The SOUP Kettle - SOUP - (Southern Ontario Ukulele Players)

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The S.O.U.P. Kettle
A quarterly newsletter published by the Southern Ontario Ukulele Players (S.O.U.P.)
Issue 4
London, Ontario
April/May/June 2013
Group strum-along at Mighty Uke Roadshow
Audience members with their ukuleles joined in the fun during a group strum-along session near the end
of The Mighty Uke Roadshow at London’s Palace Theatre on April 7.
The Mighty Uke Roadshow:
What is a Roadshow? Fun! For
the 93 people at The Mighty Uke
Roadshow on Sunday, April 7
at the Palace Theatre, it was an
uplifting, ukulele-marvellous event.
Tony Coleman of Tiny Goat
Films of Toronto, co-producer of
The Mighty Uke Movie, introduced
the one-hour-and-15-minute film.
After the screening, Canadian
virtuoso James Hill performed his
ukulele miracles, accompanied
a Review by Libby Wheeler
by his talented partner Anne
Janelle on cello. James brought
the evening to an end by leading a
rousing group strum-along.
The Mighty Uke Movie validates
the ukulele as a real musical
instrument while reminding us of
the joy that the ukulele spreads
wherever it appears. The movie
exposes us to some of the most
well-known personalities of past
and present:
Roy Schmeck,
George Formby, Arthur Godfrey,
John King, Aaron Keim, L’il Rev,
Jim D’Ville, Don Scanlon, Jake
Shimabukuro, and Canadians
James Hill and Manitoba Hal
(Brolund). It shows us what the
instrument can do on its own, and
when played in an ensemble. See
page 6 for Hal’s workshop and
concert at S.O.U.P. April 15.
Every story the movie tells is
inspirational: two Hawaiian teenagers playing Bach; children in
Continued on page 5
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The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
All in A Chord
... Pat Moauro, Editor
True ukulele believers hear the word (and music) during Roadshow
“Do you believe in the ukulele? Do you believe in the ukulele? Do you
believe ...?” - Canadian ukulele virtuoso James Hill
S
Pat Moauro
The S.O.U.P. Kettle
The S.O.U.P. Kettle is a digital
newsletter published quarterly
by the Southern Ontario Ukulele
Players (S.O.U.P.), with news, information and commentary about
S.O.U.P. activities and anything
having to do with the ukulele and
how to play it.
Please send your favourite stories,
articles and photos to the editor at
[email protected].
Deadline is the 20th of the month
preceding the three-month publication. Please send all photos and
illustrations as separate JPEGs.
Volunteer Un-committee
June Cole: [email protected]
Val Voth: [email protected]
Mark Anderson: mark7anderson@
yahoo.ca
Lynda Martens: lyndamartens@
yahoo.com
Roy Brankley: [email protected]
Pat Moauro: [email protected]
Libby Wheeler: libbylondon@rogers.
com
Jen Manley: soupworkshops@
gmail.com
Layout and design by the
Morcom Media Group.
519-679-3069
[email protected]
All rights reserved 2013
ome non-uke players who may have wandered into London’s Palace Theatre Sunday evening April 7 might have thought they had inadvertently
walked into a religious revival meeting. The energy and enthusiasm, both
on stage and in the audience, reached a feverish pitch, as rousing ukulele music,
accompanied by a soulful cello, filled the theatre.
The similarities to a revival meeting came to mind, especially when James
Hill, a highly skilled Canadian ukulele performer, sang (perhaps half in jest),
“Do you believe in the ukulele?” repeating the question earnestly several
times. He smiled when someone in the audience chimed in, “Yes, Brother!”
I mean no disrespect for anyone’s religious and spiritiual beliefs. However,
without doubt the entire 2 1/2-hour evening was devoted to proclaiming the
good news and the soul-satisfying music of a humble four-string, guitar-like
instrument that is winning converts around the world (again). For the past
three years, Tony Coleman and Margaret Meagher of Toronto, co-producers
of a one-hour, 15-minute movie called, The Mighty Uke - The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog, have been travelling the globe and spreading
the word about the latest surge in popularity of this little instrument.
