06/01/2015 - 07/01/2015

28 Jun 2015

Win a Makala Waterman Ukulele - GOT A UKULELE COMPETITION

COMPETITION CLOSED! RESULT COMING SOON!!

Would you like to be in with a chance of winning a fabulous Makala Waterman ukulele? Of course you would. So with thanks to the kind folks at Kala UK, I am giving one away in this free to enter competition!


Makala Waterman orange ukulele


You may have read my review of the Waterman and seen that I quite like it. The model on offer is brand new and in the orange swirl pattern, complete with Makala Waterman box and gig bag. All you have to do is a bit of snooping on this website to answer the following easy questions:


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23 Jun 2015

Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee - Come Back Home Video

Well this is rather nice. During their recent tour of the UK and Europe, Craig Chee documented their time over this side of the atlantic with photographs. Add in to that some video from Jim Colvin and a delightful tune from their latest album and you have this treat.

And the extra treat is seeing so many friends faces in the photographs. Oh, that and the fact I have never been in a music video before! I'm honoured!



( DIRECT LINK )

And, if you like the music - the album is now available for download at the link below (and a review of it is coming on this site soon!!)

http://www.cheemaisel.com/digital-albums/scene-1-take-1-digital-download


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22 Jun 2015

Makala Waterman Soprano Ukulele REVIEW

Well it was a little time coming over to UK shores for this blogger, but the much awaited Makala Waterman plastic soprano has finally launched in the UK. The musical instrument was officially released this last weekend, but I have been lucky to have had a trio of Waterman ukuleles on test for the last week. Are they worth all the hype?


Makala Waterman Soprano Ukulele


The Makala Waterman is the latest in what seems to be an endless stream of plastic ukuleles that are hitting the market (and I have reviewed three or four others already!). A couple of bits of housekeeping from the off:


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20 Jun 2015

My Little Buttercup Ukulele Chords

How could I not put these ukulele chords up following Mim's My Little Buttercup video? Made famous in the film The Three Amigos and written by Randy Newman. Go have fun!



MY LITTLE BUTTERCUP UKULELE CHORDS


[G] My little buttercup has the sweetest [C] smile

[Am] Dear little buttercup, [D7] won't you stay a  [G6] while

[G] Come with me where moonbeams paint the [G7] sky

And [D7] you and I might linger in the [Am] sweet by and [D7] by, [Cm] oh...


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19 Jun 2015

Mim's Ukes - My Little Buttercup

Regular readers of this ukulele website will know that I was rather affectionately (not really) called 'Buttercup' recently during a spat. It's led to me being honoured in song by the fabulous Mim's Ukes...




And in return for that she gets a BIG recommendation from me as a reliable ukulele store that you SHOULD visit if you are on that side of the pond.

Errrr, thanks Mim!

http://mimsukes.com



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16 Jun 2015

Wunderkammer Ike Soprano Ukulele - REVIEW

I do like to scatter my ukulele reviews with breaks from the norm (not everything ukulele related comes from China..) so I was delighted when I was contacted by luthier Liam Kirby offering me a loan of one of his hand made soprano ukes - the Wunderkammer 'Ike' Model.


Wunderkammer Ike Soprano ukulele


Wunderkammer you say? German? Nope - these are hand made by Liam in his workshop in Bristol. And when I say this is a handmade ukulele, I truly mean it is handmade. Read on!


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14 Jun 2015

Can We Stop With The Easy Ukulele Myth?

You probably have noted something of a common theme in my rants on Got A Ukulele. They tend to react to the tripe that is touted around on social media mainly, the naysayers, the rule makers, the opinionated. Yet there is one myth that beats all the others and from which I think most of them are formed. The statement that the ukulele is 'easy'.


ukulele strings

The media are terrible culprits and in the last few months I have seen loads of news site coverage, supposedly promoting the instrument, saying that the uke is 'easy to play'. They also almost always say they are cheap, but that is a whole other rant....

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12 Jun 2015

Gerald: A Ukulele Adventure by Jake Smithies and Nicole Ramsden - REVIEW

You will have heard me talk about Jake Smithies before on this blog. One half of Dead Mans Uke, the guy with the impossibly cool outfits and the double bass. Well, did you know he is also an artist and author? I picked up his latest book, Gerald: A Ukulele Adventure from the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival.


Gerald: A Ukulele Adventure


In fact Jake and his partner Nicole have prepared a number of books, and this is his second one featuring Gerald, prepared for the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival.


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11 Jun 2015

I Can't Remember If I Cried, The Day, Uke Players Died

I really didn't want to post this, but you know that thing where you are cut off online and not given a voice and others then state their case without any right of reply? I figured that for posterity I'd set out what happened the day Uke Players died.




