"Then came the sound of a single person clapping."

In the short while that I've played the ukulele it has become quite the highlight of my time here in Wales! It began as a mere aspiration spawning from my desire to rock out on guitar. However, guitars tend to be quite expensive, so I began to look for an alternative that would get me playing some music. A whimsy gal like myself tends to fall for ukuleles upon sight as they are the tea cup of stringed instruments.

During the Christmas break, I checked out some players on youtube, and tried to acquaint myself with terms and chords. I really enjoyed it's tinkling notes, each one brimming of sunlight and the joy of spring walks. When I came back, I popped into the music shop up the street from my flat and pointed at a violet Ariana (an affordable brand). I remember the sardonic look on the shop owner's face as he wrapped it up, and asked my why, of all instruments, had I chosen the ukulele. I told him I chose it because it was one quirky little instrument that always gets overlooked because of the guitar; I wanted to crack the mold and be the odd egg. When I told him I had no prior music training, he nodded, handed me my brand new instrument, and told me that he loved my reasons for buying it, and encouraged me to take on the world. With such affirmations, why not take the world by storm?

The next week, I practiced, and endured dubious looks from the few who believed it would only collect dust on a shelf somewhere. By the next week, I'd memorized chords to a few songs, and the week after, I recorded my first video covering Hometown Glory by Adele. I learned how to play in a few short weeks, and it was exhilarating and lovely to find that I was 'creating' music. Also a great way to pass the time in the smallest town on earth!

Picking up any instrument feels like the beginning of some great artistic journey. It will always be a little bit of a challenge, but a worthy one. As I learned, I felt like I had some sort of connection with some of my favorite artists like Kate Nash, or Joan Jett when she decided she would be that girl who played rock and roll. Of course, I'm not playing for any sort of music career, just for the sheer beauty of playing.

There's something about being in the UK that drives you to get creative. One of my reasons for moving out here was the novel I'm writing. It's saturated in music, and when I started it, I had no idea that the London I was painting was actually the truth. Every other person out here is in a band, or plays an instrument, or is a singer/songwriter. One can't help but be affected by such an environment. 

There is an individual flare that is encouraged here, and that is something I feel while playing the ukulele. It is such and odd little instrument that you must be creative, and dare yourself not to be afraid of looking silly. They call it the instrument of the underdog,  and that adds to it's allure. Why strum the same tunes as everyone else, on the same instrument as everyone else? Why not start a band, and become one of the only ones with a uke player? 

To learn, I went to the website Ukulele Hunt. It is one of the only things you need to get started! There are guides from Beginner to Expert stages, and chords to get started on. Also, there's information on the various types, brands, and models of ukuleles out there.  Upon first hearing, I had no idea how to tune my uke, thankfully this wonderful online tuner exists! Next, I went to Ukulele Tabs, to find all of the songs I could ever want to cover. As you become fluent with the chords, you can go to any guitar chord website, and play them as well!

Misty Miller is one of my serendipitous finds in Uke Land. She's only sixteen years old, but her folky pop music contains such maturity and insight. Her voice is poetic along with the ukulele's simplistic sound. It's awesome to see such a sublime uke player show that uke's are more than just toy guitars. Although, I haven't heard the whole of her self-titled brand new album, I have heard a few stellar songs that give me hope for the rest. My fav's at the moment are Little Thing Called Love and Vampire. It's also pretty interesting to see how she composes songs that are a bit heavier, like Bones, on the ukulele. The combination creates for an intriguing sound. Here is a gorgeous interview of Misty by Vogue Italia:

This is probably one of many ponderings on the whimsy ukulele! I've decided to continue my uke cover videos in a series entitled Uke Affairs (Youtube|Vimeo), and I can't wait to start!

Get out there, guys and gals. Start a band, start a revolution, or something. Be a force of positive radiation, and spread love like brush fires. As with the tragedies happening all over the world, more recently Japan, we can see how fragile life really is. But instead of being down, embrace your life, and literally live as if you didn't have the luxury of tomorrow. Be thankful and awed by God for keeping you and yours safe, and embrace the blessings and opportunities that He's blessed you with!

Constantly in prayer for Japan, New Zealand and the world!