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This picture looks like a low-quality paint job on a cheap uke. A more appropriate image should be found. I'm going to remove the image because it looks like a joke or subtle vandalism. 129.176.151.10 ( talk) 16:26, 9 June 2010 (UTC)
People keep on saying this wrong...I am reediting this again.. it's not, nor was it yoo-kə-lay-lee.. The correct way to say this word is OO-koo-LE-le.. It means Jumping flea in Hawaiian. It was created when the Hawaiians saw the Portuguese playing the instrument really fast.. I am a native Hawaiian (mixed) and have been here in Hawaii my whole life. When saying this word you should never say LAY or LEE.
From the first time anyone started the word with "yoo" someone should have corrected them on the pronunciation. It is a Hawaiian word therefore the correct way to say it in the Hawaiian language should come first and foremost. Variations must be included, of course, stating and stressing that although they have become popular ways to say it, they are most definitely wrong.
I wrote to Merriam-Webster about their butchering of the word. Oh and it's not "lay-lay" either. That would've been spelled "leilei". "yoo ka lay lee" is the American Caucasion pronounciation and is in no way the "popular" pronounciation. That's the reason American Caucasions have problems pronouncing the Hawaiian state fish "humuhumunukunukuapua'a". Might as well say it's the ukulele is pronounced "how lee oko lay" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.8.227.38 ( talk) 06:23, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Merriam-Webster Includes pronunciation and OED both give the pronunciation of the first syllable as "yoo" rather than "oo"; is "oo" a pronunciation in some language other than English?
--- Yes it is. The word 'ukulele is Hawai'ian, not English. In Hawai'ian, the language of origin, it is pronounced "oo koo lay lay". Most English speakers say "yoo koo lay lee" or "yoo ka lay lee". The Hawai'ian pronunciation is unquestionably the most "correct" pronunciation, as that is the way it was first pronounced. One can hardly argue with the English pronunciation's general use, however, as so many people have used it for so long.
--- In Hawai'i ukulele is pronounced "oo koo le le". Hawai'ian is phonetic with the w pronounced as a soft v, amongst other subtleties. Manuiti 19:07, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
--- Speaking of pronunciation, aren't the two phonetic representation in the title part exactly the same ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.190.194.194 ( talk) 11:15, 18 February 2008 (UTC)
--- Does the note on the pronunciation really need to occupy such a primary position in the article? The introduction should get straight to the essential facts, not distract the reader with phonology. Lizmarie ( talk) 15:54, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
--- I'm with Lizmarie: getting right into phonics is distracting, so I vote for a small "Pronunciation" or "Pronunciation Debate" section either before or after "History". I'd further vote that the pronunciation section not focus on the mainstream pronunciation being "wrong" so much as noting that it differs from the Hawaiian-language pronunciation. MatthewVanitas ( talk) 12:29, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
--- The Hawaiian Pronunciation is the correct way to say 'ukulele (it is also spelled with an 'okina (')). 'Ukulele is a Hawaiian word, we should put oo-koo-le-le up instead of you-ka-lay-lee. Hippie Guy 11:14am, April 12, 2009 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.104.160.58 ( talk) 18:16, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
---
Ukulele was first and foremost pronounced as,"oo-koo-lay-lay". Thus this is the way it should be pronounced now. We should not pronounce it as,"yoo-koo-lay-lee" because this highlights,"American Slang" if you will and it is butchering the word itself and thus the entire meaning of the ukulele. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.61.130.91 ( talk) 18:30, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
We're an international encyclopedia, and can't always cater to provincial deficiencies: most dictionaries worldwide now use the IPA; it's primarily the US that lags behind. You might not know what a kilometer is either, but we still use metric on WP. Besides, there is a 2nd transcription specifically for people who might have trouble with the IPA, so we are catering in this instance. We even have the Hawaiian in case you prefer that to the English. But changing the pronunciation, which BTW is sourced to the OED as well as Webster's, to some sort of English-Hawaiian hybrid just because you like it better, is not acceptable.
And really, does anyone pronounce it "YOU-coo-lelly", with stress only on the first u? That would require a ref. — kwami ( talk) 10:08, 25 October 2010 (UTC)
All you people seriously need to drop that Ego of yours. Let's not drag what "Americans would pronounce it this way" especially if you're NOT a linguists skilled in understanding the various dialects throughout this vast & diverse country! I have "American" co-workers who would definitely pronounce the word "ukulele" correctly based on their phonetic inventory while others definitely would pronounce it the Haole style. So that goes to show you that not ALL, not even 95% Americans may or may not pronounce it a particular way. You don't have any evidence of exactly how many would actually pronounce it one way or the other. This SHOULD BE about educating, so let's educate! Put the proper pronunciation, put its variant if need be, but trying to throw around some type of authority here in order to feel like you're being productive should be left in the playground. Leave that ego behind! Mamoahina ( talk) 05:22, 19 June 2011 (UTC)
One of the other difficulties with the pronunciation deals with the associated grammar. As the ukulele has grown in popularity, more and more players are using the Hawaiian pronunciation. If you use the Hawaiian pronunciation, (most players use this one) Ooo-koo-lay-lay the correct article would be 'an.' In the Hawai'ian language, the letter U gets the Ooo (rhymes with goo) . Which agrees with the "an". Of course, folks not from Hawai'i will give you strange looks. If you use the Americanized YOUkalaylay the correct article would be 'a.' At another Wiki site that I work on, I've set the standard to be 'an ukulele.' The Ukulele Guy - Aggie80 ( talk) 13:31, 4 July 2013 (UTC)
The section on Tahitian Ukulele seemed a bit extraneous, so I chopped it out to its own article. On its own, it had enough sections to merit a short article with future potential.
Likewise, I figured that Resonator ukulele and Electric ukulele merited articles about as much as Banjolele. I set up a full article for resos, based on the Resonator guitar article, with copious input from the UkuleleCosmos.com crew. I only have a stub for the electrics though, so help there would be awesome to clear up technical issues like magnetic vs. piezo pickups, list famous players, etc.
There's currently little/no info on 6-string and 8-string ukes. I don't think they merit their own article, but a short sub-section explaining when/why those variants appeared would be awesome. I'm under the vague impression that Kamaka pioneered those, but not sure.
On a minor sidenote: is it even worth bringing up the subject of the "bass ukulele"? There have been a few one-off projects, mainly based on the Ashbory bass concept (with the thick silicon strings). I know at least a couple eletric versions exist, and have seen pics of one acoustic.
MatthewVanitas ( talk) 11:20, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
It sounds to personal with all those parentheses. Can someone please clean that up?
The word ukulele is translated as "jumping flea" to decribe the movement of a player's fingers on the neck's fretboard. (Source: "Jumpin Jim's Ukulele Tips 'N' Tunes", by Jim Beloff, Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, April, 2004) I've never edited anything in Wikipedia before. I thought to add this, but I'll first learn a bit more about how to do that properly.)
--- The Queen wanted to make her own definition...that's why she gave up the state to the U.S. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.8.227.38 ( talk) 06:25, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Having grown up in Hawai'i, everyone defines ukulele as 'jumping flea' referring, as above, to the quick movement of the fingers whilst playing. Head lice are referred to as 'ukus' in everyday speak and the usual definition of 'lele' is jumping. The ukulele is also abbreviated when speaking to 'uke', never to 'uku'. Additionally, the most desired make of ukulele in Hawai'i is the Kamaka [1], all made of Koa wood. Manuiti 19:21, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
I lived in Hawaii for many years and learned basic Hawaiian language. "Ukulele" is a descriptive invented word, ceated from smaller words, as is the manner in the Hawaiian language. The smaller words are: U, seed; Ku, to shine or speak; and Le, flower. To repeat a syllable means "very", "much", or "many". "Ukulele" is "seed shines many flowers". I know this is contrary to what Pukui said. No pono. My Flatley ( talk) 22:44, 16 April 2013 (UTC)
There's some not-so-important info included in the article. I know the feeling of wanting to put in your two cents, but does it matter so much that Bill Tapia bought a uke from Manuel Nunes? And is the info about the Beatles really that important? I know the Beatles are important, yes, but on this page? I think that stuff should be left out until this thing is a little more, you know, encyclopedic. Seems like we're still trying to get the basics down. I won't even go into people putting themselves on the "notable players" list. That's shameful.
