February 9th, 2010 — Acoustic Musical Instruments, Instrument History, Ukulele
In the simplest sense, the ukulele is a very small guitar like musical instrument that originally came from Madeira, an island in Portugal. This instrument was originally known as Braguinha in Portuguese, until travelers left Portugal in 1879 bound for Hawaii, showing craftsmen the unique instrument. Hawaiian craftsmen were quickly enthralled by this new musical instrument, and their fascination caused them to begin producing the instrument for their own inhabitants. The musical instrument was eventually renamed and called the ukulele, which means "jumping flea", and is often called the "uke" for short.
Ukuleles are different from guitars in a number of different ways. First and foremost, ukuleles are generally extremely light weight, and easy to carry for better portability. Original style ukulele musical instruments are much easier to learn to play simply because they have fewer strings. They are also much easier on the fingers in general. Ukulele musical instruments are limited when it comes to the range of notes that can actually be played. If you are a musician that is looking for simplicity, however, they are an excellent choice for you to make.
Even today ukulele musical instruments are popular in Hawaii as well as the rest of the world. Music lovers all over the world are enjoying the unique musical style that ukulele musical instruments provide. Here are the different types and styles of ukuleles that you can play.
There are four different standard forms of ukulele musical instruments, which are the concert ukulele, the soprano ukulele, the tenor ukulele and the baritone ukulele. The most commonly used form of ukulele is the soprano ukulele. Each type of the ukulele, save for the baritone, is tuned using a well known phrase for tuning, which is "my dog has fleas!". This involves hitting a specific series of notes; G, C, E and then A. When you tune a tenor ukulele musical instrument, you do it one octave lower than the soprano ukulele. The tuning for the baritone ukulele is accomplished using a completely different order of keys, which is E, B, G and D.
There are also a number of different hybrid ukuleles that are being produced today, including the banjuele which has a banjo body, the taropatch which is an eight strand, stringed instrument, and the ukelin as well. These are specialty instruments which are typically developed by individuals or specialty companies producing musical instruments. Many of these hybrid forms of the ukulele are highly sought after and collectible.
The soprano ukulele is the smallest ukulele at only around 21 inches in length. The concert ukulele on the other hand is 23 inches long, and the baritone ukulele is 30 inches long. Finally, the tenor ukulele is 26 inches long. The baritone and the tenor ukulele musical instruments are much more similar to regular sized guitars, though they only have four strings to play.
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Originally posted 2009-02-11 05:31:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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