Monday, September 24, 2012

Mad about Ukulele : Sep-12

I started playing a little bit of guitar since my college days, where I had always enjoyed strumming and singing together as  a group.  However, I did not go very far in mastering my guitar skills apart from some basic chords like G, C, F, Em, Am and D.  I would just give up in any chords which required me to press the entire 6 strings of the guitar as it would be too difficult for me to play any sound out of the chord.  Nevertheless, it was still fun to play music out of this instrument with my limited skills.

In our recent trip to Bangkok this September, I had bought a relatively cheap ukulele for the kids.  This guitar-like instrument comes with 4 strings instead of 6 and the size is at least 2 times smaller than a normal guitar.  In comparison to a guitar, it is easier to play and also much portable.  I had no experience about ukulele nor heard any ukulele music before.  But with the help of modern technology, Youtube and Iphone apps, we were able to watch tutorial classes and use applications for tuning and song chords.  This flame of learning this new toy “spread wildly” in the family, and everyone started to learn one or two of their favourite songs on the ukulele.  Just within two weeks, we added another 2 new ukuleles to meet the demand in the family!

Among us, Xuan seems to excel in playing this instrument, mainly due to her beautiful voice and ability to sing well while playing the ukulele.  During our recent farewell gathering for Kumari, she even presented the song “Safe and Sound” in front of a group of audience… very captivating, watch for yourself. :P

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