Ever since I first discovered the ukulele, I have been fascinated by it as an instrument and expanding ukulele horizons beyond the strum. I currently own 24 ukes that I have collected from all over the planet and just love them. To date I have recorded over 30 tracks with these instruments. I’m also a big fan of exploring sonic possibilities with these ukes and seeing what is sonically possible.
Let me be clear before the arrows reign down online about this subject! Strumming chords and group strum/singalongs are for many great fun and wonderful social activity. Each year I run the PA for ukulele groups and as I have witnessed first hand these are always fun evenings. My point however is that there is also a case for expanding ukulele horizons beyond the strum.
I set up The Original Ukulele Songs platform in the hope of attracting some great musicians. I am very pleased with the results as there are some really good musicians on the site. OUS is a rare oasis in a ukulele world which is full of enthusiastic strummers, (which is fine of course) but there’s so much more in terms of possibilities.
Fortunately in the ukulele world there are a few people pushing the boundaries of what is possible and this gives me some hope. I appreciate that many people like group strumming, comedy acts, playing classic quirky 70s classics etc, but personally I’d prefer to listen to James Hill or Martin Simpson who both brilliantly show what is possible with this mighty instrument. Both are musicians in the real sense who are expanding ukulele horizons beyond the strum. Martin is most known for decades of guitar work, but he extremely adept on many instruments including the ukulele. He owns a number of different ukes and I have seen him play like using a uke.
I am extremely lucky to have had 34 private 1 – 1 sessions with Martin Simpson which have inspired me to look at music in a very different way, including exploring the potential of a wealth of different instruments. Below is a short clip from a private meeting which shows just some of that “Simpson lightening in a jar”
Teachers like Phil Doleman and Percy Copley have also helped educate and inspire students to think of the ukulele as a musical instrument and should be applauded for their efforts. Initiatives like Sore fingers are invaluable in showing that the ukulele can be used to create a wide range of brilliant and creative music. Without such initiatives I fear we are doomed to endless dumbing down in ukulele based music. Even at major uke focused events there is often not a great deal of musical innovation, but as I have previously blogged, such events are more social meet ups than environments for listening to creative music.
I think there is a real opportunity to show the wider public that the ukulele is more than a gimmick. My observations is that this is probably an uphill battle, but certainly one worth pursuing and I am pleased that I’m not the only person thinking this.