Got Ukulele?

I play a Kala tenor uke (and currently I’m eyeing off a Lanakai 6-string tenor), and get together once a month to play with the Logan Ukulele Club. I have played music since I was quite young, but the ukulele is the first instrument I’ve enjoyed playing regularly as an adult.

Why a ukulele? There’s a few reasons I think they’re great instruments:

- the main reason is that they make playing music really accessible to adults who have never played instruments before, because they’re easy to begin to play – and I think playing music (and singing together) is one of the best ways to connect with other people. Everyone can sing, and I think everyone can probably play a ukulele. Certainly everyone can play a C chord. Yes, really. Even you.

- while they’re easy to begin to play, you can also make incredible music with them (check out James Hill and Jake Shimabukuro by way of example).

- they’re small and portable, so you can take them camping, on picnics, and to the beach.

- they’re cute! and they make people smile.

Fairly shortly after I started playing, I went to the Cairns Ukulele Festival, which was a fantastic experience. I got to do a workshop with James Hill, learnt some finger-achingly difficult jazz chords, and came away a better person.

Well, maybe not that, but very inspired. I wanted to play more and better and I wanted to find a group to play with, because the only thing better than a ukulele is a whole group of ukuleles. Fact. There’s a group in Brisbane called the Brisbane Ukulele Musicians Society (uke groups are very into acronyms), who are great but they’re a little too far away for me to get to their monthly get togethers. So after a few people in my choir got ukuleles, I started the Logan Ukulele Club, a social group that meets on the first Saturday of every month. If you happen to live in the Logan area and play a ukulele, send us an email, or check out our website.