James Hill of Brookfield, N.S., accompanied by Anne Janelle on cello, did
a masterful job of showing the audience some of the weird and wonderful
sounds that can be coaxed out of a little ukulele. As good as we S.O.U.P.ers
are during our Monday evening jam sessions, the music coming from James
Hill’s ukes just didn’t sound at all like our S.O.U.P. music. But that’s not surprising in the least. See Libby Wheeler’s review on pages 1 and 5 for more
details about The Mighty Uke Roadshow.
Tony and Margaret brought The Mighty Uke Roadshow to London after visiting Hamilton earlier. The nearly 100 people in the London audience included
S.O.U.P. members, uke players from the Stoney Creek Branch Library Ukelele
Jam group in North London, and out-of-town uke players, including members
of the St. Thomas Ukulele Performance Ensemble (who also come out to
S.O.U.P.), and the Dover Uke Heads from Port Dover. See photos of members
of the latter two groups on page 7.
The Roadshow was one of two major uke events in London in April. A number of
S.O.U.P. members attended a workshop and performance by another skilled Canadian uke performer and teacher, Manitoba Hal (Brolund), formerly of Manitoba, now of Nova Scotia. Hal played some upbeat blues music on his double-neck
uke during his concert and teaching session April 15. In his entertaining style, including joking with his audience, he provided helpful tips and demonstrated how
to play the blues. See photos and Jen Manley’s review on page 6.
Our own S.O.U.P. ukulele man, Mark Anderson, player/teacher, uke-builder and go-to person, will introduce his new column, Ask Mark in the July/August/September issue of this newsletter. Send your questions to Mark about
anything related to the ukulele - such as what to watch for when buying your
uke, how to hold it and your fingers properly, and how to play it. Mark’s email:
[email protected] See his “Semi-mental Journey” article on page
12 of this issue. Val Voth reminds S.O.U.P. members to check out Southern
Ontario Ukulele Players on Facebook.
Keep the faith fellow uke believers. See you in the circle.
Pat
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The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
James Hill Dazzles
Canadian ukulele virtuoso James Hill of Brookfield, N.S., accompanied by Anne Janelle on cello, dazzled his enthralled audience
of uke fans during the Mighty Uke Roadshow in London April 7.
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The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
Mighty Uke movie DVD available from:
www.mightyukemovie.com
Margaret Meagher and Tony Coleman, who wrote,
directed, produced and edited the Mighty Uke movie, brought their Mighty Uke Roadshow to London
April 7. DVDs of the movie, T-shirts, uke music and
other uke-related materials were on sale.
After the concert, James Hill was busy autographing ukuleles. Among those having their ukes autographed were S.O.U.P’s Libby Wheeler at left, and
S.O.U.P. founder June Cole, above.
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The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
The Mighty Uke Roadshow:
Israel playing “ukuleles for peace”;
and the Langley Ukulele Orchestra
achieving excellence, building
friendships, sharing cultures.
The Mighty Uke Movie also
gives us an historical perspective:
the ukulele’s origins in Portugal
and Hawaii, its ups and downs
in popularity over the years, and
where it fits in our present world,
James Hill’s performance was
astonishing. Lynda Martens said,
“It demonstrated that we are only
beginning to realize the ukulele’s
potential.”
Four strings, fingers that move like
lightning, incredible musicianship,
a one-person orchestra. Simply
amazing. Listening to James, in
awe at his mastery of this little
instrument, was a magical moment.
Anne Janelle is a fine musician in
her own right, and our eyes were
drawn to her as she cast her spell
with the cello. Anne is a dancer.
That explained it for me: her whole
body speaks.
The group strum was short—but
great fun. James made it even more
raucous by using body positions as
the cues for different chords—and
it worked!
I brought three non-ukuleleplaying guests to the Roadshow.
Here is what my friend Sharon
Sterling emailed me the next day:
“I learned through the movie
and the crowd that this instrument
draws any age together---young/
old, families, friends, people you
don’t even know anything about--three people spoke to me when I
was holding your uke! I learned it’s
not just old time and country music
that can be played on the uke. I
saw that anyone can try to play
and everyone just keeps smiling
and tapping.
