Talk:Ukulele

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Designer Uke Picture

This picture looks like a low-quality paint job on a cheap uke. A more appropriate image should be found. I'm going to remove the image because it looks like a joke or subtle vandalism. 129.176.151.10 (talk) 16:26, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

Pronunciation

People keep on saying this wrong...I am reediting this again.. it's not, nor was it yoo-kə-lay-lee.. The correct way to say this word is OO-koo-LE-le.. It means Jumping flea in Hawaiian. It was created when the Hawaiians saw the Portuguese playing the instrument really fast.. I am a native Hawaiian (mixed) and have been here in Hawaii my whole life. When saying this word you should never say LAY or LEE.

From the first time anyone started the word with "yoo" someone should have corrected them on the pronunciation. It is a Hawaiian word therefore the correct way to say it in the Hawaiian language should come first and foremost. Variations must be included, of course, stating and stressing that although they have become popular ways to say it, they are most definitely wrong.

more common (but historically incorrect) - /ˌjuːkəˈleɪliː/ (respelling: YOO-kə-LAY-lee)

less common - /ˌuːkuːˈleɪleɪ/ (respelling: OO-koo-LAY-lay)

The authentic Hawaiian IPA is already there.

Alternatively you could just forget IPA and revert to the old consensus. Lfh (talk) 16:43, 5 December 2009 (UTC)

After reading through the pronunciation part again I feel it is a proper way to introduce the pronunciation; common American-English way but including the proper Hawaiian way as well. I still don't think it needs to be the first sentence, it presumes that the pronunciation is the most important part of the article, more than what a uke is. There is a section in the main article that is entitled "pronunciation" maybe it can be addressed there and left out of the opening paragraph. --Billy Nair (talk) 21:35, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

My main problem with the current introduction is that it gives the immediate impression that YOO-kə-LAY-lee is the correct pronunciation, which we can all agree is incorrect. It is certainly the most common pronunciation, and should be listed as such, but it is by no means correct. Would we go to the nuclear power page and write "Nuclear power, pronounced NOOK-YU-LER (but correctly NU-CLEE-AR) is a..."? I imagine not. As a compromise, however, I would propose an introductory text that reads something like "pronounced OO-koo-LAY-lay, popularly YOO-kə-LAY-lee". I understand the arguments about changing lexicon, etc. - but for the sake of accuracy, the "true" and "popular" pronunciations should be listed with equal merit. --Hiperpinguino (talk) 21:19, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

I dispute that we can all not agree is correct statement. That's like saying that "MEK-si-ko" is the "wrong" pronunciation of Mexico, and that English speakers are "ignorant" for not saying "MEH-hi-ko" the "proper" way. Nobody is disputing that the Hawaiian word starts with "oo", but the vast majority of native English speakers, to whom it isn't necessarily a foreign word, pronounce it with "yoo". MatthewVanitas (talk) 15:16, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

Hooray for perpetuating ignorance! 95% of (non-Hawaiian speaking) Americans have been bastardizing the pronunciation of this word, so apparently we should keep on doing so! I'm sure that no one needs to be reminded that Hawai`i is actually part of the United States and is thus included as being part of the American-English speaking world. Are you absolutely positive that 95% of the people living in Hawai`i pronounce it in what's being referred to as the "American-English" way? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.116.97.193 (talk) 15:06, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I think the above poster meant that to call ANY pronunciation the 'correct' one is incorrect. If we are going to account for popular pronunciations, then correctness doesn't even come into it, it's about accurately documenting the pronunciations that are out there in the world. Ordered in sequence, first syllable 'oo' is the oldest. Ordered by prominence in the 21st century, 'yoo' is most popular. Both have a legit claim to primacy, but really there's no hierarchy. There are now, in English, two ways to pronounce it. Ideally, I think, instead of 'pronounced: YOO-Koo-leh-lee,' we would have 'Pronunciations: "Yoo" and "oo"'. I've heard non-Hawaiian speakers pronounce it either way, and the fashion could well lean towards 'oo' again in the future, as people realize that they say it differently in Hawaii. It is really important that there's no prescription or implication of a preferred 'more correct' pronunciation. A discussion of both, and their development, is appropriate, if anybody could write one, since it's a contentious (and interesting!) issue. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.219.28.49 (talk) 01:54, 16 September 2010 (UTC)

I think we should put in a soundbite of Larry the Cable Guy saying it, this should quell all disputes!--Billy Nair (talk) 19:31, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

It is certainly true that the common and correct Hawaiian pronunciation is oo-koo-lay-lay. But outside of Hawaii, the word is rapidly becoming a naturalized English word. When words become naturalized into English, they sometimes retain the spelling of their language of origin, but adopt an English pronunciation. A common example is "ski", borrowed with the spelling unchanged from Norwegian, where it is pronounced [ˈʃiː] ("she"). Wikipedia is supposed to be a description of what is, not what we believe should be. I'm quite happy to advocate for the preservation and popularization of the Hawaiian pronunciation of ukulele, but Wikipedia is not the proper platform for that kind of POV advocacy. Scott Roy Atwood (talk) 19:07, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

Pronunciation 2

I wrote to Merriam-Webster about their butchering of the word. Oh and it's not "lay-lay" either. That would've been spelled "leilei". "yoo ka lay lee" is the American Caucasion pronounciation and is in no way the "popular" pronounciation. That's the reason American Caucasions have problems pronouncing the Hawaiian state fish "humuhumunukunukuapua'a". Might as well say it's the ukulele is pronounced "how lee oko lay" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.8.227.38 (talk) 06:23, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

Merriam-Webster Includes pronunciation and OED both give the pronunciation of the first syllable as "yoo" rather than "oo"; is "oo" a pronunciation in some language other than English?

--- Yes it is. The word 'ukulele is Hawai'ian, not English. In Hawai'ian, the language of origin, it is pronounced "oo koo lay lay". Most English speakers say "yoo koo lay lee" or "yoo ka lay lee". The Hawai'ian pronunciation is unquestionably the most "correct" pronunciation, as that is the way it was first pronounced. One can hardly argue with the English pronunciation's general use, however, as so many people have used it for so long.

