Have I Mentioned I Have A Ukulele?

One of my kids came back from Christmas vacation toting a cheap ukulele he got for under $30 at Sam Ash.  It came with a book and CD.  The package deal should tell you something about the quality of this ukulele.  So he was learning a few songs, slogging through the process of training his fingers to switch from chord to chord, getting frustrated because it wouldn't stay in tune.  So I tuned it for him.  And then I played it too.  And then I wanted one.  Well, actually, I'd wanted one for a while.  In my travels through the eclectic corners of YouTube, I'd stumbled on a few ukulele gems that made me want to do what they do.  This video was probably the one that I found most amusing and first piqued my interest in the little instrument:

A week later, I had one.  Ordered off of eBay from some guy in Hawaii (where else), it arrived in a fun shaped box.  I could play it immediately, since I learned to play guitar during my freshman year of college.  From the first strum I was hooked.  It's a happy instrument.  It's too light and cute for anything too serious.  You can't play death metal on a ukulele.  Jake Shimabukuro, a ukulele master, made especially famous by this YouTube video, is oft heard saying, "if everyone played the ukulele, the world would be a better place.”  And I think he's right.  You just can't be sad playing the ukulele.  It's not that kind of instrument. 

This summer, along with the other projects I'm working on, I'm working on my ukulele skills.  I'm even practicing *gasp* SCALES.  I'm still slogging through Toxic (see above), and I'm also determined to learn this:

I have a lot of work fun ahead of me.