I'm spending my New Year's Day glueing the bridge back on a ukelele that I purchased from an antique shop a few months back and I got to thinking....Has anyone ever played or heard one at a session? (that was not the intent when I bought it....just an attack of IAS). I realize it lacks in volume and it has it's own tuning. But with a modification to the nut, or a new one, it could be tuned to G D A E. It has a nice short neck, shorter than a mandolin.
Gerry O Beirne uses it for accompaniment on some CDs he's produced or played on: the ones that come to mind are the Len Graham/Padraigin ni Uilleachain kids' record and on one of Randal Bays's solo discs. With its nylon strings, and in the hands of a player like Gerry, it can sound very nice--almost harp-like.
I've been playing ITM on mine for the past year or so. I picked up a beautiful tenor in Hawaii, it's an older instrument, all koa with tons of abalone inlay. If you want to hear uke played as a lead instrument, check out the playing of Jake Shimabukuro, it's awe inspiring and a little frightening. His website is
Listen to Paganini's Caprice #24 if you want to be thoroughly humbled.
I'm still new to ukuleles and if you're still there, could you tell me how you tune your tenor? Did you keep it standard (what is standard?) or did you adapt it to play ITM?
Thanks for educating me about Jake. I'll have to check out his playing.
Aloha
Aloha
I'm spending my New Year's Day glueing the bridge back on a ukelele that I purchased from an antique shop a few months back and I got to thinking....Has anyone ever played or heard one at a session? (that was not the intent when I bought it....just an attack of IAS). I realize it lacks in volume and it has it's own tuning. But with a modification to the nut, or a new one, it could be tuned to G D A E. It has a nice short neck, shorter than a mandolin.
Just curious.
Happy New Year to all!
# Posted on January 1st 2004 by blowfly
Re: Aloha
Time to write a new reel: My Dog Has Fleas!
# Posted on January 1st 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Aloha
Gerry O Beirne uses it for accompaniment on some CDs he's produced or played on: the ones that come to mind are the Len Graham/Padraigin ni Uilleachain kids' record and on one of Randal Bays's solo discs. With its nylon strings, and in the hands of a player like Gerry, it can sound very nice--almost harp-like.
# Posted on January 1st 2004 by coyotebanjo
Re: Aloha
I've been playing ITM on mine for the past year or so. I picked up a beautiful tenor in Hawaii, it's an older instrument, all koa with tons of abalone inlay. If you want to hear uke played as a lead instrument, check out the playing of Jake Shimabukuro, it's awe inspiring and a little frightening. His website is
Listen to Paganini's Caprice #24 if you want to be thoroughly humbled.
# Posted on January 1st 2004 by ScottC
Re: Aloha
Whoops, HTML didn't work for some reason. The website is
http://www.jakeshimabukuro.net
# Posted on January 1st 2004 by ScottC
Re: Aloha
Wow, that's amazing stuff, Scott. I loved watching the lessons he has on the website. ("Bye bye, little finger!")
# Posted on January 2nd 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: Aloha
Hi ScottC.
I'm still new to ukuleles and if you're still there, could you tell me how you tune your tenor? Did you keep it standard (what is standard?) or did you adapt it to play ITM?
Thanks for educating me about Jake. I'll have to check out his playing.
# Posted on January 3rd 2004 by blowfly