The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele ,
approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the
lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.
More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four
nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic.
Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...
strings.
The
tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and construction. Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone.
History
Developed in the 1880s, the ukulele is based on several small, guitar-like instruments of Portuguese origin, the
''machete'',
''
cavaquinho
The cavaquinho (pronounced in Portuguese) is a small Portuguese string instrument in the European guitar family, with four wires or gut strings.
More broadly, ''cavaquinho'' is the name of a four-stringed subdivision of the lute family of instr ...
'', ''
timple
The timple is a traditional five-string plucked string instrument of the Canary Islands. It started being manufactured in the 19th century.
In La Palma island and in the north of the island of Tenerife, many timple players omit the fifth (D) ...
'', and ''
rajão
The rajão ( pt, machete de rajão) is a 5-stringed instrument from Madeira, Portugal. The instrument traces back to the country's regional folk music, where it is used in folklore dances of Portugal in addition to other stringed instruments fr ...
'', introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
immigrants from
Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
, the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
and
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
. Three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers. Two weeks after they disembarked from the
SS ''Ravenscrag'' in late August 1879, the ''
Hawaiian Gazette
Hawaiian may refer to:
* Native Hawaiians, the current term for the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants
* Hawaii state residents, regardless of ancestry (only used outside of Hawaii)
* Hawaiian language
Historic uses
* ...
'' reported that "Madeira Islanders recently arrived here, have been delighting the people with nightly street concerts."
One of the most important factors in establishing the ukulele in
Hawaiian music
The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Styles like slack-key guitar are well known worldwide, while Hawaiian-tinged music is a frequent part ...
and
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
was the ardent support and promotion of the instrument by
King Kalākaua
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...
. A patron of the arts, he incorporated it into performances at royal gatherings.
In the
Hawaiian language
Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...
the word ukulele roughly translates as "jumping flea", perhaps because of the movement of the player's fingers. Legend attributes it to the nickname of Englishman
Edward William Purvis
Colonel Edward William Purvis (July 4, 1857 – August 16, 1888) was a British army officer and settler of the Kingdom of Hawaii who served as Vice-Chamberlain during the reign of King Kalākaua. After resigning from the royal household, Purvi ...
, one of King Kalākaua's officers, because of his small size, fidgety manner, and playing expertise. One of the earliest appearances of the word ''ukulele'' in print (in the sense of a stringed instrument) is in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
's ''Catalogue of the Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments of All Nations'' published in 1907. The catalog describes two ukuleles from Hawaii - one that is similar in size to a modern soprano ukulele, and one that is similar to a tenor (see ).
Canada
In the 1960s, educator
J. Chalmers Doane dramatically changed school music programs across
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, using the ukulele as an inexpensive and practical teaching instrument to foster
musical literacy in the classroom. 50,000 schoolchildren and adults learned ukulele through the Doane program at its peak. "Ukulele in the Classroom", a revised program created by
James Hill and Doane in 2008 is a staple of music education in Canada.
Japan
The ukulele arrived in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in 1929 after Hawaiian-born
Yukihiko Haida
was a composer, ukulele player and steel guitarist. He and his brother Katsuhiko Haida founded the Nihon Ukulele Association.
Early life and education
Haida was born in Honolulu on 24 April 1909, to parents who were Japanese immigrants to Haw ...
returned to the country upon his father's death, and introduced the instrument. Haida and his brother
Katsuhiko formed the Moana Glee Club, enjoying rapid success in an environment of growing enthusiasm for
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
, particularly Hawaiian and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, authorities banned most music from the West, but fans and players kept it alive in secret, and it resumed popularity after the war. In 1959, Haida founded the
Nihon Ukulele Association
The Nihon Ukulele Association ( ja, 日本ウクレレ協会) is a Japanese association for ukulele players. It was founded in 1959 by Yukihiko Haida, a Hawaiian-born ''nisei'' who moved to Japan at a young age.
With his brother, Katsuhiko Haida ...
. Today, Japan is considered a second home for Hawaiian musicians and ukulele virtuosos.
