SeilerBird's ukulele baptism

[Tom]

LOL Tom, I've mentioned it a number of times, including in this recent message.

[SeilerBird]

LOL Tom, I've mentioned it a number of times, including in this recent message.

Yes you have but I was not shopping for ukuleles at the time so I paid no attention. I decided I want to get a soprano, a concert and a tenor so I have been doing a lot of shopping and reading. I bought a great beginners book today:
The Complete What Ukulele Players Really Want To Know by Barry Maz. He runs a web site called Got A Ukulele that looks to be a great resource, but you probably know all about them.

[Tom]

I don't get a lot from some of these books, and gain just a few snippets from some of the web sites and blogs. But we all learn in different ways.

[SeilerBird]

I don't expect to get a lot from these resources but I am a knowledge freak and when I get into something I tend to read everything I can find about the subject. When I learned drums and guitar it was almost impossible to find teachers. There was no Internet, no YouTube, no magazines, very few books and very few teachers. Because of this I am going overboard learning. When I was in high school there were only two other guitarists in the whole school. Now a days women swallow small guitars so their baby can come out of the womb strumming a guitar. Besides that I am retired and I have a lot of spare time.

[SeilerBird]

I just ordered a book of Beatle songs arranged for uke. I was able to look at the first few songs online and the arrangements are pretty accurate. I can play most of the songs on guitar with my eyes closed but for only $5 it will be a blessing to have all the uke chords spelled out for me.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1423430131/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1LFSE1IE6PRVF&coliid=I2IRTB1GUS18O5

[Tom]

I have that book at home.

for only $5

That page says $9.99 Kindle and &19.92 paperback 

Edit: Must be a 'used' price.
 

[SeilerBird]

I almost always buy used books, cds and dvds from Amazon. I am always happy with the condition and the price. I have bought a bunch of DVDs for a penny. Shipping is $4 so you can't really go wrong. I don't need to have it brand new.

[Tom]

Nowt wrong with that. I prefer to buy books new and keep stuff forever, usually in good condition. OTOH I've occasionally bought used when new wasn't available. I even bought a used baritone uke a few months ago 

[SeilerBird]

My problem is I live in a very small motorhome and I buy a lot of stuff. I usually donate my books and dvds to the local library when I am done with them. If I bought new and kept everything I would have to sleep on the roof. I do buy all my instruments new since I plan on keeping them. Speaking of which, my 8 string arrives on Friday. A lot of my electronic stuff is reconditioned.

[Tom]

... my 8 string arrives on Friday.

And the verdict is 

[SeilerBird]

And the verdict is 

it did not show up until an hour ago so I only have had an hour to play it. I like it a lot. It doesn't really sound like a uke to me, sounds like a 12 string guitar with a capo on it. I thought it would be harder to play but it is not harder. A 12 string guitar is much harder to play than a 6 string, especially when barring chords. It is different for sure but a great addition to my uke collection. I can't wait until I fix it so it doesn't go out of tune. That will take a few more days. I am very sensitive to pitch and an out of tune instrument drives me nuts. I almost explode when I hear an out of tune piano. So I have to stop and tune it every few minutes, but that won't last long. This is the one I got:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IIV3K0U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Tom and Margi]

Sounds like you may have perfect pitch, Tom.  Our band director in high school very somberly told us that one of our band members, a clarinet and violin player, had perfect pitch.  He explained it and told us how rare it was.  That was many (MANY) years ago, but I have never forgotten how impressed and touched we were by her gift.

[Tom]

It doesn't really sound like a uke to me, sounds like a 12 string guitar ...

Someone made a similar comment when I played my 8-string uke at our singalong last Saturday.

I thought it would be harder to play but it is not harder.

No reason it should be harder; Just  press two strings with each finger instead of one.

I can't wait until I fix it so it doesn't go out of tune. ... I have to stop and tune it every few minutes...

What strings does it have? Even the best strings will take almost a week of daily playing to stop stretching (and stay in tune). The other factor that might cause it to go out of tune frequently is the tuners; Don't know which tuners the OS has.

