Identify Your Vintage Martin – Caveat Emptor
I’ve been learning about vintage ukuleles made by the C.F. Martin Company for years, ever since I heard Brian Hefferan and Dave Passant playing their vintage Martins at various events. The sound of these instruments is distinctively different than any other. So I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a deal, checking out online auctions, For Sale listings and yard sales for several years. And educating myself on identifying the different styles and how to determine the time frame during which it was made. My primary source is the definitive reference, The Martin Ukulele: The Little Instrument That Helped Create a Guitar Giant by John King and Tom Walsh. The archives of the C.F. Martin Company were used by the authors to create this volume. This book has the history of the instrument within the Martin Company as well as pages of information about the differences between the Styles and…
Get Plucky With the Ukulele
Get Plucky With the Ukulele Newly Released as: Ukulele for Beginners: How To Play Ukulele in Easy-to-Follow Steps Will Grove-White Paperback – Octopus Books 176 Pages and Foldout Chart Audience – Any Player Rating – Ukulele pictured – Custom Talsma Ukulele Will Grove-White was bitten by the ukulele bug early in life. As a teenager, he became enamored with the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and was quickly asked to sit in with them. Today he continues to help this amazing group entertain audiences across the globe. Will has written a book that is a little bit biography with the rest split between history and musical instruction. Easy to read, this is full of stories about the early days of the instrument and its origins. Tales of the beginning of the golden age and the heroes of the ukulele bring the narrative right up to modern times. Short vignettes include…
Midwest Uke Camp – 2017 Review
I had so much fun at the 1st Midwest Uke & Harmonica Camp that there was no question I was going to attend again this year! Ben Hassenger and Stan Werbin have once again planned a terrific weekend for music with an amazing array of instructors. Held on the beautiful campus of Olivet College, this can be a very relaxing, even though busy, weekend. Located just off Highway 69, it is easily reached from any direction. The campus is very picturesque with an array of architecture from the 1800’s to the modern looking cafeteria. The main road through town cuts across the middle of the campus, but has very limited traffic. This year’s instructor line up included the return of many instructors as well as new ones. Steven Espaniola, Cathy Fink, Stuart Fuchs, Rachel Manke, Marcie Marxer, Dave Passant, and Sandy Weltman arrived for the first time. Jim Beloff,…
Ukulele Heroes – The Golden Age
Ukulele Heroes – The Golden Age Ian Whitcomb Published by Hal Leonard Softcover – 166 Pages Audience – All levels Rating – Ukulele pictured – Unknown Maker (Harmony?) – circ. 1950 – Strung with vintage gut strings. Ian Whitcomb has spent his life in the music industry. Growing up in Great Britain, he encountered the ukulele early in his life. And ‘ukie’ has been traveling with him for much of it. His Martin joined him onstage with Johnny Carson and has been used in his performances across the country. In the process he encountered the stories and music of his ukulele heroes, which he shares with us in his book. He has also issued a terrific 2 CD set of Tin Pan Alley songs on the ukulele (review in the future). Profusely illustrated with vintage sheet music and photographs many provided by Flea Market Music (Jim and Liz Beloff), a…
Ukulele Chord Charts from BestMusicStuff.com
Five Ukulele Rating! I’m not sure which feed brought it up, it was probably Amazon, and it linked to the Creative Guitar Poster. I poked around and tried to find an ukulele version, but was unsuccessful. So I asked the question. The response was pretty quick, within a couple hours, and provided a link to the ukulele version. It looked like something that would help when I was teaching and had lots of features, including being Dry-Erase with room to circle and make notes. I responded with a thank you and ordered one. I got a message on The Ukulele Dude’s Facebook page indicating that they had added one of their Ukulele Reference Posters at no charge, and would I consider providing a review of the two charts. So here we go! The Ukulele Reference Poster is great! I’ve got several different chord books, fold out charts, and one page…
C.F. Martin – Style 1 Ukulele
Okay, I took a risk. It wasn’t a big risk, but it was a risk. How good was the new Facebook Marketplace? Someone on one of the ukulele forums on Facebook had shared a For Sale posting. It was listed as a 1920s C.F. Martin & Co. Soprano Ukulele Style 0 with an instruction book. Lots of pictures showing the condition issues and problems. The first thing I realized, without even checking the books, was that the double fret marker at 7 indicated it was a Style 1, not a Style 0. So after a conversation over Facebook, and a couple of actual phone calls, I transferred the money and got a tracking number. The only thing left was to wait for the arrival of the package. Two days later it arrived. Very well packaged and exactly what I was expecting to see, down to all the scratches and dings.…
Mighty Uke Day 7
Mighty Uke Day VII is coming upon us quickly! Taking place over on May 13th (unlucky for some!) it is bookended by events on Friday and Sunday. The line ups are getting larger and larger with more opportunities for all. There is a full schedule of free events, open mic, featured stage and free workshops in addition to paid concerts and workshops. You can find all the details at the Mighty Uke Day 7 web site. Gearing up for the event Ben Hassenger held the Mighty Uke Day 7 Fundraiser at The Avenue earlier this month. Cathy, my wife, went with me and we had a great time listening to all the great musicians and strumming along with the crowd! Shady Grove was one of my open mic songs. On the way home, a car pulled around us, got in front of us and immediately slowed down. Cathy immediately…
Instrument Review – 21″ Mini Size Ukulele from ebay
21″ Mini Size Ukulele Exquisite Workmanship Spruce Ukelele [sic] Ultrathin M3K9 This was an ebay purchase and was listed as a Buy Me Now at $35.58, with free Economy Shipping. The pictures on line were very attractive, I figured for the price, let’s give it a shot. It is listed as unbranded, but has an IZ (ZI?) in a crescent logo on the head. The top is listed as Spruce and the back and sides are listed a Sapele, an African wood often substituted for mahogany. The neck is supposedly mahogany, but as it is completely covered in paint there is no way to tell for sure. The label inside simply has Model No: LA03-21 on it. It showed 15 frets with markers at 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15. Ox bone nut and saddle with rosewood bridge and fingerboard. My biggest reservation was that it was listed as…
Jake Shimabukuro at Hill Auditorium
Jake was at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor on November 16th. I last saw him two years ago a Hill on a cold snowy day. It took my two hours to travel the 50 miles from home to A2. This year it only took me an hour, and I had time to investigate the large group of students outside Angel Hall, and see Jessie Jackson speaking. I went to a nearby restaurant and had dinner and then sat outside and noodled around a bit. Getting some smiles from kids and a gentleman who I discovered was going to the concert as well as having been at the Michigan Philharmonic concert, Uke Can’t Be Serious!, the week before, an event I had also attended. Arriving well before the concert started, I chatted with a number of ukulele folks I had met at previous ukulele events. When I purchased my ticket, all…
The ‘Ukulele, A History
The ‘Ukulele, A History Jim Tranquada and John King University of Hawai’i Press Paperback – 282 Pages Audience – Serious History buffs only Rating – Ukulele pictured – Ohana SK35-GS While the book is 282 pages long, it is not nearly that much for straight reading. It contains 2 Appendices and almost 100 pages of footnotes. But that doesn’t mean it is hard to read. The narrative is factual and flows nicely, it also includes a number of illustrations throughout the text. My recommendation is to read the book through the first time and ignore the footnotes. A second reading while referencing the notes will provide a more in depth understanding of the history and the associated background. The book is arranged in nine chapters that cover the instrument from its development through modern times. The spread of the instrument is documented as well, with particular attention paid to the…