Kiwi Ukulele: the New Zealand Ukulele Companion

So you want to join the ukulele resurgence? Here’s a crash course.

Fluke and Flea If you're sure you want to play the uke, avoid the cheapest colourful ones. Even if you replace the strings, they’re too hard to keep in tune. I'm told the Kala KA-15S is a good buy at about NZ$70, but I especially like the Flukes and Fleas (pictured) from Flea Market Music, which you can get for about US$200 and US$170 respectively. They have a plastic back and fretboard, and an excellent tone for the price. Order online (Flea Market ship to New Zealand for about USA$45, and there's no customs duty, though you'll have to pay GST), but support your local music store like Piano Traders if you can. A soprano is a good size for beginners, or a tenor if you want a more guitar-like sound. Many people get one of each.

You really need to get a tuner, preferably an electronic one—I've recently become a fan of clip-on tuners—and maybe a capo. A strap is also useful, especially for a larger uke. That’s about it for accessories.

Most ukes are tuned in C, strung GCEA with a re-entrant (high) G. I string my tenor with a low G, and the only low G strings I like are made by Worth. It’s probably not a bad idea to get a new set of strings (Aquila are also good) and replace the generic ones your uke comes with (here’s how). I like the sound of unwound nylon strings better.

I started playing by printing out a chord chart and reading various suggestions for technique. You don’t need to learn how to fingerpick at the beginning, but it’s good to memorize the names of the notes on the fretboard eventually. I’d also recommend learning to read music, and some music theory so you can understand how chords are constructed (this book is dry but good). Maybe a DVD course (many people like Ralph Shaw’s course). Sing, even if you can’t really. Play for your friends, so long as you don’t become a ukulele bore.

Where to find music? There’s some music with chords at Ukulele Boogaloo, Brook Adams’ site, and Ukulele Hunt. You can find plenty just by searching on guitar chord sites like Chordie or Ultimate Guitar; the names are the same, the fingering different. I love this excellent interactive ukulele chord finder, which gives multiple versions of every chord; you can download it too. If you get familiar with the guitar fretboard it’s even possible to convert guitar tabs for the uke.

What to play? If you like old-timey standards or Hawaiian music, go for it, but I don’t. Play what you normally listen to; most bands have one or two songs that work well for the ukulele . I regularly play at least a couple of songs by the Magnetic Fields (Stephin Merritt, right, loves his uke), the White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Belle & Sebastian, Jonathan Coulton, the Mountain Goats, and They Might Be Giants. It’s fun to be ironic and play Nirvana or the Sex Pistols on the ukulele, but the gag wears thin unless you have the knack of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.

To learn more, keep track of some of the uke sites, like the Flea Market Forum or Ukulelia. Find local players, on the web or through your music store, and jam. If they’re all middle-aged guys who only play the Beatles and vaudeville tunes, well, form your own group.

Have fun. With a ukulele , it’s basically impossible not to.

mike at kiwiukulele • MIKE'S HOME PAGE

You’ve
Read the Site:
Now Get the Book!

Everything the Kiwi uke player needs to know: choosing, tuning, playing; strings and other accessories; tips for practicing, performing, and playing in groups; and a pile of contemporary Kiwi songs.

“Singing and playing music with others is one of the great pleasures in life. The ukulele is one of the easiest and most fun ways to access this magic, and this book offers answers to all the little hurdles that come up when you’re learning. Mix the wisdom in here with a bit of dedicated practice, and you´ll be unstoppable!”: — Age Pryor, Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra

“This book has extremely clear and attractive diagrams which make using it interesting and enjoyable. The author knows about music, and communicating, and ukulele playing, and has obtained information, tips, and opinions from a range of well-known ukulele musicians. Conveys not just the ‘how’ of ukulele playing, but also something of the affection, reasons for enthusiasm, and craziness which are often present in the ukulele world. Worth getting for the beautifully information-rich drawings and diagrams alone.”: — George Hinchcliffe, Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

“At last a ukulele book with kiwi can-do attitude and a modern take on a fun instrument.”: — Peter, Wellington