United Kingdom
British singer and comedian
George Formby
George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...
was a ukulele player, though he often played a
banjolele
The banjo ukulele, also known as the banjolele or banjo uke, is a four-stringed musical instrument with a small banjo-type body and a fretted ukulele neck. The earliest known banjoleles were built by John A. Bolander and by Alvin D. Keech, both ...
, a hybrid instrument consisting of an extended ukulele neck with a
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
resonator body. Demand surged in the new century because of its relative simplicity and portability. Another British ukulele player was
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
-winner
Tessie O'Shea
Teresa Mary "Tessie" O'Shea (13 March 1913 – 21 April 1995) was a Wales, Welsh entertainer and actress.
Early life
O'Shea was born in Plantagenet Street in Riverside, Cardiff to newspaper wholesaler James Peter O'Shea, who had been a soldie ...
, who appeared in numerous movies and stage shows, and was twice on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
'', including the night
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
debuted in 1964.
The
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (UOGB) is a British musical ensemble founded in 1985 by George Hinchliffe and Kitty Lux as a bit of fun. The orchestra features ukuleles of various sizes and registers from soprano to bass. The UOGB is b ...
tours globally, and the
George Formby Society, established in 1961, continues to hold regular conventions.
United States mainland
Pre-World War II
The ukulele was popularized for a stateside audience during the
Panama–Pacific International Exposition
The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely se ...
, held from spring to autumn of 1915 in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. The Hawaiian Pavilion featured a guitar and ukulele ensemble, George E. K. Awai and his Royal Hawaiian Quartet, along with ukulele maker and player
Jonah Kumalae. The popularity of the ensemble with visitors launched a fad for Hawaiian-themed songs among
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
s. The ensemble also introduced both the
lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...
and the ukulele into U.S. mainland popular music, where it was taken up by
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
performers such as
Roy Smeck
Leroy Smeck (6 February 1900 – 5 April 1994) was an American musician. His skill on the banjo, guitar, and ukulele earned him the nickname "The Wizard of the Strings".
Background
Smeck was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He started on the vau ...
and
Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards. On April 15, 1923, at the Rivoli Theater in New York City, Smeck appeared, playing the ukulele, in ''Stringed Harmony'', a
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
made in the
DeForest Phonofilm
Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s.
Introduction
In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog ...
process. On August 6, 1926, Smeck appeared playing the ukulele in a short film ''His Pastimes'', made in the
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one th ...
sound-on-disc Sound-on-disc is a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or play back sound in sync with a motion picture. Early sound-on-disc systems used a mechanical interlock with the movie projector, while more recent system ...
process, shown with the
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
''
Don Juan
Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...
'' starring
John Barrymore
John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...
.
The ukulele soon became an icon of the
Jazz Age.
Like guitar, basic ukulele skills can be learned fairly easily, and this highly portable, relatively inexpensive instrument was popular with amateur players throughout the 1920s, as evidenced by the introduction of uke chord
tablature
Tablature (or tabulature, or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches.
Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuela, as well as many fr ...
into the published
sheet music
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...
for popular songs of the time
(a role that was supplanted by the guitar in the early years of
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
). A number of mainland-based stringed-instrument manufacturers, among them
Regal,
Harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
, and especially
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
, added ukulele, banjolele, and
tiple
A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a plucked typically 12-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first mention of the tiple comes from musicologist Pablo Minguet e Irol in 1752. Although ma ...
lines to their production to take advantage of the demand.
The ukulele also made inroads into early country music or
old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination ...
parallel to the then-popular mandolin. It was played by
Jimmie Rodgers
James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...
and
Ernest V. Stoneman
Ernest Van "Pop" Stoneman (May 25, 1893 – June 14, 1968) was an American musician, ranked among the prominent recording artists of country music's first commercial decade.
Biography
Born in a log cabin in Monarat (Iron Ridge), Carroll Count ...
, as well as by early string bands, including
Cowan Powers and his Family Band, Da Costa Woltz's Southern Broadcasters, Walter Smith and Friends, The Blankenship Family, The Hillbillies, and The Hilltop Singers.
