Category Archives: Nuts and Bolts (How To)
Steven Universe Ukulele
I watch Keepa.com for ukuleles to review, and a “build your own” ukulele kit from Bninteenteam (?) showed up in early June for less than $12 a kit. My son (age 9) had been asking to make a Steven Universe Ukulele, so I bought two of them. The kit came with everything you need to …
Excellent Video: Cost, Scales, Where to Buy
My friend, Rachel Webley (in Wales), published a lovely video today discussing the issues of cost, scales, and where to buy your first ukulele. I’m in total agreement with everything that she tells you in this video.
Installing a Strap Button
If you ask ukulele players whether you should use a strap or not, you are going to get a wide range of answers. Everyone has an opinion, but they differ greatly. I started playing ukulele not wanting to use a strap–as a pure beginner, I thought it showed weakness. In my collection of musical skills, …
The Video Creation Set-Up
I thought it might be interesting for you to see the set-up that I use to make the video play alongs. This doesn’t include apps (I can list those later), but it does include all of the hardware that I use. My main device is a 12.9″ iPad Pro. I love it, and it is …
Ukulele Humidifiers
I thought I had blogged about this, but apparently I only made a video. My friend Paul Marchese, who runs ukuleleforteachers.com, made a video showing how he created his own humidifiers for his Mainland Ukuleles (solid wood ukuleles). I followed his example, originally ordering plastic coin tubes with twist on caps, made for quarters. I …
Gorilla Grip or Monster Grip
Do you suffer from Gorilla Grip or Monster Grip? This is what happens when you press too hard with your left hand while you are playing. If your ukulele is set up correctly, it should take very little pressure to play a note with the left hand. If you press too lightly, you might hear …
Down the Rabbit Hole of Tuning Heads
Last fall, I won a prototype ukulele. It is a rugged ukulele that is meant for outdoor use, and it has not yet come to market–nor has there been any updates on the product from the company. Another company has recently put a very similar instrument into the market place, successfully crowd funded the ukulele, …
Need New Ukuleles for Next Year?
A friend of mine recently found out that their school moved them from a high school position to an elementary position (quite a shock!) and has decided to incorporate ukulele into their elementary instruction. I have been asked what ukuleles to recommend…and I wanted to share my thoughts on the blog. I am now over …
So…you got a ukulele for Christmas (or as a gift at another time of the year)…
You were given a ukulele? That’s great news! Although you were probably not given the world’s greatest ukulele (don’t worry—I don’t own it, either), there is a good chance that your ukulele will be quite serviceable until you buy your next ukulele. I’m going to warn you right away: owning a ukulele (and liking it) …
ukestuff 