Hello, hope you've all had a good Easter weekend! I'm attempting to stretch out my time off an extra day or so by taking the opportunity to share with you an excellent blog contribution that was sent to me a few weeks back by one of my Blues Club members, Tess.
Aside from being one of our club members, Tess is an active member at the West Sussex Guitar Club, a classical and Flemenco orientated group who put on a wide programme of professional concerts, club evenings and festivals. The club has two guitar orchestras formed from its membership, and became a registered charity in 2008, 'To promote, improve, maintain and develop public education in the art of the classical guitar, by the presentation of public concerts, recitals and educational workshops, and in other such activities.'
When Tess and I first discussed the idea of her writing a blog, the premise was potentially the crossover she had discovered between classical and popular guitar styles, so when I received her blog about ukuleles I was initially a bit surprised... It didn't matter though! she had a plan, an angle of attack I hadn't seen coming, so here it is...
The Ukulele : History, Popularity & Crossover Appeal
Guest Blogger : Tess Henley
My move to Worthing in 2015 coincided with a desire to turn my interest away from the piano, a rather solitary instrument, to the infinitely more sociable acoustic guitar. Numerous google searches failed to find any guitar strumming groups in Worthing but I discovered two pots of gold at the end of the rainbow in Bognor. These little gems were Jon Wheeler's Coustics Blues sessions at The George in Felpham, and the West Sussex Guitar Club. And so the journey of immersing myself into the parallel worlds of Blues and Classical guitar began.
However, whilst perusing the internet I found an abundance of ukulele groups throughout West Sussex; Worthing, Littlehampton, Horsham, Chichester, as well as Jon's home grown group in Bognor. Further searches took me to ukulele conventions at Hayling Island and to the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. Hearing their own version of 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' on You Tube sufficiently whetted my musical appetite to book a ticket to hear them live at The Worthing Assembly Hall. Twelve tiny four to (six stringed ukuleles?) ranging from soprano to bass, performed a wide variety of music genres taken from the rich tapestry of Western music
Co-Founder George Hinchcliffe informed the Chicago Tribune 'That it was an outsider instrument with a blank slate and often derided as an instrument which lacked a repertoire of it's own. It has a sweet voice, is cheap and easy to play and you can carry it as hand luggage'. Seeing as it is difficult to spell, I was not convinced that it would be easy to play. It seemed to me that the world had gone ukulele mad and maybe I had taken up the wrong instrument, particularly as the musical establishment has found that the ukulele is replacing the recorder as the instrument of choice in schools.
Radio 3's programme 'The Listening Service' allocated a thirty minute feature on 'Jumping Fleas; The Rise and the Rise of the Ukulele'. I was soon to discover that there was so much more to this instrument than George Formby's 'When I'm Cleaning Windows' .
So, where did the ukulele originate from?
Portuguese immigrants from Madeira went to work on the sugar plantations in Hawaii and brought with them their own small guitars, the machete and cavaquinho, the precursors of the ukulele. The ukulele gained the title 'Jumping Fleas' by one of it's early exponents Edward William Purviss, named so because of his small size , fidgety manner and technique used when playing the instrument The exotic sounds of the ukulele were endorsed by King Kalakaua and became deeply embedded in Hawaiian culture. It's popularity, aided by Cliff 'Ukulele Ike' Edwards, spread when Hawaii joined the USA. In Britain , George Formby added wit and innuendos to catchy tunes making the ukulele an important act in Vaudeville .
The unusual non linear tuning GCEA allows the production of harmonious chords without the physical difficulties of the guitar, allowing it to be used in all genres of music. However, Hawaian born performer and composer Taimane Gardener demonstrates that this instrument is not the underdog and that it can be a serious instrument too. Her composition 'Matcha Latte' and Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'' demonstrates the versatility and the soul of this instrument.
Classical Ukulele
In the 1960-70's American musician John King made it his mission to make a classical repertoire work on the Ukulele, in particular J.S. Bach. He did so by developing a technique whereby each string was made to resonate like little bells. From there on compositions by Debussy, Chopin and Beethoven and even Bizet's 'Carmen' could be heard on the ukulele.
Sam Muir was awarded the first PhD on the ukulele under the tutelage of Stephen Goss, and in 2012, after many years as a classical guitarist, she fell in love with the ukulele and decided to dedicate her life to promoting this instrument. Sam has arranged and published music composed by Carulli, Sor, Carcassi and Giuliani for the ukulele along with Christmas Songs, Sea Shanties and 35 Scottish folk songs. She has given workshops and performed at numerous Ukulele festivals in the UK and Australia. Her aim is to extend the boundaries of the ukulele by creating a contemporary repertoire.
Sam will be giving a recital along with her ex student Lara Taylor for the West Sussex Guitar Club at the Regis School of Music on Saturday 8th June 2024. One thing that Sam has discovered is that, within the ukulele scene, the classical ukulele is thriving!
TH
I'd like to thank Tess for this blog, great stuff! Both the West Sussex Guitar Club, and my Coustics groups are always keen to welcome new members. If you're interested in any of them, please get in touch, and I can point you in the right direction. In the meantime though, how about reserving yourself some tickets for June 8th??
JW
Reserving Tickets for the Sam Muir Recital at WSGC.
As seating at the Regis Recital Hall is limited, the club recommends reserving your tickets in advance for collection and payment on the night (cash or cheque please). You can do this by ringing the Ticket Hotline on 01243 866462 or email recital@tiscali.co.uk
Entrance charges are currently:
Concerts £15 (non-members) £10 (members)
Full-time students are admitted at half the above prices. Under 18s are admitted free to all events.
Comments