For those not in the know, Uke Players is a Facebook group for ukulele fans. There are lots of Facebook groups for uke fans, but this one has been around a fair while and had a LOT of people in it. I was removed from that site this morning and blocked by the admins. Well a lot of people were, but that is kind of what started it all. If you are a member of another Facebook ukulele group read this as a lesson in how not to run a group. If you are reading this AND you are still a member of Uke Players, you may want to rethink some of the lies that have been posted by your exalted leaders.


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10 Jun 2015

A High Five For Ukulele Performers Who Do Things Their Way

Something very odd has been happening in ukulele social media circles lately. For some time the ukulele community has been plagued with the 'you can't do that brigade', but some now seem to have taken a dislike to any music that is not played in the style of their preference.

It's one thing telling beginners that they 'can't use a strap' that they 'can't use a pick' or 'you must use these strings', and in a sense their constant drum beating in that regard is rather amusing (if tiresome). But it's quite something else when they start sending public and private messages telling performers they are 'an embarrassment to the ukulele community'. You heard that right. That actually happened.

Now, for some time I have been wanting to get hold of this imaginary rule book that tells people what they can and cannot do with a ukulele, but it seems that it's had a new chapter added - 'What you can and cannot play'.


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5 Jun 2015

Don't Be Afraid Of Using Your Forefinger - It's Part Of Learning The Ukulele!

Ahhh, the humble forefinger. Where would we be without it? Excellent for so many things, picking your nose, scratching your ear, prodding an errant cat. It's also pretty important for playing the ukulele too. Yet some people actively encourage others to avoid it. Why is that?


the importance of learning to barre a ukulele


There is one thing that comes from the armchair advisors of the ukulele world that could give the 'Just play an E7, it's the same as an E chord' brigade a run for their money, and that is those who actively avoid playing any chords that have a barre in them. As bizarre as that sounds, it is sadly true and I spotted a pretty lively discussion on social media recently in which some players were advising a beginner to either avoid songs that used barre chords totally, to play 'cheat chords,' or to (shudder) use a capo instead. Well, the news from Got A Ukulele towers is that I would advise the exact opposite.


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4 Jun 2015

Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee at Grateful Freds, The Atkinson, Southport - REVIEW

Well I figured that I couldn't let ukulele greats Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee pass me by again before they leave the UK following their tour. Having seen them again at the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival, I was therefore delighted to learn that Grateful Fred (organiser of some top music nights in the Liverpool / Formby / Southport area) was putting them on as headliners at one of his revered Roots and Acoustic nights. Time for a road trip to Southport!

Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee at the Atkinson

So picking up one half of Chonkinfeckle on the way up we arrive at a smashing Studio Theatre at the Atkinson in Southport - what a great venue! We take Sarah and Craig by surprise as I had kept it a secret that I was going up (hugs and hellos), then see that one half of the Mersey Belles had also come along for the show. Hang on half of the Mersey Belles and half of Chonkinfeckle? So that's Either a 'Merseyfeckle' or 'Chonkinbelles' then?. Great to see them and some other ukulele faces in the crowd too. Well I guess it's not every day you get two of the most in demand performers on the ukulele circuit in your backyard.


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1 Jun 2015

It IS OK To Have Different Tastes In The Ukulele World.

Been a while, but rant time on Got A Ukulele. So let's start with this. I am not a huge fan of Elton John. Don't care much for Robbie Williams either. I can take or leave Chris De Burgh and have never bought any music by Celine Dion. (I also love ice cream but can take or leave chocolate flavour...)


varieties of ice cream


Hang on though, I love music (and spend far more than is probably healthy on my record collection), how can I possibly not enjoy these performers? I mean, they are musicians, right? I like music, therefore I must like them? Right? Wrong. And I know I don't need to explain why that is. Some readers may be big fans of them, and that is cool. But I think any right minded fan of music in its many forms would recognise that we don't all like the same things. You see, it's perfectly OK to like different things in music.

I like to think I have a pretty broad taste in music and am as happy listening to The Beatles as I am to Charlie Parker, as happy with Neil Young as I am with Mozart. But I do have many eclectic choices too and when growing up would find myself shocked when I had to retort, 'What? You mean you don't like Frank Zappa / Tom Waits / Nick Cave' .  But as I say, I was young, and enthusiasm is a powerful thing. But you soon realise that music is a broad church and there really is something for everyone and not everyone likes EVERYTHING.

Instruments too may have their fans, and it would be right to say that my music collection is heavy on guitar based instrumentation, but I also like piano, keyboards and lots of electronic music too. I also have a fondness for the traditional and have been known to go weak at the knee at the sound of an autoharp... But again, tastes differ.

