Ukulele

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Ukulele
Ukulele
Classification

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

The ukulele (pronounced /ˌjuːkəˈleɪli/, from Hawaiian: ʻukulele), variantly spelled ukelele (particularly in the UK), or alternately abbreviated 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]

The ukulele originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian interpretation of small Portuguese guitar-like instruments. It gained great popularity elsewhere in the United States during the early 20th century, and from there spread internationally.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Hawaii

The ukulele is commonly associated with music from Hawaii, where the name roughly translates as "jumping flea".[2] It was developed there in the 1880s, based on the Portuguese small guitar-like instrument, the cavaquinho, introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants (mainly from Madeira Island).[3]

[edit] U.S. mainland

The ukulele was popularized for a stateside audience during the Panama Pacific International Exposition, held for most of 1915 in San Francisco.[4] The Hawaiian Pavilion featured a guitar and ukulele ensemble, George E. K. Awai and his Royal Hawaiian Quartette,[5] along with ukulele maker and player Jonah Kumalae.[6] The popularity of the ensemble with visitors launched a fad for Hawaiian-themed songs among Tin Pan Alley songwriters.[7] The ensemble also introduced both the lap steel guitar and the ukulele into U.S. mainland popular music,[8] where it was taken up by vaudeville performers such as Roy Smeck and Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards.[9]

The ukulele became an icon of the Jazz Age[10] 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.

From the late Forties to the late Sixties, a plastics manufacturer named Mario Maccaferri turned out about 9 million toy ukuleles.[11] A lot of the instrument's popularity was cultivated via "The Arthur Godfrey Show" on television.[12]

[edit] Types and tunings

Ukuleles hanging in a music store.
Ukuleles hanging in a music store.

[edit] Construction

Ukuleles are generally made of wood, although variants have been made composed partially or entirely of plastic. Cheaper ukuleles are generally made from ply or laminate woods, in some cases with a soundboard of an inexpensive but acoustically superior wood such as spruce. Other more expensive ukuleles are made of exotic hardwoods such as mahogany. Some of the most valuable ukuleles, which may run into the thousands of dollars in price, are made from koa (Acacia koa), a Hawaiian wood known for its fine tone and attractive colour and figure.photo

[edit] Sizes

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

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

† note that on the soprano and concert instruments, the "bottom" or string is actually pitched a 5th higher than the next string (and a Major 2nd below the "top" string)

Another common tuning (also the more 'traditional' tuning) for sopranos and concerts is A D F# B, one step higher than the GCEA tuning. This is said by some to bring out a sweeter tone in some ukuleles, generally smaller ones.

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.

Though the vast majority of ukuleles fall into the above four categories, there are also bass ukuleles and sopranino ukuleles at the extreme ends of the size spectrum.

[edit] Tuning

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

The strings or courses are tuned to A6 D6 F#6 B5 or G5 C6 E6 A5 (See Scientific pitch notation for a description of these codes). The chord formations are identical in either tuning, but transposed.

Hawaiian ukuleles may also be tuned to open tunings, similar to the Hawaiian slack key style.[13][14] These tunings would include "wahine" tunings.

[edit] Predecessors

The ukulele is a descendant 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].

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

[edit] Audio samples

Ukulele chords

A chord being played on an ukulele - 47 kB
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Henry Kailimai's hene

A piece being played on an ʻukulele - 327 kB
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

[edit] Pronunciation issues

While the mainstream American English pronunciation of "ukulele" is /ˌjuːkəˈleɪli/, some English speakers prefer to accurately follow the original Hawaiian pronunciation: /ˌuːkuˈlele/. Though the American English pronunciation is more common overall, the Hawaiian pronunciation is favored within Hawaii and by individuals interested in Hawaiian culture.

[edit] Related instruments

Ukulele variants

Related instruments

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  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. ^ Beloff, Jim (2003). The Ukulele: A Visual History. Backbeat books, 13. ISBN 9780879307585. 
  3. ^ Nidel, Richard (2004). World Music: The Basics. Routledge, 312. ISBN 9780415968003. 
  4. ^ Lipsky, William (2005). San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Arcadia Publishing, 36. ISBN 9780738530093. 
  5. ^ Doyle, Peter (2005). Echo and Reverb: Fabricating Space in Popular Music Recording, 1900-1960. Wesleyan, 120. ISBN 9780819567949. 
  6. ^ Jonah Kumalae (1875-1940) - 2002 Hall of Fame Inductee. Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum (2007). Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  7. ^ Koskoff, Ellen (2005). Music Cultures in the United States: An Introduction. Routledge, 129. ISBN 9780415965880. 
  8. ^ Volk, Andy (2003). Lap Steel Guitar. Centerstream Publications, 6. ISBN 9781574241341. 
  9. ^ Whitcomb, Ian (2000). Ukulele Heaven: Songs from the Golden Age of the Ukulele. Mel Bay Publications, 11. ISBN 9780786649518. 
  10. ^ Whitcomb, Ian (2001). Uke Ballads: A Treasury of Twenty-five Love Songs Old and New. Mel Bay Publications, 4. ISBN 9780786613601. 
  11. ^ Wright, Michael (3 Mar 2002). Maccaferri History: The Guitars of Mario Maccaferri. Vintage Guitar. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  12. ^ Arthur Godfrey ((1903-1983) - 2001 Hall of Fame Inductee. Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum (2007). Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  13. ^ Kimura, Heeday. How to Play Slack Key Ukulule. 
  14. ^ Heaukulani, David (2007). Ukulele Slack Key: Hawaiian Slack Key Styling. Outskirts Press. ISBN 9781432706258. 

[edit] External links

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