[I've deleted the Beatles info (apologies to whoever posted it), but left in the George Harrison anecdote Angusmcdiarmid 12:08, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
Check out "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" played on a UKE at this site:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1352016870638076087
Deleted tangential information about the process of breaking in nylon strings and cleaned up the alternate tunings section.
139.55.32.90
19:43, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
If the word actually begins with an ʻokina, then the title should be ʻukulele and ukulele should be a redirect. Ardric47 01:01, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
The English Wikipedia is written in standard (British or American) English, not in Hawaiian English, except maybe in articles very specifically related to Hawaii, but this is not one of those. The ukulele may be of Hawaiian origin, but is now an instrument like any other, used all over the world. Accordingly, the vast majority of English-language references to it spell it without okina, even where otherwise diacritics are used (see the Britannica for example). It's like the name Hawaii itself, which is established in English without okina.
Margana
13:12, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
This list is getting long and silly. Can it be moved to another page and linked to from this one? I honestly don't know how to do that, but I hope someone will. It looks like it started out as a list of historically important figures, but has degenerated into a free-for-all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.56.99.71 ( talk • contribs) 15:27, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
It seems to be getting longer and sillier. Can I suggest we delete all the entries in this list that are either red links or external links. That way we have a better chance of ensuring that everyone in the list (a) exists and (b) is sufficiently notable to warrant a mention. -- Sakurambo 桜ん坊 00:43, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Could someone add a link to the page for Bill Tapia to this article? ( [3]). I would do it but I don't have the experience editing wiki pages and I don't want to mess it up. - tfeledy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tfeledy ( talk • contribs) 01:09, 6 December 2011 (UTC)
I am new to this but I think George Formby is considered by a lot of people in Britain to be one of the most famouse performers playing the Ukalele. It might be good to mention him and to have a link to his page. Natasha Parker — Preceding unsigned comment added by Natasha Parker ( talk • contribs) 19:09, 6 September 2012 (UTC)
Any song by this name postdates to the use of the phrase in published teaching materials by decades, at least.
Are there any actual references concerning both the teaching materials and dates of publication of the song ? Ukepedia 21:52, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
--- Don't know if there are any references or dates to 'My dogs has fleas'. But that is how I was taught at school in Hawai'i to tune my uke. I don't think it's actually a mnemonic as the keys aren't MDHF, it's to do with the tune you 'sing' those words in. Hope that helps. Manuiti 19:31, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
I just read the whole article, and I have to say I'm disappointed in its quality. The article has far too few citations and far too many external links. Wikipedia is not a repository for external links, as interesting as they may be. The links need to be pared down to the ones that enhance the encyclopedic content of the article. As much as I think the video of Jake playing his ukulele is cool, it should really only be in the Jake Shimabukuro article. That's just one example. The blogs and fan sites need to go. The links to uke chords, tunings, and history (such as the Hall of Fame Museum) are probably pertinent. Otherwise most of it is fluff.
The history section could be filled out more. I'm sure there are reliable and verifable sources on ukulele history that can be cited. I see little on early Hawaiian ukulele history, especially as regards the Hawaiian royal family. I could also see a separate section on famous ukulele manufacturers. They only get a brief mention in the article. Although the article talks about Tin Pan Alley and the 20s, I think this was such an important phenomenon that it deserves a history sub-section also. The article could also include the importance of the ukulele in Hawaiian culture and its use in schools, etc.
The section on ukulele players, as mentioned earlier, should be a separate article. A brief introductory section (basically already in place) could be headed by a main article link.
- Parsa 18:00, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Instead of restoring all the links, could we have a short justification on the talk page before adding them in one by one? -- JereKrischel 06:24, 22 February 2007 (UTC)
Stay:
Could Probably Go:
AliaGemma 05:08, 1 March 2007 (UTC)
I put in a general rewrite clean-up tag. Frankly, this article is a poster-child for critics of Wikipedia. It could be more coherent and expanded upon. There's a section about an entirely different instrument. There are missing references. It's flow is awful. Please, someone, help the ukulele! Paxsimius 19:43, 12 June 2007 (UTC)
I have used this page for "how to" advice and found it useful. Is there some overall directive against this sort of information in Wikipedia? 203.97.57.130 02:46, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
I know it's an old question, but just for reference: yes, there's a policy against "How To" articles, as that's not the purpose of an encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:NOTHOWTO MatthewVanitas ( talk) 08:23, 1 February 2009 (UTC)
The list of ukulele players in this article was becoming both excessively long and unencyclopedic. Rather than being a helpful list of musicians known primarily for their ukulele ability, it had turned into a listing of virtually any well-known person who had played a ukulele in their lifetime, with people like Kurt Cobain, Tom Hanks, Stephen Colbert, and Abraham Lincoln included, among others. Keep in mind that just playing a ukulele at some point doesn't demonstrate notability; the listing here was clearly not intended to take such a form.
After checking other articles on instruments (and noting that hardly any had such a list as part of their article), I forked off the content into List of ukulele musicians and created the related category of Category:Ukulele musicians. You'll note that the list is much, much shorter, as I went through it and removed the names of any musicians who were not known for playing the ukulele as their primary instrument.
If any editors disagree with this move and can think of policy-based reasons to contest it, I'm fine discussing it here. If you want take up the question of who belongs on the list itself, though, head over to Talk:List of ukulele musicians, which is a more appropriate venue for that discussion. Thanks. Tijuana Brass ( talk) 00:02, 19 December 2007 (UTC)
The sentence in the ``Tunings`` section
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.
Appears to make no sense in context. At best it's recursive/trivial. This section is talking about ukulele tunings so ukulele chords will trivially fit these tunings. However, since the 4 strings have the same relationship as the top 4 strings on the guitar (taking into account the reentrancy of the 4th string) the statement is true and useful if 'guitar' is substituted for 'ukulele'. I scanned the edit history and couldn't find any record of changes to this sentence, it seems to be an early typo. DanTappan ( talk) 19:59, 6 January 2008 (UTC)
Can someone please specify in the article the octaves for the tunings? (with middle c = C4) Thanks. Mauvila ( talk) 04:16, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
It might be noteworthy to mention some of the popular songs that included a ukulele as a primary instrument. Three I can think of offhand are "Tiptoe Thru the Tulips" by Tiny Time (of course), but also "Those were the Days" by Mary Hopkin, "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry, etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.91.224.189 ( talk) 00:32, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
This bit reads really awkwardly, and feels patched-together. Maybe some way to transition between 1960 and 2000? "Singer-musician Tiny Tim became closely associated with the instrument after playing it on his 1968 hit "Tiptoe Through the Tulips". Hawaiian-born Jake Shimabukuro has become a popular ukelele performer in recent years, having played the instrument since the age of 4."
