Four Strings Good.

[Laurie Booth]

ukulele club stroud

 

Richard

Wow thanks Richard, this forum never fails to help me.

(I think the wife will commit suicide when she hears the "Plinky Plonky" sound.)

Cheers

[Aunty_Rinum]

 

.............

 

With all due respect to Aunty_Rinum, that's why I posted that it was A good definition. The definition, I believe, is accorded to piano accordian players. We Ukemen are nothing if not pedantic. The word Banjo covers a multitude of instruments, the 5 string banjo is a fine instrument but it's almost as big as a guitar and more limited in the type of music it is suitable for, 6 string banjos whilst in existence are rare enough to ignore, the four stringed variety when made small enough to be discreet on a boat are called... you guessed...Ukuleles!!

 

 

 

 

With all due respect to you, trust me. For over fifty years I've played the banjo, banjolele, guitar, ukulele, and many other things that will produce a tune.

The fine instrument that you are referring to is called a banjolele or sometimes banjo ukulele - try Googling the word and looking at the pictures. The equally fine small instrument which has four strings and looks like a guitar is a ukulele - try Googling that word and look at those pictures as well.

If, as you say, you are a pedantic uke man, you should at least get the name right and stop perpetuating the old myth that a banjo uke is a ukulele. Non players will believe you.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Aunty_Rinum

[grahame r]

See my post 22.

[Jackster]

Currently trying to learn both Ukulele and five string banjo, mixed success with both but enjoy it which is the main thing. One day I may even be able to play a tune lol

[grahame r]

The Ukelele Orchestra play instruments in a variety of sizes, well above and below your 23" description

 

Formby was a showman. Curiously, he never cleaned windows either. His use of language was carefully selected for effect rather than information

 

The bloke who made his banjulele for him knew exactly what it was called

 

And you seem to be very passionate about this, to the point of being insulting. What's that all about?

 

Richard

I didn't mean to be insulting, re-reading my post I shouldn't have used the word arrogance and apologise and will try to edit to remove it. However, telling beginners that what they have is not a Ukulele is not helpful as they will deduce, wrongly, that Ukulele tuition is not applicable to their instrument. Yes I am passionate about as many people as possible having a go at making music.

[RLWP]

Me too. My usual means of attack is trying to convince people they can sing, no matter what they were told at school

 

To the barricades, brother

 

Richard

 

we can keep warm by burning your Uke

[Catrin]

Me too. My usual means of attack is trying to convince people they can sing, no matter what they were told at school

 

OK, explain this to me then.

 

I think that people can draw, no matter what they were told at school, but that is just a matter of getting them to see what is there, not what they think is there. It's done by getting them to look at shapes, distances, angles, etc, For example, by getting them to draw a picture upside down. But singing, how? I'd love to be able to sing, but whenever I try I have people running away covering their ears - which is why I took up the melodeon.

[keble]

OK, explain this to me then.

 

I think that people can draw, no matter what they were told at school, but that is just a matter of getting them to see what is there, not what they think is there. It's done by getting them to look at shapes, distances, angles, etc, For example, by getting them to draw a picture upside down. But singing, how? I'd love to be able to sing, but whenever I try I have people running away covering their ears - which is why I took up the melodeon.

I have a recollection of a program showing someone who achieved a lot of success teaching non-singers to sing.

Possibly like drawing, you get them to hear properly. One technique was to display their voice pitch on a screen, then get them to go up and down 'following' a computer-generated tone.

I toyed with the idea of producing an app to do this, but it's not trivial.

I too would love to be able to sing better!

[Laurie Booth]

I have a recollection of a program showing someone who achieved a lot of success teaching non-singers to sing.

Possibly like drawing, you get them to hear properly. One technique was to display their voice pitch on a screen, then get them to go up and down 'following' a computer-generated tone.

I toyed with the idea of producing an app to do this, but it's not trivial.

I too would love to be able to sing better!

I was actually banned from singing at school

[pquinn]

seen a guy on sunday [busker] playing motzart on a uke,with a strap on harmonica while cycling a unicycle and wearing a crazy wig now that is talent.crusty the clown eat yer heart out.

is it true that george formby only knew a couple of chords so had his ukes tuned up or down to suit?

lotta uke orchestras over here and every music shop seems to have loads in the windows,some beauts like the martin.they were selling them in lidl a while back,meant to get one but forgot.the reviews of them on the net were not bad and good enough to learn on.

[bizzard]

If you can't knock a simple tune out of a mouth organ which in my opinion is the easiest of all instruments to get a tune out of I doubt if you'll ever be able to play any other instrument so for those concerned it might be best to stick with the ''paper and comb''. I feel sorry for folk who would dearly love to be able to play an instrument properly but never will even maybe with all the tuition in the world and to be able to take great delight and self satisfaction of being able to play properly and entertain people with their musical talent without them all running away screaming with fingers in their ears. Unfortunately these poor budding musicians are usually tone deaf, won't admit or not even realized it and are shocked and stunned when told they're making an infernal terrible row. These poor folk go through life collecting instruments that they think they can learn to play, can't, and reject each each one in turn in the hope that the next one will be ''the one'' but it never is and they just end up with a huge collect of instruments to sadly gloat over in private that they'll never be able to play. They become very accomplished at talking about the subject though and the playing of instruments, giving the listener the false impression that they're brilliant guitarists or whatever and when asked to play a tune out come all the excuses, like my fingers are sore with too much playing at the moment or I've got wax in my ears that makes me play slightly off key, or the atmosphere is too humid and me strings have gone all limp and so on and so on. They sadly never ever come to terms that the ''musical talent'' just isn't in em.