--- In Hawai'i ukulele is pronounced "oo koo le le". Hawai'ian is phonetic with the w pronounced as a soft v, amongst other subtleties. Manuiti 19:07, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

--- Speaking of pronunciation, aren't the two phonetic representation in the title part exactly the same ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.190.194.194 (talk) 11:15, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

--- Does the note on the pronunciation really need to occupy such a primary position in the article? The introduction should get straight to the essential facts, not distract the reader with phonology. Lizmarie (talk) 15:54, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

--- I'm with Lizmarie: getting right into phonics is distracting, so I vote for a small "Pronunciation" or "Pronunciation Debate" section either before or after "History". I'd further vote that the pronunciation section not focus on the mainstream pronunciation being "wrong" so much as noting that it differs from the Hawaiian-language pronunciation. MatthewVanitas (talk) 12:29, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

--- The Hawaiian Pronunciation is the correct way to say 'ukulele (it is also spelled with an 'okina (')). 'Ukulele is a Hawaiian word, we should put oo-koo-le-le up instead of you-ka-lay-lee. Hippie Guy 11:14am, April 12, 2009 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.104.160.58 (talk) 18:16, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

---

Ukulele was first and foremost pronounced as,"oo-koo-lay-lay". Thus this is the way it should be pronounced now. We should not pronounce it as,"yoo-koo-lay-lee" because this highlights,"American Slang" if you will and it is butchering the word itself and thus the entire meaning of the ukulele. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.61.130.91 (talk) 18:30, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia is about how things are', not how they should be. Probably 95% of Americans pronounce it you-ka-lay-lee, so the article reflects that. The article also does note the original Hawaiian version, so I'd say it's pretty fair to both sides of the argument. MatthewVanitas (talk) 20:42, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

Per the MOS, English pronunciations come first, other pronunciations after. The general exception I've seen is when a word or name doesn't have a well established English pronunciation, which isn't the case here. We can, of course, but the pronunciation in its own section, or in a footnote, put it's hardly a "debate": there's the Hawaiian pronunciation, and the English pronunciation. kwami (talk) 07:08, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Someone went through all the trouble of actually putting "/ˌjuːkəˈleɪliː/"something that no one can actually use, and it was of their OWN way of saying it. Having a generic pronunciation is one thing, but putting it in the IPA format under the pretense that you are saying it the way 95% of the people say it is arrogant at best! Putting it in the proper Hawaiian pronunciation might piss some people off but telling the entire world that only YOUR pronunciation is correct is ludicrous! There are so many ways to say the word, and only one real way to say it, and if 95% of the United States population says it one way then why even bother putting the pronunciation in there?!? If someone has never heard of this instrument before they would have a better chance at pronouncing it correct by guessing at it than by reading you-kah-lay-lee or worse trying to figure out what the IPA symbols are trying to tell them. I would suggest removing the pronunciation part all together! --Billy Nair (talk) 22:18, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

We're an international encyclopedia, and can't always cater to provincial deficiencies: most dictionaries worldwide now use the IPA; it's primarily the US that lags behind. You might not know what a kilometer is either, but we still use metric on WP. Besides, there is a 2nd transcription specifically for people who might have trouble with the IPA, so we are catering in this instance. We even have the Hawaiian in case you prefer that to the English. But changing the pronunciation, which BTW is sourced to the OED as well as Webster's, to some sort of English-Hawaiian hybrid just because you like it better, is not acceptable.

And really, does anyone pronounce it "YOU-coo-lelly", with stress only on the first u? That would require a ref. — kwami (talk) 10:08, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

All you people seriously need to drop that Ego of yours. Let's not drag what "Americans would pronounce it this way" especially if you're NOT a linguists skilled in understanding the various dialects throughout this vast & diverse country! I have "American" co-workers who would definitely pronounce the word "ukulele" correctly based on their phonetic inventory while others definitely would pronounce it the Haole style. So that goes to show you that not ALL, not even 95% Americans may or may not pronounce it a particular way. You don't have any evidence of exactly how many would actually pronounce it one way or the other. This SHOULD BE about educating, so let's educate! Put the proper pronunciation, put its variant if need be, but trying to throw around some type of authority here in order to feel like you're being productive should be left in the playground. Leave that ego behind! Mamoahina (talk) 05:22, 19 June 2011 (UTC)

The pronunciations contradict each other. Rothorpe (talk) 01:05, 13 February 2013 (UTC)---Fixed, keeping both prons, but separate. Rothorpe (talk) 14:21, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

The Hawaiian pronunciations still contradict, however: in both there are 2 stressed syllables, but they are not the same. OO-KOO-le-le or OO-koo-LE-le? Rothorpe (talk) 01:38, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

not sure if that was a question, but it had a question mark so I will try and answer. From what I remember Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages, like Japanese, do not stress syllables like English. There are long and short vowels but they are not said in a higher/lower or stronger/softer way. So with the OO-KOO-le-le or OO-koo-LE-le question, it really should be flat, like oo-koo-le-le. I tried to find resources, but it is harder to find an absence of a rule than the inclusion of a rule, but no pronounciation guides that I found show dominant syllables for Hawaiian words.

One of the other difficulties with the pronunciation deals with the associated grammar. As the ukulele has grown in popularity, more and more players are using the Hawaiian pronunciation. If you use the Hawaiian pronunciation, (most players use this one) Ooo-koo-lay-lay the correct article would be 'an.' In the Hawai'ian language, the letter U gets the Ooo (rhymes with goo) . Which agrees with the "an". Of course, folks not from Hawai'i will give you strange looks. If you use the Americanized YOUkalaylay the correct article would be 'a.' At another Wiki site that I work on, I've set the standard to be 'an ukulele.'The Ukulele Guy - Aggie80 (talk) 13:31, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Info on variants

The section on Tahitian Ukulele seemed a bit extraneous, so I chopped it out to its own article. On its own, it had enough sections to merit a short article with future potential.

Likewise, I figured that Resonator ukulele and Electric ukulele merited articles about as much as Banjolele. I set up a full article for resos, based on the Resonator guitar article, with copious input from the UkuleleCosmos.com crew. I only have a stub for the electrics though, so help there would be awesome to clear up technical issues like magnetic vs. piezo pickups, list famous players, etc.

There's currently little/no info on 6-string and 8-string ukes. I don't think they merit their own article, but a short sub-section explaining when/why those variants appeared would be awesome. I'm under the vague impression that Kamaka pioneered those, but not sure.

On a minor sidenote: is it even worth bringing up the subject of the "bass ukulele"? There have been a few one-off projects, mainly based on the Ashbory bass concept (with the thick silicon strings). I know at least a couple eletric versions exist, and have seen pics of one acoustic.

MatthewVanitas (talk) 11:20, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

It may be worth at least briefly mentioning the "bass ukulele". Both Road Toad and Kala are companies that make both traditional 'ukuleles as well as bass instruments created with ukulele-style bodies combined with large diameter polyurethane strings tuned to standard double bass or electric bass E-A-D-G tuning. These instruments could be considered hybrids between 'ukuleles and basses, and while probably not deserving of a page of their own, probably deserve at least a slightly more complete mention on this page. Scott Roy Atwood (talk) 18:25, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

The increasing popularity of the bass ukulele and the sopranino size would seem to be worthy of a sentence or two in sizes.The Ukulele Guy - Aggie80 (talk) 14:10, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Too many parentheses.

It sounds to personal with all those parentheses. Can someone please clean that up?