I'd almost say we need to close out the 1950s-1960s paragraph by noting the instrument declined in popularity (if we can find a citation to state that), and then open a new paragraphy noting that in the 2000s the instrument has experienced a resurgence in popularity, using Jake, Beirut, etc. as examples. MatthewVanitas ( talk) 18:10, 15 February 2009 (UTC)
I am partially reverting Jpgordon's edits of 27 March 2009. Jpgordon states: "It's just incorrect that uke tab was supplanted by guitar tab "in the early days of rock and roll"; I've got plenty of pre-WWII sheet music w/guitar tab and no uke" This is both original research and faulty reasoning. The fact that one individual has a given amount of pre-WWII sheet music for guitar says nothing about whether the ukulele was supplanted by the guitar in the early days of rock and roll. The removed text did not say that ALL pre-WWII music had ukulele in it or that there was no guitar tab before rock and roll, just that the popularity shifted in favor of the guitar at that time. Unless Jpgordon's collection contains ALL sheet music from that period, there is no basis for the conclusion he/she has drawn; and even if there was a basis it's still original research, while the removed text was supported by a third-party reference (Sanjek, Russell (1988). American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years. Oxford University Press. pp. 95. ISBN 0195043111.)It also appears references [16] and [17] are in the wrong order - [16] appears to refer to the sentence following it, not preceding it. I am reversing the order of these two. SteubenGlass ( talk) 08:53, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
I just noticed that the main pic is pretty fuzzy and has no higher resolution. Does anyone have a nice big 800x600 pic of their uke they'd like to share? This page gets millions of hits, so I think a top-quality uke pic would really be worthwhile. Unfortunately, my only current ukes are odd variants (sopranino and 8-string tenor) and I'm not a great photographer. Anyone else? MatthewVanitas ( talk) 20:52, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
Linked to the question of photos is one of makes and models and variants. I notice your picture of a Martin has 17 frets, whereas 18 seems to be standard. But if you watch George Formby's No Limit (the one about the 1935 TT races), you'll see he's playing a tenor with 19 frets (albeit 18 and 19 are half-frets). It would be interesting to know what that was and where he got it. — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
86.177.88.121 (
talk)
13:17, 11 November 2011 (UTC)
We've had some back-and-forth edits, but I'm staying out because I don't honestly know the answer: when Manuel Nunes and the others got off the Ravenscraft, what was the specific type of instrument they had with them? Was it a machete, braguinha, cavaquinho, rajao, or other? There's been some debate in the article, and I'd love to have (if possible) a specific term. I realise some of the distinction is kind of arbitrary, but to whatever degree possible a proper name for the particular variant they introduced would be awesome. MatthewVanitas ( talk) 04:54, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
Portugese introduced small ukulele-style instruments to Indonesia in 1520 AD, long before Hawaii. According to this Indonesian language wikipedia article, the modern equivalent are still used in evolved form, particulary for keroncong (Dutch influenced chamber music) and Dangdut (Portugese influenced pop), yet the instrument evolved into two complimentary parts called Cak (three nylon strings and round hole) and Cuk (four steel strings with lattice holes) sometimes made and sold in pairs. Tradimus ( talk) 07:39, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
Maybe a mention in article of famous(infamous?) Ukele players i.e. in the U.S. "Tiny Tim" in the U.K. George Formby etc. UKEPLAYER ( talk) 18:29, 19 November 2009 (UTC)
Ukulele was introduced to Australians viewers of silent movie 'On The Beach at Waikiki' in the same year as the US mainland and were available for sale then, according to 'picnic guitar' newspaper advertisements of the time. Popularity took off after exposure to Allied troops playing abroad in the great war. famous early exponents of the ukulele in Australia include Harry Peelua and Frank Tozer [1] Tradimus ( talk) 07:46, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
References
Would be great if we found a picture that conveys the small size of the instrument. All the current pictures actually look much like guitars at a glance. -- EsotericRogue Talk 16:58, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
Heh-heh-heh-heh: they said UK-e-le-le (in the UK).
--
Jerzy•
t
20:33, 12 October 2010 (UTC)
You show the scale length of a baritone as 19" and this length is quoted in several articles on the 'net. However, I have yet to find any baritone ukulele with a scale length of less than 19.5" and this is the exception; most baritones have a scale length of ≥20". Here's a sample of the scale lengths of current baritone ukes:
Mahalo 20" Kala 20.25" Stagg 19.5" Kamaka 20.125" Tanglewood 20.16" Koloa 20.125"
I suspect the 'net articles quoting 19" actually got it from here! Anyway, there is little point in quoting this when nobody is using it in practice, IMHO. Adriankbryan ( talk) 14:44, 15 January 2011 (UTC)
My two sops (Mahalo and Brunswick) both have a scale length of 350mm, and my Mahalo bari has a scale length of 510mm. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.135.51.245 ( talk) 10:54, 9 June 2012 (UTC)
Hello, I work in a ukulele shop in London and having measured several dozen soprano ukuleles I can confirm that the standard scale length is not 13 inches, but in fact 13.5 inches, 34cm.
Since it became a bulleted list, "Post-1990 Revival" is slowly becoming a condensed version List of ukulele players, or more bluntly "hey, let's add anyone we like who ever touched a ukulele". I submit that since it's in the History section, it should focus solely on a handful of key figures who aren't simply citable for playing uke, but actually reviving it. I submit the section should be less "Indie Band X is really cool and uses uke in a few songs" or "Movie star X plays uke as a hobby", and more "In 1996 when ukulele was still unfashionable, Musician X received great attention for using it as his primary instrument on Album Y [footnote to article noting importance thereof to Revival]." I think Iz and Shimabukuro might have some sources out there saying "helped make uke cool again" or whatnot, but I'm open to anyone so long as a reputable third party specifically cites them as helping re-popularise the instrument. The current format, though, is likely to keep expanding to be a list of acts in which uke might be notable, but not acts notable to the overall history of the uke. Thoughts? Anyone support an aggressive trim to kick it off? MatthewVanitas ( talk) 05:53, 24 February 2011 (UTC)
I'm new to this kind of talk but felt I needed to point out this small matter of fact: Having consulted the french Wiki on the Ukulélé, I found out that the SS Ravenscrag arrived on Hawai on August 25th. Whereas on this (english) version of the page, August 23rd is stated. The entry on the [ Ravenscrag] also states the 23rd as date of arrival. Suggestions? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuneski ( talk • contribs) 09:44, 25 May 2011 (UTC)
I thought I'd offer my own tiny bit of experience on the kroncong/ukulele stub. I studied musics of Java in the 80s and wrote an article about kroncong. (I don't really like it, so I'll have to revise it if anybody's interested) but as I recall, Keroncong Music is a complex genre in which two or three ukulele variants appear with other members of what is often called in the Pacific a string band - viola/biola (in fact, a violin), flute, guitar, cuk, cak, cello and bas. Anything else may be added - lap steel, organ, sax, electric guiar, or a full orchestra - and of course the singers. Popular favourites to youtube would be "Bengawan Solo", "Kroncong Moritsku" or "Jali Joli". There is no doubt that keroncong music has its origins in Portuguese music. The Portuguese didn't stop trading in Indonesia just because the Dutch East India Company took over the contracts, and the chord progressions are directly related to Portuguese Fado (Which I've also spent a couple of years studying) - trouble is, some sources don't believe Fado got started until the late 19th century, at about the time the Portuguese braguinha/cavalquino was adopted by the Hawaiians, while others claim fado is centuries old. My first sponsor in Java, Professor Bernard Suryabrata, suggested I track down a song called "Mina Bobo", said to be one of the earliest keroncong songs, and said to be based on Portuguese music. No luck there, but I did track down the little village of Tugu, in the dockland Tanjung Priok area of Jakarta, where I found, sitting outside the Portuguese Protestant Church (Gereja Protestan Portugal), a group of older men, one of whom was playing a keroncong, a very homemade instrument resembling a baritone ukulele. I can't tell you much more about that situation, but I got to jam with a few keroncong groups later. The viola, flute and guitar parts are improvisational, and somewhere between Portuguese, Jazz and Javanese langgam. The cuk (pron: "chook", short for cukulele)is a 3 stringed ukulele, the cak ("chuck", also called "tenor") is a similar 3 metal string instrument, and the selo/cello is a 3 stringed cello, played pizzicato. These three are rhythm instruments, the cuk and cak playing interlocking offbeats, and the cello playing a highly percussive and syncopated bass line. The virtuosic cuk and cello have been adapted into more modern forms, such as dangdut and campur sari (mixed essences). It's great stuff, but was getting swamped by Asiavision styled releases when I was there in 2007. I hope somebody transfers their old keroncong cassettes to digital, so we can dig it all (sorry). Two more points: I've been told that in the late 19th century steamships used to traverse the Pacific, California to Singapore/Calcutta and back again (as in Round the World in 80 Days), so musicians would be picked up along the way: Hawaiians, Tongans, Indonesian, Malay, Indian , each to play their own styles but also to support one another (as musos do). Thus the keroncong met, or remet, the ukulele, and the Hawaiian ballad and keroncong ballad cross-fertilised one another. But, as they say, I have no proof. Check it out anyway. I'm an ethnomusicologist, and I'm convinced. Cuk and cak are tuned in a minor triad - g b e, c e a, etc, and the cello is generally in fifths. The headstocks are generally made for four strings, but only strung with three. The cello slapping/plucking technique is related to the indigenous drumming. My teacher told me "Don't say it plays drum patterns - it gives a drumming/ kasih kendangané"). And of course, we come back to Portugal. Braga is way up in the North, but considered to be the third significant fado area after Lisbon and Coimbra. They certainly still make fine instruments - guitaras Portuges, cavalquinos, etc. Braguinha is really a regionaliser, like Nashville banjo vs Appalachian banjo. The two versions I've heard of the Origin of Ukulele story say that a British ship and musical sailor were involved in the first performance of ukulele on Hawaiian soil, after the man (or men) from Braga brought out the little voice which continues to seduce all over the world. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.109.62.155 ( talk) 15:42, 11 September 2011 (UTC)
"Traditional tuning for the soprano ukulele was D6-tuning: A4 D4 F#4 B4, but standard tuning for concert and tenor ukuleles the C6-tuning instead: G4 C4 E4 A4. [...]