This is the one I got:

Hope you're happy with it. The only OS uke that I bought was a piece of crap. We get what we pay for; A Kala 8-string costs twice what the OS costs, and there's a reason for that.

[SeilerBird]

No reason it should be harder; Just  press two strings with each finger instead of one.

Basically I thought that because a 12 string is harder to play than a 6 string.

What strings does it have? Even the best strings will take almost a week of daily playing to stop stretching (and stay in tune). The other factor that might cause it to go out of tune frequently is the tuners; Don't know which tuners the OS has.

It has the Aquila Supernylbut. I don't know what kind of tuners it has, they are not marked and none of the literature mentions it.

Hope you're happy with it. The only OS uke that I bought was a piece of crap. We get what we pay for; A Kala 8-string costs twice what the OS costs, and there's a reason for that.

This is definitely not a piece a crap. Not a Rolls Royce either but good enough for my purposes. I don't subscribe to the you get what you pay for theory. A Rolex costs a few hundred times more than a Timex but it does not keep more accurate time, nor does it necessarily even look better. It is only for showing off how rich you are.

[Tom]

Aquila (Nylgut) strings are good strings! If they don't settle in a week or less, something else is wrong.

The reason I asked about the tuners is that the best I've seen are the pheg tuners on my concert Fluke; That uke has been (accidentally) kicked across the room several times, and it never goes out of tune. I wish my 8-string Kala had them, although it does a good job of staying in tune. El cheapo Chinese tuners, such as on the OS I bought, can't stay in tune.

I'll have more info on this subject after our planned upcoming group visit to the Kala factory.

A Rolex costs a few hundred times more than a Timex but it does not keep more accurate time

I've never owned a Rolex. Many years ago my BIL repaired watches and, when he took my 10-year old Timex apart, he said "all the internal bits are rusty". No surprise to me, because I never took it off, even to shower. I told him to just fix it, which he did.

Several years ago we were having dinner with an RVer who kept flashing his "$X,000 Rolex" watch under my nose. I finally flashed my $34 Costco watch under his nose; That watch is still working and keeps time. No surprise to me because ...

FWIW I was in the watch chip biz in the 70's and 80's, and understand what makes them "accurate". Not rocket science.

[SeilerBird]

I am not worried about the tuners, they will settle down. If not I will upgrade to a Kala.

I also understand how watches keep time too. Quartz vibrates at a reliable frequency. Like I said Rolexes are all about bragging about how rich you are. For some reason many rich people feel a need to flaunt their wealth thinking that it puts them in some special class. I have some rich relatives and they simply don't impress me. Give me a Timex anyday. That is why I started with an OS. If that doesn't work I will sell it and upgrade.

Meanwhile I started my own uke group the other day, the Boggy Creek Swampers. We are going to have a meetup on the second
Friday of each month. I have three locals that have joined already. There is a club house at my park that I can use for free and I have a web site and a Facebook page set up already. A week ago I didn't even own a uke.

[Tom]

I started my own uke group

Good for you!

[Tom]

I also understand how watches keep time too. Quartz vibrates at a reliable frequency.

That's part of it. Starting with a sufficiently high crystal frequency, dividing by two numerous times means that, even if the starting frequency is off, the result of the division is predictable (and any error is very small).

Edit: Didn't come out as intended.

[SeilerBird]

And some folks use a pick (felt or plastic).

I lasted three days strumming with my fingers before I switched over to using a plastic pick. I don't like finger picking and I probably have used a pick 99% of the time with a guitar. Not only does it feel better for me but it sounds better to me.

[SeilerBird]

Sounds like you may have perfect pitch, Tom.  Our band director in high school very somberly told us that one of our band members, a clarinet and violin player, had perfect pitch.  He explained it and told us how rare it was.  That was many (MANY) years ago, but I have never forgotten how impressed and touched we were by her gift.

No I don't have perfect pitch. Far from it. I have been a musician all my life and wished I had perfect pitch. Some times when I am listening to a song I think I know what the chords are. Then I pull out a guitar and find out I could not have been further off from the truth. I can usually tell the chord progression, one, four, five, but not the exact notes.