I removed them where possible w/o changing the context. I'm not a music guy. The rest is OK. Mdoc7 05:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

Translation

The word ukulele is translated as "jumping flea" to decribe the movement of a player's fingers on the neck's fretboard. (Source: "Jumpin Jim's Ukulele Tips 'N' Tunes", by Jim Beloff, Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, April, 2004) I've never edited anything in Wikipedia before. I thought to add this, but I'll first learn a bit more about how to do that properly.)

following John King's article in the Hawaiian Journal of History issue #37, things don't seem so clear. There are evidences that the name 'ukelele could have been built upon the aggregation of the words uke, which means knocking on wood, and lele meaning jumping or strumming, while the word ukulele which describes the insect existed before the arrival of the machete in Hawaii. The rest of the article is really informative, and puts down a lot of clichés about the ukulele etymology. Ukepedia 05:09, 9 May 2005 (UTC)

--- The Queen wanted to make her own definition...that's why she gave up the state to the U.S. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.8.227.38 (talk) 06:25, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

Having grown up in Hawai'i, everyone defines ukulele as 'jumping flea' referring, as above, to the quick movement of the fingers whilst playing. Head lice are referred to as 'ukus' in everyday speak and the usual definition of 'lele' is jumping. The ukulele is also abbreviated when speaking to 'uke', never to 'uku'. Additionally, the most desired make of ukulele in Hawai'i is the Kamaka [1], all made of Koa wood. Manuiti 19:21, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

yet another dictionary lists Ukulele as a translation of jumping flea, and suggests that the title was given by a Hawaiian monarch to a British soldier at the Hawaiian court who played the "little guitar" so dramatically that he was like a jumping flea. It is further suggested that the title given to this person then become synonomous with the instrument itself that we now know as ukulele. Is this apocrophal?Rockford1963 (talk) 21:40, 14 March 2009 (UTC)

Although I can't remember the book I read, the book had to do with Portuguese immigrants and it was in that book it mentioned Edward Purvis, a cabinet member in Kalakaua's court, who was also a musician & learned to play the cavaquinho/ukulele. He would play for the King, but Purvis' small stature & quick movements simulated a flea jumping, hence the name. Mamoahina (talk) 03:17, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

I lived in Hawaii for many years and learned basic Hawaiian language. "Ukulele" is a descriptive invented word, ceated from smaller words, as is the manner in the Hawaiian language. The smaller words are: U, seed; Ku, to shine or speak; and Le, flower. To repeat a syllable means "very", "much", or "many". "Ukulele" is "seed shines many flowers". I know this is contrary to what Pukui said. No pono. My Flatley (talk) 22:44, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

While that is certainly interesting, we need WP:Reliable sources for any claims. Do you have any citation to a book or newspaper which supports this claim? Otherwise it's just WP:Original research which is inadmissible. MatthewVanitas (talk) 16:17, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

Tangential Information

There's some not-so-important info included in the article. I know the feeling of wanting to put in your two cents, but does it matter so much that Bill Tapia bought a uke from Manuel Nunes? And is the info about the Beatles really that important? I know the Beatles are important, yes, but on this page? I think that stuff should be left out until this thing is a little more, you know, encyclopedic. Seems like we're still trying to get the basics down. I won't even go into people putting themselves on the "notable players" list. That's shameful.

[I've deleted the Beatles info (apologies to whoever posted it), but left in the George Harrison anecdote Angusmcdiarmid 12:08, 21 February 2006 (UTC)]

Check out "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" played on a UKE at this site: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1352016870638076087

Deleted tangential information about the process of breaking in nylon strings and cleaned up the alternate tunings section. 139.55.32.90 19:43, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Title

If the word actually begins with an ʻokina, then the title should be ʻukulele and ukulele should be a redirect. Ardric47 01:01, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

AFAIK, the correct english spelling is ukulele. Ukepedia 07:41, 16 March 2006 (UTC)

The title shows up in my browser an empty box and then "Ukulele" - don't know how many people this happens to, but it's probably the Wrong Thing. Move back to Ukulele? Robin Johnson 13:33, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

Actually, it's a long-unfixed bug (one of many) in Internet Explorer browser (which hasn't seen many significant updates in years)—the bug isn't seen in Macintosh, nor in Mozilla or Firefox browsers. The {{okina}} template is a convenient way to embed the proper Unicode character (classified as a letter), which (contrary to popular belief) is not ‘ (classified as punctuation). Also, as a Hawaiʻi cultural topic, it seemed appropriate to use Hawaiian English, which by standard does mandate ʻokina and authentic pronunciation in all words and names of Hawaiian language origin. - Gilgamesh 15:21, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

I see it now (at home using Firefox.) Is it really worth getting it right it if so many users can't see it? I notice Hawaii does not. Robin Johnson 21:10, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

I can see it using Internet Explorer, version 6.0 SP2. Mdoc7 19:04, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Yeah...it's a work in progress, intermitted by Life(TM). And yes...it's absolutely worth it. Editing to "fix" articles just for the benefit of a browser with broken features that haven't been fixed in years...that's sloth, and it's POV. It's NPOV to go by established web and Unicode standards. - Gilgamesh 05:43, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Actually-- it's not a browser bug, but variations of different font character sets. --Mdoc7 03:13, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

The English Wikipedia is written in standard (British or American) English, not in Hawaiian English, except maybe in articles very specifically related to Hawaii, but this is not one of those. The ukulele may be of Hawaiian origin, but is now an instrument like any other, used all over the world. Accordingly, the vast majority of English-language references to it spell it without okina, even where otherwise diacritics are used (see the Britannica for example). It's like the name Hawaii itself, which is established in English without okina. Margana 13:12, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

As I understood it, it's not really established that Wikipedia is written in British or American English, but any relevant standard dialect (including Australian, Singaporean, South African, etc., etc.), and Hawaiian English is the only official standard of English in the State of Hawaiʻi. Also, the issue of even Hawaiʻi itself is not settled, and I routinely add the ʻokina in every context I come across. - Gilgamesh 13:25, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia uses the most common spellings. Use of Hawaiian English spellings is misleading for the majority of readers who are not Hawaiian, and thus should only be used in articles that are so specific to Hawaii that most of their readers are likely Hawaiian. I would dispute that ukulele is such an article. Margana 14:16, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Margana, you sound like you're just coming up with excuses and act as if you have such a disdain for any correct orthrography. Your excuses are nothing but and I've seen a number of variations in spelling on wikpedia whenever its origin comes from another country that uses a different orthography & is loaded with accent marks. Misleading? You're exaggerating & need listen to what people say. You're not the authorative figure on this. If you have any problems, please contact a wikipedia moderator or I could put you in touch with one if you'd like. Mamoahina (talk) 03:21, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Misleading how? They are the spellings. I thought that we were to use the variety of English closest to the subject, which is why it's supposed to be Hawaiʻi in every instance across Wikipedia. - Gilgamesh 15:18, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Because readers will think it's the standard English spelling when it's just the Hawaiian English spelling used only by a small fraction of English speakers. Who says it's supposed to be Hawaiʻi across Wikipedia? Surely that's not policy or consensus, given the location of the article Hawaii. Margana 15:59, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Seems like Wikipedia should be more interested in exposing its readers to information closest to the source rather than making them as comfortable as possible. It is far better to teach that great fraction of English-speakers about the Hawaiʻian language than to reinforce the lazy modifications imposed by outsiders. People should be coming to Wikipedia to expand their knowledge, not just reinforce what they already know.