Another common tuning for concerts is D-tuning, A4 D4 F#4 B4, one step higher than the G4 C4 E4 A4 tuning." --
megA (
talk)
14:23, 13 February 2012 (UTC)
Hi everyone, I've added a few details about Woods and caring for the instrument. Will have a look at the Tuning section as MegA suggested above, it could be cleaned up a bit. Please feel free to clean up my contribution:) I hope it will be valuable. Thanking you all for your attention. -- Bookworm_Harvard —Preceding undated comment added 03:51, 14 May 2012 (UTC).
A fabulous new resource has become available: "The ʻUkelele: a history", ISBN 9780824836344, by Jim Tranquada and John King. This is about as R as a WP:RS can be. I'm looking forward to adding useful information as I read along. -- jpgordon ::==( o ) 02:31, 21 May 2012 (UTC)
I think the article should say something about these. What are the strings made of? Nylon? Steel? Something else? Are they wound? Does the right hand commonly use a plectrum? Does it commonly use something akin to classical guitar technique? Flamenco guitar technique? Something else? TheScotch ( talk) 07:42, 16 November 2012 (UTC)
My Dog Has Fleas
I encountered "My dog has fleas instrument" as a crossword puzzle clue, with the answer "uke." Fine, okay, what's that about? I searched for "My Dog Has Fleas" in Wikipedia, and got a redirect to "Ukulele." But that doesn't really tell me a darn thing. Shouldn't there be a Wiki standard requiring an entry on the page to explain the redirect? Here's more info, by the way (I see that some of this is reflected in Talk, but shouldn't there be a Wiki standard?)
From http://www.ukeschool.com/ukulele/tuning/my_dog_has_fleas.html:
(Cross-posted at the Help Desk) Jo3sampl ( talk) 04:29, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
No joy from the Help Desk. There oughta be a law! Added explanation of "My Dog Has Fleas" redirect. Ugh. -- Jo3sampl ( talk) 23:19, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
This has probably been done before, buy why does the lede say " British English ukelele}}"? Not in my dictionary it does. I don't have access to the OED online ref, but I note the URL is for text "ukulele". My (British) Collins lists it as "ukulele or ukelele", Fowler is silent on the matter, as is Partridge. I guess it is an alternative in British English, but it is put across as if it is the only way. Could we just add "also" or "alternatively" before or after "ukelele"? Si Trew ( talk) 16:22, 28 October 2014 (UTC)
It would be great to have a range chart like the one at Guitar and Mandolin. -- Evertype· ✆ 21:02, 23 May 2015 (UTC)
I just started a new article on Maccaferri, the guy who designed a guitar for Djanjo, invented a lot of plastic-bodied instruments including the Islander ukulele, etc. If anyone wants to help expand the ukulele content of his bio, that'd be really helpful! It's a pretty interesting story of design, and they sold like 9 million of them, so there's definitely a story there. Perhaps even a standalone article on the Islander ukulele itself? MatthewVanitas ( talk) 13:23, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
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The link intended for the baritone ukulele article actually links to the article for baritone guitar DarraghMM ( talk) 21:35, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
How can I help edit this page? I don't really know yet. Could someone direct me? Thanks.
I see there was some discussion about the okina (ʻ) back in 2006 or so. I haven't seen any newer discussion on Talk, but it appears that at some point someone took it upon themselves (without discussion) to add the okina to a bunch of uses of the title word all over the page.
I would argue that the most-common usage of "ukulele" does not include the okina, and so we should include the okina when explaining in the lede the original Hawaiian-language term ʻukulele, but that we shouldn't include the okina throughout the body of the article. Does anyone have any strong opinions either way? MatthewVanitas ( talk) 01:36, 5 June 2020 (UTC)
I think the young (preteen)
Grace VanderWaal should definitely be cited (in:
Ukulele#Post-1990_revival) as one of those who popularized the ukulele in the recent years by her (pre-career) Youtube songs.
Please ping me.
Steue (
talk)
14:22, 22 September 2020 (UTC)
I 'm missing images of the oval, usually called a "pineapple" ukulele, invented by the Kamaka Ukulele company and of the boat-paddle shape-ed ukuleles, mentioned in:
Ukulele#Construction.
Please ping me.
Steue (
talk)
14:35, 22 September 2020 (UTC)
Ukulele#Construction last (4th) paragraph says:
The six string, four course version, has two single and two double courses
Unfortunately in the image of the four ukuleles it is not clearly visible how these strings are placed and look like.
Please ping me.
Steue (
talk)
14:55, 22 September 2020 (UTC)
I propose merging banjo ukulele be merged into here. Discuss at Talk:Banjo ukulele#Merge proposal. --jpgordon 𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇 19:07, 28 December 2020 (UTC)
a ukulele is basically a tropical bass 2601:280:4A00:9590:94BB:76A9:6FD3:CBA5 ( talk) 15:18, 29 May 2022 (UTC)
@ George Hernandez: I'm not so sure this table you've created is helpful -- it's quite generic to any fretted or non-fretted string instrument. That is, it doesn't say anything special about the ukulele, it's what frets or finger positions do. On the uke, it could be a bit illuminating if it showed the interesting overlap that the re-entrant string provides; that, for example, the open G string is the same note as the 3rd fret on the E string, and the open A string is the same as the second fret on the G string. You'd need to specify the notes more completely as,for example, A4, B♭4 and so on. --jpgordon 𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇 03:29, 20 February 2023 (UTC)
Is the bass just a steel-stringed version of a contrabass nylon-stringed uke? This article's range chart shows a lower range for the contrabass, but the description says "the contrabass below aligns with the bass in the above table" (above tuning table shows the bass range E1–B3). rootsmusic ( talk) 08:51, 3 October 2023 (UTC)
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This picture looks like a low-quality paint job on a cheap uke. A more appropriate image should be found. I'm going to remove the image because it looks like a joke or subtle vandalism. 129.176.151.10 ( talk) 16:26, 9 June 2010 (UTC)
People keep on saying this wrong...I am reediting this again.. it's not, nor was it yoo-kə-lay-lee.. The correct way to say this word is OO-koo-LE-le.. It means Jumping flea in Hawaiian. It was created when the Hawaiians saw the Portuguese playing the instrument really fast.. I am a native Hawaiian (mixed) and have been here in Hawaii my whole life. When saying this word you should never say LAY or LEE.