AUT Media
A4, 64pp, NZ$19.99
ISBN 978-0-9582829-4-9
Available at good New Zealand bookstores or music shops.
Buy it online : despite sitename, will courier within NZ for $5 whether your order one book or ten.
Overseas? About US$16 + 11.50 p&p, or £8 + £6.50 p&p. Sorry, NZ is far away...
Sample strum MP3s and other downloadable goodies coming soon!
Contents, sample pages, more info (PDF)

Interview in the Bay Harbour News,
30 April 2008 (a rather large JPEG scan)

Radio NZ interview with Katy Gosset,
5 June 2008: Listen to 5 MB MP3

Book cover publicity graphics:
CMYK Photoshop 742 x 1050
RGB JPEG 742 x 1050

Lyttelton Ukes

Meeting Tuesdays fortnightly, 7pm, to make uke-centric music in Lyttelton, NZ. Beginners fine. No Hawaiian songs or E Major chords allowed. Enquiries to: mike at kiwiukulele

COMING UP: 29 July 08 • Mike's: Leaving on a Jet Plane? Blue Smoke.
15 July 08 • Mike's: Me & Julio (with right chords), Blue Smoke, Dirty Old Town
1 July 08 • Mike's: Tried Me & Julio (but wrong chords), Pogues' Dirty Old Town, Blue Smoke.
17 June 08 • Mike's: Got Blackwater right, tried Dirty Old Town.
3 June 08 • Mike's: As for 20 May, plus perhaps Jolene and Backwater.
20 May 08 • Mike's: Hotel Yorba, Hoki Mai, Anarchy, Blitzkrieg Bop, Ghost Riders.
7 May 08 • Mike's: Inaugural. Uke chat, the four above plus demos of Palmcorder Yajna, Ghost Riders, Brian Eno, and others.

Uke Jam Faves

Backwater [NEW]: Brian Eno
Ghost Riders in the Sky [NEW]: Stan Jones
Blue Smoke [NEW]: Ruru Karaitiana
Dirty Old Town [NEW]: The Pogues / Ewan MacColl
Blitzkrieg Bop: The Ramones
Anarchy in the U.K.: The Sex Pistols
Me and Julio [NEW]: Paul Simon
Hotel Yorba: The White Stripes
Jolene: The White Stripes/Dolly Parton
Hoki Mai [NEW]: Henare Waitoa
: MP3s posted here are solely to help Uke Jam folks learn songs, and will be taken down if deemed in violation of copyright; let me know.

My Faves

Wrapped Up in Books: Belle & Sebastian
All The Small Things: Blink-182
At the Bottom of Everything: Bright Eyes
Brains, Brains: Jacob Borshard
Vincent and Theo: Jacob Borshard
Top of the World: The Carpenters
You Might Think: The Cars
Folsom Prison Blues: Johnny Cash
Better: Jonathan Coulton
Betty and Me: Jonathan Coulton
Christmas is Interesting: Jonathan Coulton
Kenesaw Mountain Landis: Jonathan Coulton
The Presidents: Jonathan Coulton
Legionnaire’s Lament: The Decemberists
(also in E Minor)
The Globus Song: Mike Dickison
Someone to Love: Fountains of Wayne
Shipwrecked: The Gothic Archies
I Predict a Riot: Kaiser Chiefs
One: Aimee Mann/Harry Nilsson
God Rest Ye Merry Three Kings: Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan
Big Rock Candy Mountains: Harry McClintock
(also try the John Hodgman variant)
Ukulele Me!: Stephin Merritt
Baby Got Back: Sir Mix-A-Lot
Autoclave: The Mountain Goats
Letter From Belgium: The Mountain Goats
No Children: The Mountain Goats
Old College Try: The Mountain Goats
Sinaloan Milk Snake Song: The Mountain Goats
There Will be No Divorce: The Mountain Goats
The Story of the Pigs that Ran...: The Mountain Goats
Woke Up New: The Mountain Goats
Wild Sage: The Mountain Goats
Darkness on the Delta: Rabbit Muse
Le Vent Nous Portera: Noir Désir
The Numa Numa Song: O-Zone
No Surprises: Radiohead
Walk on the Wild Side: Lou Reed
Sway: Bic Runga
Tainted Love: Soft Cell/Gloria Jones
The Underdog: Spoon
I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die: They Might Be Giants
Jockey Full of Bourbon: Tom Waits
: Feel free to use these song sheets non-commercially with attribution; most of the lyrics are copyrighted though.