Doesn't matter much to insist on the correct use of Hawaii with the okina, because some people will not bother to make the extra pen stroke to complete the word with an okina. That's because they're already used to the bland version. (As an aside, I mistakenly deleted the okina from the word Hawaii, until I realized my mistake minutes later and put it back. I guess this character key ` on my keyboard is the okina. I learned something, but it doesn't mean I'll use it, because it's "Hawaiian".) ---SO, if faced with a go or no-go choice to implement the okina, I would do this: implement the okina in the first mentioned word and call attention to it as the proper Hawaiian version, but delete the use of the okina in all the rest of the article. Reason? Readability. Mdoc7 08:05, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I see that this is already done... heh heh. --Mdoc7 08:15, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

ʻUkulele Players

This list is getting long and silly. Can it be moved to another page and linked to from this one? I honestly don't know how to do that, but I hope someone will. It looks like it started out as a list of historically important figures, but has degenerated into a free-for-all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.56.99.71 (talk • contribs) 15:27, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

I broke it up into 4 columns. Mdoc7 18:27, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

It seems to be getting longer and sillier. Can I suggest we delete all the entries in this list that are either red links or external links. That way we have a better chance of ensuring that everyone in the list (a) exists and (b) is sufficiently notable to warrant a mention. -- Sakurambo 桜ん坊 00:43, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

I've gone ahead and done it anyway. -- Sakurambo 桜ん坊 10:59, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Why don't we just get rid of this section and make something like Category: American ukelele players, etc.? KConWiki 01:05, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

I de-redlinked the section, added William H. Macy ([2]), and alphabetized it by last name. Jimpoz (talk) 03:15, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

Could someone add a link to the page for Bill Tapia to this article? ([3]). I would do it but I don't have the experience editing wiki pages and I don't want to mess it up. - tfeledy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tfeledy (talk • contribs) 01:09, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

I am new to this but I think George Formby is considered by a lot of people in Britain to be one of the most famouse performers playing the Ukalele. It might be good to mention him and to have a link to his page. Natasha Parker — Preceding unsigned comment added by Natasha Parker (talk • contribs) 19:09, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

THe My Dog Has Flea mnemonic...

Any song by this name postdates to the use of the phrase in published teaching materials by decades, at least.

Are there any actual references concerning both the teaching materials and dates of publication of the song ? Ukepedia 21:52, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

That's beyond the scope of article, I'd say. But google it with the mnemonic in quotes. Mdoc7 02:12, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

beyond the scope ? maybe my question was unclear... anyway, googling the mnemonic http://www.google.com/search?q=%22my+dog+has+flea%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t http://www.google.com/search?q=%22my+dog+has+fleas%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t didn't bring much informations. Ukepedia 09:14, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

--- Don't know if there are any references or dates to 'My dogs has fleas'. But that is how I was taught at school in Hawai'i to tune my uke. I don't think it's actually a mnemonic as the keys aren't MDHF, it's to do with the tune you 'sing' those words in. Hope that helps. Manuiti 19:31, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Good luck ever finding a reputable source on this one, but this source has an explanation to the "song". Agreed, this is how we were always taught to tune by ear in Hawai'i. Hiperpinguino (talk) 21:25, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

I couldn't stand the unexplained redirect; I added a sentence referencing the use of the melody for tuning. See "mystery redirects" below. ---- Jo3sampl (talk) 23:18, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

Citation and links

I just read the whole article, and I have to say I'm disappointed in its quality. The article has far too few citations and far too many external links. Wikipedia is not a repository for external links, as interesting as they may be. The links need to be pared down to the ones that enhance the encyclopedic content of the article. As much as I think the video of Jake playing his ukulele is cool, it should really only be in the Jake Shimabukuro article. That's just one example. The blogs and fan sites need to go. The links to uke chords, tunings, and history (such as the Hall of Fame Museum) are probably pertinent. Otherwise most of it is fluff.

The history section could be filled out more. I'm sure there are reliable and verifable sources on ukulele history that can be cited. I see little on early Hawaiian ukulele history, especially as regards the Hawaiian royal family. I could also see a separate section on famous ukulele manufacturers. They only get a brief mention in the article. Although the article talks about Tin Pan Alley and the 20s, I think this was such an important phenomenon that it deserves a history sub-section also. The article could also include the importance of the ukulele in Hawaiian culture and its use in schools, etc.

The section on ukulele players, as mentioned earlier, should be a separate article. A brief introductory section (basically already in place) could be headed by a main article link.

- Parsa 18:00, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

I fully agree with you, and started by removing a bunch of external links. Upon inspection, nearly all of them seemed blatantly commercial or non-notable. --JereKrischel 18:25, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Restoring external links

Instead of restoring all the links, could we have a short justification on the talk page before adding them in one by one? --JereKrischel 06:24, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

For goodness sakes, most of them seem useful. I know I've used most of them since getting my uke. I say we justify taking them off. AliaGemma 04:26, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

For the record, here are my stay and go lists with some justification:

Stay:

• Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum - non-profit organization, lists uke festivals
• Hawaiian Concert Guide Podcast - lots of sound files of Hawaiian uke music
• Interactive ukulele lessons for beginners (Under Construction) -

  nice site but not necessary, very recent website and makes much use of flash in a way that could interfere with usability for several users

• Several tutorials and videos about strumming, fingerpicking patterns, and a ukulele online radio

  This one is more stable, older and its accessibility is fine

• Ukulele Chord Finder - awesome chord finder, very useful

  but not ukulele specific. Shouldn't a similar algorithm be explained somewhere else on wikipedia so we can have an internal link instead of this one ?

• Ukulele tabs page, goofy stuff, uke info - very good tabs page, especially since it has chord diagrams on the song pages
• UkeWiki - how can we not support a uke wiki?

  when it's borndead, have a look at the RC on this one...

• Build your own Ukulele - useful not to just people who want to make their own, but also to those just interested in how they are made

  not sure, a specialist in lutherie should first check the validity of this page.

• Interactive ukulele chord finder - very good chord finder plus play alongs

  but this (excellent) website may someday encounter copyright issues

Could Probably Go:

• Ukulele blog

  not sure this one should go, this is the most read and oldest website dedicated to ukulele news.

• Videos of past and present ukulele players -
• Learn how to build/make your own Ukulele - can definitely be deleted, the following (in the article) link is the new URL
• "Uke Yak" at fleamarketmusic Questions answered by Chuck Fayne, featured collector of Jim Beloff's The Ukulele: A Visual History -

  agree on this one, though there is definitely excellent reference material there, the site lacks a proper way to index informations and find it back.