[
]
Post-World War II
From the late 1940s to the late 1960s, plastics manufacturer Mario Maccaferri
Mario Maccaferri (1900–1993) was an Italian luthier, classical guitarist, businessman, and inventor. He is noted for designing the guitar favored by jazz musician Django Reinhardt, and for designing plastic clothespins, plastic bath and kitche ...
turned out about 9 million inexpensive ukuleles. The ukulele remained popular, appearing on many jazz songs throughout the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. Much of the instrument's popularity (particularly the baritone size) was cultivated by Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...
on ''The Arthur Godfrey Show'' on television. Singer-musician Tiny Tim became closely associated with the instrument after playing it on his 1968 hit "Tiptoe Through the Tulips
"Tiptoe Through the Tulips", also known as "Tip Toe Through the Tulips with Me", is a popular song published in 1929. The song was written by Al Dubin (lyrics) and Joe Burke (music) and made popular by guitarist Nick Lucas. On February 5, 1968, ...
".
Post-1990 revival
After the 1960s, the ukulele declined in popularity until the late 1990s, when interest in the instrument reawakened. During the 1990s, new manufacturers began producing ukuleles and a new generation of musicians took up the instrument. Jim Beloff set out to promote the instrument in the early 1990s and created over two dozen ukulele music books featuring modern music and classic ukulele pieces.
All-time best-selling Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
helped repopularize the instrument, in particular with his 1993 reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
-rhythmed medley of " Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World
"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single. It topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed poor ...
," used in films, television programs, and commercials. The song reached number 12 on ''Billboards Hot Digital Tracks
The Hot Digital Tracks chart is a song popularity chart that ranks the best selling digital tracks in the United States according to ''Billboard'' magazine. It is not to be confused with the Hot Digital Songs chart, which combines different vers ...
chart the week of January 31, 2004.
The creation of YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
helped revive the popularity of the ukulele. One of the first videos to go viral was Jake Shimabukuro
Jake Shimabukuro (born November 3, 1976) is a Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso and composer known for his fast and complex finger work. His music combines elements of jazz, blues, funk, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk, and flamenco. Shimabukuro has writt ...
's ukulele rendition of George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist. Harrison wrote "While My ...
" on YouTube. The video quickly went viral, and as of September 2020, had received over 17 million views.
Construction
The ukulele is generally made of wood, though variants have been composed partially or entirely of plastic or other materials. Cheaper ukuleles are generally made from plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
or laminate
Lamination is the technique/process of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance, or other properties from the use of the differing materials ...
d woods, in some cases with a soundboard of a tonewood
Tonewood refers to specific wood varieties that possess tonal properties that make them good choices for use in woodwind or acoustic stringed instruments.
Varieties of tonewood
As a rough generalization it can be said that stiff-but-light softwood ...
such as spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
. More expensive ukuleles are made of solid hardwoods such as mahogany
Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...
. The traditionally preferred wood for ukuleles is a type of acacia endemic to Hawaii, called '' koa''.
Typically, ukuleles have a figure-eight body shape similar to that of a small acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
. They are also often seen in nonstandard shapes, such as cutaway and oval, usually called a "pineapple" ukulele (see image below), invented by the Kamaka Ukulele
Kamaka Hawaii, Incorporated, also known as Kamaka Ukulele or just Kamaka is a family-owned Hawaii-based maker of ukuleles. It is often credited with producing some of the world's finest ukuleles, and created the first pineapple ukulele. The compan ...
company, or a boat-paddle shape, and occasionally a square shape, often made out of an old wooden cigar box.
These instruments usually have four strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
; some strings may be paired in courses, giving the instrument a total of six or eight strings (primarily for greater strumming volume.) The strings themselves were originally made of catgut
Catgut (also known as gut) is a type of cord that is prepared from the natural fiber found in the walls of animal Gut (anatomy), intestines. Catgut makers usually use sheep or goat intestines, but occasionally use the intestines of cattle, Domest ...
