photo credit: Map of Africa via photopin (license)

My name is Paul and I would like to share my experience of playing ukulele in Africa.

Discovering the Uke

I had, of course, heard about the ukulele, and had a faint idea that it was an instrument similar to a guitar. The ukulele, unlike the guitar, is not very popular in Africa. Here is the story of my journey towards playing the ukulele in Africa.

Perhaps what immediately stood out when I first saw a ukulele was the size. I have a tenor ukulele, which is pretty small compared to the size of the typical acoustic guitar. It is a miniature instrument, but what is lacks in size, it makes up in its fantastic sound, sleek design, portability and instant gratification.

Comparing Ukulele Sizes

There are four types of ukuleles: soprano, tenor, concert and baritone ukulele. Soprano, concert and tenor ukuleles are all tuned to the pitches of G C E A while the baritone ukulele is tuned to D G B E.

Of the four, the soprano ukulele is the smallest followed by concert ukulele. The baritone ukulele is the largest while the tenor ukulele is the second largest.

You can watch the video below to see the comparison of the various sizes.

Purchasing the Ukulele

Since ukulele is not a very common instrument in Africa, getting the right one might be a bit tricky. Although you are likely to find a ukulele in a major town where you live, the variety to choose from might be very limited. In the case of Nairobi, which is close to where I live, I could only find a limited range of soprano ukuleles.

The other option would be shipping directly from Amazon. Here, only four countries in Africa (Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya) are eligible. The shipping should not take more than two weeks. The downside of this option (apart from the fact that it is not available for most countries in Africa) is the expensive shipping fee.

The best option then might be to look to buy the instrument locally if you can get a good ukulele near you.

Starting Out

I was so excited about getting the ukulele that for the first few days, I would not let it out of my sight.

The first thing to do was to tune the instrument. I could not for the life of me figure out how to tune the instrument from the tuner in ukulele.io, you will need to have a trained ear to do it that way.

Thank goodness for technology! I had an electronic tuner and in a few moments, the instrument was tuned. Rebecca has even made a video on how to use the electronic tuner. You can view it here.

Another option is to get a smartphone app that will help you tune your ukulele. There are lots of other apps about ukulele playing too. Click here to learn more about how to use Android and iOs smartphones in playing the Ukulele.

You Have a Small Guitar

“Paul, you play a small guitar?” that was the question of almost everyone who saw me with the ukulele.

“No no, this is not a guitar, this is a ukulele” was my prompt answer.

Ukulele sounds very much like a Swahili name. In fact, some of my friends had to Google it to confirm that it is actually the English name for the instrument.

What I Love About It

Once I started playing the ukulele, it was impossible not to fall in love with it, and for good reasons:

• Those four strings produce sweet, full-sounding chords that make good music. I have continually been singing through my hymnal book to see how they sound with the ukulele, and it is glorious.
• At first, I was uncomfortable about the size of the ukulele. It was too small. After a while, however, I started to like that it was miniature. It is very light and thus convenient for carrying around. It also fits well into small corners.
• The uke is one instrument that is completely unintimidating; you do not have to have any prior knowledge of music to play it. It is an instrument for every person; young or old. It is particularly easy to learn. Playing the chords is not as strenuous as for the guitar. Most chords are very easy to hold on the ukulele. I could play some few simple songs on the first day of practicing with it.
• It is kind of cool to play the ukulele; it’s almost as if I had made a discovery since I am the only one of my friends and family who knows how. I could not wait to show off my uke playing capabilities to my mom who plays the piano far better than I. It also sounds very well when played with piano accompaniment.
• It is very easy to teach yourself. With a few hours each week, I was able to play a great number of songs.
• The fact that you can make music with the uke (and any instrument for that matter) is a very satisfying feeling. You move from being just a consumer of music to becoming a creator. The experience is exhilarating!

A Hobby for Life

I am hooked on the uke. It is a fun, exciting, melodious, wholesome and satisfying little instrument that will keep you smiling as you play. Uke playing is one hobby I am sure to cling to for the rest of my life.

Happy strumming!

