I used to have a ukulele when I was a young girl, and remember hiding from my sister and playing it in my 'secret garden'. I use the term 'playing' very loosely, but it was still one of my favourite childhood toys (I also remember my mean uncle breaking the strings; boo!). I want one again, or several, one in every colour of the rainbow. I begged my sister to buy me the weirdest one she could find when she went to Rarotonga recently - the prisoners in the local jail make different versions to pass the time and sell them to tourists.Commonly associated with luaus and vaudeville, the ukulele isn't generally considered to be the coolest instrument around. But with only four chords it's relatively easy to learn, and, well, it's so damn cute! The sound reminds me of days gone by. Did you know that the Hawaiian translation is 'jumping flea'?
Much has been written about Zooey Deschanel's love of the ukulele (she plays a baritone ukulele), and George Harrison was famous for his ukulele playing too. Natalie saw Jake Shimabukuro, also known as the the "Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele", play a few months ago. And check out this sickly sweet (but cute) video of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy singing Ukulele Lady.
If you're into ukuleles and in Auckland on 22 November, make sure you visit the NZ Ukulele Festival at Mt Smart. I'll probably be there, on the hunt for a ukulele as awesome as this one:
