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bromplicated posted:How is a Ukulele different than a Mandolin? Which one is harder to pick up? Mandolin is tuned in fifths like a fiddle, i.e. the intervals between each string (set of strings, really) is the same. Uke is tuned at non-even intervals like a guitar. Uke is easier to pick up, but not as cool.  If you play guitar already then playing uke will be exactly like playing guitar using only the four higher strings on the guitar. Except your playing will come out in a different key, of course.
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Nov 21, 2007 03:55
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WT Wally posted:Weird that this thread popped up now. A friend is asking for a ukelele for Christmas, and she sent me a link to this one: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Lanikai-LU21T-Tenor-Ukulele?sku=512522 It's a generic assembly-line one. It could be playable or it could be a piece of crap.
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Nov 22, 2007 16:13
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The best way to handle cheapo instruments like that is to go to a store and play a bunch so you can pick out a good one. It's certainly possible to find a good one for cheap, but you have an equally good or better chance of getting a piece of crap with the same logo on it if you are playing mail-order roulette. Anyway, even a cruddy uke is going to be easier to learn on than an equally cruddy guitar. They are pretty hard to build wrong.
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Nov 22, 2007 19:12
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Odddzy posted:Great thread! There's not a whole lot you can do to a crappy uke to make it sound better (aside from practicing :p). Metal strings require more tension so it's possible they could collapse the top when you tune up to pitch.
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Nov 28, 2007 03:43
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You'll probably get an email from the seller when it ships. "Buy it now" works just like every other e-store.
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Nov 28, 2007 04:16
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If he didn't send you a tracking number then no. But he can't actually ship anything until daytime so you may get a tracking number sometime tomorrow. 
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Nov 28, 2007 05:07
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On ukulele "kinda" good is basically the same as "very" good.
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Dec 2, 2007 08:54
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Get him the nice one as a post-christmas gift and never tell his parents. He'll thank you after he gets a chance to compare. And if the parents ever happen to see it then they probably won't know the difference anyway.
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Dec 2, 2007 20:31
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Playing music is never a waste of time, FYI.
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Dec 7, 2007 05:52
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Also keep in mind that nylons string are very stretchy. If you play right behind a fret and press hard then you can make a perfectly-functional uke sound out of tune.
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Dec 8, 2007 07:08
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If anyone has the Asylum Street Spankers' christmas album, there is a cool track of Christina Marrs singing and playing Blue Christmas on ukulele.
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Dec 17, 2007 16:39
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Practice makes perfect.
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Dec 23, 2007 04:56
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Ran across another unusual uke variant: the Tahitian ukulele. Looks like a mando hybrid. quote:anyone need an octave mandolin?). Why yes I do. What kind?
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Dec 24, 2007 23:08
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Practice more.
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Dec 30, 2007 17:52
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Anecdotally, I have seen no less than three people carrying uke cases on BART in the last month.
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Jan 11, 2008 16:12
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I think with most obscure (and not obscure) instruments, just picking something that looks good off ebay is a pretty bad idea. Surely there is an internet discussion on erhus somewhere that might mention a good place to go for beginner instruments. On ebay I think your chances of getting an unplayable piece of scrap wood intended as a decoration instead of a musical instrument are pretty high.
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Jan 13, 2008 18:53
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And if you don't have a microphone, try plugging headphones into your mic jack and playing into an earpiece.
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Jan 18, 2008 03:51
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The Koala posted:I've seen it like that and 1402. I was going to ask if the websites are wrong, but apparently you can play that chord more than one way? There are several ways to play every chord.
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Jan 20, 2008 22:17
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If anyone is in the general vicinity of Berkeley, there has been a 300% increase in ukulele sightings at the Starry Plough on Sunday nights. It's mostly an irish music session but they break for singers a few times. The last couple of weeks there has been a few people with ukes have been playing/singing then.
