave. The E string, being the highest pitched, is often used to play a melody during the strumming. Speaking of the strings - they are made of fishing line (easy to replace!). Take a look at the following video for a strum - master doing his thing (skip to 40 seconds in). This is the type of music you hear everywhere you go in the islands. Anyone here familiar with the playing style? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZkE5m_W5kA

My souvenir from Tahiti. Stingray body with Tiki faces.

On 2016-05-03 07:53, Doc Aikane wrote:
My souvenir from Tahiti. Stingray body with Tiki faces.

I'd consider getting a Tahitian uke like that, but generally, I'm not in love with the sound. I've been spending a lot of time with my Kamaka tenor 6 lately. It sounds really cool for doing exotica tunes like Quiet Village or Aku Aku

This is the World’s Largest Playable Ukulele!! It’s 13-Feet Long!!

My Log by Pee Wee Herman