• Video of Jake Shimabukuro playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps by George Harrison
• Langley Ukulele Ensemble
• UkeCast - Ukulele Podcast
• www.tikiking.com

  the main website is not only ukulele related, but there's somewhere a ukulele database that may be linked until there's a better alternative

• Ukulelia - the ukulele blog - can definitely be deleted, it's a duplicate

  right but this one has the correct text

• Territorial Airwaves Your Source for the History of Hawaiian Music.

AliaGemma 05:08, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

observations above. Ukepedia 09:11, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the justifications. Seems reasonable to me. --JereKrischel 02:26, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

clean-up tag

I put in a general rewrite clean-up tag. Frankly, this article is a poster-child for critics of Wikipedia. It could be more coherent and expanded upon. There's a section about an entirely different instrument. There are missing references. It's flow is awful. Please, someone, help the ukulele! Paxsimius 19:43, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

I removed this tag since it has been a month without any discussion about why this article needs a "complete rewrite". I really can't say I agree that this is a "poster child for critics of Wikipedia" -- I love the uke, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not that important anyway -- and the things you're talking about don't require this kind of maintenance tag. Specifics would help, and, of course, you can be bold and add it yourself too. 71.42.141.247 21:58, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

How To

I have used this page for "how to" advice and found it useful. Is there some overall directive against this sort of information in Wikipedia? 203.97.57.130 02:46, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

I know it's an old question, but just for reference: yes, there's a policy against "How To" articles, as that's not the purpose of an encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:NOTHOWTO MatthewVanitas (talk) 08:23, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

List removal

The list of ukulele players in this article was becoming both excessively long and unencyclopedic. Rather than being a helpful list of musicians known primarily for their ukulele ability, it had turned into a listing of virtually any well-known person who had played a ukulele in their lifetime, with people like Kurt Cobain, Tom Hanks, Stephen Colbert, and Abraham Lincoln included, among others. Keep in mind that just playing a ukulele at some point doesn't demonstrate notability; the listing here was clearly not intended to take such a form.

After checking other articles on instruments (and noting that hardly any had such a list as part of their article), I forked off the content into List of ukulele musicians and created the related category of Category:Ukulele musicians. You'll note that the list is much, much shorter, as I went through it and removed the names of any musicians who were not known for playing the ukulele as their primary instrument.

If any editors disagree with this move and can think of policy-based reasons to contest it, I'm fine discussing it here. If you want take up the question of who belongs on the list itself, though, head over to Talk:List of ukulele musicians, which is a more appropriate venue for that discussion. Thanks. Tijuana Brass (talk) 00:02, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

Tunings

The sentence in the ``Tunings`` section

Those who are familiar with ukulele chords will find that the same chord shapes will fit these tunings, but that the chords will be transposed and inverted.

Appears to make no sense in context. At best it's recursive/trivial. This section is talking about ukulele tunings so ukulele chords will trivially fit these tunings. However, since the 4 strings have the same relationship as the top 4 strings on the guitar (taking into account the reentrancy of the 4th string) the statement is true and useful if 'guitar' is substituted for 'ukulele'. I scanned the edit history and couldn't find any record of changes to this sentence, it seems to be an early typo. DanTappan (talk) 19:59, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

I think it may have been correct originally, actually - note that the section you were in is talking about tuning for the Tahitian ukulele, which differs from the more common forms. Tijuana Brass (talk) 21:03, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

You are probably right, so I've reverted the change. I think it might help clarity if the tunings for the standard ukes were broken out into a section instead of scattered throughout other parts of the article. DanTappan (talk) 23:54, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Can someone please specify in the article the octaves for the tunings? (with middle c = C4) Thanks. Mauvila (talk) 04:16, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Popular songs

It might be noteworthy to mention some of the popular songs that included a ukulele as a primary instrument. Three I can think of offhand are "Tiptoe Thru the Tulips" by Tiny Time (of course), but also "Those were the Days" by Mary Hopkin, "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry, etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.91.224.189 (talk) 00:32, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Rough transition, any idea how to segue?

This bit reads really awkwardly, and feels patched-together. Maybe some way to transition between 1960 and 2000? "Singer-musician Tiny Tim became closely associated with the instrument after playing it on his 1968 hit "Tiptoe Through the Tulips". Hawaiian-born Jake Shimabukuro has become a popular ukelele performer in recent years, having played the instrument since the age of 4."

I'd almost say we need to close out the 1950s-1960s paragraph by noting the instrument declined in popularity (if we can find a citation to state that), and then open a new paragraphy noting that in the 2000s the instrument has experienced a resurgence in popularity, using Jake, Beirut, etc. as examples. MatthewVanitas (talk) 18:10, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Succeeded by guitar

I am partially reverting Jpgordon's edits of 27 March 2009. Jpgordon states: "It's just incorrect that uke tab was supplanted by guitar tab "in the early days of rock and roll"; I've got plenty of pre-WWII sheet music w/guitar tab and no uke" This is both original research and faulty reasoning. The fact that one individual has a given amount of pre-WWII sheet music for guitar says nothing about whether the ukulele was supplanted by the guitar in the early days of rock and roll. The removed text did not say that ALL pre-WWII music had ukulele in it or that there was no guitar tab before rock and roll, just that the popularity shifted in favor of the guitar at that time. Unless Jpgordon's collection contains ALL sheet music from that period, there is no basis for the conclusion he/she has drawn; and even if there was a basis it's still original research, while the removed text was supported by a third-party reference (Sanjek, Russell (1988). American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years. Oxford University Press. pp. 95. ISBN 0195043111.)It also appears references [16] and [17] are in the wrong order - [16] appears to refer to the sentence following it, not preceding it. I am reversing the order of these two. SteubenGlass (talk) 08:53, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

• Actually, my collection contains a ton of pre-WWII material, and it shows pretty clearly that ukulele tab was only in sheet music during the short periods of high popularity for the uke. But, yeah, it's just observation, hence original research, so I guess the misleading text (implying that the shift happened after WWII) needs to stay. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 04:10, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Anyone got a nice hi-res uke pic?

I just noticed that the main pic is pretty fuzzy and has no higher resolution. Does anyone have a nice big 800x600 pic of their uke they'd like to share? This page gets millions of hits, so I think a top-quality uke pic would really be worthwhile. Unfortunately, my only current ukes are odd variants (sopranino and 8-string tenor) and I'm not a great photographer. Anyone else? MatthewVanitas (talk) 20:52, 12 April 2009 (UTC)

• I'll do some work on it; I've got a ca. 1940 Martin T-1 which is quite photogenic. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 03:40, 2 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Sounds good, but the problem MatthewVanitas describes is not the image, but the formatting of the image by Template:Infobox Instrument. The template defaults to 250x250px but the image is half that size. Viriditas (talk) 04:07, 2 May 2009 (UTC)
    • A while late -- turns out mahogany Martins aren't all that photogenic after all! --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 06:10, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Linked to the question of photos is one of makes and models and variants. I notice your picture of a Martin has 17 frets, whereas 18 seems to be standard. But if you watch George Formby's No Limit (the one about the 1935 TT races), you'll see he's playing a tenor with 19 frets (albeit 18 and 19 are half-frets). It would be interesting to know what that was and where he got it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.177.88.121 (talk) 13:17, 11 November 2011 (UTC)

What is the _immediate_ uke ancestor among introduced Portuguese instruments?