It’s a wonderful
atmosphere when you don’t have
to worry about competition or how
you’ll be judged.”
a Review by Libby Wheeler ... from page 1
It was pure pleasure to spend the
evening with people who share a
passion for the ukulele: all doing
the same thing at the same time,
led by the best in the world. It was
the first time I have strummed with
a large group of strangers—except
for the very first night I came to
S.O.U.P.—and instead of being
terrified as I was then, Sunday night
I felt completely comfortable and
surrounded by friends.
Leading the group strum near the end of The Mighty Uke Roadshow in
London are, from left to right: Tony Coleman, Anne Janelle and James Hill.
Non-uke player praises Mighty Uke show
By Norah Rows
The other night, my ukulele-crazed friend Libby Wheeler invited me to attend the
viewing of a film called The Mighty Uke (April 7). I neither own a uke, play a uke,
nor know anything about a uke. Nonetheless I am always up for an adventure. I
enjoyed the film and it created a rich and interesting history of this little instrument.
The highlight of the evening for me was watching and listening to the performance by James Hill. No one should be able to produce from a little hollow
box with four strings what this man did. My favorite piece was what I call the
lounge music that he wrote, played and sang. When he added a chopstick, it
created the weirdest sounds which added to the futuristic eeriness of that particular piece! I was in awe how his fingers could possibly travel that fast, keep
up such a steady beat and produce a melody all at the same time.
I do have to add that my eyes kept going to his partner on the cello. Her flirtatious relationship with James, his music and her cello added so much to the
whole experience.
It was a great evening, so great in fact, that Libby loaned me a uke and I had
my first lesson at S.O.U.P. last night (April 8). I am now strumming away in C
chord!
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The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
S.O.U.P. members with Manitoba Hal (aka Hal Brolund) of Nova Scotia are, from left to right: Jen Manley,
workshop coordinator; June Cole, S.O.U.P. founder; and Val Voth. The S.O.U.P. ladies helped arrange for Hal
to come to London for a blues workshop and concert April 15. At right, Hal performs during his concert.
Photos by Mike Huber and Pat Moauro
Manitoba Hal brings his ukulele blues to S.O.U.P.
By Jen Manley
Hal began his blues workshop April
15 by noting that the two most basic forms of the blues are the 12-bar
and the 16-bar. The 12-bar, the more
common of the two, means that a
song, usually played in 4/4 time, is
12 bars long and repeats. As for the best way to strum a blues
song, Hal instructed us to use a relaxed
hand to strum down for one beat and up
for one beat. The down stroke should
be twice as loud as the up stroke.
Hal reminded us that the blues is
about attitude. Although a grasp of
the basic technique is important, particularly if you intend to tackle more
complicated blues songs later on, Hal
warned us not to get too hung up on
this and figure out what works best
for each of us.
“All roads lead to Rome,” Hal advised. “It doesn’t matter how you get
there.” With this encouragement, we
got down to it and within minutes we
were all playing a reasonable-sounding 12-bar blues progression in the
key of C, followed by the more challenging key of F.
Next we learned turnaround. “Music is about tension and resolution,”
Jen Manley
Hal told the group. Tension is created
as you play the notes that are further away from the root note, which
is the C in the C scale. Resolution
comes when we return to the root
note, which is accomplished by inserting a turnaround at the last two
bars of a 12-bar progression to signal
the return. The turnaround is always
the sixth note from the scale. In the
C scale, the turnaround is the A note.
The workshop concluded by exploring the groovy sounds of the minor
pentatonic scale. Learning this and
the major pentatonic scale is a must
for anyone interested in improvising
or in doing solos on the ukulele.
During the performance portion of
the evening, Hal tuned his double-
neck ukulele, adjusted a few buttons
on the looping board at his feet and
proceeded to blow the lid off the joint.
His set started with the sultry songs
“Way Down in the Hole” and “Baby
Please Don’t Go”. Both showcased
the amazing way the looping board
provides the one-man-band sound
that so uniquely defines Hal’s performances.
