Ukulele For Dummies (73 page)

James Hill (1980–)

James Hill is the most proficient and ambitious ukulele player around today. His album
Flying Leap
includes a three-part suite for ukulele and cello. He developed new techniques including playing with chop-sticks in the strings and an impressive percussive technique which he uses to play the bass, keyboard and drum parts of ‘Billie Jean' at the same time on a single ukulele.

James Hill is the biggest success of Canada's ukulele schools programme. The ukulele has been taught extensively in Canadian schools since the late 1970s. In his teenage years, Hill was a member of the best-known school group, the Langley Ukulele Orchestra, who tour the world. He's since returned to these roots, working together with Chalmers Doane, the man who instigated the use of ukuleles in Canadian schools, and writing the
Ukulele in the Classroom
series of instruction books.

If you like James Hill, look out for Paul Luongo. Like James Hill, Paul Luongo has risen up through the Langley Ukulele Orchestra and has an incredible technique and a real talent for ukulele arrangements.

Zach Condon (1986–)

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, indie acts finally seemed to tire of the usual guitar, bass and drums line-up and began using a wider mix of instruments from harps to brass. With its unique and unpretentious sound, the ukulele has become a firm favourite on the indie scene.

Zach Condon picked up the ukulele after an overambitious bit of tree climbing left him unable to play the guitar. The instrument became a fundamental part of the sound of his band Beirut and helped make his debut album
Gulag Orkestar
a huge hit.

Since then the ukulele has become a common sound in indie music circles used by acts such as Dent May, hellogoodbye and Peggy Sue.

If you like Zach Condon, check out tUnE-yArDs. As you may have guessed from the unusual capitalisation, tUnE-yArDs isn't one to follow the rules. She's by far the most interesting ukulele act around at the moment.

Julia Nunes (1989–)

Perhaps because it fits neatly within a small screen, the ukulele has become a staple of YouTube videos. Loads of people are putting up their uke versions of songs for others to enjoy and no one has inspired more people to pick up a uke and sing a few tunes into the camera than Julia Nunes (pronounced Noonz).

She first came to public attention when her videos were featured on YouTube. With views of her videos reaching the million mark, she released her debut album,
Left, Right, Wrong
, in 2007, started touring the world, has become an inspiration to budding bedroom ukers everywhere and has sparked off a whole genre of ‘ukulele girls'.

If you like Julia Nunes, watch out for Sophie Madeleine. This British singer-songwriter followed the Nunes route to fame, building up a huge dedicated following online.

Chapter 21

Ten Ways to Get Involved in the Ukulele Scene

In This Chapter

Meeting up with other ukulele players

Getting your music out there

Seeking out inspiration

Becoming a ukulele superstar

O
ne of the best things about playing the ukulele is the community associated with it. Perhaps because the ukulele has been so disparaged in the past, all players are very supportive of each other. A friendly culture surrounds the ukulele that you don't get with many other instruments.

If you ever need a question answered, some inspiration or just an encouraging comment, you can find it in the ukulele community.

Most cities around the world have a vibrant ukulele scene with clubs, gigs and festivals. Even if you're in the middle of nowhere, you can log on to the Internet and get yourself involved.

This chapter offers you ten ways to get out into this community, meet uke players, make music and have some fun.

Joining a Ukulele Club

The main reason for going to a ukulele club is because they're a huge amount of fun, and they're always very welcoming to new members and accepting of beginners.

Joining up is also a great way to improve your playing. You can pick up tips from other players and get the motivation to learn new songs and brush up your technique.

New ukulele groups are cropping up all the time. No matter where you live, a club is bound to be near you. The easiest way to find a group is to search the Internet, using your nearest city plus the word
ukulele
as your search terms.

If you can't find a ukulele club near you, start one. You may have to start out small, but before long the word is sure to spread and you'll have a vibrant group of people attending.

Visiting a Ukulele Festival

From New York to London, Paris to Melbourne, an international city can't be ‘happening' without a ukulele festival.

Festivals come in all shapes and sizes: some are big, some small; some are free, some charge a fee. But they all give you three things:

Inspiration:
Watching the pros gives you lots of ideas for your own playing and may even inspire you to start writing your own songs.

Testing:
Ukulele festivals usually have a few ukulele makers and shops showing off their wares, providing a great opportunity to try out lots of ukes, find what you like and plan your next purchase.

Meeting up:
Festivals are a magnet for ukulele players and so you have plenty of opportunities to make friends, chat uke and jam.

Making a Video

Ukulele players such as Julia Nunes and Zee Avi have gone from making videos in their bedrooms to signing record contracts and touring internationally.

But you don't have to be a star to record a video and upload it to the Internet. Go onto YouTube and you can find loads of beginners playing and singing.

Include the word
ukulele
in the title of your videos and leave plenty of comments on other ukers' videos. In this way you soon find that you have friendly subscribers and lots of encouraging comments.

Playing Live

Whether you're on your own or part of a group, playing live in front of an audience can be a great – scary, but very rewarding – experience.

Playing in front of people is also the fastest way to become a better player. The fear of screwing up gets you practising harder than you ever have before and removes any complacency.

When you just play for yourself, a tendency can creep in to practise only until you can play a piece through successfully ‘most of the time'. If you're playing that piece live, however, you need to practise until you can get it right every time.

Good players practise until they play it right. Great players practise until they can't get it wrong.

You don't have to dive in at the deep end with performing. Begin by promising to provide the accompaniment for a family Christmas singalong. Starting out playing with other people around you is much less daunting so why not play with your local ukulele group or start up your own band. After you build up your confidence a bit, you can start taking on open mic nights at uke clubs (checkout the earlier section ‘Joining a Ukulele Club').