The Surprising Little NH Uke

Sights and Sounds from the 1st Annual NH Ukulele Picnic, Greeley Park Bandshell, Nashua, NH, 8/24/2013.

• Your Guide to the Ukelele Picnic at Greeley Park - Weekend Planner - Nashua, NH Patch
• Small instrument draws big crowd | New Hampshire Arts & Entertainment
• Versatile ukulele the star of Nashua picnic - NashuaTelegraph.com

"The Sound of Impotent Rage"

Golly. I think I just learned something about myself...

"... As I played my ukulele in my mood, I understood why the uke had been Murray's instrument of choice as much as why actor Jason Robards had been chosen to play Murray: a certain quality of sad-happiness. Of laughter mixed with weeping. With its smallness, its high-pitched plinkiness, its firefly sustain, its fleeting tunability, and its ability to be played in a frenzy, the ukulele balanced a narrow line between the comic and the tragic like no musical instrument I had encountered. When I electrified it, I heard the loudest small sound I had ever heard: the sound of impotent rage. ... Not so much impotent rage, perhaps, as absurdist rage. ..."
William Preston Robertson

Musical gifts: Real or fake music?

With the holidays fast approaching, I'd offer that this is a great question to ponder (didja see the "South Park" episode? Heh-heh-heh...). Dispel any unfair pre- and misconceptions you may harbor, settle in, get laid back, and have a listen to some Jake or James or the UOGB or some slightly more casual players around NYC, or some of the more local scene around Boston, and then consider a good homeschooled music education (although ukes are huge in Canadian and British public schools), regardless of the student's age.

And can you imagine the peaceful "Free State 'Ukulele Orchestra" on the NH State House steps, or at Murphy's, or outside the Manchester Post Office on tax day, or..., maybe with a kazoo chorus? "Don't be afraid. We're a threat only to your mind..." Hey, I wouldn't leave ya hangin'. Some resources here. Aloha, dude. };->