Ukulele: history, video, interesting facts, design

Musical Instrument: Ukulele

The most famous attraction of the Hawaiian Islands is the smallest, but very proud guitar, which received the funny name ukulele. This word has two meanings: the first is a jumping flea, and the second, if you divide the word into two parts, the gratitude that comes. Because of its small size, the instrument, more reminiscent of a child's toy, in a short time gained popularity among many music lovers in all corners of the globe. The ukulele, not difficult in development and the compact sizes, gives the chance to play music on the tool to fans of music of different age. Melodious, with a special inimitable sound, the instrument reflects the colorful Pacific Coast with its mysterious romance.

The history of the ukulele and many interesting facts about this musical instrument, read on our page.

Sound

The interesting sound of the instrument is light and cheerful. The timbre is as sunny as the smiles of hospitable Hawaiians.

The ukulele, like all guitars, is a stringed-plucked instrument and the sound on it is the result of a string oscillation.

Range small, only two octaves. Story: 4 string- "salt"; 3 - "before"; 2 - "mi"; 1 - "la".

The main ways to extract sound on the ukulele are tweaks and strikes on the strings, which are extracted with the tips of the fingers of the right hand, and sometimes a special felt mediator (plectrum).

In addition to the basic ones, the performers use all sorts of guitar picking techniques on the instrument: barre, arpeggios, arpeggios, legato, tremolo, ascending and descending legato, bend, vibrato, glissando, staccato, tambourine, golpe, flageolets.

A photo:

Interesting Facts

• There are three versions of why the tool has such a name. First: when the Hawaiians first saw and heard the ukulele, they were intrigued. It seemed to them that the performer’s fingers like a flea jump over the strings, hence the name, which from Hawaiian means jumping flea. According to the second version: King of Hawaii David Kalakaua served as a chamberlain by an Englishman named Edward Purvis, who knew how to play the ukulele. The chamberlain was small, and when he played music on the instrument, he grimaced strongly, because of this, and along with him, the Englishman’s favorite instrument was nicknamed the jumping flea. And the third, the last: the Queen of Hawaiian Islands, Liliuokalani, called the word ukulele a gift from afar, literally “gratitude that came”, (uku - gratitude and lele - to come).
• The first copy of the ukulele was sold for only 75 cents.

• The popularity of the instrument can be judged by how often we see it on our television screens. Stern Dr. Gregory House, the hero of the beloved series of the same name, as well as the funny Stephanie Gooch in the TV series “Clinic” play the ukulele.
• Ukulele is also found in animated films, for example, in Walt Disney’s popular cartoon Lilo and Stitch, which took place in Hawaii.
• In the world-famous comedy film "In the jazz only girls" inimitable Merlin Monroe, who played the role of Dushe Kane, in the orchestra played the ukulele.
• King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley was also a fan of this musical instrument.
• In Russian literature, the reference to the instrument we find isI. Ilf and E. Petrov.
• The Japanese first met the ukulele as early as 1929, a Hawaiian by birth, Yukihiko Hyde, brought him to the country. He even organized the "Ukulele Lovers Association", as the instrument gained great popularity in Japan.
• The passion for the tool at the present time is so great that Louis M. Glackens in 1916 released a cartoon that makes fun of the current hobby of the ukulele.
• In the 50s, when a plastic boom began in the USA, plastic ukuleles were one of the most popular gifts. These instruments had a lower cost and a slightly different sound.

• In the UK there is an ukulele orchestra, which is very popular, and whose performances throughout the world are held with great success. The repertoire of the orchestra includes David Bowie’s musical compositions, the American rock band Nirvana and even works by P. I. Tchaikovsky.
• The first man to be on the moon was Neil Armstrong who loved to play the ukulele. After his flight into space, he spent several weeks in quarantine, strumming on his instrument.

• George Harrison - the Beatles' legendary solo guitarist was a ukulele fan. During a vacation in Hawaii, where the musician had his home, he bought up instruments in large quantities and then gave away to all his friends.
• Today, there are many ukulele firms in Hawaii and in other parts of the world. Some tool makers have made huge profits in recent years.
• The Chinese company Xiaomi has released a smart e-ukulele called Populele. For training, you only need to connect the tool to the mobile application and the 72 LEDs built into the tool body will tell you how to place your fingers on the fingerboard.
• The length of the world's largest ukulele is 3 meters 99 centimeters.
• Now the price of a tool made from the Hawaiian Koacia is very high and can be up to two thousand US dollars.