Ever the comedian, Hal kep things
rolling with his hilarious commentary on so-clled exotic foods in the
song Tastes Like Chicken. He nearly
brought the house down with his uproariously euphemistic Bo Carter
song My Pencil Won’t Write No More,
concluding with Hal’s rapid-fire delivery of the same disclaimer from the
Viagra television commercials.
No performance of Hal’s would be
complete without the Robert Johnson
classic Sweet Home Chicago, and Hal
played an absolutely blistering version
of this. Hal closed his set with a zippy
rendition of Little Walter’s My Babe.
If you missed Hal’s workshop and
performance, don’t fret! Hal will be
back in Ontario at the Orangeville
Blues and Jazz Festival May 30 –
June 2. Check out the site at:
www.objf.org for more details.
7
The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
St.Thomas Ukers
Above, members of STUPE - St.
Thomas Ukulele Performance
Ensemble - pose for a photo op
during a break in The Mighty Uke
Roadshow in London.
From left to right are: Tom Intven,
Gary Clarke, Rich Routhier, Jerry
O’Brien, Dave McCormick, Mike
Huber, and Ann Walker. Absent
from the photo is Janice Shackelton, who joined about a month
ago.
DUH! we play the uke too!
Two members of S.O.U.P. - Richard Routhier, left, and Mike Huber, second from left, ham it up with two members of DUH! - Dover Uke Heads
- Peter Shebib and Cat Porritt during a break in The Mighty Uke Roadshow in London. DUH! of Port Dover, now in its third year, has 65 members, ranging in age from 8 to 81.
Gary, Jerry, Tom and Mike were
the original members when the
group started in November, 2012.
It all started during a drive home
from a golf trip in Tennessee last
fall. Gary Clarke asked some of his
fellow golfers if anyone wanted to
join a ukulele club. Within a week,
Ann Walker and Rich Routhier
joined.
The St. Thomas uke players later
joined S.O.U.P.
8
The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
S.O.U.P. Profiles
... with Lynda Martens
Lynda Martens
Uke’s simplicity,
connecting people
keeps Tom Intven
coming back
Q.
A.
Tom, how long have you
been playing the Ukulele?
Q.
What made you want to
play the Ukulele?
A.
You all have heard the story
from Mike Huber in his
feature article, about how
four of us were traveling
back from a golf trip in
Tennessee, when Gary
Clarke asked “How would
you guys like to join a Ukulele
club?”. Our first reaction
was “ You’re kidding, right?”,
but by the time we hit the
Canadian border he had
us all convinced to give it a
try. The original foursome
from St. Thomas has added
more members over the
last few months as the word
spreads about how much
fun we are having. For
me, this has been perfect
timing to re-introduce music
back into my life, as my
I’ve been playing the
Ukulele since November,
2012. So far it’s been a real
treat. I had not played any
kind of musical instrument
since high school.
Tom Intven
wife, Laurie, and I have
just become empty nesters,
and have a little more spare
time.
Q.
A.
Q.
What type of SOUP songs
do you like most, and
least?
Variety is the spice of life,
and I’ve enjoyed all the
songs. I really like upbeat
tunes that everyone can
play well and sing along
with – it’s all about the great
group dynamics we enjoy in
our club.
Tell us about your ukulele.
A.
I started with the $29.99
soprano model and have
upgraded twice and now
play a tenor model that I
am comfortable with for
my skill level. As I improve,
I’m sure that I will want to
invest in better models that
will be a reflection of my
ability to play them. It’s like
enthusiastic novice sailors
who have two-foot-itis,
always wanting that bigger
and better boat. The nice
difference is that Ukuleles
are a relatively inexpensive
investment compared to
boats.
Continued on page 9
9
The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
Tom Intven
... continued from page 8
Allison VanPraet, left, and her mother, Sylvia Bodnar, share a mutual
love of the ukulele. They attend S.O.U.P. jam sessions on Monday evenings regularly because it makes them “joyous, happy and thankful.”