[SeilerBird]

I ordered the number one seller in Ukulele songbooks, The Daily Ukulele. You probably already have it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1423477758/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Tom]

I have a couple of copies, one at our CA home and one at our OH place. Also have Jim  Beloff's ssequel, Daily Ukulele Leap Year.  Personally, I don't like many of his arrangements, but they're still nice  books to have. All the members of one of the uke groups I belong to have the first book; They go around the room: "my turn, let's all play page 268". That way, everyone gets their choice and everyone has the same music. For folks who don't yet know the chords, he includes fingering diagrams on each page.

One group I joined I quit after one session; No two people had or played the same music. Some folks were even playing in a different key, or were singing different lyrics.

[Tom]

I lasted three days strumming with my fingers before I switched over to using a plastic pick.

Some folks use a felt pick with those nylon (or Nylgut) strings, although I've seen some use plastic. Holding a pick is not natural for me, but long time guitar players do it automatically when they switch to playing uke. I've also seen some of them use a thumb pick. I'm the opposite, and strum a guitar with my fingers, and the same with my banjo and banjo uke; Probably because I learned to strum the uke with my fingers before picking up the other instruments.

The 'clean' notes are very apparent when someone plays single notes with a pick v a finger.

[SeilerBird]

I have a couple of copies, one at our CA home and one at our OH place. Also have Jim  Beloff's ssequel, Daily Ukulele Leap Year.  Personally, I don't like many of his arrangements, but they're still nice  books to have. All the members of one of the uke groups I belong to have the first book; They go around the room: "my turn, let's all play page 268". That way, everyone gets their choice and everyone has the same music. For folks who don't yet know the chords, he includes fingering diagrams on each page.

One group I joined I quit after one session; No two people had or played the same music. Some folks were even playing in a different key, or were singing different lyrics.

I used to be in a group at the Grand Canyon that had the worst music books in the world. The ranger that ran the event had a dozen of these books. They were all in the wrong key, very small type, wrong chords and not a very good selection of songs. I gave up on using the books since I could not read it and just faked my way through every song. If my group is successful I will probably copy a bunch of cool songs and make my own songbooks to hand out. I will buy the sequel if I like the original.

[SeilerBird]

Some folks use a felt pick with those nylon (or Nylgut) strings, although I've seen some use plastic. Holding a pick is not natural for me, but long time guitar players do it automatically when they switch to playing uke. I've also seen some of them use a thumb pick. I'm the opposite, and strum a guitar with my fingers, and the same with my banjo and banjo uke; Probably because I learned to strum the uke with my fingers before picking up the other instruments.

The 'clean' notes are very apparent when someone plays single notes with a pick v a finger.

I have never been able to use thumb picks and I have tried and given up a few times. A plastic pick feels natural in my hands since I have been using one since the Johnson administration.

[Tom]

Save $$ on books ... check out the links to numerous sources for online music & lyrics I posted here: Thousands of songs, A number of the sites, including Chordie, allow you to change instruments, tuning, and key on the fly.

[SeilerBird]

Save $$ on books ... check out the links to numerous sources for online music & lyrics I posted here: Thousands of songs, A number of the sites, including Chordie, allow you to change instruments, tuning, and key on the fly.

Wow that is mindblowing. I looked at all the links and each one take you to hundreds of songs. Some people are really dedicated to the ukelele. Thanks for sharing that and thanks for putting that together. I have bookmarked it and will definitely be using it. The Ukulizer site is offline. That sounded interesting.

[SeilerBird]

There are two separate threads about my uke playing. Could you combine them please?

[Tom]

Glad you found it useful. I figured you'd be doing a lot of reading and absorbing. It always blows me away when I need chords for a song and I'm able to look it up so easily.. If I don't like an arrangement, I can easily change it once I have the starting lead sheet.

I'll check on the ukalizer site when we stop for the night. Hope they haven't gone away permanently.

[SeilerBird]

It is so much easier to learn an instrument today than it was when I first started. Some of those web sites represent thousands of hours of labor. I am surprised no one has put up a master list of songs.