Design

The design of the ukulele is the same as that of the guitar and consists of a hollow body with a resonator hole and a neck.

• The case is usually shaped like an eight, but there are other options: round, square, which were made from wooden cigar boxes, in the shape of a pineapple or paddle. The case has two decks: upper and lower, interconnected by shells. The tailpiece is attached to the upper deck.
• The neck is usually cut from a solid piece of wood of a harder breed than the body of the instrument. On one side, the neck is attached to the ukulele by the heel, and on the other, it has a head on which pegs are placed for string tensioning. On the fingerboard is attached a pad, divided by metal powders. The canisters separate the fingerboard into frets. Between the neck of the neck and the head is the top of the cap.

The following tree species are used for making ukuleles: ash, agatis, acacia, mahogany, maple, rosewood, spruce, walnut. However, cheaper tools are made from laminate and plastic.

The strings on the instrument are four and usually use nylon.

The total length of the ukulele is 53 cm.

Varieties

The ukulele family is quite diverse and includes seven types of tools. The most common are such species as soprano, concert, tenor and baritone. Less used are the piccolo ukulele (bambino), bass and double bass.

• Soprano - the most popular instrument, its sound is considered to be classic. Length is 53 cm, build: salt, do, mi, la, number of frets: 12-14.
• Concert - a little more than soprano and sounds a little louder. Length 58 cm, build: salt, do, mi, la, number of frets: 12-14.
• Tenor - has a rich, deep, velvety sound. Length 66 cm, build: salt, do, mi, la, number of frets: 15-20.
• Baritone - has a rich sound. Length 76 cm, build: re, salt, si, mi, number of frets: 15-20.

Sometimes there is another type of ukulele, which differs from the rest of the paired strings. Each of the strings has a duplicate, customizable in unison.

Famous Performers

Hawaiian music with its unique national flavor has always attracted and inspired people in different parts of our planet. Ukulele - a small tool with great potential, also attracted the attention of music lovers, and now relocated from the camp of exotic instruments to the camp of the revered and popular. Performers of various directions are increasingly decorating their musical compositions with the sound of a ukulele. The instrument has got accustomed to such genres as traditional Hawaiian music, jazz, country, reggae, folk, gospel, pop, country, ragtime, swing and even techno.

Many talented musicians, being fascinated by playing on it, without knowing it, contributed to the popularization of the ukulele.

One of the most famous performers on the ukulele was a Hawaiian with the difficultly pronounced name Israel Kamakavivo'ole, who was affectionately called the gentle giant, as well as the real god of the ukulele.

The inhabitants of the islands were rightly called Gabby Pahinui, who, together with Eddie Kamae, created the band "The Sons of Hawaii" as a true patriot. The compositions of this group reflect the beauty of Hawaii’s national music.

The magicians and wizards of the instrument were:

• Roy Smek is an American musician who has received the nickname "String Magician", a virtuoso on a ukulele, in his hands the instrument turned into an extraordinary miracle.
• Lyle Ritz - American jazzman with a ukulele; Cliff Edwards is a popular American singer, actor and musician who masterfully owns an ukulele.
• George Formby - English actor, comedian, singer perfectly accompanying himself on the ukulele.
• It is also impossible to ignore such famous performers on the ukulele as Jim Beloff, Herb Ohta, Troy Fernandez, Kimo Hussey and Chalmers Dawn.
• At the present time, the ukulele sounds skillfully in the hands of Jake Shimabukuro, a performer and composer, a young virtuoso guitarist from Honolulu, who became famous for his amazing technique and was nicknamed “Jimmy Hendrix who plays the ukulele”.
• Rocky Leon is a wandering musician, a kind of cosmopolitan. He travels the world and sings his songs to the accompaniment of a ukulele.
• James Hill is a Canadian musician playing techno on a ukulele using sushi sticks and a comb.

