September 23 – “ookoo laylee”

I went to my very first ukulele class yesterday.  Now I know many of you have heard my staggering renditions of such camp favorites as “I’m an Acorn.”  Actually that’s really the only song I ever really played on my old ukes before Hurricane Ike swept them away into the nasty realms of wet wood and mold.  I did replace my baritone uke.  That’s the one that has the bottom four strings of a guitar and pretty much sounds like a guitar.  And then my nephew gave me his old soprano uke that he used back when he played it in a band (Yep.  He is a really accomplished musician, is Tim.  How many ukuleles have you seen in bands?).  So I have the tool, and the Osher LifeLong Learning Institute at UTMB has provided the opportunity.  They are offering a beginner’s class in playing the uke. 

Yesterday was pretty basic.  The teacher, a guy with an EdD (not, I surmised, in ukulele), explained the parts of the uke and the different types.  Frets and pegs and bridges and headstocks.  Did you know the ukulele came to Hawaii from Portugal?  Did you know the proper pronunciation is “ook” rather than “yuke”?  It is actually an “ookoo laylee.”  Did you know that there are little dots on the top side of the uke neck?  They are there so you can know without turning the uke over which fret you are trying to stick a finger in.  Pretty tricky stuff.  Not sure why knowing the names is important beyond knowing where to put your fingers.  Oh, and speaking of fingers, we had learn finger numbering and fret numbering and string numbering.  We even have to learn what all the little twirly-que’s and cent signs and fractions mean when we see them inside that long, skinny jail cell with the notes on top of it.  What have I gotten myself into here? 

I did get my only question answered.  One that has puzzled me since I first twanged the strings at camp and bellered out that glorious refrain “I’m a Nut” (Strictly to encourage young campers to awaken from their slumber and greet the new day with great joy and happiness, which I am certain was achieved to a person).  I have always wondered how to regulate the strumming.  When do I strum down?  When do I strum up?  How am I supposed to strum at all if I don’t use a pick?  I figured there had to be some mystical answer to it all.  Well, there was an answer.  Not at all what I was expecting, but certainly one I could get on board with.  How to strum without a pick?  Use your fingers.  Which finger?  Doesn’t matter.  What about the strumming?  Well, there appears to be some requirements about that.  Something about quarter notes and eighth notes and stuff like that.  I haven’t thought about those things since I played cornet in junior high school.  Guess I’ll have to focus when we get to that.  Down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up.  Ok.  Ok.  That leads to the final admonition.  That dreaded command I knew was coming.  The indomitable “P” word.  Yep. That’s the one.  “Practice.”  We’re actually supposed to practice.  Every day.  Again … What have I gotten myself into here? 

2 Corinthians 4:10 says, “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”

Father, thank you for the chance to learn how to use the “ook” properly.  Looks like the class will be fun.  Amen.