Much maligned... The ukelele is capable of a mournful tone reminiscent of the Spanish guitar
On Saturday we held a ukulele party in the village hall. Playing live were the Dulwich Ukelele Club and my own band, the Idler Ukulele Orchestra. I was given a ukulele for my birthday in April and since then it has developed into something of an obsession. The thing is, it is so very easy to play and so very enjoyable. It has only four strings but makes a lovely sound. In the Idler Ukulele Orchestra, we draw from a pool of about ten people. Whoever is around turns up.
On Saturday there were just three of us, two ukes and a drummer, but we sounded pretty good, even if I say so myself. Our set currently consists of four songs, I'm Only Sleeping by The Beatles, Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks, Teenage Kicks by The Undertones and that great hymn to doing nothing, Watching The Wheels by John Lennon.
The uke is much-maligned. I'm told that in one dictionary of classical music, it is not even afforded the dignity of being a real instrument, and is described as a toy. This is a great slur on a beautiful object. The other misconception about it is that it's only capable of playing George Formbyesque singalongs. But the truth is that it can produce a wide range of sounds and actually has a slightly mournful quality, something of the Spanish guitar. A classical musician friend says it reminds him of the lute.
Take a look at this amazing clip from You Tube to find out what it is capable of.
Being small, cheap and easy to play, it is an instrument for the people. Anyone can play it and to me that makes it very very punk. With the uke, you can do it yourself. It is also a fantastic instrument for kids to learn. Violins are too difficult, guitars too big, pianos too sombre. But any child can pick up the uke and be learning chords or picking out simple tunes in minutes. At our uke event on Saturday, we held a kids' workshop and they all were all playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star after quarter of an hour.
We are planning more gigs in London and we've teamed up with the world's finest ukulele emporium, the Duke of Uke in Spitalfields, to put on shows and spread the word. They sell ukes for twenty quid upwards and you can get on their mailing list at www.dukeofuke.co.uk. I'm hoping to start a ukulele revolution, where every pub will have its own uke band and every household will keep one on the mantelpiece. Join us!