From the first time anyone started the word with "yoo" someone should have corrected them on the pronunciation. It is a Hawaiian word therefore the correct way to say it in the Hawaiian language should come first and foremost. Variations must be included, of course, stating and stressing that although they have become popular ways to say it, they are most definitely wrong.
I wrote to Merriam-Webster about their butchering of the word. Oh and it's not "lay-lay" either. That would've been spelled "leilei". "yoo ka lay lee" is the American Caucasion pronounciation and is in no way the "popular" pronounciation. That's the reason American Caucasions have problems pronouncing the Hawaiian state fish "humuhumunukunukuapua'a". Might as well say it's the ukulele is pronounced "how lee oko lay" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.8.227.38 ( talk) 06:23, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Merriam-Webster Includes pronunciation and OED both give the pronunciation of the first syllable as "yoo" rather than "oo"; is "oo" a pronunciation in some language other than English?
--- Yes it is. The word 'ukulele is Hawai'ian, not English. In Hawai'ian, the language of origin, it is pronounced "oo koo lay lay". Most English speakers say "yoo koo lay lee" or "yoo ka lay lee". The Hawai'ian pronunciation is unquestionably the most "correct" pronunciation, as that is the way it was first pronounced. One can hardly argue with the English pronunciation's general use, however, as so many people have used it for so long.
--- In Hawai'i ukulele is pronounced "oo koo le le". Hawai'ian is phonetic with the w pronounced as a soft v, amongst other subtleties. Manuiti 19:07, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
--- Speaking of pronunciation, aren't the two phonetic representation in the title part exactly the same ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.190.194.194 ( talk) 11:15, 18 February 2008 (UTC)
--- Does the note on the pronunciation really need to occupy such a primary position in the article? The introduction should get straight to the essential facts, not distract the reader with phonology. Lizmarie ( talk) 15:54, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
--- I'm with Lizmarie: getting right into phonics is distracting, so I vote for a small "Pronunciation" or "Pronunciation Debate" section either before or after "History". I'd further vote that the pronunciation section not focus on the mainstream pronunciation being "wrong" so much as noting that it differs from the Hawaiian-language pronunciation. MatthewVanitas ( talk) 12:29, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
--- The Hawaiian Pronunciation is the correct way to say 'ukulele (it is also spelled with an 'okina (')). 'Ukulele is a Hawaiian word, we should put oo-koo-le-le up instead of you-ka-lay-lee. Hippie Guy 11:14am, April 12, 2009 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.104.160.58 ( talk) 18:16, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
---
Ukulele was first and foremost pronounced as,"oo-koo-lay-lay". Thus this is the way it should be pronounced now. We should not pronounce it as,"yoo-koo-lay-lee" because this highlights,"American Slang" if you will and it is butchering the word itself and thus the entire meaning of the ukulele. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.61.130.91 ( talk) 18:30, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
We're an international encyclopedia, and can't always cater to provincial deficiencies: most dictionaries worldwide now use the IPA; it's primarily the US that lags behind. You might not know what a kilometer is either, but we still use metric on WP. Besides, there is a 2nd transcription specifically for people who might have trouble with the IPA, so we are catering in this instance. We even have the Hawaiian in case you prefer that to the English. But changing the pronunciation, which BTW is sourced to the OED as well as Webster's, to some sort of English-Hawaiian hybrid just because you like it better, is not acceptable.
And really, does anyone pronounce it "YOU-coo-lelly", with stress only on the first u? That would require a ref. — kwami ( talk) 10:08, 25 October 2010 (UTC)
All you people seriously need to drop that Ego of yours. Let's not drag what "Americans would pronounce it this way" especially if you're NOT a linguists skilled in understanding the various dialects throughout this vast & diverse country! I have "American" co-workers who would definitely pronounce the word "ukulele" correctly based on their phonetic inventory while others definitely would pronounce it the Haole style. So that goes to show you that not ALL, not even 95% Americans may or may not pronounce it a particular way. You don't have any evidence of exactly how many would actually pronounce it one way or the other. This SHOULD BE about educating, so let's educate! Put the proper pronunciation, put its variant if need be, but trying to throw around some type of authority here in order to feel like you're being productive should be left in the playground. Leave that ego behind! Mamoahina ( talk) 05:22, 19 June 2011 (UTC)
One of the other difficulties with the pronunciation deals with the associated grammar. As the ukulele has grown in popularity, more and more players are using the Hawaiian pronunciation. If you use the Hawaiian pronunciation, (most players use this one) Ooo-koo-lay-lay the correct article would be 'an.' In the Hawai'ian language, the letter U gets the Ooo (rhymes with goo) . Which agrees with the "an". Of course, folks not from Hawai'i will give you strange looks. If you use the Americanized YOUkalaylay the correct article would be 'a.' At another Wiki site that I work on, I've set the standard to be 'an ukulele.' The Ukulele Guy - Aggie80 ( talk) 13:31, 4 July 2013 (UTC)
The section on Tahitian Ukulele seemed a bit extraneous, so I chopped it out to its own article. On its own, it had enough sections to merit a short article with future potential.
Likewise, I figured that Resonator ukulele and Electric ukulele merited articles about as much as Banjolele. I set up a full article for resos, based on the Resonator guitar article, with copious input from the UkuleleCosmos.com crew. I only have a stub for the electrics though, so help there would be awesome to clear up technical issues like magnetic vs. piezo pickups, list famous players, etc.
There's currently little/no info on 6-string and 8-string ukes. I don't think they merit their own article, but a short sub-section explaining when/why those variants appeared would be awesome. I'm under the vague impression that Kamaka pioneered those, but not sure.
On a minor sidenote: is it even worth bringing up the subject of the "bass ukulele"? There have been a few one-off projects, mainly based on the Ashbory bass concept (with the thick silicon strings). I know at least a couple eletric versions exist, and have seen pics of one acoustic.
MatthewVanitas ( talk) 11:20, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
It sounds to personal with all those parentheses. Can someone please clean that up?
The word ukulele is translated as "jumping flea" to decribe the movement of a player's fingers on the neck's fretboard. (Source: "Jumpin Jim's Ukulele Tips 'N' Tunes", by Jim Beloff, Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, April, 2004) I've never edited anything in Wikipedia before. I thought to add this, but I'll first learn a bit more about how to do that properly.)
--- The Queen wanted to make her own definition...that's why she gave up the state to the U.S. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.8.227.38 ( talk) 06:25, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
Having grown up in Hawai'i, everyone defines ukulele as 'jumping flea' referring, as above, to the quick movement of the fingers whilst playing. Head lice are referred to as 'ukus' in everyday speak and the usual definition of 'lele' is jumping. The ukulele is also abbreviated when speaking to 'uke', never to 'uku'. Additionally, the most desired make of ukulele in Hawai'i is the Kamaka [1], all made of Koa wood. Manuiti 19:21, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
I lived in Hawaii for many years and learned basic Hawaiian language. "Ukulele" is a descriptive invented word, ceated from smaller words, as is the manner in the Hawaiian language. The smaller words are: U, seed; Ku, to shine or speak; and Le, flower. To repeat a syllable means "very", "much", or "many". "Ukulele" is "seed shines many flowers". I know this is contrary to what Pukui said. No pono. My Flatley ( talk) 22:44, 16 April 2013 (UTC)
There's some not-so-important info included in the article. I know the feeling of wanting to put in your two cents, but does it matter so much that Bill Tapia bought a uke from Manuel Nunes? And is the info about the Beatles really that important? I know the Beatles are important, yes, but on this page? I think that stuff should be left out until this thing is a little more, you know, encyclopedic. Seems like we're still trying to get the basics down. I won't even go into people putting themselves on the "notable players" list. That's shameful.