. Modern ukuleles use nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic.
Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...
polymer
A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part")
is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...
strings, with many variations in the material, such as fluorocarbon
Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often has distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Fluorocarbons and their derivatives are commerci ...
, aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
(as winding on lower-pitched strings), wound metal strings (similar to wound nylon strings, but with a metal core) and Nylgut.
Instruments with six or eight strings in four courses are often called taropatches, or taropatch ukuleles. They were once common in a concert size, but now the tenor size is more common for six-string taropatch ukuleles. The six-string, four-course version, has two single and two double courses, and is sometimes called a ''lili'u'', though this name also applies to the eight-string version. Eight-string baritone taropatches exist, and, 5-string tenors have also been made.
Types and sizes
Common types of ukuleles include soprano (standard ukulele), concert, tenor, and baritone. Less common are the sopranino (also called piccolo, bambino, or "pocket uke"), bass, and contrabass
Contrabass (from it, contrabbasso) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchest ...
ukuleles. Other types of ukuleles include banjo ukulele
The banjo ukulele, also known as the banjolele or banjo uke, is a four-stringed musical instrument with a small banjo-type body and a fretted ukulele neck. The earliest known banjoleles were built by John A. Bolander and by Alvin D. Keech, both ...
s and electric ukuleles. Of the standard ukuleles, the soprano, often called "standard" in Hawaii, is the second-smallest and was the original size. The concert size was developed in the 1920s as an enhanced soprano, slightly larger and louder with a deeper tone. Shortly thereafter, the tenor was created, having more volume and deeper bass tone. The baritone (resembling a smaller tenor guitar
The tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was initially developed in its acoustic form by Gibson and C.F. Martin so that players of ...
) was created in the 1940s, and the contrabass and bass are recent innovations (2010 and 2014, respectively).
The following chart shows the range of notes of standard ukulele types. Note that range varies with the tuning and size of the instruments. The examples shown in the chart reflect the range of each instrument from the lowest standard tuning, to the highest fret in the highest standard tuning. Additionally, the contrabass below aligns with the bass in the above table.
ImageSize = width:700 height:250
PlotArea = left:0 right:0 top:0 bottom:20
AlignBars = justify
Colors =
id:legend value:gray(0.94) # background of top and bottom legend bars
id:legendtext value:gray(0.1) # text in top and bottom legend bars
