History and Introduction Ukuleles History and Introduction

History Although the ukulele is largely associated with Hawaii, it had its start in Portugal. The Portuguese had created a smaller version of a guitar called the machete

History Continued In 1879, Portuguese immigrant brought the instrument to Hawaii, where it was became very popular with the Hawaiian Royal Family. They became popular because they were inexpensive to make compared to other instruments The word “ukulele” comes from a Hawaiian phrase about a jumping flea because the strumming motion reminded people of those bugs. Ukuleles are most often today associated with hula dancing.

Famous Ukulele players Israel Kamakawiwoʻole-from Honolulu Jake Shimabukuro-from Honolulu Jack Johnson Sara Bareilles Colbie Caillat

Iz Kamakawiwoʻole Somewhere Over The Rainbow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fahr 069-fzE

Parts of Ukulele

How to Hold the Ukulele Most of the weight is supported by cradling the ukulele with your right elbow The neck should rest gently in your left palm. Don’t grab it too hard or you won’t be able to change chords! Resting when not playing! Resting means on your lap and not strumming or plucking the instrument to make sound.

How to Play The most common sized ukulele is the Soprano Ukulele (highest and smallest) Left hand frets the strings, right hand strums A pick is typically not used to strum the strings

Tuning the ukulele The standard tuning for a ukulele is G C E A (Starting from the string closest to the ceiling) if holding the instrument correctly The C string is the lowest even though it is not the first string Our instruments have built in tuners Flat (b) means the pitch of the string is too low-tighten the tuning peg slowly Sharp (#) means the pitch of the string is too high-loosen the tuning peg slowly “My dog has fleas” G C E A

A7 chord Fret 1 First finger goes on 1st Fret of second (c) string G C E A

D chord Fret 1 Use fingers 1, 2, and 3 Fret 2 All fingers go on the 2nd fret A string is left open (no fingers down) Finger 2(middle) on G Finger 3 (ring) on C Finger 4 (pinky) on E G C E A

G 1 2 3