[I've deleted the Beatles info (apologies to whoever posted it), but left in the George Harrison anecdote Angusmcdiarmid 12:08, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
Check out "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" played on a UKE at this site:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1352016870638076087
Deleted tangential information about the process of breaking in nylon strings and cleaned up the alternate tunings section.
139.55.32.90
19:43, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
If the word actually begins with an ʻokina, then the title should be ʻukulele and ukulele should be a redirect. Ardric47 01:01, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
The English Wikipedia is written in standard (British or American) English, not in Hawaiian English, except maybe in articles very specifically related to Hawaii, but this is not one of those. The ukulele may be of Hawaiian origin, but is now an instrument like any other, used all over the world. Accordingly, the vast majority of English-language references to it spell it without okina, even where otherwise diacritics are used (see the Britannica for example). It's like the name Hawaii itself, which is established in English without okina.
Margana
13:12, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
This list is getting long and silly. Can it be moved to another page and linked to from this one? I honestly don't know how to do that, but I hope someone will. It looks like it started out as a list of historically important figures, but has degenerated into a free-for-all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.56.99.71 ( talk • contribs) 15:27, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
It seems to be getting longer and sillier. Can I suggest we delete all the entries in this list that are either red links or external links. That way we have a better chance of ensuring that everyone in the list (a) exists and (b) is sufficiently notable to warrant a mention. -- Sakurambo 桜ん坊 00:43, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
Could someone add a link to the page for Bill Tapia to this article? ( [3]). I would do it but I don't have the experience editing wiki pages and I don't want to mess it up. - tfeledy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tfeledy ( talk • contribs) 01:09, 6 December 2011 (UTC)
I am new to this but I think George Formby is considered by a lot of people in Britain to be one of the most famouse performers playing the Ukalele. It might be good to mention him and to have a link to his page. Natasha Parker — Preceding unsigned comment added by Natasha Parker ( talk • contribs) 19:09, 6 September 2012 (UTC)
Any song by this name postdates to the use of the phrase in published teaching materials by decades, at least.
Are there any actual references concerning both the teaching materials and dates of publication of the song ? Ukepedia 21:52, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
--- Don't know if there are any references or dates to 'My dogs has fleas'. But that is how I was taught at school in Hawai'i to tune my uke. I don't think it's actually a mnemonic as the keys aren't MDHF, it's to do with the tune you 'sing' those words in. Hope that helps. Manuiti 19:31, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
I just read the whole article, and I have to say I'm disappointed in its quality. The article has far too few citations and far too many external links. Wikipedia is not a repository for external links, as interesting as they may be. The links need to be pared down to the ones that enhance the encyclopedic content of the article. As much as I think the video of Jake playing his ukulele is cool, it should really only be in the Jake Shimabukuro article. That's just one example. The blogs and fan sites need to go. The links to uke chords, tunings, and history (such as the Hall of Fame Museum) are probably pertinent. Otherwise most of it is fluff.
The history section could be filled out more. I'm sure there are reliable and verifable sources on ukulele history that can be cited. I see little on early Hawaiian ukulele history, especially as regards the Hawaiian royal family. I could also see a separate section on famous ukulele manufacturers. They only get a brief mention in the article. Although the article talks about Tin Pan Alley and the 20s, I think this was such an important phenomenon that it deserves a history sub-section also. The article could also include the importance of the ukulele in Hawaiian culture and its use in schools, etc.
The section on ukulele players, as mentioned earlier, should be a separate article. A brief introductory section (basically already in place) could be headed by a main article link.
- Parsa 18:00, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Instead of restoring all the links, could we have a short justification on the talk page before adding them in one by one? -- JereKrischel 06:24, 22 February 2007 (UTC)
Stay:
Could Probably Go:
AliaGemma 05:08, 1 March 2007 (UTC)
I put in a general rewrite clean-up tag. Frankly, this article is a poster-child for critics of Wikipedia. It could be more coherent and expanded upon. There's a section about an entirely different instrument. There are missing references. It's flow is awful. Please, someone, help the ukulele! Paxsimius 19:43, 12 June 2007 (UTC)
I have used this page for "how to" advice and found it useful. Is there some overall directive against this sort of information in Wikipedia? 203.97.57.130 02:46, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
I know it's an old question, but just for reference: yes, there's a policy against "How To" articles, as that's not the purpose of an encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:NOTHOWTO MatthewVanitas ( talk) 08:23, 1 February 2009 (UTC)
The list of ukulele players in this article was becoming both excessively long and unencyclopedic. Rather than being a helpful list of musicians known primarily for their ukulele ability, it had turned into a listing of virtually any well-known person who had played a ukulele in their lifetime, with people like Kurt Cobain, Tom Hanks, Stephen Colbert, and Abraham Lincoln included, among others. Keep in mind that just playing a ukulele at some point doesn't demonstrate notability; the listing here was clearly not intended to take such a form.
After checking other articles on instruments (and noting that hardly any had such a list as part of their article), I forked off the content into List of ukulele musicians and created the related category of Category:Ukulele musicians. You'll note that the list is much, much shorter, as I went through it and removed the names of any musicians who were not known for playing the ukulele as their primary instrument.
If any editors disagree with this move and can think of policy-based reasons to contest it, I'm fine discussing it here. If you want take up the question of who belongs on the list itself, though, head over to Talk:List of ukulele musicians, which is a more appropriate venue for that discussion. Thanks. Tijuana Brass ( talk) 00:02, 19 December 2007 (UTC)
The sentence in the ``Tunings`` section
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.
Appears to make no sense in context. At best it's recursive/trivial. This section is talking about ukulele tunings so ukulele chords will trivially fit these tunings. However, since the 4 strings have the same relationship as the top 4 strings on the guitar (taking into account the reentrancy of the 4th string) the statement is true and useful if 'guitar' is substituted for 'ukulele'. I scanned the edit history and couldn't find any record of changes to this sentence, it seems to be an early typo. DanTappan ( talk) 19:59, 6 January 2008 (UTC)
Can someone please specify in the article the octaves for the tunings? (with middle c = C4) Thanks. Mauvila ( talk) 04:16, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
It might be noteworthy to mention some of the popular songs that included a ukulele as a primary instrument. Three I can think of offhand are "Tiptoe Thru the Tulips" by Tiny Time (of course), but also "Those were the Days" by Mary Hopkin, "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry, etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.91.224.189 ( talk) 00:32, 27 January 2009 (UTC)
This bit reads really awkwardly, and feels patched-together. Maybe some way to transition between 1960 and 2000? "Singer-musician Tiny Tim became closely associated with the instrument after playing it on his 1968 hit "Tiptoe Through the Tulips". Hawaiian-born Jake Shimabukuro has become a popular ukelele performer in recent years, having played the instrument since the age of 4."
