Tag: Ukulele

The Ukulele – A Real Instrument Or Not?

If like me, you have probably never taken the ukulele seriously as a musical instrument, you might be surprised by the James Hill video below. I know that many musicians have played the ukulele and obviously regard it as a “real” instrument.  But I have always found it somehow to be lacking some quality that […]

If like me, you have probably never taken the ukulele seriously as a musical instrument, you might be surprised by the James Hill video below.

I know that many musicians have played the ukulele and obviously regard it as a “real” instrument.  But I have always found it somehow to be lacking some quality that is required for a musical instrument to be taken seriously.  I know that musicians as diverse as Tiny Tim, Kate Micucci (in her alter ego of Oates in the duo Garfunkel and Oates) have played the ukulele with total commitment, and obviously consider it to be a very real and worthwhile instrument.

And of course, famously George Formby strummed away on one as well.

But for me, it has always been a sort of pre-pubescent sort of an instrument. With its high, squeaky voice, and the strumming way it is normally played, it seemed to me to be simply a silly thing.

To demonstrate my point, here is good old Kate Micucci strumming away on her ukulele…….

As always with her, this song is of course rather surprising….   But that awful plunky ukulele!. Continue reading “The Ukulele – A Real Instrument Or Not?”