Among the famous rock stars, as well as popular music, which adorned their concerts with the sound of a ukulele, Brian May, George Benson, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Jimmy Hendrix, Dick Dale, Sid Barrett, Joe Brown, Amand Palmer should be noted Andrei Makarevich.

Story

The history of the instrument begins in Europe, because there first appeared miniature versions of the guitar, which can surely be called the predecessors of the ukulele. Portuguese Kavakino and Braguignan, hitting the Hawaiian Islands, were modified into a tool, which later became known as the ukulele, which in Hawaiian means jumping flea. There is a legend that four brave Portuguese from Madeira - M. Núñez, A. Dias, H.E. Santo and J. Fernandez, in search of a better life, decided to try their luck on one of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, on sugar plantations. In the end, three of them: M. Núñez, A. Dias, H. E. Santo - cabinetmakers by profession, decided to settle in the small town of Honolulu to open their furniture production there. However, the dreams of the Portuguese failed to come true: the Hawaiians did not like the Portuguese furniture.

Then the friends decided to survive and somehow earn their living, try to make musical instruments - small guitars, which they brought from their homeland: Kavakinho and Braginho. As a result of their experimental beginnings, a new instrument has turned out.

When this happened, and which of the friends made the first ukulele is not known for certain, but the tools that have been preserved from that time are the name of M. Núñez, and the estimated time is 1886. However, it is precisely known that the first virtuoso musician who became famous for playing the ukulele was J. Fernandez.

At first, the locals didn’t like the tool of the foreigners, and they didn’t call it “disgusting”. But the Portuguese did not give up - they even organized nightly street concerts, which were announced by local newspapers. But King David Kalakaua, who ruled Hawaii at that time, who was nicknamed by his contemporaries the "cheerful monarch", liked the ukulele. Hiring one of the Portuguese immigrants to learn to play the instrument, he later advocated that Hawaiian folk songs and the national hula dance be performed to the accompaniment of an ukulele. Kalakaua loved the instrument so much that he introduced it to the royal orchestra, and the ukulele began to accompany the royal receptions.

Residents were inspired by the locals that for the manufacture of the ukulele, wood was used, which displays respect for nature on the islands, Hawaiian acacia - koa. Before immigrants appeared with their own instruments, monotonous songs (oli) prevailed in the folk art of the local population, and national dances were accompanied only by drum rhythms. Hawaiian culture with the advent of the ukulele was actively transformed, as the indigenous people, who quickly mastered the instrument, associated it with their folk art. The popularity of the ukulele grew every year, and after 10 years it became a symbol of Hawaii, personifying national cultural identity.

World fame came to the ukulele later. In 1898, after the annexation of the US possessions of the Kingdom of Hawaii, a small guitar began to increasingly appear on the American continent. And in 1915, after the debut of the Royal Quartet from the islands in San Francisco at the international Pacific-Panama exhibition, “uke” begins its triumphal procession and wins the hearts of people not only in the States, but throughout the world. The popularization of the instrument was aided by the increased interest in Hawaiian culture, the ease of mastering the ukulele, and its relatively low cost. The tool, which has become a fashion brand, is often used in the performances of famous artists. It is recommended as a medicine for depression. Three American firms put the production of ukulele on stream. Actively working to improve the instrument, as a result, there are new varieties: soprano, concert, tenor and baritone.

The ensuing "black" October 1929 brought about changes in the lives of Americans, who had little time for joy and forgot about the ukulele for a while. Only after the end of the Second World War, the instrument returned to the life of the Americans thanks to the soldiers stationed in Hawaii, who were carrying the ukulele as an exotic souvenir. Interest in the instrument broke out with a new force, famous artists contributed to its promotion. Ukulele again began to appear on stage and movie theater screens.

Today, man lives in a world of high technology and high speeds. But sometimes you want to get away from problems and plunge into the world of wonderful dreams. A good tool in this can be an elegant tool from the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Easy to learn, in just 30 minutes you can learn 3 or 4 chords, which are enough to accompany a simple song, a compact instrument will always brighten up your leisure time, lift your spirits, and most importantly, bring pleasure from the game. Another important argument about the benefits of the ukulele is that it can help your children begin musical education and develop fine motor skills. An acquaintance of a child with such a tool is possible from a very early age.