id:sp value:gray(1) # spacer between bars and content
id:h1 value:rgb(0.99,0.2,0.90) # light violet = top of hierarchy
id:h2 value:rgb(0.99,0.1,0.1) # light red-violet
id:h3 value:rgb(0.99,0.2,0.30) # light red
id:h4 value:rgb(0.99,0.4,0.30) # light red-orange
id:h5 value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.20) # light orange
id:h6 value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.60) # light yellow-orange, bottom of hierarchy
id:gridlines value:gray(0.7) # vertical gridlines
BarData =
bar:pitch
bar:Hz
barset:ranges
bar:pitch2
bar:Hz2
Period = from:0 till:651
ScaleMajor = increment:72 start:2 gridcolor:gridlines
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
# positions points used by the bars
# Cx4 = middle C
# Cs4 = middle C sharp
Define $Cx0 = 6 # 16.35Hz
Define $Cs0 = 12 # 17.32Hz
Define $Dx0 = 18 # 18.35Hz
Define $Ds0 = 24 # 19.45Hz
Define $Ex0 = 30 # 20.6Hz
Define $Fx0 = 36 # 21.83Hz
Define $Fs0 = 42 # 23.12Hz
Define $Gx0 = 48 # 24.5Hz
Define $Gs0 = 54 # 25.96Hz
Define $Ax0 = 60 # 27.5Hz
Define $As0 = 66 # 29.14Hz
Define $Bx0 = 72 # 30.87Hz
Define $Cx1 = 78 # 32.7Hz
Define $Cs1 = 83 # 34.65Hz
Define $Dx1 = 89 # 36.71Hz
Define $Ds1 = 95 # 38.89Hz
Define $Ex1 = 101 # 41.2Hz
Define $Fx1 = 107 # 43.65Hz
Define $Fs1 = 113 # 46.25Hz
Define $Gx1 = 119 # 49Hz
Define $Gs1 = 125 # 51.91Hz
Define $Ax1 = 131 # 55Hz
Define $As1 = 137 # 58.27Hz
Define $Bx1 = 143 # 61.74Hz
Define $Cx2 = 149 # 65.41Hz
Define $Cs2 = 155 # 69.3Hz
Define $Dx2 = 161 # 73.42Hz
Define $Ds2 = 167 # 77.78Hz
Define $Ex2 = 173 # 82.41Hz
Define $Fx2 = 179 # 87.31Hz
Define $Fs2 = 185 # 92.5Hz
Define $Gx2 = 191 # 98Hz
Define $Gs2 = 197 # 103.8Hz
Define $Ax2 = 203 # 110Hz
Define $As2 = 209 # 116.5Hz
Define $Bx2 = 215 # 123.5Hz
Define $Cx3 = 221 # 130.8Hz
Define $Cs3 = 227 # 138.6Hz
Define $Dx3 = 233 # 146.8Hz
Define $Ds3 = 239 # 155.6Hz
Define $Ex3 = 244 # 164.8Hz
Define $Fx3 = 250 # 174.6Hz
Define $Fs3 = 256 # 185Hz
Define $Gx3 = 262 # 196Hz
Define $Gs3 = 268 # 207.7Hz
Define $Ax3 = 274 # 220Hz
Define $As3 = 280 # 233.1Hz
Define $Bx3 = 286 # 246.9Hz
Define $Cx4 = 292 # 261.6Hz
Define $Cs4 = 298 # 277.2Hz
Define $Dx4 = 304 # 293.7Hz
Define $Ds4 = 310 # 311.1Hz
Define $Ex4 = 316 # 329.6Hz
Define $Fx4 = 322 # 349.2Hz
Define $Fs4 = 328 # 370Hz
Define $Gx4 = 334 # 392Hz
Define $Gs4 = 340 # 415.3Hz
Define $Ax4 = 346 # 440Hz
Define $As4 = 352 # 466.2Hz
Define $Bx4 = 358 # 493.9Hz
Define $Cx5 = 364 # 523.3Hz
Define $Cs5 = 370 # 554.4Hz
Define $Dx5 = 376 # 587.3Hz
Define $Ds5 = 382 # 622.3Hz
Define $Ex5 = 388 # 659.3Hz
Define $Fx5 = 394 # 698.5Hz
Define $Fs5 = 400 # 740Hz
Define $Gx5 = 406 # 784Hz
Define $Gs5 = 411 # 830.6Hz
Define $Ax5 = 417 # 880Hz
Define $As5 = 423 # 932.3Hz
Define $Bx5 = 429 # 987.8Hz
Define $Cx6 = 435 # 1047Hz
Define $Cs6 = 441 # 1109Hz
Define $Dx6 = 447 # 1175Hz
Define $Ds6 = 453 # 1245Hz
Define $Ex6 = 459 # 1319Hz
Define $Fx6 = 465 # 1397Hz
Define $Fs6 = 471 # 1480Hz
Define $Gx6 = 477 # 1568Hz
Define $Gs6 = 483 # 1661Hz
Define $Ax6 = 489 # 1760Hz
Define $As6 = 495 # 1865Hz
Define $Bx6 = 501 # 1976Hz
Define $Cx7 = 507 # 2093Hz