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Jan 21, 2008 09:18
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agro_cragg posted:Starry Plough? I've been there! (Open mic nights. Bad stand up comedy. I'd rather not talk about it. I don't know why I brought it up. poo poo. I think my backspace key is broken.) It's a irish session on Sunday nights. It's mostly (instrumental) tunes, but they break for singing a few times during the night. It doesn't really have to be irish songs, the only requirement is that it has to be a song you learned from someone else (i.e. we didn't all come out to listen to you perform you original song badly, performing badly something we can sing along with is a little more tolerable). withak fucked around with this message at 03:56 on Jan 22, 2008 |
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Jan 22, 2008 03:46
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I'm allergic to open mic nights. The Sunday thing is better because you basically have to know the guy running it (or be very, very persuasive) to get to sing something.
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Jan 22, 2008 03:57
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You mute the strings with your left hand.
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Jan 24, 2008 04:59
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Cheekio posted:Not a lot of music is played by a ukulele straight up, You aren't trying hard enough. 
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May 23, 2008 03:57
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I got a Bushman a few years ago and was very happy with the instrument and the ordering experience.
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Jun 19, 2008 06:48
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From an official security point of view, the TSA doesn't count an instrument towards your carry-on total. However, airlines might have stricter rules.
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Dec 17, 2008 05:26
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There's a small screw on the end of each tuning knob that can be tightened to make the friction tuners grip better.
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Jan 11, 2009 21:20
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Big hands don't matter. Bill Monroe had huge hands and the mandolin is a tighter squeeze than the ukulele.
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Jan 12, 2009 04:04
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High action can cause that (on any instrument) because then you aren't just making the strings shorter when you fret them, you are also pulling them tighter. The effect is magnified the shorter the strings are. You want the action as low as possible without any buzzing. Also make sure you aren't pressing too hard close to the frets, that can pull the strings tighter when you fret also. It's definitely possible to get a $30 uke that plays in tune. Go to a store that carries them and play every one the have in stock until you find a specific instrument that has ok intonation. Mail order for super-cheap instruments is like playing roulette. withak fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Apr 24, 2009 |
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Apr 24, 2009 22:02
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A chord only needs three notes to be a chord. Any combination of string/frets that gives you those three notes is fine. Some combinations are easier than others and some will sound better than others depending on where you play them.
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Jun 9, 2009 03:45
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Tokelau All Star posted:Also PLEASE pronounce it properly, it's "oo-koo-leh-leh" NOT "you-ka-lay-lee". Calling it a "yook" is acceptable. gently caress you you can't tell me what to do.
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Jun 18, 2009 02:13
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Side Effects posted:Mahogany sounds mellower; spruce sounds brighter. One is also softer and could get dinged up a little more easily; I forget which.
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Aug 4, 2009 03:39
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Any combination of three notes is a valid chord.
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Aug 25, 2009 22:47
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For anyone in the bay area, Julia Nunes is playing at the Swedish-American Hall (the building above Cafe du Nord) on September 18.
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Sep 5, 2009 02:54
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IME group lessons for anything are terrible due to most people being idiots. Only go if it is absurdly cheap or free, like at a festival or something.
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Nov 14, 2009 23:44
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Practice until the playing doesn't take any thought at all.
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Dec 13, 2009 19:14
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It will be loosening the strings so it might cause buzzing. It won't break anything though.
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Dec 23, 2009 15:06
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The body is supposed to be made from an armadillo shell.
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Dec 28, 2009 01:10
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It's the pattern he's playing in the video. There's no right way to do it, just play what you like. The main thing is that it shouldn't take any thought; the strumming should be able to keep going no matter how bad you screw up the words or chords.
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Jan 2, 2010 21:51
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Yeah the nice thing about a <$100 instrument is that you probably don't need to baby it. Get a cheap gig bag and try not not to drop heavy stuff on top of it.
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Jan 13, 2010 00:38
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Hay you, I'm leaving for Kandahar in a couple weeks; probably mailing myself a Riptide concert uke and a Concertina Connection "Jackie" English concertina. Might as well develop an existing skill and try to add a new one. I want a concertina but they are so expensive. 
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Jan 14, 2010 22:17
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