Yesterday I took the day to go back in time (it’s just a jump to the left) and try something I hadn’t done since I was about 10- play music. Music?!? yes, unlike almost every kid I know I really have no musical background. I took piano lessons as a kid, but didn’t practice and my parents gave up on them after a short time. In school we really didn’t have music class, so it was the typical sing songs- I don’t recall having a formal music class ever. Then came fourth grade and Mr. Welch.
Mr. Welch was one of those “cool teachers” he did fun things with his class. One of those was teach those kids interested to play the ukulele. Being the new kid in the school I (or my parents) tried to get me involved in everything. So before school started I would walk to school and learn how to play the uke. Mr. Welch had his reasons- see he closed out the year with his class musical “The Woolybooger” play and he needed a ukulele choir. I had a soprano uke and then for Christmas I got a banjo uke… and had earned my place in the the uke choir playing “Proud Mary” to the tearful audience on parents. Then I went to fifth grade and my uke gathered dust. I don’t know what happened to either one, but in a fit of nostalgia when we were on a family vacation (Sue and my only family vacation with my parents) in Maui I decided to buy a nice ukulele as a souvenir. So for the past 5 years it has sat in my office until yesterday.
Yesterday I headed down to Metamora, Indiana where my friends Rick and Holly were putting on a Uke Day at their shop. Metamora is one of those old towns that opens for tourists on the weekend and during the many festivals the hold (Canal Days being the biggie). They have a train that stops there and a canal boat (hence Canal Days). When I taught 4th grade we used to travel here to learn about olde tyme Indiana. I was not here to learn about Indiana History, but the ukulele, by the end of the day I had learned quite a bit about myself.
The day was divided up into various workshops for different abilities. I signed up for all of them in hopes that something would stick. I won’t go into detail about each presentation, but learned once again that everyone is a geek about something, and I was in the land of uke-geek.
Most people only have experience with the uke as a Hawaiian instrument through things like “Over the Rainbow” performed by Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole or Tiny Tim’s “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” which is frankly just a little frightening. The internet has changed the view of the ukulele but you have to kind of search it out… Artists like Jake Shimabukuro perform everything on four strings (his documentary is “Life on Four Strings”). My hope for yesterday was pretty simple- figure out what I’m doing with this thing and start to decide if I should make time to really learn how to play it.
I tend to try to stay in my comfort zone with most things. This was way out there (like that time I tried to learn to knit). I was a little afraid- I never have been a musician. I like listening to music, I appreciate the work and effort that goes into it, but like when someone asks me how I can draw… to me there is magic to music and I don’t know even the basic spells.
The actual day ended up being a whirlwind from some basics to “chunking” and playing pop songs to the care and feeding of a uke to more basics to some music theory which, by that time, I was spent. Each presentation was well done, but for a beginner, I think I wouldn’t have minded having (and I could have taken it, but I didn’t want to miss anything) some time set aside to practice what we had just learned with the presenter or one of the many uke experts mentoring us. I headed home with sore fingers and still feeling a little lost- but willing to give it a try. I ended the day having tried to play a few songs, knowing how to take care of my uke (I was told I will start collecting them) and having some basics and a lot of encouragement to keep at it, even though I discovered I have no rhythm, at all. I missed the concert that night, which would have been cool, but needed to get home and just figure it all out. I am planning on spending a day at the Uke World Congress just to hang out and learn more, but that isn’t until June. My thanks to everyone who presented and are inspiring me to keep at it and the new friends I met along the away.
So what is my fate? With everything going on in my life ,will I decide to chunk in all and become a ukulele virtuso?
I have decided I want to give it a try, but some other things will end up being neglected (no, not the comic strip- I’ve got some ideas about this adventure, but there are only so many hours in a day to grade papers). Some say it will only take 15 minutes a day of practice…and a good ukulele tuner. Cecil is asking that I learn “I Like Bananas” as quickly as possible. All I can say is when I’m ready to storm the internet with my videos you’ll see them here first!
Here some pictures from Mosiac’s Ukulele Day (hopefully the first of many):
