Archives: Learning

Harmony—egads, he wants me to sing harmony in a song! Is it too late to cancel this trip to Hawai’i?

Back when I started in the Luongo Ukulele Ensemble, I had no idea what to do when Peter Luongo asked the women to seat ourselves in either a soprano or alto section. I failed singing in 7^th grade Girls Chorus (but I did a great job helping mimeograph the songsheets) and I grew accustomed to seeing family members’ eyebrows raise (and not in musical appreciation) when I’d sing along to the radio (remember radios?).

Soprano? Alto? Who knew? Lyrics come easily to me, but the singing…well, not so much. So where would I sit?

Sweet Hawaiian music. Ukulele singing their songs while guitars offer a counterpoint. Dancers spontaneously stepping forward to gift their hula styling of a favorite tune. Keiki running around the group’s edge. And it’s all happening in a driveway or a backyard.

It’s kanikapila—and it’s one of my definitions of pure musical joy.

I’m just learning ukulele. Still.

Yes, it’s been more than a decade since I attended my first ukulele festival (Ukulele Hall of Fame’s Uke Expo, Rhode Island, August 2003) but that doesn’t mean my skills have grown to “Hey, she’s really good,” over all that time. In fact, they haven’t.

Until September 2016.