I'd almost say we need to close out the 1950s-1960s paragraph by noting the instrument declined in popularity (if we can find a citation to state that), and then open a new paragraphy noting that in the 2000s the instrument has experienced a resurgence in popularity, using Jake, Beirut, etc. as examples. MatthewVanitas ( talk) 18:10, 15 February 2009 (UTC)
I am partially reverting Jpgordon's edits of 27 March 2009. Jpgordon states: "It's just incorrect that uke tab was supplanted by guitar tab "in the early days of rock and roll"; I've got plenty of pre-WWII sheet music w/guitar tab and no uke" This is both original research and faulty reasoning. The fact that one individual has a given amount of pre-WWII sheet music for guitar says nothing about whether the ukulele was supplanted by the guitar in the early days of rock and roll. The removed text did not say that ALL pre-WWII music had ukulele in it or that there was no guitar tab before rock and roll, just that the popularity shifted in favor of the guitar at that time. Unless Jpgordon's collection contains ALL sheet music from that period, there is no basis for the conclusion he/she has drawn; and even if there was a basis it's still original research, while the removed text was supported by a third-party reference (Sanjek, Russell (1988). American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years. Oxford University Press. pp. 95. ISBN 0195043111.)It also appears references [16] and [17] are in the wrong order - [16] appears to refer to the sentence following it, not preceding it. I am reversing the order of these two. SteubenGlass ( talk) 08:53, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
I just noticed that the main pic is pretty fuzzy and has no higher resolution. Does anyone have a nice big 800x600 pic of their uke they'd like to share? This page gets millions of hits, so I think a top-quality uke pic would really be worthwhile. Unfortunately, my only current ukes are odd variants (sopranino and 8-string tenor) and I'm not a great photographer. Anyone else? MatthewVanitas ( talk) 20:52, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
Linked to the question of photos is one of makes and models and variants. I notice your picture of a Martin has 17 frets, whereas 18 seems to be standard. But if you watch George Formby's No Limit (the one about the 1935 TT races), you'll see he's playing a tenor with 19 frets (albeit 18 and 19 are half-frets). It would be interesting to know what that was and where he got it. — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
86.177.88.121 (
talk)
13:17, 11 November 2011 (UTC)
We've had some back-and-forth edits, but I'm staying out because I don't honestly know the answer: when Manuel Nunes and the others got off the Ravenscraft, what was the specific type of instrument they had with them? Was it a machete, braguinha, cavaquinho, rajao, or other? There's been some debate in the article, and I'd love to have (if possible) a specific term. I realise some of the distinction is kind of arbitrary, but to whatever degree possible a proper name for the particular variant they introduced would be awesome. MatthewVanitas ( talk) 04:54, 16 June 2009 (UTC)
Portugese introduced small ukulele-style instruments to Indonesia in 1520 AD, long before Hawaii. According to this Indonesian language wikipedia article, the modern equivalent are still used in evolved form, particulary for keroncong (Dutch influenced chamber music) and Dangdut (Portugese influenced pop), yet the instrument evolved into two complimentary parts called Cak (three nylon strings and round hole) and Cuk (four steel strings with lattice holes) sometimes made and sold in pairs. Tradimus ( talk) 07:39, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
Maybe a mention in article of famous(infamous?) Ukele players i.e. in the U.S. "Tiny Tim" in the U.K. George Formby etc. UKEPLAYER ( talk) 18:29, 19 November 2009 (UTC)
Ukulele was introduced to Australians viewers of silent movie 'On The Beach at Waikiki' in the same year as the US mainland and were available for sale then, according to 'picnic guitar' newspaper advertisements of the time. Popularity took off after exposure to Allied troops playing abroad in the great war. famous early exponents of the ukulele in Australia include Harry Peelua and Frank Tozer [1] Tradimus ( talk) 07:46, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
References
Would be great if we found a picture that conveys the small size of the instrument. All the current pictures actually look much like guitars at a glance. -- EsotericRogue Talk 16:58, 3 February 2010 (UTC)
Heh-heh-heh-heh: they said UK-e-le-le (in the UK).
--
Jerzy•
t
20:33, 12 October 2010 (UTC)
You show the scale length of a baritone as 19" and this length is quoted in several articles on the 'net. However, I have yet to find any baritone ukulele with a scale length of less than 19.5" and this is the exception; most baritones have a scale length of ≥20". Here's a sample of the scale lengths of current baritone ukes:
Mahalo 20" Kala 20.25" Stagg 19.5" Kamaka 20.125" Tanglewood 20.16" Koloa 20.125"
I suspect the 'net articles quoting 19" actually got it from here! Anyway, there is little point in quoting this when nobody is using it in practice, IMHO. Adriankbryan ( talk) 14:44, 15 January 2011 (UTC)
My two sops (Mahalo and Brunswick) both have a scale length of 350mm, and my Mahalo bari has a scale length of 510mm. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.135.51.245 ( talk) 10:54, 9 June 2012 (UTC)
Hello, I work in a ukulele shop in London and having measured several dozen soprano ukuleles I can confirm that the standard scale length is not 13 inches, but in fact 13.5 inches, 34cm.
Since it became a bulleted list, "Post-1990 Revival" is slowly becoming a condensed version List of ukulele players, or more bluntly "hey, let's add anyone we like who ever touched a ukulele". I submit that since it's in the History section, it should focus solely on a handful of key figures who aren't simply citable for playing uke, but actually reviving it. I submit the section should be less "Indie Band X is really cool and uses uke in a few songs" or "Movie star X plays uke as a hobby", and more "In 1996 when ukulele was still unfashionable, Musician X received great attention for using it as his primary instrument on Album Y [footnote to article noting importance thereof to Revival]." I think Iz and Shimabukuro might have some sources out there saying "helped make uke cool again" or whatnot, but I'm open to anyone so long as a reputable third party specifically cites them as helping re-popularise the instrument. The current format, though, is likely to keep expanding to be a list of acts in which uke might be notable, but not acts notable to the overall history of the uke. Thoughts? Anyone support an aggressive trim to kick it off? MatthewVanitas ( talk) 05:53, 24 February 2011 (UTC)
I'm new to this kind of talk but felt I needed to point out this small matter of fact: Having consulted the french Wiki on the Ukulélé, I found out that the SS Ravenscrag arrived on Hawai on August 25th. Whereas on this (english) version of the page, August 23rd is stated. The entry on the [ Ravenscrag] also states the 23rd as date of arrival. Suggestions? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuneski ( talk • contribs) 09:44, 25 May 2011 (UTC)
I thought I'd offer my own tiny bit of experience on the kroncong/ukulele stub. I studied musics of Java in the 80s and wrote an article about kroncong. (I don't really like it, so I'll have to revise it if anybody's interested) but as I recall, Keroncong Music is a complex genre in which two or three ukulele variants appear with other members of what is often called in the Pacific a string band - viola/biola (in fact, a violin), flute, guitar, cuk, cak, cello and bas. Anything else may be added - lap steel, organ, sax, electric guiar, or a full orchestra - and of course the singers. Popular favourites to youtube would be "Bengawan Solo", "Kroncong Moritsku" or "Jali Joli". There is no doubt that keroncong music has its origins in Portuguese music. The Portuguese didn't stop trading in Indonesia just because the Dutch East India Company took over the contracts, and the chord progressions are directly related to Portuguese Fado (Which I've also spent a couple of years studying) - trouble is, some sources don't believe Fado got started until the late 19th century, at about the time the Portuguese braguinha/cavalquino was adopted by the Hawaiians, while others claim fado is centuries old. My first sponsor in Java, Professor Bernard Suryabrata, suggested I track down a song called "Mina Bobo", said to be one of the earliest keroncong songs, and said to be based on Portuguese music. No luck there, but I did track down the little village of Tugu, in the dockland Tanjung Priok area of Jakarta, where I found, sitting outside the Portuguese Protestant Church (Gereja Protestan Portugal), a group of older men, one of whom was playing a keroncong, a very homemade instrument resembling a baritone ukulele. I can't tell you much more about that situation, but I got to jam with a few keroncong groups later. The viola, flute and guitar parts are improvisational, and somewhere between Portuguese, Jazz and Javanese langgam. The cuk (pron: "chook", short for cukulele)is a 3 stringed ukulele, the cak ("chuck", also called "tenor") is a similar 3 metal string instrument, and the selo/cello is a 3 stringed cello, played pizzicato. These three are rhythm instruments, the cuk and cak playing interlocking offbeats, and the cello playing a highly percussive and syncopated bass line. The virtuosic cuk and cello have been adapted into more modern forms, such as dangdut and campur sari (mixed essences). It's great stuff, but was getting swamped by Asiavision styled releases when I was there in 2007. I hope somebody transfers their old keroncong cassettes to digital, so we can dig it all (sorry). Two more points: I've been told that in the late 19th century steamships used to traverse the Pacific, California to Singapore/Calcutta and back again (as in Round the World in 80 Days), so musicians would be picked up along the way: Hawaiians, Tongans, Indonesian, Malay, Indian , each to play their own styles but also to support one another (as musos do). Thus the keroncong met, or remet, the ukulele, and the Hawaiian ballad and keroncong ballad cross-fertilised one another. But, as they say, I have no proof. Check it out anyway. I'm an ethnomusicologist, and I'm convinced. Cuk and cak are tuned in a minor triad - g b e, c e a, etc, and the cello is generally in fifths. The headstocks are generally made for four strings, but only strung with three. The cello slapping/plucking technique is related to the indigenous drumming. My teacher told me "Don't say it plays drum patterns - it gives a drumming/ kasih kendangané"). And of course, we come back to Portugal. Braga is way up in the North, but considered to be the third significant fado area after Lisbon and Coimbra. They certainly still make fine instruments - guitaras Portuges, cavalquinos, etc. Braguinha is really a regionaliser, like Nashville banjo vs Appalachian banjo. The two versions I've heard of the Origin of Ukulele story say that a British ship and musical sailor were involved in the first performance of ukulele on Hawaiian soil, after the man (or men) from Braga brought out the little voice which continues to seduce all over the world. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.109.62.155 ( talk) 15:42, 11 September 2011 (UTC)
"Traditional tuning for the soprano ukulele was D6-tuning: A4 D4 F#4 B4, but standard tuning for concert and tenor ukuleles the C6-tuning instead: G4 C4 E4 A4. [...]
