Ukulele Tonya

It’s that season again—can’t you tell by the porch-sized, light-up Santas at Costco? Yes, Christmas time’s a comin’!

If you want to join in the holiday fun with your ukulele in hand, now’s the time to start getting a bead on those familiar Christmas tunes you’ll be singing around the tree. While there are some great “for purchase” resources with holiday tunes arranged for ukulele, a few years’ back I pulled together a listing of websites from around the world featuring oodles of traditional and contemporary Christmas and holiday songsheets.

Some of those sources have disappeared and some have been added so I’ve updated the list. Browse through what you see below and get a start on your holiday playing today. Most are for songs with chords and lyrics only, some include fingerpicking (which really sounds lovely, especially “Carol of the Bells”).

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It showed up on my doorstep. Literally.

A blue grey suitcase with its condition belying 30+ years spent toting travel necessities on land and air. This little Samsonite’s latest excursion, though, had taken it from Phoenix (Arizona) to Paradise (California) in a class far lower than coach: try UPS Ground.

The suitcase, one we might have called an “overnighter” in days prior to wheeled rollaboards, sat stoutly just at the front door of our office as I returned from a lunch visit to the nearby taco truck.

I squealed at its sight—I knew what the blue grey valise held: an ukulele lovingly sent to me by my Uncle Harry, because, as he said, he knew I’d appreciate it and give it a good home.

Uncle Harry had told me about this instrument a few years’ back after hearing about my passion for ukuleles. It had belonged to his mom, Katherine (Quigley) Weaver. Born in 1912, Katie, as she was known to family, seemed to have lived a wanderlust life of rollicking music. A deft ukulele player, she and a few fellows formed up groups in Indiana in the early 30s and played “honky tonks” (Uncle Harry’s words) throughout the Hoosier state.

When she died in 1983, Uncle Harry laid claim to one of her ukuleles. Uncle Harry is many fine things, but he’s not a musician. He put the ukulele in one of his suitcases and parked it in a closet. And that’s where that little ukulele had stayed until it took its trip west to me.

I tore off the UPS label, clipped free the packing tape over the hinges and opened the suitcase. The instrument was wedged in diagonally, a thin blanket nestled ‘round it. I lifted to peek under the mint-green wrap: It’s a banjo ukulele!

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Note: I didn’t have a camera this year at the festival, but I did have my little video camera. I’ve posted a video of a bit of the festival activities here; but do take some Dramamine before you view it. It’s a bit bouncy… (The video is also embedded at the bottom of this post in case you don’t want to head over to YouTube right away.)

Ouch—I’m sporting an ukulele sunburn today. You know—it’s when your inner forearms are toasty pink all the way from where the sleeve on your Hawaiian shirt ends down to where your thumb starts. Oh, and peeking from today’s “work attire,” there’s a matching burnished red “V”, too, corresponding to the collar line of that same Hawaiian blouse.

While that sunburn is feeling pretty warm, what’s warmer still are the memories of a great ukulele weekend spent enjoying the Northern California Ukulele Festival (Hayward, CA).

You see, the unique pattern of that sunburn springs from spending several (happy!) hours in the sunshine, playing ukulele with friends old and new at the festival. We played, as one friend said, “every chord ever known,” as the sun shined down on us—hence a sunburn tattoo that is only on the skin surfaces exposed while strumming and chording. Can I say, “Ouch” one more time?

But it was more than worth it!

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