Define $Cs7 = 513 # 2217Hz
Define $Dx7 = 519 # 2349Hz
Define $Ds7 = 525 # 2489Hz
Define $Ex7 = 531 # 2637Hz
Define $Fx7 = 537 # 2794Hz
Define $Fs7 = 543 # 2960Hz
Define $Gx7 = 549 # 3136Hz
Define $Gs7 = 555 # 3322Hz
Define $Ax7 = 561 # 3520Hz
Define $As7 = 567 # 3729Hz
Define $Bx7 = 572 # 3951Hz
Define $Cx8 = 578 # 4186Hz
Define $Cs8 = 584 # 4435Hz
Define $Dx8 = 590 # 4699Hz
Define $Ds8 = 596 # 4978Hz
Define $Ex8 = 602 # 5274Hz
Define $Fx8 = 608 # 5588Hz
Define $Fs8 = 614 # 5920Hz
Define $Gx8 = 620 # 6272Hz
Define $Gs8 = 626 # 6645Hz
Define $Ax8 = 632 # 7040Hz
Define $As8 = 638 # 7459Hz
Define $Bx8 = 644 # 7902Hz
Define $max = 650
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:10 mark:(line,black) width:16 shift:(0,-4)
barset:ranges
color:h1 from:$Dx2 till:$Cx6 text:classical guitar
color:h3 from:$Ex1 till:$Ex6 text:all ukuleles
color:h6 from:$Gx4 till:$Ex6 text:sopranino
color:h5 from:$Cx4 till:$Cx6 text:soprano
color:h6 from:$Cx4 till:$Ex6 text:concert
color:h5 from:$Gx3 till:$Ex6 text:tenor
color:h6 from:$Dx3 till:$Cs6 text:baritone
color:h5 from:$Ex2 till:$Cs5 text:bass
color:h6 from:$Ex1 till:$Bx3 text:contrabass
color:legend textcolor:legendtext align:left fontsize:7 mark:(line,white) width:12 shift:(3,-4)
bar:pitch
from:0 till:$max
at:$Cx0 text:C0
at:$Cx1 text:C1
at:$Cx2 text:C2
at:$Cx3 text:C3
at:$Cx4 text: C4 (middle C)
at:$Cx5 text:C5
at:$Cx6 text:C6
at:$Cx7 text:C7
at:$Cx8 text:C8
bar:Hz
from:0 till:$max
at:23 text:20 Hz
at:65 text:30
at:105 text:44
at:153 text:70
at:190 text:100
at:232 text:150
at:262 text:200
at:304 text:300
at:344 text:440
at:392 text:700
at:430 text:1000
at:472 text:1500
at:502 text:2000
at:544 text:3000
at:583 text:4400 Hz
bar:pitch2 # exact copy of bar:pitch
from:0 till:$max
at:$Cx0 text:C0
at:$Cx1 text:C1
at:$Cx2 text:C2
at:$Cx3 text:C3
at:$Cx4 text: C4 (middle C)
at:$Cx5 text:C5
at:$Cx6 text:C6
at:$Cx7 text:C7
at:$Cx8 text:C8
bar:Hz2 # exact copy of bar:Hz
from:0 till:$max
at:23 text:20 Hz
at:65 text:30
at:105 text:44
at:153 text:70
at:190 text:100
at:232 text:150
at:262 text:200
at:304 text:300
at:344 text:440
at:392 text:700
at:430 text:1000
at:472 text:1500
at:502 text:2000
at:544 text:3000
at:583 text:4400 Hz
Tuning
One of the most common tunings for the standard or soprano ukulele is C6 tuning: G4–C4–E4–A4, which is often remembered by the notes in the "My dog has fleas" jingle (see sidebar). The G string is tuned an octave higher than might be expected, so this is often called "high G" tuning. This is known as a "reentrant tuning
On a stringed instrument, a break in an otherwise ascending (or descending) order of string pitches is known as a re-entry. A re-entrant tuning, therefore, is a tuning where the strings (or more properly the courses) are not all ordered from th ...
"; it enables uniquely close-harmony chording.
More rarely used with the soprano ukulele is C6 linear tuning, or "low G" tuning, which has the G in sequence an octave lower: G3–C4–E4–A4, which is equivalent to playing the top four strings (DGBE) of a guitar with a capo on the fifth fret.