Mother and daughter play uke
how long have you
What are your most and least
Q. Allison,
been playing the ukulele? Q. favourite S.O.U.P. songs? been playing the ukulele
My two favourite songs are
A. I've
for about one and a half years A. Aloha oe, because it is such
but find I don't have a lot of
time for practising, but that
doesn't seem to matter - that's
the great thing about the ukulele, you can put as little or as
much as you wish and still get
a lot out of this instrument.
got you playing the
Q. What
ukulele? think it was my mother's
A. I"bright
idea" to give it a try ...
and I am very happy to have
this time with my mom, Sylvia.
a pretty traditional Hawaiian
song and I hope to go to Hawaii and be able to play along,
and Sloop John B because I
think it is an easy and cool
song to play in a group setting and it sounds great. My
least favourite song is You
Are My Sunshine but then as
we play it, I get to like it more
thanks to our great singers in
the group. It's probably my
least favourite because it was
the first song I learned to play
Continued on page 10
Q.
A.
What’s your favourite
“Ukulele Moment” story?
Q.
What makes you want to
come to S.O.U.P. on
Monday nights?
A.
While I really enjoy the
“lessons” on strumming
and picking techniques
and learning the subtleties
of playing each song, for
me, S.O.U.P. is all about
the great people that share
in the fun of playing and
singing as a group. The
simplicity of the ukulele and
it’s ability to connect people
in song keeps me coming
back.
During a recent trip to
Florida, three S.O.U.P.
members and their spouses
and some friends gathered
for cocktails and a night of
fun. Pretty soon a couple of
Ukes appeared and we had
a little ‘jam session’. What
great fun it was to have
everyone singing along to
‘Bye, Bye Love’, laughing
and enjoying the moment.
The Ukes were the hit of the
night!
Two U.S. uke events
coming up in May
If you’re interested in attending
a couple of big ukulele events in
the U.S., not too far from London,
you may want to check out the
Mighty Uke Day in Lansing, Michigan, May 10-11; and the Ukulele
World Congress in Needmore, Indiana, May 31-June 1.
10
The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
Mother and daughter play uke together at S.O.U.P.
on the ukulele and I maybe
had to do it too many times.
Sylvia Bodnar
(Allison’s mother)
a Martin Backpacker. A. II have
love it because it is quiet
Q.
How long have you been
Q.
playing the ukulele Sylvia?
a fun "ron
A. Ijonfirstsurfpurchased
shop" ukulele at an
I've only been playing the uke
antique sale for my daughA.
for a year. I clogged for many
ter as an unique instrument
Tell us about your ukulele(s). to learn to play and I think it
may have tweaked both our
interests. I then borrowed one
of my mom's when we first
tried some S.O.U.P the night
of Manitoba Hal’s first visit in
2012; we were hooked. My
next purchase was on Mother's Day. It was a gift to myself
since I may have put my hobbies on the back burner for a
few years raising three kids. I
now play a larger tenor ukulele and I do enjoy the sound of
it...it's easier than squeezing
all your fingers on the smaller
ukes. I also bought a uke that
resembles a kiwi for my daughter but she seems too busy
to play right now. I do hope
she gets back to it someday.
Q.
A.
is your favourite ukuQ. What
lele moment?
A.
I have two favourite ukulele moments. One time my
sister-in-law and I were singing our hearts out on a hot
summer day up at the cottage (with a beverage or two
the singing gets better). The
second was using my ukulele
as a great stress reliever in a
huge traffic jam on the 401.
Q.
A.
makes you want to
Q. What
come to S.O.U.P. on Monday nights? how the ukulele makes Q.
A. Imelove feel
happy. S.O.U.P.
seems to cleanse the soul. years until my knee started to
act up, and now my creative
juices have gone from my
feet to my fingers. I enjoy fun
things. The uke is fun, and
I've been married to a “Uke”
(Ukrainian) for nearly 53 years
(double the fun).
What made you want to play
the ukulele?
I've wanted to play for a long
time. I had guitar lessons
many years ago, but when I
saw the Manitoba Hal writeup in the paper (in 2012),
I talked my daughter and
granddaughter into going with
me to see him. That's when
the fun began. I can't find the
words to express how special
it is to enjoy jamming with my
daughter (my granddaughter
got too busy).
