Why ukulele popular

The monarchs of Hawaii made sure that the ukulele would become completely intertwined with the musical culture of Hawaii. In the early s tourism in Hawaii was starting to take off, and people were enchanted by the beautiful tropical islands with their unique music and dance traditions.

Several touring shows of Hawaiian performers crossed the mainland, introducing people to the sound of the ukulele. One of the exhibit areas was a Hawaiian Pavilion which featured daily performances by hula dancers and musicians. It proved to be one of the most popular exhibits at the Exposition. Tin Pan Alley songwriters fell in love with Hawaii and the ukulele became a popular instrument on the mainland, so much so that ukuleles started being made off the island.

The ukulele's popularity on the mainland waned after the s with the beginnings of rock and roll. Where before every child wanted a ukulele, now they wanted a guitar. But the ukulele's easy playability and unique sound is helping it make a comeback in the present, with ukulele songs by Jason Mraz and Train making it onto the top 40 radio stations. Of course, the ukulele never lost popularity in Hawaii.

Another name to know is Jake Shimabukuro, who is considered by many to be a virtuoso on the ukulele. Jake is also notable for reaching worldwide attention from a single viral video on Youtube.

Beloff, J. By the s, department store catalogs started selling ukuleles for a couple of bucks. Some who offered lessons, gave the uke away for free if they signed up for classes. Mainland luthiers and businesses such as Martin, Dobro, Gibson, and Harmony all jumped on board the uke craze.

Throughout the s the ukulele craze declined. A variety of music tastes hit the scene with post-war genres. The ukulele was essentially buried but still soldiered on in Hawaii. In the s TV host, Arthur Godfrey brought the almost forgotten ukulele right into peoples homes. Sporting a Hawaiian shirt, he gave ukulele lessons to millions of viewers. The sales of plastic ukuleles skyrocketed.

But as the 50s went on, when kids started doing the Twist and rock around the clock, the uke had another blip in popularity. Although it gave the ukulele some much-needed advertising, Tiny Tims novelty performances made the ukulele a joke in the music world. Even the local youth in Hawaii fell for the glamorous world of rock music.

Their traditional island music waned among the young generation. Hawaiian artists also started to rediscover their forgotten roots again. They began to blur the boundaries between mainstream pop music and Hawaiian folk songs.

The uke became a popular sound throughout TV ads, in movie soundtracks, musical shows and throughout the pop music scene. Steven Swartz, Zach Condon, and Stephen Merritt at times replaced their guitars with the gentle sound of a uke.

In Paul McCartney strummed on a uke in concert as a tribute to George Harrison, who absolutely loved the Ukulele. In , someone uploaded a video of Jake Shimabukuro playing the uke, without his knowledge.

The video went viral, starting off a huge ukulele career. Yes, you really can play it on only 4 strings! James Hill won several awards as the years went on for his ukulele music. Other celebs have caught on the trend too.

In fact, in , approximately 1. From toddlers and teens to professionals and seniors, people are seeking every opportunity to learn how to play the ukulele. Start your ukulele journey by checking out this how-to guide: How do you play basic chords on the ukulele? But this quintessentially Hawaiian instrument, a symbol of local pride and native culture, actually has roots on an island half a world away.

As the Portuguese economy sank in the s, and Hawaii formerly the Sandwich Islands boomed with sugar plantations and cattle farms, many Madeirans emigrated to meet the demand for labor. Among the new immigrants to Hawaii were Portuguese woodworkers and musicians who brought their favorite instrument with them. Portuguese craftsmen soon discovered that wood from the endemic Hawaiian koa tree proved to be ideal for shaping the instruments and producing fine tones.

As local production began, Hawaiians adopted the instrument with enthusiasm, their strumming and singing becoming ubiquitous across the islands by the mid s. Following the U. The instrument took over Broadway in , with the Ziegfeld Follies and Irving Berlin productions featuring hula and ukuleles.

Nonetheless, East and West Coast Americans embraced the fad, learning to play the ukulele, enjoying its low cost, portability, and ease of learning. When U. It was in the post-war Roaring Twenties that ukuleles reached peak saturation, becoming the top-selling instrument in the country by , with four million sold, most produced by mainland companies like Martin and Gibson. It became a required hipster accessory on college campuses, a must-have for any party.