Ukulele update

I know the title of my Blog suggests this all about the continuing voyages of the narrowboat Skylark, but I couldn't go on without mentioning the continuing voyages of me and my ukulele.

I have been practicing most days since I bought it 3 weeks ago and I had my first 'outing' in public last Sunday in the Limes. Now, I'm not going to say it was a polished performance but it was passable and the audience was appreciative, helped by copious amounts of Greene King and Adnams strong ales.

As I said in my last post, if you've ever thought of having a go, I would highly recommend it. The instrument is often thought of as a child's toy but a toy it is not. Of course you can pick them up for a few pounds and they are not much better than a toy, and can put off would-be players by their poor quality but if you spend £100 or so you will get an instrument worth having and sounding good. Spend over £300 for a genuine Hawaiian and you'll get something that would grace any orchestra or band.

My Uke is concert-sized and of French extraction - but it was probably was brought up in China. It goes by the name of LAG U77C (catchy or what?) and is a lovely dark brown mahogany.

 

[Insert image on Blogger is playing up again. It's taken 24 hours to upload one picture. Why does it have to be so temperamental? Or am I doing something wrong?]

Getting the right size does matter. The smaller Soprano Uke is the traditional size but is much smaller and can sound thinner and tinnier. It can also be difficult for people with bigger fingers to hit the strings without buzzing up against adjacent ones. The concert comes next followed by the Tenor and then the largest, Baritone.

Now, if you need any more encouragement or inspiration, click on YouTube and watch the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. Their 'Good, the Bad and the Ugly' is fantastic (amongst others). I also came across Jake Shimabukuro presenting his version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. 'How can that be possible?', I hear you ask. Watch it and you'll find out. It really is a remarkable - on a par with a the best international classical guitar.

Now, back to narrow boats. The wintery weather looks like it may calm down this weekend so I'm off to experience the delights of the Great Ouse. Walking around the local CBS this morning, I invested in an extendable aluminium broom thingy with a hose adaptor for washing the boat. This should help to clean those 'hard to get at areas'.

I also bought one of those bike extension tubes for adding a child's bike to yours. If I can get it to fit, this may provide a good means to attach the large umbrella to the tiller arm. I'm not sure if it will work but will soon find out. If it doesn't, it will find it's way on to Ebay. Such fun!