Flavor #11 - Learn to Play the Ukulele

Learn to Play the Ukulele - Me

March 18, 2010

It was my second week, and my playing wasn't much better than the week before. It had been hard trying to find time to practice, and when I actually did find the time, I could vaguely remember the tunes and the strumming patterns of the songs we had played.

There was a very big possibility that I was going to fail miserably.

I put on my best attitude, and walked through the door. As I came around the cubicle-like wall, I discovered my friend Marissa tuning her ukulele. She had made it! Flashing her a relieved smile, I sat in the open seat next to her. Marissa and I knew each other from church. One day, in passing conversation, we had discovered that we both had an interest in taking ukulele lessons at Old Town, so we decided to enroll in the same class. As I admired her golden ukulele with beautiful mother of pearl inlay, a birthday gift from her family and friends, I silently hoped she was as amateur as me.

I would be disappointed. Turns out that Marissa used to live in Milwaukee and had a group of friends who were all really into the ukulele, so you could say she had picked up a few things. Of course, it didn't really take much to be better than me. For one thing, she could actually strum; I was still having issues with the basic "down, up, down."

We started off the class reviewing "E Huli", first in the original key of C and then in the new key of F (F G7 C7). The C7 chord (1st finger, 1st fret, 1st string), was new but just as simple as its relative: C. I immediately bonded with this key because the chord progression felt very natural...on my fingers and on my voice.

E Huli had 4 verses, and as we jammed, Lani encouraged each verse to get a little faster. I liked this because it pushed me to go past my own expectations. Usually when I feel out of my comfort zone, my natural urge is to step back and get a handle on the situation; however, in this environment, I was forced to try, even if I didn't feel I was ready.

Speaking of not feeling ready, Lani announced that it was time to learn "Katchi." Everyone watched curiously as she demonstrated a basic, but flattened downward strum, muting the strings with the heel of her palm. The result was a very raw and stripped sound.

Marissa threw a look my way; she had attempted Katchi before, and apparentally it was not her forte.

As it turns out, it wasn't mine either. Though my palm repeatedly tried to mute the strings, they stubbornly continued to make sound. I was still trying to figure it out, when Lani instructed us to practice on an open chord, alternating between the katchi and regular strumming. As I faked the "down, up, katchi, up" pattern with everyone else, I started to get that the strum and the palm needed to happen almost simultaneously. I was amazed at how watching and imitating my peers actually made the learning easier and faster.

Of course as soon as I got comfortable, Lani had us try our new technique on "Island Style." Let's just say that katchi by itself was hard enough, katchi and chord progressions would need a little work.

As Marissa and I shopped in the Old Town Music store for an uke carrying case, I couldn't help

but scold myself a little. There were a few moments during class where I wanted to give up and wait until I got home to figure things out on my own. This is an impulse that I've had since...forever. I don't know whether it's pride or insecurity, but it feels so much easier for me to "fail" by myself, than risk looking like a fool. The great thing about this class is that you don't really have the option of giving up. The rest of the group is jamming, so you look like a fool if you don't join in. And really, is failing so scary? You hit a wrong note, you shake it off and keep on strumming. It's the same with life; don't let the "wrong notes" keep you from composing your masterpiece!

The song is going to be played with or without you, so you better join in the jam.

March 11, 2010

Island Style:

It was my first class, and I was late. Anxiously I panted up the steps, two at a time, to the Old Town School of Folk Music. The girl at the front desk sized up the small, awkwardly-shaped, cardboard box I was towing and informed me that Ukulele 1 was next door. I breathed a quick thanks and retraced my steps, two at a time, south to a blue-washed, brick building.

The iron guitar and banjo art above the door, told me was in the right place. I entered into a mixture of tuning and jamming and followed the music trail around the corner. There were ten or so students sitting in a half circle, holding what could have been miniature guitars. They were all facing a woman with golden brown skin and thick black hair. I assumed this was the popular Lanialoha Lee, our instructor. She greeted me with a "Hello!" and a laid back smile that said, "I'm happy you're here."

I took a seat and quickly removed my vibrant, red uke from it's cardboard case. While I tuned with the others, Lani laughed about the jam session she attended the night before at the bar down the street. I was instantly intrigued by her voice; it was thick and raspy along the edges, as though she'd spent her whole life laughing.

She gave me two sheets, one with chords, the other with words; I had missed the official first day, and that made me officially behind everyone else. After a refresher on last week's highlights like the proper placement(neck angled up, body in the crook of your arm), and the various strumming patterns (1: down down; 2: down up; 3: down up down); she started playing.

The Song: La Huli

The Chords: C D7 G7

The rest of the students joined her and I had no choice but to jump in. Thankfully, I had once attempted to play the guitar, so I knew how to read chords. Now, reading chords and getting my fingers to actually play them, was a different story. Awkwardly, I tried to follow her strumming pattern with my right and the chord progressions with my left.

C was easy enough: just the 3rd finger, 3rd fret, 1st string. D7 wasn't bad either: 3rd finger stays in place, 2nd finger bars the 2nd fret. I was delighted to find that I was much more successful barring chords on the Uke than the guitar. G7 got a little tricky: 1st finger, 1st fret, 2nd string, ; 2nd finger, 2nd fret, 3rd string; 3rd finger, 3rd fret, 1st string.

By itself, G7 wasn't so bad, but switching from D7 to G7 was intimidating.

On top of all this, she actually wanted us to sing...and in Hawaiian:

E Huli, E Huli Makou

E Huli, E Huli Makou

Kou maka, kou lima, me kou kino e,

E aloha mai (Vamp D7, G7, C)

I was especially fond of the vamp after "E aloha mai" in which we inserted, "Neer, Ne-neer, Neneer-neneer, Neneer." Unfortunately, I couldn't take full advantage of this merry phrase because I was busy focusing on three chord changes in a measure and a half.

When Lani sang, her voice was rich and deep, resonating comfortably where my mezzo voice barely skimmed the surface. I followed the beautiful Hawaiian words the best I could, but when I focused on singing, the other elements inevitably suffered. I couldn't help but giggle at my lack of coordination, and in reponse, Lani threw a lot of amused but encouraging smiles my way.

My technique wasn't the only thing that suffered. After an hour, my once soft and spoiled fingers were whipped and swollen. I ran my thumb over the burning tips, and silently willed the clock to read 6:50, but Lani wasn't through with us yet...

Song: Island Style

Chords: C C7 F G7

I didn't quite feel up for another song, but I trudged on. Lani led us in the chord progression, calling out the name of each chord as we played. There was an upside: we weren't learning any new chords, and the words were in english.

On the islands, we do it island style

From the mountain to ocean

from the windward to the leeward side

The song was written by John Cruz, a Hawaiian native living in the big city and longing for his homeland. The chorus speaks of the ocean dwellers, catching the fish off the warm sandy beaches, and the mountain dwellers growing the rice in the cooler more damp climates. Lani explained that everyone on the island does their share of the work so they can also share in the feasting and singing and playing, which the song refers to as, "kani ka pila." As Lani lovingly added her own memories to Cruz's, I started to sense that "Island Style" was more than lyric in a song: it was a lifestyle of people taking care of each other and enjoying life's simple joys.

As I packed up to go home, it also started to dawn on me that the ukulele is more than just a fun, toy-of-an-instrument: it's a piece of Lani's culture, one I can't wait to learn more about.

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