Another common tuning for the soprano ukulele is the higher string-tension D6 tuning (or simply D tuning), A4–D4–F4–B4, one step higher than the G4–C4–E4–A4 tuning. Once considered standard, this tuning was commonly used during the Hawaiian music boom of the early 20th century, and is often seen in sheet music from this period, as well as in many method books through the 1980s. D6 tuning is said by some to bring out a sweeter tone in some ukuleles, generally smaller ones. D6 tuning with a low fourth string, A3–D4–F4–B4, is sometimes called "Canadian tuning" after its use in the Canadian school system, mostly on concert or tenor ukuleles, and extensive use by James Hill and J. Chalmers Doane.
Whether C6 or D6 tuning should be the "standard" tuning is a matter of long and ongoing debate. There are historic and popular ukulele methods that have used each.
For the concert and tenor ukuleles, both reentrant and linear C6 tunings are standard; linear tuning in particular is widely used for the tenor ukulele, more so than for the soprano and concert instruments.
The baritone ukulele usually uses linear G6 tuning: D3–G3–B3–E4, the same as the highest four strings of a standard 6-string guitar.
Bass ukuleles are tuned similarly to the bass guitar and double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
: E1–A1–D2–G2 for U-Bass style instruments (sometimes called contrabass), or an octave higher, E2–A2–D3–G3, for Ohana type metal-string basses.
Sopranino ukulele tuning is less standardized. They are usually tuned re-entrantly, but frequently at a higher pitch than C; for example, re-entrant G6 tuning: D5–G4–B4–E5.
As is commonly the case with string instruments, other tunings may be preferred by individual players. For example, special string sets are available to tune the baritone ukulele in linear C6. Some players tune ukuleles like other four-string instruments such as the mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
, Venezuelan cuatro
Cuatro is Spanish language, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4 (number), number four.
Cuatro may also refer to:
* Cuatro (instrument), name for two distinct Latin American instruments, one from Puerto Rico (see cuatro (Puerto Rico), ...
, or dotara
The ''dotara'' (or ''dotar'') Persian ( bn, দোতারা, as, দোতাৰা, literally, 'Of or having two strings') is a two, four, or sometimes five- stringed musical instrument, originating from Iran and Central Asia. It is comm ...
. Ukuleles may also be tuned to open tuning
Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitch (music), pitches to the open string (music), open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Musical tuning, Tunings are described by the particular pitc ...
s, similar to the Hawaiian slack key
Slack-key guitar (from Hawaiian ''kī hōalu'', which means "loosen the uningkey") is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii after Portuguese cowboys introduced Spanish guitars there in the late 19th century. The Hawaiia ...
style.
Related instruments
Ukulele varieties include hybrid instruments such as the guitalele
A guitalele (sometimes spelled guitarlele or guilele), also called a ukitar, or kīkū,[banjo ukulele
The banjo ukulele, also known as the banjolele or banjo uke, is a four-stringed musical instrument with a small banjo-type body and a fretted ukulele neck. The earliest known banjoleles were built by John A. Bolander and by Alvin D. Keech, both ...]
(also called banjolele), harp ukulele
The term harp ukulele is used to describe two different variants of the ukulele:
*an ukulele with unfretted strings extending from the body, essentially forming a miniature harp guitar
*an ukulele with an "arm" extending from the upper bout, oft ...
, lap steel ukulele, and the ukelin
The ukelin is a bowed psaltery with zither strings made popular in the 1920s. It is meant to be a combination of the violin and the Hawaiian ukulele. It lost popularity prior to the 1970s because the instrument was difficult to play and often ret ...
. It is very common to find ukuleles mixed with other stringed instruments because of the amount of strings and the easy playing ability. There is also an electrically amplified variant of the ukulele. The resonator ukulele
A resonator ukulele or "resophonic ukulele" is a ukulele whose sound is produced by one or more spun aluminum cones (''resonators'') instead of the wooden Sound board (music), soundboard (ukulele top/face). These instruments are sometimes referre ...
produces sound by one or more spun aluminum cones (resonators
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a resonator ...