What are your most and least
favourite S.O.U.P. songs?
I like nearly all S.O.U.P.
songs. I especially like Bring
Me Sunshine. I have it on the
computer (by the Jive Aces),
and then I run it through my
Bose - turn up the volume,
and play along. Makes me
feel like I'm really groovin' and
(all by myself) I'm one of the
Jive Aces.
Tell us about your ukulele(s).
... from page 9
Q.
when I sit by myself playin'
and singin'. I admired the
banjo ukes that a few of us
have, so I found a second
hand 1956 resonator banjo
uke...put new strings on and
changed the pegs. It's growing on me. It's loud, and I
guess it's better when I play
in the group.
What's your favourite ukulele story?
and ukuleles seem to
A. Water
go together. When at a cot-
Q.
tage in the summer "sitting on
the dock of the bay"... I guess
that's my favourite ukulele
moment ..."wastin time".
What keeps you coming
out to S.O.U.P.?
look forward to S.O.U.P. on
A. IMonday
nights because it
makes me feel joyous, happy
and thankful in so many ways.
I love the comradery - lots of
new friends. I love sharing this
with my daughter. It's so nice
to see S.T.U.P.E. (St. Thomas Ukulele Performance
Ensemble) in the group because they have added much
talent and laughter. Best of
all, we walk out of there with a
smile on our face, and a song
in our hearts. How good is
that?
The ukulele has wormed it's
way into my soul, and has
changed the very essence of
who I am. I really feel it is a gift
from God, and I am thankful.
11
The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
Uke ’N Do It Online
. .. Libby Wheeler
How to recognize differences when buying ukuleles
A
as I walked along, I wondered ... what is the difference between ukuleles?
When you pay more for an instrument, what are you paying for? Is
it the wood, the fittings, the finish,
the brand name?
It is hard to compare ukes when
local music stores only have a few
models to try, so I started searching for information online. Then
S.O.U.P.’s Mark Anderson clarified
the differences, such as materials,
intonation, action, playability, and
tone. In some instances, you “get
what you pay for”, but many excellent reasonably-priced ukes are
also available.
Intonation is the ukulele’s ability
to be in tune when the strings are
fretted anywhere along the fretboard. Recently, Mark noticed the
floating bridge on my new banjo
uke was improperly positioned,
and the intonation—the trueness
of notes on the higher frets—was
way out of whack! (Who knew? So
far I only know how to play chords
on the first three frets!)
Action means the height and angle of the strings above the fingerboard. The strings on my Kala tenor are very close to the fretboard.
In fact, my fingertips often hit the
fretboard before hitting the strings,
and I get an irritating clicking as a
result. (This is likely caused more
by my faulty technique than a problem with the uke, which has a beautiful tone.) On my Luna banjolele,
the action is higher, and seems
more comfortable for me.
Mark says, “Lowering the action
too much can cause the strings to
buzz on the frets. Raising the action too high can cause intonation
to be distorted due to additional
fingertip pressure.
“In either case even a minute
change in string length from the
nut to the bridge saddle may af-
Libby Wheeler
fect the intonation. Changing the
string gauge lighter or heavier results in a different vibration mass
and therefore can also have an adverse effect on intonation!”
Playability means how easy it is
to play, i.e. if the strings are lower above the fretboard, the uke is
easier to play; higher may give
you more volume, but it may require more fingertip pressure to
fret the strings.
Mark adds, “The height and
width of the frets also play an important part of both the intonation
and playability camps. The installation and finishing of the frets is
extremely important. After all, we
are talking about a fretted instrument here!”
The tone of a ukulele can be affected by the type of materials used
- solid wood versus laminate, type
of wood, the quality of the strings,
whether you’re strumming over
the sweet spot, or even if you are
smothering the sound by holding
the uke too close to your body.
The best website I have found
to compare the sound of different
ukuleles is Hawaii Music Supply,
at www.theukulelesite.com. All the
ukuleles they sell are listed - from
$100 to thousands of dollars - and
a demo video for each ukulele is
available. Just listening to the demos is fun in itself!