You may be wondering, do I need a ukulele strap? My experience is that having one really helps! When I started to learn more complicated left and right hand patterns, I definitely felt I needed one. The strap keeps the ukulele in place, which makes it easier to move around on the instrument.

What type of strap should you get? I got a ukulele thong, because I did not have an end button on my soprano ukulele. The thong has a small hook that hooks into the sound hole of your ukulele. They can be hard to find. Classical guitarists also use these types of straps, so the Guitar Center can order one for you.

I’ve been working on holiday songs to sing and teach at school: “Let It Snow” and “Winter Wonderland.” Both songs have a lot of changes and fairly complicated strumming patterns. I also want to include a ukulele solo section with finger picking in the main part of each song.

Well, I’ve learned where some of the higher notes are on the ukulele, some bar chords and some movable chords. I’ve also learned some more complicated strumming patterns with chunking and coordinating all of these techniques with singing. I practice at home with an accompaniment track I created through Band In A Box, and have gradually gotten better at the songs.

So, do I need a ukulele strap?

Yes, you do. I would recommend a strap for a ukulele. Also, I play and teach violin. I would compare the strap to using a shoulder rest on the violin or viola. Without one, you can still play, but it is difficult to shift or do vibrato, unless you are already quite accomplished. Why not make it easier for yourself, and buy a ukulele strap? Check this page for our recommendations on straps and other ukulele accessories.

In his book, The First 20 Hours: How to Learn ANYTHING Fast, Josh Kaufman describes how he mastered and performed a four-chord song on the ukulele in a very short time. I forget whether it was one week or two weeks, but his performance definitely fell under the heading ‘rapid skill acquisition’, which is his phrase for learning new things quickly.

But although Josh can learn a four chord song really fast, can you?

Well my answer is unfortunately rather vague: it depends. It depends on your previous musical background and your practicing skills. But I think the more important question is, why not go ahead and TRY to learn some ukulele in 20 hours?  What have you got to lose other than some free time?

One thing Josh is definitely right about is that it matters a lot exactly how you spend your 20 hours of practicing.

Josh certainly has learned more skills rapidly than I have. But I have spent thousands more hours watching beginners tackle new musical skills than he has. So, I thought I’d offer my personal take on how his principles of rapid skill acquisition how apply to learning ukulele.

I’ve organized my thoughts by using some of the principles Josh presents in his book. You might enjoy reading the book as you start working on ukulele. But DON’T compare your progress to his. Josh was anything but a musical beginner when he started learning ukulele. He already had experience singing in a choir. He also has some practice with the ukulele’s two handed strum/chord coordination. Because he had previously played some guitar.

So here goes: key concepts numbers one and two.

1. Make time to practice

The time you spend practicing ukulele must come from somewhere else in your schedule. You will not “find” time in a big pile under a bush somewhere. We all are allotted 24 hours per day. Some you must dedicate to work, and some to caring for yourself or loved ones. The hours that remain are what you have left to learn the ukulele. You must take a hard look at your schedule. And see if you can eliminate other activities that are less important to you than learning ukulele.

Another important fact about learning something new is the more time you spend working on it each day, the fewer days it will take to learn. And the faster you get good at ukulele, the more you will enjoy it. The enjoyment will make it easier to choose ukulele practice over, say, watching TV or cruising Facebook.

2. Make starting easy

If possible, create a space where you can keep your gear set up so that you can get started quickly when practice time rolls around. Failing that, try to store your gear to minimize setup time. Concert pianist Robert Henry likes to stress the importance of what can be accomplished in short bursts of practice (2-3 minutes). But if you have to spend 20 minutes finding your ukulele and folding the laundry on top of it before you can begin, you might burn up all your available practice time before you play a note.

My sister and I think how you practice is so crucial to learning that we have included many practice tips in our book 21 Songs in 6 Days. When you’re just getting started with music, learning HOW to practice is probably the most important thing to learn. So we guide you step by step on how to master all the crucial basic skills in ukulele playing such as changing chords while you maintain a steady strum.

What do you think? Have you been able to make quick progress on the ukulele or other musical instruments? What seemed to be the key factors for you?