From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ukulele

Classification String instrument (plucked, nylon stringed instrument usually played with the bare thumb and/or fingertips, or a felt pick.) Related instruments Bowed and plucked string instruments, namely the cavaquinho

The ukulele (Hawaiian: ʻukulele, pronounced [ʔukulele]; Anglicised pronunciation usually IPA: /ˌjuːkəˈleɪli/), sometimes spelled ukelele (particularly in the UK), or uke, is a chordophone classified as a plucked lute; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four strings or four courses of strings.^[1]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Hawaii 1.2 U.S. mainland 2 Types of ukulele 3 Tahitian ukulele 3.1 Tuning 4 Audio samples 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

The ukulele is commonly associated with music from Hawaii, where the name roughly translates as "jumping flea", and was developed there in the 1880s as a combination of the Madeiran braguinha and rajão. A braguinha is an instrument similar to a cavaquinho, built in the city of Braga and named after it; the Portuguese cavaquinho is usually tuned in D-G-B-D, a G-major chord. The Madeira rajão is tuned D-G-C-E-A. The D and G strings are both re-entrant, i.e., tuned an octave higher than expected in the normal low-to-high course of strings. The GCEA strings of the rajão are the source of the re-entrant tuning of the modern ukulele[1].

Some of the most valuable ukuleles, which may run into the thousands of dollars in price, are made from koa (Acacia koa), a local wood known for its fine tone and attractive colour and figure.^photo

The ukulele was popularized for a stateside audience^[2] during the Panama Pacific International Exposition, held for most of 1915 in San Francisco, at which the Hawaiian Pavilion featured a guitar and ukulele ensemble, George E. K. Awai and his Royal Hawaiian Quartette, along with ukulele maker and player Jonah Kumalae. The popularity of the ensemble with visitors launched a fad for Hawaiian-themed songs among Tin Pan Alley songwriters. The ensemble also introduced both the lap steel guitar and the ukulele into U.S. mainland popular music, where it was taken up by vaudeville performers such as Roy Smeck and Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards. The ukulele became an icon of the Jazz Age as this highly portable and relatively inexpensive instrument also proved popular with amateur players throughout the 1920s, as is evidenced by the introduction of uke chord tablature into the published sheet music for popular songs of the time (a role that would eventually be supplanted by the guitar). A number of mainland-based instrument manufacturers, among them Regal, Harmony, and Martin, added ukulele, banjolele, and tiple lines to their production to take advantage of the demand.

It can range in many different colours from white to blue and material from plastic to wood.

The ukulele comes in four sizes, from smallest to largest:

Type	Scale* length	Total length
soprano or standard (the original size)	13" (33 cm)	21" (53 cm)
concert	15" (38 cm)	23" (58 cm)
tenor (created in the 1920s)	17" (43 cm)	26" (66 cm)
baritone (created in the late 1940s)	19" (48 cm)	30" (76 cm)

* (The "Scale" is the length of the playable part of the strings, from the nut at the top to the bridge at the bottom.)

Ukuleles are also often seen in non-standard shapes, such as an oval, usually called a "pineapple" ukulele, or a boat-paddle shape, made popular by the Fluke brand of ukulele, and occasionally a square shape, often made out of an old wooden cigar box.

Unlike most other ukuleles, baritone ukuleles are not re-entrant tuned; instead they are tuned D-G-B-E (low to high), matching the tuning of the top four strings of a guitar.

The Tahitian Ukulele (also known as the Tahitian Banjo) is significantly different from other ukuleles in that it does not have a sound box. The body—including the head and neck—is usually carved from a single piece of wood, with a wide conical hole bored through the middle. A Tahitian ukulele can often be carved out of three pieces of wood with the sides being made from different woods, for decoration.

At the back, the bore is about 4 cm in diameter; at the front it is about 10 cm in diameter. The hole at the front is covered with a thin piece of wood, on which the bridge sits, so the instrument works rather like a wooden-skinned banjo. Indeed, some of these instruments are referred to as Tahitian banjos. The strings are usually made from light-gauge fishing line, usually green in colour (usually around 40—50 lb).

The instrument seems to be a relatively recent invention, popular in eastern Polynesia, particularly French Polynesia. It is reported to have been introduced to the Cook Islands in 1990 by the band Te Ava Piti as a newly invented instrument.^{[citation needed]}

These instruments may have just four strings; or some strings may be paired, giving the instrument a total of six or eight strings.

The strings or pairs ("courses") are tuned to A₆ D₆ F#₆ B₅ or G₅ C₆ E₆ A₅ (See Scientific pitch notation for a description of these codes).

After the Hawaiian ukulele was invented, the Hawaiians referred to a similar, eight-string instrument tuned GCEA as a taro-patch fiddle. Before the invention of the ukulele, taro-patch fiddle referred to the rajão.

Those who are familiar with ukulele chords will find that the same chord shapes will fit these tunings, but that the chords will be transposed and inverted.

• Bordonúa
• Cavaquinho
• Charango
• Cuatro
• List of ukulele manufacturers
• List of ukulele musicians
• Slack-key
• Timple
• Tiple
• Vihuela

1. ^ Erich M. von Hornbostel & Curt Sachs, "Classification of Musical Instruments: Translated from the Original German by Anthony Baines and Klaus P. Wachsmann." The Galpin Society Journal 14, 1961: 3-29.
2. ^ A Little Uke History

• Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum
• 'Ukulele tabs, lessons, and videos
• Several tutorials and videos about strumming, fingerpicking patterns, and a ukulele online radio
• Interactive ukulele chord finder
• Ukulele Heroes - an index of notable players
• The 8 Strings Tahitian Ukuleles from the Marquesas Islands