I do feel deeply sorry for em.

Edited June 25, 2013 by bizzard

[Laurie Booth]

Thanks Bizzard for destroying all my dreams.

[RLWP]

{snip} I'd love to be able to sing, but whenever I try I have people running away covering their ears {snip}

 

 

I was actually banned from singing at school

 

Those are the beliefs that need to be challenged.

 

Richard

[Victor Vectis]

Me too. My usual means of attack is trying to convince people they can sing, no matter what they were told at school

 

 

So that's what we were doing at Pelsall

 

We won a quiz once by knowing George Formby played a banjulele. I still have the medal to prove it

 

(But as a team we would have preferred cash)

[bizzard]

Thanks Bizzard for destroying all my dreams.

Oh dear, I do apologize for upsetting and destroying your musical dreams Laurie, just like me, but perhaps you have have other hidden talents lurking deep down like wicker bottom chair repairing or glass blowing for example.

[Catrin]

 

Those are the beliefs that need to be challenged.

 

Richard

OK, but how do you learn to make a noise that people like?

[Laurie Booth]

Oh dear, I do apologize for upsetting and destroying your musical dreams Laurie, just like me, but perhaps you have have other hidden talents lurking deep down like wicker bottom chair repairing or glass blowing for example.

Or writing books

http://www.fantomfilms.co.uk/books/bob_baker.htm

Edited June 25, 2013 by Laurie.Booth

[Kwacker]

I didn't mean to be insulting, re-reading my post I shouldn't have used the word arrogance and apologise and will try to edit to remove it. However, telling beginners that what they have is not a Ukulele is not helpful as they will deduce, wrongly, that Ukulele tuition is not applicable to their instrument. Yes I am passionate about as many people as possible having a go at making music.

 

Despite being a brilliant teacher, and dedicated beyond belief, the music teacher at the school my sons recently learned music at will not allow a Uke on the premises, perhaps she was once molested by a Formby look-alike.

She is young, and far from narrow minded, as attested to by the variety of highly successful school bands, including Steel, Jazz, Soul, Folk, Ceilidh, beat box etc. that she regularly works 'til 8pm to support.

 

ps If small stringed musical instruments are your thing, why not try the Mandolin as demonstrated by the brilliant Chris Thile

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=O7EcT5YzKhQ

Edited June 27, 2013 by Kwacker

[bizzard]

 

Despite being a brilliant teacher, and dedicated beyond belief, the music teacher at the school my sons recently learned music at will not allow a Uke on the premises, perhaps she was once molested by a Formby look-alike.

She is young, and far from narrow minded, as attested to by the variety of highly successful school bands, including Steel, Jazz, Soul, Folk, Ceilidh, beat box etc. that she regularly works 'til 8pm to support.

 

ps If small stringed musical instruments are your thing, why not try the Mandolin as demonstrated by the brilliant Chris Thile

 

http://youtu.be/O7EcT5YzKhQ.

Mmm. Looks like she might have been put off stringed instruments for some reason, maybe she could never get the hang of her G string. Or maybe she'd been had up for Air-ing it too freely.

Edited June 25, 2013 by bizzard

[RLWP]

OK, but how do you learn to make a noise that people like?

 

Simplest answer is to join a choir. Most choirs are used to people turning up who are not confident or have been told they can't sing. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a self fulfilling prophesy. If you think you can't sing, you are tentative with your voice which means you don't relax. This leads to your vocal chords being under tension and your lungs not delivering enough air, and a thin noise coming out that's hard to hear and correct

 

Singing quietly is far, far harder than singing loudly

 

Join a choir you can be comfortable in, and see what happens

[windy miller]

After a little practice, you may be able to play like this guy:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k

[pquinn]

 

Despite being a brilliant teacher, and dedicated beyond belief, the music teacher at the school my sons recently learned music at will not allow a Uke on the premises, perhaps she was once molested by a Formby look-alike.

She is young, and far from narrow minded, as attested to by the variety of highly successful school bands, including Steel, Jazz, Soul, Folk, Ceilidh, beat box etc. that she regularly works 'til 8pm to support.

 

ps If small stringed musical instruments are your thing, why not try the Mandolin as demonstrated by the brilliant Chris Thile

 

 

http://youtu.be/O7EcT5YzKhQ.

i wonder where she stands on bagpipes.a deadly weapon in the wrong hands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-9X1cQFQPeU

 

marilyn monroe in some like it hot.

[Kwacker]

i wonder where she stands on bagpipes.a deadly weapon in the wrong hands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-9X1cQFQPeU

 

marilyn monroe in some like it hot.

Oh yes, that could make me take up the Uke ..... ps. how did you embed that Vid?

[pquinn]

Oh yes, that could make me take up the Uke ..... ps. how did you embed that Vid?

i just right clicked on it in youtube and hit copy video url then hit paste in here and up she pops.

[Laurie Booth]

i just right clicked on it in youtube and hit copy video url then hit paste in here and up she pops.

Out of a birthday cake