Another common tuning for concerts is D-tuning, A4 D4 F#4 B4, one step higher than the G4 C4 E4 A4 tuning." --
megA (
talk)
14:23, 13 February 2012 (UTC)
Hi everyone, I've added a few details about Woods and caring for the instrument. Will have a look at the Tuning section as MegA suggested above, it could be cleaned up a bit. Please feel free to clean up my contribution:) I hope it will be valuable. Thanking you all for your attention. -- Bookworm_Harvard —Preceding undated comment added 03:51, 14 May 2012 (UTC).
A fabulous new resource has become available: "The ʻUkelele: a history", ISBN 9780824836344, by Jim Tranquada and John King. This is about as R as a WP:RS can be. I'm looking forward to adding useful information as I read along. -- jpgordon ::==( o ) 02:31, 21 May 2012 (UTC)
I think the article should say something about these. What are the strings made of? Nylon? Steel? Something else? Are they wound? Does the right hand commonly use a plectrum? Does it commonly use something akin to classical guitar technique? Flamenco guitar technique? Something else? TheScotch ( talk) 07:42, 16 November 2012 (UTC)
My Dog Has Fleas
I encountered "My dog has fleas instrument" as a crossword puzzle clue, with the answer "uke." Fine, okay, what's that about? I searched for "My Dog Has Fleas" in Wikipedia, and got a redirect to "Ukulele." But that doesn't really tell me a darn thing. Shouldn't there be a Wiki standard requiring an entry on the page to explain the redirect? Here's more info, by the way (I see that some of this is reflected in Talk, but shouldn't there be a Wiki standard?)
From http://www.ukeschool.com/ukulele/tuning/my_dog_has_fleas.html:
(Cross-posted at the Help Desk) Jo3sampl ( talk) 04:29, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
No joy from the Help Desk. There oughta be a law! Added explanation of "My Dog Has Fleas" redirect. Ugh. -- Jo3sampl ( talk) 23:19, 19 February 2013 (UTC)
This has probably been done before, buy why does the lede say " British English ukelele}}"? Not in my dictionary it does. I don't have access to the OED online ref, but I note the URL is for text "ukulele". My (British) Collins lists it as "ukulele or ukelele", Fowler is silent on the matter, as is Partridge. I guess it is an alternative in British English, but it is put across as if it is the only way. Could we just add "also" or "alternatively" before or after "ukelele"? Si Trew ( talk) 16:22, 28 October 2014 (UTC)
It would be great to have a range chart like the one at Guitar and Mandolin. -- Evertype· ✆ 21:02, 23 May 2015 (UTC)
I just started a new article on Maccaferri, the guy who designed a guitar for Djanjo, invented a lot of plastic-bodied instruments including the Islander ukulele, etc. If anyone wants to help expand the ukulele content of his bio, that'd be really helpful! It's a pretty interesting story of design, and they sold like 9 million of them, so there's definitely a story there. Perhaps even a standalone article on the Islander ukulele itself? MatthewVanitas ( talk) 13:23, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
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The link intended for the baritone ukulele article actually links to the article for baritone guitar DarraghMM ( talk) 21:35, 19 June 2019 (UTC)
How can I help edit this page? I don't really know yet. Could someone direct me? Thanks.
I see there was some discussion about the okina (ʻ) back in 2006 or so. I haven't seen any newer discussion on Talk, but it appears that at some point someone took it upon themselves (without discussion) to add the okina to a bunch of uses of the title word all over the page.
I would argue that the most-common usage of "ukulele" does not include the okina, and so we should include the okina when explaining in the lede the original Hawaiian-language term ʻukulele, but that we shouldn't include the okina throughout the body of the article. Does anyone have any strong opinions either way? MatthewVanitas ( talk) 01:36, 5 June 2020 (UTC)
I think the young (preteen)
Grace VanderWaal should definitely be cited (in:
Ukulele#Post-1990_revival) as one of those who popularized the ukulele in the recent years by her (pre-career) Youtube songs.
Please ping me.
Steue (
talk)
14:22, 22 September 2020 (UTC)
I 'm missing images of the oval, usually called a "pineapple" ukulele, invented by the Kamaka Ukulele company and of the boat-paddle shape-ed ukuleles, mentioned in:
Ukulele#Construction.
Please ping me.
Steue (
talk)
14:35, 22 September 2020 (UTC)
Ukulele#Construction last (4th) paragraph says:
The six string, four course version, has two single and two double courses
Unfortunately in the image of the four ukuleles it is not clearly visible how these strings are placed and look like.
Please ping me.
Steue (
talk)
14:55, 22 September 2020 (UTC)
I propose merging banjo ukulele be merged into here. Discuss at Talk:Banjo ukulele#Merge proposal. --jpgordon 𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇 19:07, 28 December 2020 (UTC)
a ukulele is basically a tropical bass 2601:280:4A00:9590:94BB:76A9:6FD3:CBA5 ( talk) 15:18, 29 May 2022 (UTC)
@ George Hernandez: I'm not so sure this table you've created is helpful -- it's quite generic to any fretted or non-fretted string instrument. That is, it doesn't say anything special about the ukulele, it's what frets or finger positions do. On the uke, it could be a bit illuminating if it showed the interesting overlap that the re-entrant string provides; that, for example, the open G string is the same note as the 3rd fret on the E string, and the open A string is the same as the second fret on the G string. You'd need to specify the notes more completely as,for example, A4, B♭4 and so on. --jpgordon 𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇 03:29, 20 February 2023 (UTC)
Is the bass just a steel-stringed version of a contrabass nylon-stringed uke? This article's range chart shows a lower range for the contrabass, but the description says "the contrabass below aligns with the bass in the above table" (above tuning table shows the bass range E1–B3). rootsmusic ( talk) 08:51, 3 October 2023 (UTC)