Which got me thinking of another oddity in the ukulele world. The assumption with some that 'because he / she / they are playing a ukulele you MUST like them because you play one too.'... Excuse me? I adore the playing of Jimi Hendrix on an electric guitar and Richard Thompson (on a guitar of any variety) but should it therefore follow that no matter who records a piece of music on one of those instruments should automatically get my affections? Of course not. So what gives with the ukulele then?

I decided that in penning this blog post that it was probably best to keep off individual names, ( I don't have time for all the angry email it would generate, even if that would serve to prove the point) but here's the thing. Just because a performer plays a ukulele, it doesn't follow that I automatically adore them just because I write about the instrument. Like any instrument or genre, I have my preferred tastes. It's hard to pin down, but music that moves me, speaks to me, or damn well just makes me tap my foot can do it. And personal tastes (and you all have them) mean that some things don't flick that switch for me.

Yet I never fail to be surprised by the reaction I get if, on public social media, I would 'dare' to say 'actually, no, he / she / they are not by cup of tea'... I've seen it all - a genuine reaction of confusion at best, and horror at worst that other ukulele players genuinely don't understand WHY I may not like performer X... I am sure it's not just me, but it still doesn't half amaze me how many there are who get confused in the first place.

This is not about talent, skill, technical ability. There are plenty of musicians who I look at and think, 'wow, you really are a good example of your art' but I would never really enjoy sitting and listening to. Take Eric Clapton (sorry Eric). A performer who's early work I have a fondness for, but today seems to present something that would see me rather sticking needles in my face than listening to him. I don't know what it is. His technical skill is clear to me and I am in total awe of it, but his music these days does nothing for me. And what is music if not something that should move you in some way, whether physically, mentally or spiritually? If it doesn't do that should I automatically 'like' it just because he plays a guitar? And I like guitars....

This slots in to a bigger observation about the ukulele I suppose, and something that spawns the endless MEMES that circulate along the lines of the 'keep calm, play your ukulele' or 'So then she said, why do you need more than one ukulele?' variety. I understand the passion, certainly. But I don't understand the 'obsession'. There is a difference. I love the instrument, but not at disregard to my own tastes and love for other forms of art. To do so would be obsession.

I recently saw a slightly heated debate on the subject of UAS, and collecting instruments for the sake of it. I chipped in and suggested I had 'been there, done that and realised that it wasn't a sensible thing for me'. Cue the comments along the lines of 'there is no such thing as too few ukuleles' etc.. Groan...

And in the same way, when someone posts a picture of a new ukulele, it will be guaranteed to get more likes, cooing and fawning than a picture of their new born baby would. Do all ukulele players automatically adore any image this instrument? (I don't). I don't believe they really do, but the community standards seem to suggest that we are all duty bound to 'like like like' anything uke related. And don't get me started on the guaranteed reaction you will get by sharing an image of a guitar you own in ukulele media circles... (cue the 'but it has too many strings' jokes... guffaw, guffaw...)

Interesting, and just an observation I guess, but with a serious point at the heart of it. I personally don't think it is all that healthy to 'like like like' anything ukulele related without any perspective. It really is as crazy as someone saying 'you like music, why don't you like ALL music?'

Surely we all like a bit of variety, and a world in which we all had exactly the same record collections would be a dull world indeed. I mean, you would NEVER get tickets for any band because surely EVERYONE would be trying to get them. Every album would share the number one spot. And so on and so on.

And dare I say it, but, I don't think it's particularly good for the image of the instrument. The ukulele already gets pigeonholed as something of a joke or toy instrument, and having people get rabidly obsessed with it no matter what hardly helps in my book. Yet why do we have so many players / clubs / bands who all kind of dress the same and play what is essentially the same song book? A desire to be part of a community for sure, and I am not disrespecting that, but can we not be part of a community with some individuality? The professional acts certainly differ, and that is one of the things I like so much about the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival I recently reported on. VARIETY. There was, naturally, a LOT of ukulele music that weekend, but the variety was clear and there really was something for everyone. In fact I am not a fan of ukulele festivals that book acts that are all very much the same.

It's OK to like different styles as much as it is OK to not like certain styles. It doesn't mean you have shunned the instrument, it just means you are an individual. There is room for all.

I for one think the 'community' would be a stronger one, and one that is taken more seriously if it had  more variety and individuality. And please, don't question me if I say I don't enjoy a certain performer... it's nothing personal! Your comments would be most welcomed!

( And, if you like the thoughts of this 'Grumpy Bloggers' rants and want some more - take a read of THESE. They come from a good place, I assure you!)






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