We've had some back-and-forth edits, but I'm staying out because I don't honestly know the answer: when Manuel Nunes and the others got off the Ravenscraft, what was the specific type of instrument they had with them? Was it a machete, braguinha, cavaquinho, rajao, or other? There's been some debate in the article, and I'd love to have (if possible) a specific term. I realise some of the distinction is kind of arbitrary, but to whatever degree possible a proper name for the particular variant they introduced would be awesome. MatthewVanitas (talk) 04:54, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

The Grove Dictionary of Music is unequivocal: "A small guitar-like instrument. It is derived from the virtually identical machete da braça brought to the Hawaiian (then the Sandwich) Islands by immigrants from Madeira. There is no string instrument native to Hawaii other than the ’ūkēkē, a mouth bow. Three Portuguese instrument makers arrived in 1879: Manuel Nunes, who opened the first shop in 1880, and his associates Augusto Dias and José do Espirito Santo, who opened their own shops in 1884 and 1888 respectively. " Yet the Wikipedia article mentions this machete not at all. Something is amiss. TheScotch (talk) 07:47, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Where doesn't what article mention the machete? The second sentence of Ukulele does. I do worry about Grove, though; the Hawaiian Islands were mostly not known as the Sandwich Islands by the time the machete came over. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 03:31, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Portugese introduced small ukulele-style instruments to Indonesia in 1520 AD, long before Hawaii. According to this Indonesian language wikipedia article, the modern equivalent are still used in evolved form, particulary for keroncong (Dutch influenced chamber music) and Dangdut (Portugese influenced pop), yet the instrument evolved into two complimentary parts called Cak (three nylon strings and round hole) and Cuk (four steel strings with lattice holes) sometimes made and sold in pairs. Tradimus (talk) 07:39, 20 January 2021 (UTC)

Maybe a mention of famous Ukelele players?

Maybe a mention in article of famous(infamous?) Ukele players i.e. in the U.S. "Tiny Tim" in the U.K. George Formby etc.UKEPLAYER (talk) 18:29, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

We already have that as List of ukulele players, which is linked from the main article. MatthewVanitas (talk) 06:26, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

Australia

Ukulele was introduced to Australians viewers of silent movie 'On The Beach at Waikiki' in the same year as the US mainland and were available for sale then, according to 'picnic guitar' newspaper advertisements of the time. Popularity took off after exposure to Allied troops playing abroad in the great war. famous early exponents of the ukulele in Australia include Harry Peelua and Frank Tozer Tradimus (talk) 07:46, 20 January 2021 (UTC)

References

Picture of size

Would be great if we found a picture that conveys the small size of the instrument. All the current pictures actually look much like guitars at a glance. -- EsotericRogue Talk 16:58, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Heh-heh-heh-heh

   Heh-heh-heh-heh: they said UK-e-le-le (in the UK).
--Jerzy•t 20:33, 12 October 2010 (UTC)

Ukulele scale lengths

You show the scale length of a baritone as 19" and this length is quoted in several articles on the 'net. However, I have yet to find any baritone ukulele with a scale length of less than 19.5" and this is the exception; most baritones have a scale length of ≥20". Here's a sample of the scale lengths of current baritone ukes:

Mahalo 20" Kala 20.25" Stagg 19.5" Kamaka 20.125" Tanglewood 20.16" Koloa 20.125"

I suspect the 'net articles quoting 19" actually got it from here! Anyway, there is little point in quoting this when nobody is using it in practice, IMHO. Adriankbryan (talk) 14:44, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

My two sops (Mahalo and Brunswick) both have a scale length of 350mm, and my Mahalo bari has a scale length of 510mm. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.135.51.245 (talk) 10:54, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

Hello, I work in a ukulele shop in London and having measured several dozen soprano ukuleles I can confirm that the standard scale length is not 13 inches, but in fact 13.5 inches, 34cm.

Concerns "Post-1990 Revival" is going the wrong direction

Since it became a bulleted list, "Post-1990 Revival" is slowly becoming a condensed version List of ukulele players, or more bluntly "hey, let's add anyone we like who ever touched a ukulele". I submit that since it's in the History section, it should focus solely on a handful of key figures who aren't simply citable for playing uke, but actually reviving it. I submit the section should be less "Indie Band X is really cool and uses uke in a few songs" or "Movie star X plays uke as a hobby", and more "In 1996 when ukulele was still unfashionable, Musician X received great attention for using it as his primary instrument on Album Y [footnote to article noting importance thereof to Revival]." I think Iz and Shimabukuro might have some sources out there saying "helped make uke cool again" or whatnot, but I'm open to anyone so long as a reputable third party specifically cites them as helping re-popularise the instrument. The current format, though, is likely to keep expanding to be a list of acts in which uke might be notable, but not acts notable to the overall history of the uke. Thoughts? Anyone support an aggressive trim to kick it off? MatthewVanitas (talk) 05:53, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Me me me. We can have a separate list article for People Who Are Considered To Be Part Of The Latest Ukulele Scare, but such things detract badly from the rearding of the history. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 06:09, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

List is just getting cruftier; now we have references to sitcom characters who play and whatnot. I submit we should start heavy, chop anyone who is not clearly and explicitly a driver of the current uke popularity (Iz and Jake are the main two indisputables), and then have folks justify the addition of others on a case-by-case. Again, the benchmark should be "this person brings attention to the uke as an instrument in a big way", not "this person meets notability standards and happens to play the uke". We have a whole separate article for that. If opposed to a chop and clean start (making sure any names cut are retained on List of ukulele players), please voice now; otherwise I hope to chop in a week. MatthewVanitas (talk) 02:38, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Whelp, haven't seen any objections, I'm going to WP:BEBOLD and hack out anything that's not specifically referenced (or we expect to easily reference) as "this person contributed to the burgeoning popularity of the ukulele", not just "this dude has a uke". MatthewVanitas (talk) 17:07, 16 April 2011 (UTC)

arrival date Ravenscrag on Hawai

I'm new to this kind of talk but felt I needed to point out this small matter of fact: Having consulted the french Wiki on the Ukulélé, I found out that the SS Ravenscrag arrived on Hawai on August 25th. Whereas on this (english) version of the page, August 23rd is stated. The entry on the [Ravenscrag] also states the 23rd as date of arrival. Suggestions? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuneski (talk • contribs) 09:44, 25 May 2011 (UTC)

