For Five Decades Roy and Kathy Sakuma Have Championed Hawaiian Ukulele
Roy is arguably the most successful and influential ukulele teacher ever— nurturing thousands
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Hawaii Calling: Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel on the Future of the Ukulele Festival Hawaii
Recent Oahu transplants Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel are helping produce the Ukulele Festival Hawaii, long the biggest uke festival in the world.
The Bad Mouse Orchestra is More Than a Nostalgia Act
Nattily dressed in vintage attire, Germany's Bad Mouse Orchestra shares their passion for the music of the 1920s and ’30s, jazz’s golden age.
Dr. Twanglove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Banjolele
When a musician friend eagerly showed off his new banjo-ukulele to me, I did my best to refrain from asking him to kindly throw it into a river. But then it grew on me.
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Listen to 10 Great Ukulele Recordings from the 1920s!
BY EDDIE SCHER Record companies sold more than 100 million records each year between 1920 and 1929, and some of the biggest stars of the era played ukulele. It can take some patience to listen to this music—tempos and pitches…
Uke Makers: Jay Lichty is Building Some of the Best Ukes in the World in Rural North Carolina
Luthier Jay Lichty comes from the bluegrass world originally and started out building guitars, but he has also built over 150 highly prized ukes and was asked to join the Ukulele Guild of Hawaii.
Down Under String Wonder: Australia’s A.J. Leonard Rides the Crest of the Third Uke Wave
BY JIM D’VILLE | FROM THE SPRING 2021 ISSUE OF UKULELE In 1959, the luxury liner SS Mariposa steamed from the harbor in Sydney, Australia, bound for San Francisco. Onboard with his family was six-year-old Anthony J. Leonard. After visiting…
Am I Too Old to Learn Ukulele?
There are plenty of advantages to being an adult beginner when it comes to learning how to play musical instruments BY JIM D’VILLE | FROM THE SPRING 2021 ISSUE OF UKULELE “Oh, look! There’s that four-year-old kid on YouTube shredding…
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Some Guitar Pedals Translate Better to Ukulele Than Others—Just Ask Jake Shimabukuro
By Nicolas Grizzle If you’re looking to explore the sonic possibilities of the ukulele, there are a few different ways to go about it. You can always get another ukulele to add to the collection, and no ukulele player would…
How the Love of Ukulele is Helping People Get Through the Pandemic
FROM THE SPRING 2021 ISSUE OF UKULELE With the pandemic raging on and club and festival gatherings still on hold just about everywhere, we all need to find new ways to connect in the uke world. A while ago we…