If you are even a tiny bit musical, if you ever make up little songs in your head or find yourself randomly singing the C&H sugar commercial song, I encourage you to get yourself a ukulele right away.
If you've ever thought to yourself "I'd like to learn to play a musical instrument, but I don't know where to begin, and I'm not sure I want to spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars and commit to years of study," the ukulele could be a great option for you.
Before we get into all the reasons you should get one and start playing, I'd like to answer some objections I can already sense bubbling up in your brain: Annoying ukulele girls mangling 21 Pilots songs and ads with soulless ukulele, glockenspiel and whistling music are without a doubt a horrible curse to those of us with functioning ears.
While it is morally right to harbour a deep loathing and even hatred of such abominable perversions of the sublime goodness of music, we should not allow ourselves to be blinded to the many positive qualities of the instrument and the superb music that has been and can be made with this simple chordophone.
Here are some reasons why you should get one and start playing asap:
1. Beginner Friendly
The ukulele easy to learn, and difficult to master. This means you can get started right away making real music even if you've never played any instrument before, and at the same time the full potential of the instrument is quite vast.
One can learn 3 basic chords very quickly and be able to sing about a zillion songs, but it doesn't end there. There are 108 common chords you can play on this little 4 string instrument, and that's not including minor-7-flat-5 chords or any of the possible chord extensions. If that last bit sounds like Greek to you, suffice to say that there is a whole lot of musical possibility and depth to an ukelele that you can explore if you're interested in music.
The beauty of it is that the learning curve is gentle enough that you can start having fun very quickly.
2. It's a great gateway to other stringed instruments.
The skills you learn on a ukulele translate directly to guitar or bass, as well as other fretted instruments like mandolin and bouzouki, banjo and beyond. It's a good starter because the nylon strings are easy on your fingers and the smallness means you don't have to stretch your fingers too far like on a bigger instrument. Having only 4 strings makes chord shapes relatively easy, and while some chords can be challenging to play, there's none of that difficult finger yoga practised by jazz guitarists.
3. It's affordable.
Maybe this should be number one on this list because music can be a prohibitively expensive hobby. When it comes to instrument shopping, it's important to balance budget against quality because a cheap instrument that's difficult to play just causes frustration and slows your musical progress. A $50-100 ukulele will be a far superior instrument to any guitar or mandolin at that price range. With care and patience one can acquire a good quality second hand ukulele for less than 50 bux. A fresh pack of strings can be had for $8; compare that to violin strings or calling the piano tuner 4 times a year and you'll see it's a bargain.
4. It's adaptable.
You're not limited to playing Hawaiian music and quirky indie alternative pop songs, but literally any pop song you can think of. Latin, reggae and rock - (including metal) - and so much more than that. Every country song that's ever been composed can be played on the ukulele if you're into that, as well as every jazz standard in the real book. Of course there are limits, and while it may be challenging to create a vaporwave masterpiece or death metal anthem featuring a ukulele focus, it's finding those limits and pushing against them that can be pretty fun.
5. Health Benefits
Like any musical instrument, there are a number of both physical and mental health benefits that come from learning and playing the ukulele. Not only can it improve your posture and relieve stress, it's also good for hand-eye coordination and increases your focus and concentration. It can build confidence and boost creativity. It can improve memory and actually increase your cognitive ability. Yes, you heard that right: playing the ukulele can make you smarter.
I hope I've made my case for the ukulele, and you are convinced that it is a fun, easy and beneficial hobby you should get started on right away.
Come on down to the CDFC Ukulele Club and we'll be jamming on your favourite AC/DC song before you know it!