The Javanese Ukuleles

I thought I'd offer my own tiny bit of experience on the kroncong/ukulele stub. I studied musics of Java in the 80s and wrote an article about kroncong. (I don't really like it, so I'll have to revise it if anybody's interested) but as I recall, Keroncong Music is a complex genre in which two or three ukulele variants appear with other members of what is often called in the Pacific a string band - viola/biola (in fact, a violin), flute, guitar, cuk, cak, cello and bas. Anything else may be added - lap steel, organ, sax, electric guiar, or a full orchestra - and of course the singers. Popular favourites to youtube would be "Bengawan Solo", "Kroncong Moritsku" or "Jali Joli". There is no doubt that keroncong music has its origins in Portuguese music. The Portuguese didn't stop trading in Indonesia just because the Dutch East India Company took over the contracts, and the chord progressions are directly related to Portuguese Fado (Which I've also spent a couple of years studying) - trouble is, some sources don't believe Fado got started until the late 19th century, at about the time the Portuguese braguinha/cavalquino was adopted by the Hawaiians, while others claim fado is centuries old. My first sponsor in Java, Professor Bernard Suryabrata, suggested I track down a song called "Mina Bobo", said to be one of the earliest keroncong songs, and said to be based on Portuguese music. No luck there, but I did track down the little village of Tugu, in the dockland Tanjung Priok area of Jakarta, where I found, sitting outside the Portuguese Protestant Church (Gereja Protestan Portugal), a group of older men, one of whom was playing a keroncong, a very homemade instrument resembling a baritone ukulele. I can't tell you much more about that situation, but I got to jam with a few keroncong groups later. The viola, flute and guitar parts are improvisational, and somewhere between Portuguese, Jazz and Javanese langgam. The cuk (pron: "chook", short for cukulele)is a 3 stringed ukulele, the cak ("chuck", also called "tenor") is a similar 3 metal string instrument, and the selo/cello is a 3 stringed cello, played pizzicato. These three are rhythm instruments, the cuk and cak playing interlocking offbeats, and the cello playing a highly percussive and syncopated bass line. The virtuosic cuk and cello have been adapted into more modern forms, such as dangdut and campur sari (mixed essences). It's great stuff, but was getting swamped by Asiavision styled releases when I was there in 2007. I hope somebody transfers their old keroncong cassettes to digital, so we can dig it all (sorry). Two more points: I've been told that in the late 19th century steamships used to traverse the Pacific, California to Singapore/Calcutta and back again (as in Round the World in 80 Days), so musicians would be picked up along the way: Hawaiians, Tongans, Indonesian, Malay, Indian , each to play their own styles but also to support one another (as musos do). Thus the keroncong met, or remet, the ukulele, and the Hawaiian ballad and keroncong ballad cross-fertilised one another. But, as they say, I have no proof. Check it out anyway. I'm an ethnomusicologist, and I'm convinced. Cuk and cak are tuned in a minor triad - g b e, c e a, etc, and the cello is generally in fifths. The headstocks are generally made for four strings, but only strung with three. The cello slapping/plucking technique is related to the indigenous drumming. My teacher told me "Don't say it plays drum patterns - it gives a drumming/ kasih kendangané"). And of course, we come back to Portugal. Braga is way up in the North, but considered to be the third significant fado area after Lisbon and Coimbra. They certainly still make fine instruments - guitaras Portuges, cavalquinos, etc. Braguinha is really a regionaliser, like Nashville banjo vs Appalachian banjo. The two versions I've heard of the Origin of Ukulele story say that a British ship and musical sailor were involved in the first performance of ukulele on Hawaiian soil, after the man (or men) from Braga brought out the little voice which continues to seduce all over the world. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.109.62.155 (talk) 15:42, 11 September 2011 (UTC)

Tuning section is confusing or confused...

"Traditional tuning for the soprano ukulele was D6-tuning: A4 D4 F#4 B4, but standard tuning for concert and tenor ukuleles the C6-tuning instead: G4 C4 E4 A4. [...]
Another common tuning for concerts is D-tuning, A4 D4 F#4 B4, one step higher than the G4 C4 E4 A4 tuning." -- megA (talk) 14:23, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

Woods / Caring for the Ukelele

Hi everyone, I've added a few details about Woods and caring for the instrument. Will have a look at the Tuning section as MegA suggested above, it could be cleaned up a bit. Please feel free to clean up my contribution:) I hope it will be valuable. Thanking you all for your attention. -- Bookworm_Harvard —Preceding undated comment added 03:51, 14 May 2012 (UTC).

Unfortunately, I've had to remove it, under WP:NOR, WP:V, and WP:NOTAGUIDE. As well-founded as your personal experiences seem to be, our personal experiences are not acceptable Wikipedia material. I'd suggest putting this great stuff on a ukulele forum or somewhere like that. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 04:45, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

New resource

A fabulous new resource has become available: "The ʻUkelele: a history", ISBN 9780824836344, by Jim Tranquada and John King. This is about as R as a WP:RS can be. I'm looking forward to adding useful information as I read along. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 02:31, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

Another new excellent source: Ian Whitcomb's "Ukulele Heroes: The Golden Age", ISBN 9781458416544. Also quite a reliable source. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 17:22, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

Strings? Playing technique?

I think the article should say something about these. What are the strings made of? Nylon? Steel? Something else? Are they wound? Does the right hand commonly use a plectrum? Does it commonly use something akin to classical guitar technique? Flamenco guitar technique? Something else? TheScotch (talk) 07:42, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

I added a couple sentences about the strings in the construction section. I don't believe they are controversial, but can probably find some good references if we need them. Maybe it is too much, the actual strings are mentioned in the heading of the article, so maybe it should just be removed. Let the discussion begin!The Ukulele Guy - Aggie80 (talk) 14:07, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

I think a couple of sentences on the technique would be a good idea, just not sure where it would fit. Something along the lines of "The instrument is commonly strummed using the fingers, though a soft felt pick is used by some musicians. The George Formby 'split stroke' is a popular technique. As the instrument has regained popularity, musicians are expanding techniques and are including finger picking, triple strums and arpeggio with various electronic effects." The Ukulele Guy - Aggie80 (talk) 13:54, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Mystery redirects

My Dog Has Fleas

I encountered "My dog has fleas instrument" as a crossword puzzle clue, with the answer "uke." Fine, okay, what's that about? I searched for "My Dog Has Fleas" in Wikipedia, and got a redirect to "Ukulele." But that doesn't really tell me a darn thing. Shouldn't there be a Wiki standard requiring an entry on the page to explain the redirect? Here's more info, by the way (I see that some of this is reflected in Talk, but shouldn't there be a Wiki standard?)