The site also has two YouTube
videos: “10 Ukuleles Under $200”
and “10 More Ukuleles Under
$200.” One of Hawaii Music Supply’s many YouTube videos compares Kala sopranissimo, soprano,
concert, tenor and baritone ukes,
and another compares four different concert ukes, and four tenors.
It surprised me that even online,
you can distinguish different tones
from one ukulele to another.
Google “ukulele comparison
cheap to expensive.” The demo
progresses from “entry-level”
ukes to very expensive instruments. The differences were obvious as the quality and price of
the instruments increased. (By the
way, www.gotaukulele.com is a really good uke website!)
I learned that no two ukuleles are
the same, and that many aspects
of choosing a ukulele are subjective. You have to find the one that
“speaks” to you. However, I also
discovered that you likely can find
a ukulele which sounds great, in
the size you prefer, in almost any
price range.
Mark says he “cringes a bit”
when people purchase an instrument online. “The upshot of it is
that since most Ukes don’t have
much leeway for adjustment short
of a little surgery, one should try
to get a Uke that plays and sounds
okay ‘off the shelf’ and generally
replace the strings with a very similar gauge when required.
“The results are usually pretty
good when a guarantee is expressed and it is a reputable company. I can remember selling a lot
of mediocre guitars that had snazzy paint jobs when I worked in music retail.”
I’m looking forward to Mark’s first
column - Ask Mark - in the July/August/September issue.
Happy trails!
Libby
12
The S.O.U.P. Kettle - April/May/June 2013
“My semi-mental Journey”
S.O.U.P.’s ukulele man, Mark Anderson, makes ‘em and plays ‘em
By Mark Anderson
A few years back I got into sailing. A group
of us trailered our boats up to Killarney
in order to sail around the North Channel
for a cruise. The Village of Killarney is in
Killarney Provincial Park, which is near
Sudbury.
I took along a guitar for entertainment
in the coves and small bays we would be
anchoring in at night. Space is always at a
premium on any vessel and I soon found the
guitar to be a bit of a pain to shift around in
the cabin of my 22-foot sailboat. The solution
soon became clear - either get a bigger boat
or a smaller instrument. A quick look at my
bank balance made the decision for me - a
ukulele it was going to be!
After annoying my wife for some time with
my uking she found out about the Southern
Ontario Ukulele Players (S.O.U.P.) and sent
me packing one Monday so she could have
at least one night of peace during the week.
I really enjoyed the folks and the songs that
were played but soon began eyeing some
of the ukes that were much prettier than the
$40 special I had arrived with.
A little research revealed that as with
any instrument you can part with “mucho
dinero” for some of these wee wooden
beasties! This was hardly surprising to me,
because when I was younger I worked parttime at a music store selling and repairing
various guitars of wide-ranging quality.
Since woodworking had long been one of
my hobbies and I had the repair background
I decided to have a go at building one of my
own. More research at the Library and on
the web gave me some tips to get started
and ideas for the types of jigs I would need.
Jigs are things that you need to make or
assemble something else. Some of the jigs
I made included a body clamping jig, and
a fret slot cutting jig. I also made a heat
bending station utilizing a blowtorch and a
piece of new steel tailpipe.
After much careful measuring and further
research, as well as lots of clamping and
Mark Anderson with one of three ukuleles that he hand-built.
gluing, my project neared completion. Other woodworkers will
know that once you have a saw or other piece of machinery set
up for a particular operation you might as well cut a few more
pieces while you’re at it. With this practice I was able to make
three ukuleles instead of just one in about the same amount of
time!
In the end I wound up with some unique ukes that I think are pretty,
sound nice, have good intonation and play quite well. I added a
custom owl inlay to the headstock of one of them and have since
sold it. This was a gift to a Soprano in the Canadian Opera Company
chorus. Another is on display at the Main Street Gallery in Bayfield,
and I bring the third one to the Monday night S.O.U.P. group.
As I continue my semi-mental journey I hope to find the time to
make more ukes, since I have a supply of parts, as well as some
ideas for different shapes and sizes. Of course, that means
making more jigs!
Send your uke questions for Mark to answer in his new column,
Ask Mark. His email address: [email protected]