Lanikai ukulele

I just took up the ukulele!  I got a Lanikai soprano ukulele on Wednesday, and I’ve been practicing a couple hours a day since.  My fingers are in less pain every day, and Diminutive Roommate and I jam every time she gets home in time.  The first song I learned was Jamaica Farewell (Harry Belafonte).  I can also play Big Jet Plane by Angus & Julia Stone, Can’t Go Back Now by The Weepies, and The Lion Sleeps Tonight.  Singing while playing is easier than I thought it would be; maybe because I spent so much time singing in the choir growing up.  I’m so glad I did that.  Now I can hit a note if I want to.

This is my first successful foray into the land of instruments.  I taught myself More Than Words on the guitar in high school, and I took a semester of piano at USC where I learned Paca Bell’s Canon (my parent’s wedding music, which I was going to surprise them with, oh well).  But the uke is so transportable, so much easier to play, and I know two people who are enthused about it too, so I’m excited to see myself progress.  So far so good; I’m picking it up pretty quickly.  I heard something about blues ukulele… that sounds good but… odd…

UPDATE: March 14th, 1:10pm
I’m starting to get calluses!  And I’m trying to find a good version of “I Just Can’t Wait to be King,” because that would be a hilarious, fun duet.  She also wants to learn “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People.  I contacted my uncle Skeeto to find out what kind of songs he and my dad grew up listening to/singing, and he sent me a few ideas (Little Grass Shack, Tiny Bubbles, Moonlight Bay).  I originally wanted to learn some traditional Hawai’ian songs, but they’re not as prevalent online as I thought they’d be.  I’ll have to buy some music books 🙂