An excerpt from the book “Famous Solos & Duets for the ‘Ukulele” edited and arranged by John King THE ‘UKULELE The ‘ukulele is not an indigenous Hawaiian instrument but was introduced into the Islands by the Portuguese at some date prior to the beginning of the 20th century. Most scholars fix the date of introduction [...]

An excerpt of Mel Bay’s new “First Jams” Ukulele by Lee “Drew” Andrews DiggShareShare with StumblersTweet

Roy Smeck was one of the truly great American popular musicians of the 20th century, one whose name would be as recognizable as Louis Armstrong’s or Les Paul’s if he hadn’t specialized in a “minor” instrument, the ukulele. As a boy, Smeck was obsessed with learning to play musical instruments, and he almost suffered a [...]

An excerpt from the Mel Bay Hawaiian Uke Songbook by Ken Eidson and Ross Cherednik A superb collection of 53 Hawaiian favorites arranged for uke solo. It includes instruction on chords, “vamping”, reading tablature and notation, note location on the fingerboard, scales and scale exercises, and rhythm, plus special uke techniques. Basic chords are summarized [...]