From http://www.ukeschool.com/ukulele/tuning/my_dog_has_fleas.html:

You may have heard the phrase My Dog Has Fleas about ukulele tuning. It's a little song, or phrase, that can help you tune your ukulele really quickly! Pluck each of the strings, unfretted, starting with the "G", and sing a word of that phrase to the note each string makes. (G)My (C)Dog (E)Has (A)Fleas! Try this little song every time you've become satisfied that your uke is reasonably in tune - it will become "stuck" in your mind. Sing it out loud, get it more stuck.

So, when you're out trying to tune your ukulele in the real world, you can use the "My Dog Has Fleas" song as a shortcut when you feel that your uke could use a bit of tuning. Let the song "play" in your head - and pluck each of the strings in the order that should produce the little song. Before long, you will be able to get a fair idea of which string is out of tune - because it won't fit with the little song in your head! It's nice to be able to just re-tune the string that's gone out of tune, and using the "My Dog Has Fleas" song as a "reference" can really help you figure out which one to tune, fast!

(Cross-posted at the Help Desk) Jo3sampl (talk) 04:29, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

No joy from the Help Desk. There oughta be a law! Added explanation of "My Dog Has Fleas" redirect. Ugh. -- Jo3sampl (talk) 23:19, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

British English "ukelele"

This has probably been done before, buy why does the lede say "British English ukelele}}"? Not in my dictionary it does. I don't have access to the OED online ref, but I note the URL is for text "ukulele". My (British) Collins lists it as "ukulele or ukelele", Fowler is silent on the matter, as is Partridge. I guess it is an alternative in British English, but it is put across as if it is the only way. Could we just add "also" or "alternatively" before or after "ukelele"? Si Trew (talk) 16:22, 28 October 2014 (UTC)

The Oxford British and the Oxford American dictionaries Apple ships give "ukelele" as an alternative "(also ukelele)" for both. So I don't think it is the primary spelling in British English, even if once it was. -- Evertype·✆ 21:04, 23 May 2015 (UTC)

It seems clear that "ukelele" is an alternative spelling, mentioned as such by dictionaries, and plentifully to be found in Google searches, but that it is distinctly less popular than the "ukulele" spelling. What is not clear is that it is particularly British alternative. I've edited page accordingly. --Hobbes Goodyear (talk) 00:49, 22 January 2016 (UTC)

Range chart

It would be great to have a range chart like the one at Guitar and Mandolin. -- Evertype·✆ 21:02, 23 May 2015 (UTC)

@Evertype This article has a range chart, but I don't see one in guitar or mandolin. The range chart should be cropped though. rootsmusic (talk) 08:36, 3 October 2023 (UTC)

In the sidebar for Guitar and Mandolin under "playing range" an image is given but is lacking for this article. -- Evertype·✆ 13:07, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

Help at new article Mario Maccaferri (plastic ukulele designer)?

I just started a new article on Maccaferri, the guy who designed a guitar for Djanjo, invented a lot of plastic-bodied instruments including the Islander ukulele, etc. If anyone wants to help expand the ukulele content of his bio, that'd be really helpful! It's a pretty interesting story of design, and they sold like 9 million of them, so there's definitely a story there. Perhaps even a standalone article on the Islander ukulele itself? MatthewVanitas (talk) 13:23, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

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Baritone Uke Hyperlink

The link intended for the baritone ukulele article actually links to the article for baritone guitar DarraghMM (talk) 21:35, 19 June 2019 (UTC)

DarraghMM Thank you for your message. I don't regularly check this page but took care of it. Several links were wrong.Jacqke (talk) 03:54, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

???

How can I help edit this page? I don't really know yet. Could someone direct me? Thanks.

Shadowblade08 (talk) 14:21, 24 April 2020 (UTC)

Ukulele vs ʻUkulele (whether to include the okina)

I see there was some discussion about the okina (ʻ) back in 2006 or so. I haven't seen any newer discussion on Talk, but it appears that at some point someone took it upon themselves (without discussion) to add the okina to a bunch of uses of the title word all over the page.

I would argue that the most-common usage of "ukulele" does not include the okina, and so we should include the okina when explaining in the lede the original Hawaiian-language term ʻukulele, but that we shouldn't include the okina throughout the body of the article. Does anyone have any strong opinions either way? MatthewVanitas (talk) 01:36, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

Okay, I did some digging and all the okinas were added by User:Wayfarer7575 on 14 February 2020 with no discussion and no edit summary. Failing any evidence that anyone else agreed on this major change (other than just nobody stepping in to revert it), I'm removing all the okinas for now unless community consensus turns out to support including them. MatthewVanitas (talk) 00:43, 6 June 2020 (UTC)

Grace VanderWaal missing

I think the young (preteen) Grace VanderWaal should definitely be cited (in: Ukulele#Post-1990_revival) as one of those who popularized the ukulele in the recent years by her (pre-career) Youtube songs.
Please ping me. Steue (talk) 14:22, 22 September 2020 (UTC)

Images of the "pineapple" ukulele and a "boat-paddle" shaped ukulele missing

I 'm missing images of the oval, usually called a "pineapple" ukulele, invented by the Kamaka Ukulele company and of the boat-paddle shape-ed ukuleles, mentioned in: Ukulele#Construction.
Please ping me. Steue (talk) 14:35, 22 September 2020 (UTC)

An image of the "pineapple" is already there. I added the reference to this image (at the right location in the text).

Steue (talk) 14:47, 22 September 2020 (UTC)

Close-up image(s) of 6 and 8 strings versions please

Ukulele#Construction last (4th) paragraph says:
The six string, four course version, has two single and two double courses
Unfortunately in the image of the four ukuleles it is not clearly visible how these strings are placed and look like.
Please ping me. Steue (talk) 14:55, 22 September 2020 (UTC)

Suggest merging in banjo ukulele

I propose merging banjo ukulele be merged into here. Discuss at Talk:Banjo ukulele#Merge proposal. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆 𝄐𝄇} 19:07, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

tropical bass

a ukulele is basically a tropical bass 2601:280:4A00:9590:94BB:76A9:6FD3:CBA5 (talk) 15:18, 29 May 2022 (UTC)

New table entry

@George Hernandez: I'm not so sure this table you've created is helpful -- it's quite generic to any fretted or non-fretted string instrument. That is, it doesn't say anything special about the ukulele, it's what frets or finger positions do. On the uke, it could be a bit illuminating if it showed the interesting overlap that the re-entrant string provides; that, for example, the open G string is the same note as the 3rd fret on the E string, and the open A string is the same as the second fret on the G string. You'd need to specify the notes more completely as,for example, A₄, B♭₄ and so on. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 03:29, 20 February 2023 (UTC)

Contrabass vs. bass

Is the bass just a steel-stringed version of a contrabass nylon-stringed uke? This article's range chart shows a lower range for the contrabass, but the description says "the contrabass below aligns with the bass in the above table" (above tuning table shows the bass range E₁–B₃). rootsmusic (talk) 08:51, 3 October 2023 (UTC)