) instead of the wooden soundboard, giving it a distinct and louder tone. The Tahitian ukulele, another variant, is usually carved from a single piece of wood, and does not have a hollow soundbox
A sound box or sounding box (sometimes written soundbox) is an open chamber in the body of a musical instrument which modifies the sound of the instrument, and helps transfer that sound to the surrounding air. Objects respond more strongly to vib ...
, although the back is open. The Tahitian ukulele generally has eight strings made from fishing line
A fishing line is a flexible, high-tensile cord used in angling to tether and pull in fish, in conjunction with at least one hook. Fishing lines are usually pulled by and stored in a reel, but can also be retrieved by hand, with a fixed attachm ...
, tuned the same as a Hawaiian ukulele in four courses, although the middle two courses are an octave higher than its Hawaiian cousin. Inspired by the Tahitian ukulele, there is the Motu Nui variant, from France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, which has just four strings made from fishing line and the hole in the back is designed to produce a wah-wah effect. Mario Maccaferri
Mario Maccaferri (1900–1993) was an Italian luthier, classical guitarist, businessman, and inventor. He is noted for designing the guitar favored by jazz musician Django Reinhardt, and for designing plastic clothespins, plastic bath and kitche ...
invented an automatic chording device for the ukulele, called Chord Master
Chord Master (also rendered Visual Chord Master, chordmaster) is the brand-name for a type of automated chording device produced for the ukulele. Competing products were sold under labels such as Noteless Player by Ferry & Co. These devices allowe ...
.
Close cousins of the ukulele include the Portuguese forerunners, the ''cavaquinho
The cavaquinho (pronounced in Portuguese) is a small Portuguese string instrument in the European guitar family, with four wires or gut strings.
More broadly, ''cavaquinho'' is the name of a four-stringed subdivision of the lute family of instr ...
'' (also commonly known as ''machete'' or ''braguinha'') and the slightly larger ''rajão
The rajão ( pt, machete de rajão) is a 5-stringed instrument from Madeira, Portugal. The instrument traces back to the country's regional folk music, where it is used in folklore dances of Portugal in addition to other stringed instruments fr ...
''. Other relatives include the Venezuelan cuatro
The cuatro of Venezuela has four single nylon strings, tuned (ad'f#'b). It is similar in shape and tuning to the ukulele, but their character and playing technique are vastly different. It is tuned in a similar fashion to the traditional D tuni ...
, the Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n ''tiple
A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a plucked typically 12-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first mention of the tiple comes from musicologist Pablo Minguet e Irol in 1752. Although ma ...
'', the ''timple
The timple is a traditional five-string plucked string instrument of the Canary Islands. It started being manufactured in the 19th century.
In La Palma island and in the north of the island of Tenerife, many timple players omit the fifth (D) ...
'' of the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
, the Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
''vihuela
The vihuela () is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar (figure-of-eight form offering strength and portability) but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of t ...
'', the Mexican requinto jarocho
The requinto jarocho or guitarra de son is plucked string instrument, played usually with a special pick. It is a four- or five-stringed instrument that has originated from Veracruz, Mexico. The ''requinto'' is used in conjunto jarocho ensembles. ...
, and the Andean
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...
''charango
The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during c ...
'' traditionally made of an armadillo
Armadillos (meaning "little armored ones" in Spanish) are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, along wi ...
shell. In Indonesia, a similar Portuguese-inspired instrument is the kroncong
Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong"; id, Keroncong, nl, Krontjong) is the name of a ukulele-like instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong (the sound ' comes from this instrument, so the music is called ' ...
.
Audio samples
See also
* List of ukulele players
* Stringed instrument tunings This is a chart of stringed instrument tunings. Instruments are listed alphabetically by their most commonly known name.
Terminology
A Course (music), course may consist of one or more Strings (music), strings.
Courses are listed reading from ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
* An exhibition that details the ukulele's history and waves of mainstream popularity.
* Information about over 600 ukulele makers past and present.
* The differences between the word "ukulele" in Hawaiian and English.
{{Authority control
Ukuleles
Hawaiian musical instruments
Surf culture
American musical instruments
Guitar family instruments
Necked box lutes
Portuguese musical instruments
Lute family instruments
Guitars